Well, that was tremendous fun while it lasted.
Shamrock Rovers were facing Mission Impossible in the Champions League after pressing the self-destruct button late on in last week’s game in Bulgaria.
But with nothing to lose and everything to gain, they had the best crack possible at pulling off the unthinkable.
And when Aidomo Emakhu doubled Aaron Greene’s early lead with a thundering shot with two minutes to spare, the dream was alive.
Tallaght Stadium was alive too, and the noise from the 6,322 in attendance sounded like multiples of that.
But the sense of hope was short lived as Ludogorets, in a rare foray deep into Rovers territory, scored as the game ticked into injury-time.
Still, the Hoops can take plenty of heart and encouragement from their brilliant performance as they drop into the Europa League next week.
Until the tank emptied in the dying stages, they played the more adventurous football throughout and refused point black to get sucked into Ludogorets’ dark arts.
The scale of the visitor’s time wasting was quite something and led to repeated chants of ‘cheats, cheats, cheats’ from the home crowd.
But the non-stop efforts of their Rovers team was the perfect tonic to mask that frustration, only to see the players fall just short as they bowed out.
On the night, victory was theirs - and that should not be forgotten or sniffed at.
Not least because it will prove to Stephen Bradley’s team that they can compete at this level.
Next Thursday, they will host North Macedonian outfit Shkupi - who lost to Dinamo Zagreb - in the first leg of the Europa League third qualifying round.
And progress through that tie would guarantee Europa Conference League group stage football at the very least.
So the Hoops best nights in Europe could still be ahead of them, but this was up there in terms of great League of Ireland performances on this stage.
The early suspicion was that Ludogorets were playing within themselves as all they had to do was protect their comfortable first-leg advantage.
But as the game wore on, and with Rovers piling on relentless pressure, they looked capable of imploding.
It’s no exaggeration to say that by the time Greene opened the scoring in the 21st minute, thrill-seeking Rovers could have been level on aggregate terms.
They peppered the visitor’s goal with magnificent frequency.
Ronan Finn and Richie Towell took it in turns to ghost into the box and almost connect with an array of crosses, with Andy Lyons and Graham Burke the Hoops’ tormentors.
Off the bench in Bulgaria, Burke helped change the dynamic of the Rovers performance and he picked up where he left off with a start here.
And he had a leading role in the opening goal that was coming
Sergio Padt made an incredible one-handed save from his close range header from Lyons’ cross, but Greene was lurking and turned home the loose ball.
Ludogorets were rattled and Burke continued to fire balls across goal, with Finn oh so close to connecting for a second time.
Rovers were being fuelled by their sense of ambition and Towell was just a yard wide with a shot on the half-volley before the break.
And Sean Hoare’s thumping drive at Padt in injury-time was just another example of that forward momentum.
But both sides going in at the break knowing full well that the crucial next goal would shape the remainder of the tie.
Ludogorets' cause wasn’t helped when Manuel Cafumana was sent off five minutes into that second-half for a second bookable offence.
Although if the visitors were crying foul at that decision, so too were their hosts 16 minutes later.
Towell was just about winning his battle to reach a Burke through ball before he went down under Zan Karnicnik’s challenge on the edge of the box.
Karnicnik had already been booked and Rovers were first appealing for a penalty, and then a red card but were spitting blood altogether when Towell was booked for diving.
But Rovers provided the grandstrand finish their brilliant performance deserved with super sub Emakhu blasting home a second with two minutes to play.
But the joy was sucked from Tallaght Stadium in an instant as Cauly Souza sealed their passage through.
SHAMROCK ROVERS: Mannus; Gannon, Hoare, Grace; Finn (Farrugia 71), McCann (Ferizaj 83), O’Neill (Gaffney 71), Towell (Emakhu 78), Lyons; Greene, Burke (Watts 71).
LUDOGORETS: Padt; Karnicnik, Plastun, Verdon, Nedyalkov; Cafumana, Santana, Cauly Souza (; Tekpetey (Delev 45), Sotiriou (Rodrigues 86), Despodov (Rick 45)
Referee: Fabio Maresca (Italy).
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