IRISH BOXING great Kellie Harrington paid tribute to footballer Troy Parrott after the latter’s hat-trick in the Boys in Green’s 3-2 World Cup qualifying win away to Hungary on Sunday.
Both Harrington and the Irish striker hail from Portland Row, and the double Olympic gold medalist gave a sense of the atmosphere there after Ireland’s remarkable victory.
“Everybody’s buzzing,” she told RTÉ Radio One. “[Parrott is] just the hot topic out of everybody’s mouth, and I’m sure he will be for the foreseeable [future], and rightly so.
“He’s incredible. What a great young man.
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“What he has shown last night is discipline, character and resilience, and that’s basically everything that is in our makeup, coming from the inner city. It’s part of our culture.
“To hold out like that for the last 30 seconds of the match and to be able to stay strong, that’s the stuff of dreams.
“There’s a great team there with Troy as well, but Troy has excelled in the last number of games, and that’s all you can ask for.”
The Dubliner has endured no shortage of setbacks during his career.
Parrott struggled to make a significant impact during loan spells in England at Millwall, Ipswich Town, Milton Keynes Dons and Preston North End.
He was allowed to leave by parent club Tottenham, despite impressing on loan at Excelsior, and the 23-year-old has continued to enhance his reputation as one of the Eredivisie’s top strikers with AZ Alkmaar.
Before this international window, the Irish team had seen glimpses of Parrott’s potential with five goals in 31 appearances, having missed out on the earlier part of the World Cup qualifying campaign through injury.
However, the youngster has come of age for Ireland this week, scoring five goals in crucial qualifiers against Portugal and Hungary, with Harrington hailing his self-belief.
“People from the family watching their grandson, their son and their brother, they know all the work that has gone in and the injuries that Troy has had and the setbacks.
“To be able to watch him there produce what he did last night and to shine, time after time, it’s just phenomenal. They knew he was destined for great things, but this was something special.
“It’s resilience — you’re born into it [in the inner city] and it becomes a part of you, you learn how to cope under pressure and how to sit tight and wait for the right moments in life, and that carries through in sport. I think it was evident to see that last night.
“I don’t think anybody expected it, but I know that Troy would have expected it.
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“Like he said, he would have rather the pressure to be on him rather than anyone else because he can deal with that pressure.”
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Irish boxing great Kellie Harrington pays tribute to Troy Parrott after late heroics
IRISH BOXING great Kellie Harrington paid tribute to footballer Troy Parrott after the latter’s hat-trick in the Boys in Green’s 3-2 World Cup qualifying win away to Hungary on Sunday.
Both Harrington and the Irish striker hail from Portland Row, and the double Olympic gold medalist gave a sense of the atmosphere there after Ireland’s remarkable victory.
“Everybody’s buzzing,” she told RTÉ Radio One. “[Parrott is] just the hot topic out of everybody’s mouth, and I’m sure he will be for the foreseeable [future], and rightly so.
“He’s incredible. What a great young man.
“What he has shown last night is discipline, character and resilience, and that’s basically everything that is in our makeup, coming from the inner city. It’s part of our culture.
“To hold out like that for the last 30 seconds of the match and to be able to stay strong, that’s the stuff of dreams.
“There’s a great team there with Troy as well, but Troy has excelled in the last number of games, and that’s all you can ask for.”
The Dubliner has endured no shortage of setbacks during his career.
Parrott struggled to make a significant impact during loan spells in England at Millwall, Ipswich Town, Milton Keynes Dons and Preston North End.
He was allowed to leave by parent club Tottenham, despite impressing on loan at Excelsior, and the 23-year-old has continued to enhance his reputation as one of the Eredivisie’s top strikers with AZ Alkmaar.
Before this international window, the Irish team had seen glimpses of Parrott’s potential with five goals in 31 appearances, having missed out on the earlier part of the World Cup qualifying campaign through injury.
However, the youngster has come of age for Ireland this week, scoring five goals in crucial qualifiers against Portugal and Hungary, with Harrington hailing his self-belief.
“People from the family watching their grandson, their son and their brother, they know all the work that has gone in and the injuries that Troy has had and the setbacks.
“To be able to watch him there produce what he did last night and to shine, time after time, it’s just phenomenal. They knew he was destined for great things, but this was something special.
“It’s resilience — you’re born into it [in the inner city] and it becomes a part of you, you learn how to cope under pressure and how to sit tight and wait for the right moments in life, and that carries through in sport. I think it was evident to see that last night.
“I don’t think anybody expected it, but I know that Troy would have expected it.
“Like he said, he would have rather the pressure to be on him rather than anyone else because he can deal with that pressure.”
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