It took Tottenham Hotspur teenager Troy Parrott just half an hour to get off the mark for the Republic of Ireland U21s as he scored the only goal in a 1-0 win over Armenia on Friday night.
The 17-year-old is one of the most exciting young players to be coming through the ranks in north London right now and was named by Mauricio Pochettino in Tottenham’s Champions League squad for the group stages earlier this week.
He clearly brought his shooting boots with him to Dublin as he finished off a slick Irish move to open his account on his first appearance for the national side at U21 level having represented Ireland at U17 and U19 level previously.
Parrott was clearly excited about his goal but remained cool and collected in a post-match interview with Irish broadcaster Eir Sport after the final whistle, where he admitted he was excited about the step up to the U21s after missing the opening game of the Euro 2021 qualification campaign against Luxembourg back in March.
“It’s important [to get three points] and obviously we came up against tough opposition,” Parrott told Eir Sport on Friday night.
“I didn’t play the first game but I came into this game and you can feel the step up from underage. We’re playing against good opposition - 1-0, they pushed us right to the end. Hopefully we can just push on to Sweden now next week and get nine points.”
The Spurs forward was keen to shift the focus onto his teammates, praising Brighton winger Aaron Connolly for providing the assist for his goal as well as celebrating the team spirit in the side.
“It’s been unbelievable. It’s a great experience,” he said. “Training’s been really sharp coming into the game. We got stuck into the game and we got the win.
“As you can see, Aaron [Connolly] was excellent all game. The pace to beat the defender and pull it back - I was lucky I was in the right position so thankfully I got the goal.
“It just goes to show the talent that Ireland have at underage levels. There’s just so much talent on the pitch here at once. And even on the bench as well.
“The competition for places is really high at the moment so it’s been really good all round. Just thankful to get the win again.”
When asked about his inclusion in the Spurs squad for the upcoming Champions League campaign, Parrott kept his feet firmly on the ground, adding: “I feel like I’m on a good run at the moment and I just want to keep going. I’m loving football at the moment.”
