How Irish media reacted to Troy Parrott's goal for Republic of Ireland against Lithuania

By Giuseppe Labellarte

Two years ago, many Tottenham Hotspur fans were hoping Troy Parrott could be their saviour amid a crisis up front.

Jose Mourinho, the Spurs manager at the time, resisted the many calls to throw him in at the deep end.

Parrott still needed time to develop as a player, and too much pressure early on in his career wouldn’t have been good.

The 20-year-old has been progressing well away from the spotlight and is developing into a great player.

Parrott is currently at MK Dons, where he’s a regular starter and has 12 goal contributions so far this season.

And on Tuesday, the Tottenham talent got the winner for the Republic of Ireland in their friendly against Lithuania.

Last summer, Parrott got his first goals for his nation, a brace in the 4-1 win over Andorra.

Now the £7,000-a-week prodigy has his third, and it was a thing of beauty.

Parrott came off the bench for the last 30 minutes and lit up the Aviva Stadium.

Lithuania half-cleared a late cross into the box, and the ball fell to Parrott.

After controlling it and getting into a good position, he unleashed a powerful effort that left the opposition keeper helpless.

“A brilliant cameo”

The Irish media loved what they saw from Parrott and gave him huge praise.

Sportsjoe.ie gave him 8 out of 10 and wrote: “The MK Dons forward came on as a substitute for the last 30 minutes.

“(He) showed his quality by playing in McClean, who was offside when he squared for Ogbene to score.

“In the 97th minute… Parrott, who had almost scored a few minutes earlier, netted a stunning goal from just outside the penalty area to win the game for Ireland.

“Even without scoring the late goal, the 20-year-old had a positive impact on the match and will be in contention to start June’s Uefa Nations League games.”

Pundit Arena gave Parrott a 9 and wrote: “Did more in 30 minutes than Keane did in 60, and should now definitely be ahead of him the pecking order.

“Some real class from the 20-year-old, and a cracker to win it.”

Likewise, Balls.ie gave Parrott a 9, writing: “Presumably brought on to add a bit more guile to the side in forward areas, Ireland probably would have had a goal through Ogbene late on had he not delayed his through ball to James McClean.

“He did get Ireland playing a bit more around the box after coming on, forcing a brilliant save out of the Lithuanian goalkeeper in stoppage time.

“There was no stopping his effort a few minutes later, scoring an absolute thunderbolt of a strike to win it with what was the last kick of the game. A brilliant cameo.”