Glentoran 0 Dundalk 1
Mark Quigley, the star of their previous visit to Belfast when they ran up a 5-3 lead against Linfield, stole the show again with a wonder strike at the Oval.
With eight minutes remaining, Quigley connected with a poor clearance from a Daniel Kearns corner to blast a stunning volley to the net from the edge of the area to put Dundalk in the driving seat of this quarter-final with the second leg to come at Oriel Park in a fortnight.
Glentoran, third in Irish League, dominated the first half with only the woodwork and Dundalk keeper Peter Cherrie ensuring Dundalk weren’t 2-0 down at the break.
Glens’ striker Richard Gibson rattled the Dundalk crossbar from a Daryl Fordyce cross on 25 minutes before having another header cleared off the line by Dundalk defender Michael Hector.
Cherrie then came to Dundalk’s rescue 10 minutes before half-time when making a terrific stop from Mattie Burrows after Fordyce played him clean through on goal.