Republic of Ireland U21 and QPR duo Sinclair Armstrong and Joe Hodge are looking to take the next step forward in their senior careers, having both making their own different breakthroughs in the last few months.
For Joe Hodge it was finally getting regular first team football. The Manchester City graduate joined Wolves in 2021 and although he has played six times in the Premier League, at 21-years old it was time for him to play first team games on a consistent basis.
He has managed to do that at Loftus Road.The midfielder joined the R's on loan on the January deadline day after being on the bench for Wolves 4-3 defeat to Manchester United. Hodge drove down to London and made his debut two days later against Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park where he scored the winner in a 2-1 win.
In an FAI interview, Hodge said he is excited to be at QPR and this is his chance to prove himself.
I wanted to come on loan. I'm buzzing that I was able to get down here on time before the deadline and it couldn't have gone much better for a debut so can't complain.
I've had a great few years training around some really top footballers but I think it's time for me and go prove that I can do it. That's why I'm here, trying to help QPR but I'm trying to prove to other people that I'm at that level and I can compete with those sorts of players.
For Sinclair Armstrong he has discovered his goalscoring touch during the current campaign.
The Dubliner broke into the first team at QPR in 2022/23, and while he impressed fans, the forward failed to score all season. That's been different for him this term as Armstrong has gained more confidence playing in the Championship. He got his first senior goal against Cardiff and his form has picked up recently, scoring three since the turn of the year.
One of those goals since New Year's was in the FA Cup against Premier League side Bournemouth. It was a spectacular goal that showed Armstrong's pace and power to get past the defender before showing his composure to slot it in the back of the net.
Sinclair Armstrong beats Mark Travers for QPRs first goal against Bournemouth today.
Great run and terrific finish.pic.twitter.com/Txw3MmwRbz
— Balls.ie (@ballsdotie) January 6, 2024
It was a goal that caught the eye of many, including former Arsenal and Aston Villa man Paul Merson. The Sky Sports pundit likened Armstrong's ability to get past the defender to former Arsenal great Thierry Henry.
An Arsenal fan himself in his youth, Armstrong was in disbelief to hear such a comparison.
I think it's a goal I'll never forget, that goal shows what I'm about. Getting the ball in the channel and obviously get the 1v1 against the defender.
As I said before ten times out of ten I feel like I can skin him. I don't know who sent it to me but I found it on Twitter that Paul Merson said I think something along the lines of "He's just done a Henry on him".
I'm a big Arsenal fan so hearing that was unbelievable.
It's not just at club level where the two are shining but for Jim Crawford's Ireland U21s as well. The U21s are second in Group A of the Euro qualifiers and are looking to reach the tournament for the first time ever in the history of Republic of Ireland football.
The atmosphere Jim Crawford has been able to create has got the players excited to play. That was shown when Sinclair Armstrong made his senior international debut against The Netherlands at the Aviva Stadium in September.
After coming on for the final few minutes, he made his way to Cork to play a part in Ireland's 3-0 win over San Marino. The environment in camp is something that Armstrong describes as unbelievable.
It's all about commitment, as soon as I got the text after the game that the gaffer wanted me down, all I wanted to do was leave Castleknock as soon as possible to get straight down to Cork.
What Jim has done to the group is unbelievable, you know when lads are playing or not playing well they're so supportive of each other and he's built that kind of atmosphere in the group, it's so tight and you can see it in the games that we're playing.
For Sinclair Armstrong and Joe Hodge the future looks very bright and it's intriguing to see what they can bring to the senior team in this new post-Kenny era.
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