Lee looking to make Euro dream a reality…

Imagine a Republic of Ireland football team reaching a European final that was to be played on home soil! It’s a nice thought isn’t it?

Well on Saturday Tallaght Stadium will play host to the UEFA Regions’ Cup final where Ireland’s Eastern Region side will attempt to win the amateur competition for the first time.

The team, managed by Gerry Smith, will be hoping to go one step further than the Munster/Leinster side that lost in the 2011 final, and several local players will be among those tasked with beating a tough Zagreb Region team from Croatia.

Bangor Celtic’s Lar Dunne and Conor Riddick are joined by the effervescent Bluebell United winger Aji Sule, while the Crumlin quartet of David Meehan, Ross Carrig, Greg Moorhouse and James Lee are all part of the 20-man team.

And for Lee, who has been a mainstay in the heart of the very successful Crumlin United midfield for several years, adding the Regions’ Cup to the FAI Intermediate Cup and Charlie Cup he has already won this season would, in his own words, “be a dream come true”.

Having had such an impressive year for Crumlin, and a hugely successful career in the amateur game in general, the Clondalkin native was apprehensive about ranking the European final in a list of achievements, but playing in the showpiece event will definitely be a proud moment for him.

“It’s hard to place it because I haven’t played in a Regions’ Cup final yet, and I won’t really know until I step out there on Saturday and experience it,” he explained.

“Where does it rank? It’s definitely up there because it doesn’t come around that often as it’s on every second year, and then you don’t know whether or not you’ll be in the squad or not, but it’s high up there in the amateur achievements for any player.”

The Irish team came through their group with an impressive three wins from three, as did their Croatian counter-parts, and Lee has relished playing against European players and the different styles they bring.

“We’re set up to be difficult to beat,” he stated. “There’s a very good structure in place and what an enjoyable experience it is to be playing against players who, lets be honest, we probably won’t ever paly against again.”

“It’s a different style of football, and one you can’t go full steam against and attack because they’ll just pick you off because that’s the sort of continental players they are, and that’s their style.

Indeed, the Zagreb Region are a team packed with quality, just like the Irish, but Lee believes Ireland’s results speak for themselves, saying, “All the reports suggest that they (Zagreb) will be tough, but they’ll be looking at our results too and seeing we’ve won all our games so it should be a cracking match for sure”.

And what about letting himself dream, at least a little, of adding a European trophy to the long list of silverware he has already had his hands on?

“It would be dream come true lets put it that way, because it’s been a long journey, with everyone giving up work to be here, and making sacrifices, it would be a perfect ending to the season.”

The UEFA Regions’ Cup Final kicks off at 4pm in Tallaght Stadium on Saturday, with tickets priced at just €5, so why not take the family along to see an Irish team attempt to win a European title.

(Pictures courtesy of Ed Scannell-Herald Striker and Paddy Barrett-The Echo Newspaper)