The Republic of Ireland secured a much needed victory last night, with Troy Parrott scoring an injury time goal to help the team to a 2-1 win over Hungary.
While there was not much on the line for this friendly at the Aviva Stadium, there was a sense that the home side needed to put in a big performance. The mood around the national team is at an incredibly low ebb at the moment, with their lack of positive results coupled with the shambolic search for the next Ireland manager leading to a sense of apathy among many supporters.
This win might not necessarily change that overnight, but beating one of Europe's form teams is nothing to be sniffed at. Hungary entered this fixture on a 14-match unbeaten run, with many tipping them as dark horses at Euro 2024 this summer.
The performance from Ireland was mixed, but there were some encouraging individual displays. That includes from Troy Parrott, who came off the bench to score that last gasp winner.
Troy Parrott's fifth goal in a week. 🦜🦜🦜🦜🦜pic.twitter.com/IasgNqWJsF
— Balls.ie (@ballsdotie) June 4, 2024
It was a great moment, although some have questioned the way in which the goal was scored.
READ HERE: Ireland Player Ratings As Team Shows Signs Of Life With Hungary Win
Troy Parrott winner splits opinion among Ireland supporters
Troy Parrott had plenty of time to think about his next move as he advanced towards the Hungary goal, dribbling the ball for half the length of the pitch before squeezing it beyond Denes Dibusz.
He had some support in the form of Sammie Szmodics, with quite a few people criticising Parrott for not passing the ball and risking taking on the shot himself.
How does he not square this for a tap in? Lucky boy! https://t.co/hnvZDNm4UI
— Emlyn Mulligan (@emlynmulligan) June 4, 2024
How to score a winning goal in injury time and still get a massive bollocking from his manager https://t.co/318lk6c9TW
— James (@ChirpsByJames) June 5, 2024
Nearly missed, square the ball for a tap in
— Deckyy (@IrishKCfan) June 4, 2024
Could have passed it to Szmodics… Greedy! https://t.co/VJcQ0qxA6F
— RiooBRFC (@EverythingBRFC_) June 5, 2024
Szmodics likely would have had an easier finish were he to receive the ball, although such decisions are not always straightforward ones.
Parrott is currently very high on confidence, having scored seven goals in his last three club appearances last night. He could have also been using his teammate as a decoy to put the goalkeeper off.
As well as that, there are some questions as to whether the goal would have stood were Szmodics to receive the pass.
At a number of stages during the sequence of play, the Blackburn man looked like he was ahead of the ball. That means that he would have been offside have Parrott passed it at that time.
I don't think Parrott cared anyway but Szmodics is literally offside at every line of grass! https://t.co/AVmXmvqgRF pic.twitter.com/d1EcXXdzOy
— Conán Doherty (@ConanDoherty) June 5, 2024
Why is everyone saying to square it when Sammie was never onside 🤣
— Chris 🇦🇷🇦🇹 (@Chris_G67) June 5, 2024
It certainly would have been a tight offside call, and while Szmodics may have been level with the ball on occasion, there was enough doubt there to push Troy Parrott towards taking the shot on himself. Were his teammate clearly just behind the ball, it might have been a different debate.
In any case, it makes absolutely no difference.
Strikers are there to score goals, something Parrott did on this occasion. Regardless of the circumstances that led to the strike, he will not give it a second thought after scoring a last minute winner for his country.
SEE ALSO: Troy Parrott Explains How Dutch Move Opened His Eyes To New World Of Possibilities
