Shelbourne manager Damien Duff insisted common sense prevailed in waiting to restore power at Tolka Park during the season-opening victory over Derry, despite some within the stadium calling for the game to be called off.
Shels began their title defence with an impressive 3-1 win, with all four goals scored in the first half and three of them in a frantic five-minute spell.
However, the main talking point on the stroke of half-time when Tolka Park was plunged into darkness when a blown fuse cut power to the ground.
A 45-minute delay ensued with the game looking in danger of being postponed, but an off-duty ESB technician, assisted by an emergency ESB crew that arrived on site within 15 minutes, ensured the game resumed at 9.35pm.
Speaking to RTÉ Sport after the game, Duff acknowledged a "brilliant, statement win" from his side and insisted the right decision was reached in delaying, rather than postponing, the fixture.
"That's life," he said. "Living out where I do in Wicklow, my electricity goes once a week. As we did tonight, it’s about staying calm when it does go out.
"It’s like that Clint Eastwood film 'The Longest Day’. I think everyone felt like that by the end. You could feel everyone’s energy sapping out of the ground.
"I know certain people within Tolka Park wanted the game off, literally the minute the lights went out, but I think common sense prevailed.
"There were thousands of people here, who made a lot of sacrifices and spent a lot of money, so I’m glad the league made the correct decision to wait and be calm and we got it back on track."
His Derry counterpart, Tiernan Lynch, saw his opening game in charge end in an away defeat and reflected differently on the floodlight failure.
"You felt it went on a little bit too long, but if you’re in the Shelbourne changing room and going in (half-time) 3-1 up, you’re doing everything it takes to get the lights back on," Lynch said.
"The ultimate concern was the safety of the players. We’re not going to make excuses or look for excuses. Everybody got through it in the end."
Shelbourne issued a statement regarding the incident.
"Tolka Park suffered a power outage due to an ESB fuse issue at half-time of this evening’s game, our club electrician was on site within two minutes and was able to identify the problem," it read. "This required the assistance of the ESB.
"Thanks to the quick response from the emergency team at the ESB South Lotts Road who were on site within 15 minutes of being notified and power was restored within 45 minutes of the power loss."
The new Derry boss said that while he was "hugely disappointed" in the concession of the three first-half goals, given the personnel changes to the squad this season, the positives outweighed the negatives on their first night out.
"We knew this was always going to be a process," Lynch said. "We knew this wasn’t going to be something that was a flick of a switch, you put all these players together and all of a sudden you’re a top, top team.
"This is something we know we have to work at."
