Longford manager Denis Connerton hailed a "great moment" for the county after they toppled Meath to reach a first Leinster SFC semi-final in thirty years.
Longford - who've established a fine reputation for performing well in the qualifiers in the modern era - have failed to make any serious inroads in their own provincial championship, last making the final four in 1988.
They last beat Meath in the championship in 1982 (the final year before Sean Boylan became Meath manager) and in bridging that 36-year gap this afternoon, they've teed up a meeting with Dublin in a Croke Park semi-final in two weeks time.
Connerton, who took the reins for his second spell as Longford manager in late 2015, was keen to stress home advantage as a key boon for his team - all the more so since they've had to live without in recent Leinster campaigns.
Due to issues with the main stand at Pearse Park, Longford haven't played a home match in the Leinster championship in four years.
"It feels absolutely brilliant. We've been trying so hard to win these Leinster championship matches. They're not easy for us to win, for some apparent reason. But the home venue was huge for us today. We had to play out of our skins today to get anything out of the match.
"At the end I felt we were getting a bit nervy because of what happened in previous matches in the league but we stuck at it and worked hard and I felt in the game that some lads put in massive, massive performances for us.
"We're well used to playing on this pitch. And we've often said it in the past that we don't fear anyone in Pearse Park in Longford.
"So, it's a very great moment for us. It's great for us to get into a Leinster semi-final.
"This is the biggest game that we've had in the park since 2006. We had Dublin here in 2006 and we put up a fantastic display that day.
"But for us to clinch the deal today was brilliant for us. It's my first win in the Leinster championship but it is the first match I got at home.
"Personally, I'm elated. But I'm delighted for that team as well that they were able to do what we haven't been able to do for thirty years and that's reach a Leinster semi-final.
"We'll think about this moment and enjoy the moment and we can start planning tomorrow. But we'll enjoy the moment because we don't get these moments too often."
In a tense end-game, with Meath rattling off scores and driving hard for an equaliser, Longford held on to win by two points. Connerton said the lessons learned from the late failure to secure promotion against Fermanagh in the final game of Division 3 aided his side this afternoon.
"We have worked very hard at those scenarios because we felt that in Armagh we left it behind us and we felt the same against Fermanagh when we were only a few seconds away from Division 2.
"It is a young team but we have learned from those experiences."
