TROY PARROTT WRESTLED with the enormity of his performance against Hungary at full-time; his ceaseless running, his hold-up play and his glorious hat-trick including a scarcely believable goal in the final moments of added time.
He paused and tried to put it into words, and would continue to pause throughout his short interview with Tony O’Donoghue from RTÉ. Tears kept interrupting his thoughts, his own and quite possibly those of half the stunned TV audience watching on.
“I’m really, really emotional right now,” he said. “Sorry, they’re tears of joy. What a night. What a night.”
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FT: 🇭🇺 2-3 🇮🇪 An emotional Troy Parrott reacts to securing a play-off place for Ireland in Budapest.
'This is why we love football because things like this can happen... I love where I'm from, my family are here, this means the world to me.'
The 23-year old kept his composure during a lengthy wait to take Ireland’s penalty in the first half, which made the score 1-1. “The referee told me to wait for the signal,” said Parrott, “so I was waiting for him to blow his whistle, but then he never blew it, so I looked at him and then he told me I could take it.”
He added: “I don’t know, I’d rather have that pressure on me and whatever happens will happen, rather than put it on somebody else and leave it out of my hands. I’d rather it be in my hands. I can’t believe it, I really can’t believe it.”
Parrott has known what it’s like to be written off in his career, his early promise not fulfilled quickly enough for a football nation desperate for days like this. He also knows what it is like to be part of a squad whose hopes have been dismissed, as was the case when Ireland lost to Armenia in September.
Change, though, can come if you persevere. “This is why we love football,” Parrott said, “because things like this can happen. Look, Tony, I love where I’m from, so this means the world to me. My family’s here.
“This is the first time I’ve cried in years as well. I just really, really can’t believe it,” Parrott said before talking about his mother Jennifer. “Yeah, she’s really proud of me also.”
90+5mins: 🇭🇺 2-3 🇮🇪
Ireland holds its breath, on the last throw of the dice... Hattrick for Parrott 😮😮😮😮😮😮😮
He continued: “Everyone’s crying. I said against Portugal that this is what dreams are made of, but this tonight . . . I don’t think I’ll ever have a better night in my whole life.
“It’s a fairy tale. You can’t even dream about something like that. Honestly, I have no words to describe the emotions right now.
“Look, I think everyone wrote us off at the start of the group, and I couldn’t have said it enough that there’s always a chance, and we’ve taken a chance. I think everyone should be proud of the group of players that are over there. To go down in the game twice and then to come back like that, it’s beautiful.”
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'Sorry, they’re tears of joy. What a night. What a night'
TROY PARROTT WRESTLED with the enormity of his performance against Hungary at full-time; his ceaseless running, his hold-up play and his glorious hat-trick including a scarcely believable goal in the final moments of added time.
He paused and tried to put it into words, and would continue to pause throughout his short interview with Tony O’Donoghue from RTÉ. Tears kept interrupting his thoughts, his own and quite possibly those of half the stunned TV audience watching on.
“I’m really, really emotional right now,” he said. “Sorry, they’re tears of joy. What a night. What a night.”
The 23-year old kept his composure during a lengthy wait to take Ireland’s penalty in the first half, which made the score 1-1. “The referee told me to wait for the signal,” said Parrott, “so I was waiting for him to blow his whistle, but then he never blew it, so I looked at him and then he told me I could take it.”
He added: “I don’t know, I’d rather have that pressure on me and whatever happens will happen, rather than put it on somebody else and leave it out of my hands. I’d rather it be in my hands. I can’t believe it, I really can’t believe it.”
Parrott has known what it’s like to be written off in his career, his early promise not fulfilled quickly enough for a football nation desperate for days like this. He also knows what it is like to be part of a squad whose hopes have been dismissed, as was the case when Ireland lost to Armenia in September.
Change, though, can come if you persevere. “This is why we love football,” Parrott said, “because things like this can happen. Look, Tony, I love where I’m from, so this means the world to me. My family’s here.
“This is the first time I’ve cried in years as well. I just really, really can’t believe it,” Parrott said before talking about his mother Jennifer. “Yeah, she’s really proud of me also.”
He continued: “Everyone’s crying. I said against Portugal that this is what dreams are made of, but this tonight . . . I don’t think I’ll ever have a better night in my whole life.
“It’s a fairy tale. You can’t even dream about something like that. Honestly, I have no words to describe the emotions right now.
“Look, I think everyone wrote us off at the start of the group, and I couldn’t have said it enough that there’s always a chance, and we’ve taken a chance. I think everyone should be proud of the group of players that are over there. To go down in the game twice and then to come back like that, it’s beautiful.”
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