Having etched his name into the folklore of the Republic of Ireland, Troy Parrott let the tears flow.
At the end of a whirlwind 72 hours, the striker’s raw emotion was understandable. On Thursday, Parrott eclipsed Cristiano Ronaldo with two goals to sink Portugal and take the Republic of Ireland into the play-off until the final match.
Carrying the hopes of a nation on his back in Budapest, the 23-year-old Dubliner rose to the occasion in spectacular fashion.
Against Hungary, his penalty brought the Irish level after they fell behind thanks to an early header from Daniel Lukács. Then, after Barnabas Varga’s impressive goal, he tied it again with a clever shot 10 minutes from time.
The Republic of Ireland needed a win to reach the play-offs, and after Johnny Kenny was denied, Parrott seized the decisive moment when he latched on to Liam Scales’ header, slotted the ball into the Hungarian net and raced away in ecstasy in a heart-stopping finish at the Puskas Arena.
“I’m very, very emotional. These are tears of joy. Ah, what a night, what a night,” the AZ Alkmaar striker, who led the line in the absence of Evan Ferguson, told RTE.
“That’s why we love football, because things like this can happen. Look, I love where I come from, so this means a lot to me. My family is here.
“It’s also the first time I’ve cried in years, I really can’t believe it. Everyone is crying.
“I said against Portugal that dreams are made of this, but tonight I don’t think I’m going to have a better night in my entire life.
“That’s really a fairy tale. You can’t even dream of something like that. I honestly have no words to describe my emotions right now.”
