Darren Murphy with the inside story on Linfield’s landmark 2005 Setanta Cup triumph

Fifteen years on from visiting the home of Shelbourne and returning to Belfast as all-Ireland champions, the Setanta Cup triumph of 2005 holds a special place in club history.

The club’s status as inaugural winners demands a mark of respect in the record books and that rarest of Linfield tags, the achievement of lifting silverware as underdogs, affords it a place in the hearts of the fans.

For those on the right side of the white line on that May 21 night under the Tolka Park floodlights in Dublin, the 2-0 victory secured thanks to first-half goals by Glenn Ferguson and Peter Thompson over a celebrated Shels side remains very much a high point for some of the most decorated players to ever line out in Belfast blue.

“Any time we get together, inevitably the chat goes back to that Setanta Cup win, even so many years on,” said Darren Murphy, “It was a group full of great characters and lads, without ego and everyone fitting in together.

“There is a reason why so many people from the squad look back and consider it a standout career moment.

“When you weigh up everything it really was so special - to go down and beat a side of Shelbourne’s quality in their own backyard and become the first winners of the Setanta Cup.

“No-one outside the club gave us a chance, Shelbourne were full-time and tipped by many as pre-tournament favourites.

“But we came into the competition with such a strong sense of self-belief, that squad had everything.

“We could mix it up and play in whatever way the situation required - we could go head-to-head physically or just out-play teams.

“David Jeffrey was brilliant at man-management and knew exactly what each individual needed in terms of motivation, plus we had a great backroom team who played a huge part in our progress.

“Those 90 minutes at Tolka Park go down as my most memorable game in a Linfield shirt.

“A few weeks after the final, I was told by the boss that was the end for me at Linfield.

“Although I didn’t know it at the time, the Setanta Cup final was my last game as a Linfield player.

“It was a footballing decision and I look back and just consider my time at Linfield and under David as an honour and a privilege.

“As much as it hurt at the time, I reflect and understand the decision and it meant a lot when David invited me to his civic reception in City Hall as one of the 30 players representing his time as Linfield boss.

“I just loved being part of that changing room and felt that season I was probably playing as well as ever.

“I think we had 55 games that season and I played in something like 52.

“It was one of my most productive seasons and when I look back I am proud I was able to go out on such a high note.

“Some players leave a club under a cloud or because of injury - I left having won the Setanta Cup.”

The introduction of the cross-border competition offered Linfield, Glentoran and Portadown an opportunity to go up against League of Ireland rivals Shelbourne, Cork City and Longford Town.

Defeat to Longford in Linfield’s opening fixture served as a harsh introduction but the Blues regrouped to win every other game and secure a showdown with Shelbourne.

“There was a real buzz about the Setanta Cup, that first year everyone wanted to be the first name on the trophy,” said Murphy. “The League of Ireland was in a real boom period back then but we wanted to show what we could do from the Irish League.

“It was extremely competitive and a chance to showcase the ability within our squad.

“At the start of the campaign, we set targets and definitely the Setanta Cup was discussed as a goal for us.

“Inside the squad, we had so much faith in each other.

“We knew we were underdogs to Shelbourne, which was unusual for a Linfield side and offered a different kind of pressure but we really embraced the tournament.

“After Longford, we adjusted to the learning curve and went on to win every other game.

“To keep a clean sheet in the final on top of the win was massive, we took real pride in that part of the game as we always felt our firepower would get something if we stopped the opposition.”

Murphy counts the 4-2 defeat of derby rivals Glentoran to book the final spot “our most complete performance of the season”.

It was a victory just weeks after the ‘Morgan Day’ win by the Glens at the same Oval venue to effectively secure the Irish League title in front of around 12,000 at Linfield’s expense.

“We had to go back to the Oval on a Tuesday night in the Setanta Cup with Chris Morgan’s injury-time winner and the memory of knowing that result left Glentoran as champions over us...the pressure was enormous,” said Murphy. “The reaction to ‘Morgan Day’ was to use it as an opportunity, to draw on that pain and turn it into a positive.

“We produced our most complete performance of the season.

“David then told us after he would stick with exactly the same line-up for the final.

“That then allowed us extra time to focus on the final in the knowledge of who exactly would be playing.

“The club put us up in the Malahide hotel and the celebrations that night after the final then the trip back to Belfast were amazing.

“One big memory was from the closing stages of the final, I felt knackered but went over for a throw-in and kept hearing some shouting from the crowd.

“When I looked up I could see Joe McAree with three friends standing in the middle of the fans wearing a Dungannon Swifts baseball cap.

“He was manager at that point of the Swifts but had known me since I was nine or 10 years old.

“It was a real surprise to see a familiar face in the crowd as we were moments away from such a major victory.

“I’ll never forget that bus back to Belfast, everyone had to do a song and it was such a brilliant time...then so many fans were at Windsor Park to welcome us home.”

SHELBOURNE: Williams, Brennan (Moore, 58), Hawkins, Rogers, Crawley, Baker (Ryan, 25), S.Byrne, Crawford (Ndo, 58), Cahill, Hoolahan, J.Byrne.

LINFIELD: Alan Mannus, Steven Douglas, Darren Murphy, Noel Bailie, William Murphy, Tim Mouncey (Ryan McCann, 73), Aidan O’Kane, Michael Gault, Paul McAreavey, Glenn Ferguson, Peter Thompson (David Larmour, 77).

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