Having etched his name into Republic of Ireland folklore, Troy Parrott let the tears flow.
At the end of a whirlwind 72 hours, the striker’s raw emotion was understandable. On Thursday, Parrott upstaged Cristiano Ronaldo with two goals to sink Portugal and take the Republic of Ireland’s play-off push into the final game.
Carrying a nation’s hopes on his back in Budapest, the 23-year-old Dubliner rose to the occasion in spectacular fashion.
Against Hungary, his penalty brought the Irish level after they fell behind to an early Daniel Lukacs header. Then, after Barnabas Varga’s stunning strike, he equalised again with a deft finish 10 minutes from time.
The Republic of Ireland needed a win to make the play-offs, and after substitute Johnny Kenny was denied, Parrott seized the match-winning moment when he latched on to Liam Scales’ header, poked the ball into the Hungary net and wheeled away in ecstasy in a heart-stopping finale at Puskas Arena.
“I’m really, really emotional. They’re tears of joy. Ah, what a night, what a night,” the AZ Alkmaar striker, who led the line in Evan Ferguson’s absence, told RTE.
“This is why we love football, because things like this can happen. Look, I love where I’m from, so this means the world to me. My family is here.
“It’s the first time I’ve cried in years as well, I really, really can’t believe it. Everyone is 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.
“That is really a fairy tale. You can’t even dream about something like that. Honestly, I have no words to describe my emotions right now.”