Troy Parrott's quietly brilliant season got even better when he netted the winner for AZ Alkmaar against Roma in the Europa League on Thursday evening.
The Ireland striker has been going about his business very well in the Netherlands, taking his tally to 12 goals this season as he looks to stake a claim for a starting jersey at international level.
His efforts have earned the compliments of typically critical ex-Dutch star turned pundit Rafa van der Vaart, which is always a good sign.
Parrott, whose young career stalled after making waves with Tottenham Hotspur at underage level, appears to have found his feet at the Eredivisie side.
Celtic's Adam Idah, Parrott's Ireland teammate, played a key part in their winner in the Champions League on Wednesday but generally Irish goals have been hard to come by at European level these days.
Parrott emerged from the bench against Italian giants Roma to strike the winner, giving his team control over their Europa League destiny going into the final round of group fixtures next week.
Troy Parrott scored the winner for AZ tonight against Roma. 🦜🦜🦜pic.twitter.com/PKHqipMgJ4
— Balls.ie (@ballsdotie) January 23, 2025
Troy Parrott ends grim Irish stat in Europa League
His goal was his second of the competition this season, having netted a penalty in their 3-2 win vs Elfsborg earlier in the group stages.
As noted by @Irish_Abroad on Twitter, Parrott has become the first Irish player to score more than one Europa League goal since the 2020/21 season - four whole years ago.
That stat had previously been held by the Dundalk duo of David McMillan and Sean Murray, who both found the net on three occasions after the LOI club famously reached the group stages of the tournament.
Troy Parrott is the first Republic of Ireland player to score more than one goal in the Europe League(proper) since David McMillan and Sean Murray both scored three goals for Dundalk in the 2020/21 season
— @irish_abroad@mastodon.ie (@irish_abroad) January 23, 2025
With AZ Alkmaar on course to advance to the knockout rounds there is every chance that the Dubliner could add to his tally in the competition.
Still just 22, it is easy to forget that he is yet to hit his traditional peak years given that he has been on the scene since he was a teenager.
