Troy Parrott was the last man into the Republic of Ireland camp this week ahead of the crucial World Cup playoff against Czech Republic in Prague on Thursday night.
Sixth-place AZ Alkmaar lost 3-0 in a Dutch Eredivisie match away to Groningen on Sunday. Parrott played the full 90 minutes and came through unscathed.
“Everyone was keeping an eye on his game,” said John O’Shea, the Ireland assistant coach, as most of the 25-man squad made a beeline from their English clubs to the nearest airports to arrive at Castleknock Hotel by Sunday evening.
O’Shea was nervous watching Parrott play to the final whistle, but he admitted he feels this way about all the players.
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“You are nervous as soon as the games start on Friday. But the boys are in a good place, training today was almost reminding me of a cup final scenario, where everyone is wanting to get in the team.
“The intensity, the noise and the atmosphere around the boys is brilliant. There’s a quiet confidence, the group is growing together and it’s great to see. But also, there is a lot of hard work to come.”
How Troy Parrott factor will influence Ireland v Czech Republic
Confidence began to build after the 1-0 loss to Portugal in Lisbon last October, when the management deployed a pragmatic formation with five at the back. That strategy will probably be used against Czech Republic at the Fortuna Arena.
The group took a giant leap last November when Parrott doubled his international goal tally in the space of a remarkable four days – netting a brace to beat the Portuguese in Dublin before his hat-trick saw off Hungary in Budapest.
The former Tottenham Hotspur player stuttered ever so slightly in the weeks following his dream week in a green shirt, floating a 99th-minute penalty over the crossbar in a 1-0 loss to Twente.
The lull did not last and Parrott’s goal return has made him a star, with AZ expected to cash in on their €8 million investment this summer. He has 28 goals in all competitions for his club this season, including 10 in Europe to help AZ into the last eight of the Europa Conference League.
“One of the keys to winning the game is to eliminate Parrott,” said Tomáš Holeš, the veteran Czech defender. “We have to pay close attention to him, see him all over the pitch, be as close to him as possible and not let him take the balls towards the goal. He’s a complex forward who has speed and excellent runs. He’s a football killer in the box.”
Parrott does not intimidate Vladimír Darida, the 35-year-old midfielder who has returned to the Czech squad after a five-year absence. “He is definitely very dangerous, but it will not be about one player,” said Darida. “We have a strong enough team to give momentum to the whole match.”
Ireland and Brentford captain Nathan Collins came through the age-grade ranks with Parrott, although they never crossed paths in the Premier League as the striker left Tottenham Hotspur to kick-start his career in the Netherlands.
“I’ve played with Troy for many years now,” said Collins. “He’s always been a really good footballer.
“In football, sometimes it doesn’t click on the pitch. That doesn’t take away from being a good footballer, from understanding the game or knowing himself how good he is. There are loads of different variables and reasons as to why he might not have been clicking at that time. But there has always been a footballer in Troy. I am so happy now that it is shining and showing how good he is.”
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