VIDEO: Athlone's Robbie finds the net against Russian giants Zenit

Last night was another European occasion to remember for Athlone's Robbie Benson, who scored for Dundalk against Zenit Saint Petersburg in the Europa League.

Zenit reached the last-16 of the Champions League last season, and are among the favourites to win the Europa League this year.

However the Russian giants were stunned when the 24-year-old midfielder put Dundalk in front with a second-half strike from outside the box in Tallaght Stadium.

You can watch Robbie's goal against Zenit here:

 

It was the former Marist College student's third goal in European competition this year. He was previously on the scoresheet against BATE Borisov in Tallaght and Legia Warsaw in Poland.

Unfortunately, Dundalk were unable to hold onto the lead and Zenit emerged with a 2-1 win.

However, the Lilywhites still have a decent chance of making the knock-out stages of the competition as their tally of four points from three games currently has them in second place in their group, ahead of Maccabi Tel Aviv and AZ Alkmaar.

In a post-match interview for the official Dundalk FC website (www.dundalkfc.com), Robbie said the club's punishing fixture list of late took its toll in the closing stages of last night's game.

'Our schedule over the last while hasn't been very kind and I think that probably took its toll in the last 20 minutes where (Zenit) really upped it, having been behind,' he said.

'We're disappointed with the goal we conceded to let them back into it because we had been good up to then, defensively. It was just one of those things, the break of a ball here or there. That's the way it goes.'

Dundalk were rank outsiders against Zenit, a club with a budget and resources that far outstrip that of the Louth side. However, Robbie said the closeness of last night's contest was 'no suprise' from his point of view.

'It's no surprise to us (given) the quality we have. We've proven it time and time again despite people probably expecting us to be on the end of a heavy defeat here.

'Obviously we have to change our game plan a little bit in Europe, competing against huge teams. We're a bit more defensive than we are in our own league, but that's only natural. We've shown that we can mix it up. We've great pace on the break, with Daryl (Horgan) and Patrick (McEleney) especially. They are going to trouble any team when the ball is turned over.

'(Ronan Finn) had a great chance in the first half and obviously our goal, as well, came from us pressing them and winning the ball back high up the pitch. We'll take confidence from that but at the end of the day there's no points on the board tonight and that's disappointing.'

Dundalk can secure a third league title in a row if they defeat Bohemians at Oriel Park on Sunday evening (live on RTE2, kick-off 7pm)

'Obviously lads will need to rest, because (the fixture list) has been crazy,' said Robbie.

'But with the strength in depth we have, every time someone gets injured someone is ready to step in. Ultimately, the league is the priority and Sunday is a great chance for us to close it out at home, in front of the home fans We hope we'll get a great turnout for it.'