Hungary 2-3 Republic of Ireland: ‘This is why we love football’ – tears of joy after famous Irish win

Troy Parrott, who carved his name into the folklore of the Republic of Ireland, let the tears flow.

The raw emotion the striker felt at the end of the 72-hour whirlwind was understandable. On Thursday, Parrott put two goals past Cristiano Ronaldo to beat Portugal and take the Republic of Ireland’s play-off chances into the final.

Carrying the hopes of a nation on his back in Budapest, the 23-year-old Dubliner rose to this event magnificently.

His penalty against Hungary brought Ireland level after falling behind to Daniel Lukacs’ early header. He then equalized again with a masterful finish 10 minutes later, following Barnabas Varga’s stunning strike.

The Republic of Ireland needed a win to qualify for the play-offs and after substitute Johnny Kenny was ruled out, Parrott seized the game-winning moment when he intercepted Liam Scales’ header, slotted the ball into the Hungary goal and walked away in jubilation in the heart-stopping final at the Puskas Arena.

The forward of AZ Alkmaar, who was in the front row in the absence of Evan Ferguson, told RTE: “I am really touched. These are tears of joy. Oh, what a night, what a night it was.”

“That’s why we love football, because things like this can happen. Look, I love where I’m from, so it means the world to me. My family is here.”

“I’m crying for the first time in years, I really can’t believe it. Everyone is crying.

“I said against Portugal that this is what dreams are made of, but tonight I don’t think I’ll have a better night in my life.

“This is truly a fairy tale. You can’t even imagine something like this. Honestly, I can’t find words to describe my feelings right now.”