Pat Byrne was the last League of Ireland player to play in a competitive international for Ireland, and that could change this weekend.
The Shamrock Rovers midfielder played against Denmark in November 1985. Numerous players such as Glen Crowe, Jason Byrne and Joe Gamble have played for Ireland since, but only in friendlies.
Dundalk's Andy Boyle and Daryl Horgan joined the Irish squad on Monday night, and are in contention to feature against Austria in Vienna on Saturday evening in the World Cup qualifier.
Speaking to Newstalk Sport's Oisin Langan on Tuesday morning, two-time League of Ireland winner Damian Lynch feels Horgan is an excellent option to bring off the bench against the Austrians.
"If you look at the way the European games have gone, they are very similar to the international games. You dont have the ball for long periods. I was worried about [Horgan] in the last game against Zenit... There's not too many Irish players in that squad, if they were playing Zenit away, that would have picked up the ball on the halfway line, and had the confidence, the quality and the poise, to finish like that."
52: GOAAAAL!
Zenit 1-1 Dundalk.
Daryl Horgan draws the LOI champions level! #LOIinEurope https://t.co/YnczdOIXq3— eir Sport (@eirSport) November 3, 2016
"If you need someone for the last 20 minutes, to put a bit of a spark into the game, or create something, Horgan will do that for you. He's got the quality."
"He has the quality to come on, change the game and do something special... He's someone that should certainly be considered for a 20 minute stint."
After impressing in the Europa League, Horgan may be about to step up to the next level. On Saturday in Vienna, he could rewrite the League of Ireland history books.
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