The second half was just minutes away on a night that changed Irish football forever.
Shamrock Rovers were about to bring on Karl Sheppard for Billy Dennehy and it was first-team coach Andy Myler's job to tick the administrative box.
So he headed down to the match officials’ dressing room with the paperwork.
By the end of that long and sticky night in Belgrade, Rovers were in the Europa League group stages; the first Irish side to qualify for the competition proper.
Sheppard won the crucial penalty in extra-time to win the tie, while the hosts Partizan lost midfielder Medo Kamara to a red card minutes later.
In Myler’s mind, having visited the referee’s HQ at half-time, it couldn’t have been easy for Slovakian referee Ján Valášek to give those two decisions.
“You can see how intimidating those places are,” he said.
“Coming out of that tunnel, there were fellas with guns and everything. There were armed police all over the place, so they were obviously used to there being a bit of trouble.
“I remember going down to the referee’s room to make the substitution. It was right underneath the stand, right underneath where all their ultras are.
“Inside it, you could hear everything that was going on above it and they were fairly raucous.
“It was deafening. They make it as intimidating as possible.
“If you were a referee in that room, you’d be thinking, if there’s a decision here, I might go with these guys!”
Luckily, Valášek had the courage to make the correct calls and Rovers were in dreamland.
Tonight they stand on the verge of another group stage campaign.
Hold onto their two-goal lead over North Macedonian side Shkupi and they are guaranteed a €3.4m place in the Europa Conference League, as well as a play-off shot at the even more lucrative Europa League.
11 years ago Rovers’ win over Partizan sent shockwaves through Europe.
The Serbian club had their travel itinerary to the group stage draw all mapped out - and generously transferred it over to Rovers’ delirious officials.
“We were going into it probably more with hope than expectation,” Myler recalled.
“The lads from Partizan sorted out flights for Jonathan (Roche) and Noel (Byrne), I think.
“They had an expectation that they’d be at the draw. We probably hadn’t considered what was coming next.
“Up to that stage, obviously, all League of Ireland teams went out before the group stages.
“That’s how it was. So in our heads, I don’t think anyone had really jumped forward in terms of what was coming next.
“I remember the airport on the way home. I’d never seen anything like it before or since, in terms of the amount of Rovers fans that turned up at Dublin airport. It was phenomenal.
“There were 42 or 43 fans who were there at the game. But coming home, and it was early enough the next morning, there were thousands at the airport.
“That’s the bit that probably sticks out from the aftermath for me anyway.”
Tonight, for Rovers, it’s more expectation than hope.
And even if Shkupi somehow manage to turn the tie around, the Hoops would have another crack at Conference League qualification in the play-off round for Europe’s newest competition.
But they won’t be thinking about safety nets when they take to the pitch in Skopje.
Myler can see similarities between Michael O’Neill’s history-makers and Stephen Bradley’s current crew.
“The European run had been a culmination of a couple of runs that went before that,” he said.
“Obviously there had been some fairly difficult draws, with Juventus (12 months earlier) and whatever.
“But performances had been getting steadily better in the period of time that Michael was there. And the squad had been getting better and more mature together.
“For Stephen (Bradley) over the last number of years, there have probably been some tough nights, and you just learn and learn.
“You always see that with teams that do well in Europe. Dundalk were exactly the same - there is a learning process that most squads go through before they get over the line.
“Hopefully this is the point at which Rovers get into the group stages, because I think it would be fantastic for the league as well as for everybody else.”
Myler had been promoted to O’Neill’s senior coaching staff ahead of the historic 2011 campaign, where he worked alongside the current Stoke boss and his then-assistant Jim Magilton.
His work prior to that appointment was with the A team and underage sides at Tallaght.
“I wasn’t working too regularly with the first-team when Stephen Bradley was there as a player,” he said of the current Rovers boss.
“But Stephen always had a very good eye for the game. He was always one of those players that people would have seen as a coach before he ever became a coach.”
Meanwhile, Myler reckons the cash on offer in Europe - particularly with the advent of the Europa Conference League - can bring real change to the League of Ireland.
Shamrock Rovers are 90 minutes away from banking a guaranteed €3.4m - while progress to the Europa League group stages would mean a minimum €4m cheque from UEFA.
St Patrick’s Athletic have already earned €750,000 for their run, which could continue on Thursday when they defend a 1-0 lead against CSKA Sofia.
Sligo Rovers’ journey is unlikely to continue beyond their clash with Norwegian side Viking, but they will exit with €850,000 in prize money.
Myler said: “With the greatest will in the world, we are probably still a bit away from going deep into the Champions League.
“The Conference League is definitely something else.
“Looking at the draw there, I’m fairly sure Rovers would be confident of making the Europa League group stages as well, so there is no problem there.
“I just think this Conference League gives teams a massive opportunity here, because the money is big.
“There is huge earning potential there, which makes a real difference to League of Ireland clubs. They can become much better clubs with that type of money.”
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