That Troy Parrott equalled his season's tally with his saving brace for Ireland at the Estadio Nacional indicates how tough a year it has been for the teenager.
Loan stints away from Tottenham in the Championship with Millwall and then Ipswich in League One were not what he would have expected after making four Spurs appearances in the 2019-20 season.
That he didn't light it up in front of goal after dropping down one tier and then two had critics wondering if the precocious talent from Dublin's inner city had lost his edge.
We sometimes forget that he's only 19 and while a young Robbie Keane, who he has been compared to, was banging in the goals at the top level at that age...well, that was Robbie Keane.
Coincidentally, the first of Keane's Ireland goals - a double against Malta - came in his fifth game. Guess what number last night's friendly was for Parrot?
The man of the hour wasn't having the comparison. "Not really, to be fair," he smiled.
"He (Keane) was an unbelievable striker and to reach the level of goals he had would be a dream come true.
"It's good to get off the mark, though."
Forgetting the quality of the opposition last night, Parrott's two finishes - as different as they were - were quality efforts.
They were crucial to an Ireland set-up desperately in need of a lifeline after going behind to Andorra. And they may have lit a spark in the striker.
"It's been a tough season, I've got a lot of criticism," he said.
"Things don't always go according to plan, but it's finished the way I wanted it to go the whole time.
"Obviously no-one wants to be criticised but it pushes me and makes me want to do even better.
"I try not to pay attention to that too much. I want to concentrate on my football, ultimately score more goals.
"It feels amazing, the stuff you dream of when you're growing up. The most important thing is the win, though, it's good to get that.
"The lads felt like it needed something, we needed a spark from somewhere. I seen the ball dropping in space in front of me and I thought, I'll just go for it and the ball ended up in the back of the net."
While outside the camp the feeling is that a 4-1 victory over the part-timers is the minimum expected, Parrott points to the confidence this first win in 12 games.
"Every time you put that shirt on it's a feeling that can't be described. It's unbelievable.
"That's been a dream, always, growing up, watching Ireland teams - it's always been I want to be there, I want to be at that level.
"Today has helped me and I just want to keep pushing on."
