This evening's win over Andorra was more of a relief than anything for the Republic of Ireland, but if we are to take one bright spot away from the game, it is without doubt the performance of Troy Parrott.
On the back of a long season wherein he has received plenty of criticism for his performances at club level, the 19-year old announced his arrival on the international stage this evening. When Ireland were on-course for an embarrassing defeat, he took the game by the scruff of the neck and turned things around.
We can only hope that his two goals will be the first of many in an Ireland shirt.
Parrott has been heavily criticised in some quarters this season. Having been expected to light up the Championship after joining Millwall on loan, he would leave the club in January having struggled to make much of an impact.
While performances would improve after dropping down a level with Ipswich Town, goals were still hard to come by. The fact that expectations were so high means it is easy to forget that he only turned 19 in February.
Some questioned Stephen Kenny's decision to include him in the squad for this international window, a move that has now been more than justified. Speaking after the game, Kenny said Parrott is still developing and that he was not surprised to see him show his quality against Andorra.
I think he will get better. He was really more fluid a year-and-a-half ago in his movement, he was lighter on his feet and had real instinctive creativity.
He has grown into his own body in the last year-and-a-half. All of a sudden he's got stronger shoulders and is not moving as fluidly. That's been a factor for him.
What he needs is confidence. All young players need good experience for them to improve and he has had loan spells where he has had some good games in different positions and maybe not been prolific in front of goal.
He is still very young and still has a lot of improving to do, people aren't sure what his best position is. He has the ability to create and score goals, we need as much of that as we can get...
There were a lot of people that said 'why is he in the squad, he should be in the U21s, he hasn't justified it' and so forth.
I think we needed to have a goal threat there. We felt we would have a lot of the play and would have a degree of play in high areas and get crosses in. He is a very high 'ten' as opposed to other players, he becomes a second striker at times and gets in the box. He can link the play and has the capacity to score goals.
We felt he would give us an extra impetus in that regard and that was the thought process behind it.
As for the player himself, this was a dream come through.
Scoring hatfuls of goals at youth level is one thing, but to perform for Ireland's senior side is an altogether different matter.
He said that he was delighted to find the back of the net for Ireland tonight, fulfilling his childhood dream after a very difficult season.
It's been a tough season, I've gotten a lot of criticism. It has finished the way I've wanted it to go the whole time, but things don't always go to plan.
I'm really happy to finish the season strong...
I wouldn't say it's tough to take it on. Nobody wants to be criticised, but that pushes me and makes me want to do even better...
That has been a dream, always. Growing up and watching Ireland teams, I wanted to be there and be at that level. I think today has helped me and I just want to keep pushing on.
SEE ALSO: Richie Sadlier's Withering Assessment Sums Up Ireland's Issues Perfectly
