Soccer

Troy Parrott claims hat-trick as Ireland wear down Faroe Islands

Under-19s close in on qualification for Elite Round of Uefa U19 Championship

Troy Parrott scored a hat-trick as the Republic of Ireland Under-19s beat the faroe Islands in Longford. Photograph: Simon Stacpoole/Inpho
Troy Parrott scored a hat-trick as the Republic of Ireland Under-19s beat the faroe Islands in Longford. Photograph: Simon Stacpoole/Inpho
Sat Oct 13 2018 - 19:18

Republic of Ireland U19 3 Faroe Islands U19 0

Three second-half goals from striker Troy Parrott gave the Republic of Ireland Under-19s a 3-0 win over the Faroe Islands in the UEFA Under-19 Championship qualifying round in City Calling Stadium, Longford.

Despite having the majority of the chances, it took Ireland until the final 25 minutes of the game to break through a resolute Faroes defence.

Bohemians striker Ali Reghba was fouled by Óli Poulsen in the 66th minute. Georgian referee Giorgi Kruashvili pointed to the spot, and Parrott stepped up to score his second penalty in two games.

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Parrott doubled the lead 10 minutes later after Adam Idah’s pass set up the Dubliner to score his second of the game.

Four minutes into added time, Parrott completed his hat-trick. Reghba was fouled once more, and Parrott made sure he collected the match ball in a rain-sodden Longford by slotting in another spot-kick.

Speaking after the game, Under-19 head coach Tom Mohan was delighted to have secured six points from the opening two games.

“It’s a big result. It was important to win after the win earlier this week. It puts us in a good position to qualify,” said Mohan.

“We had numerous chances in the first half, but with a mixture of good defending and poor finishing it stayed scoreless for over an hour. We kept probing and kept probing.

“When the chances came, Troy [Parrott] was clinical in his finishing. He’s a talented player and so hard-working.”

Ireland’s qualification to the Elite Round will be confirmed if Bosnia & Herzegovina fail to defeat the Netherlands in Galway on Saturday evening.

Mohan’s side will come up against Netherlands on Tuesday afternoon in Longford to finish off their Qualifying Round campaign.

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND: Brian Maher; Jordan Doherty, Lee O'Connor (capt), Nathan Collins, Jack James (Andy Lyons, 69 mins); Aaron Bolger (Jason Knight, 83 mins), Conor Coventry; Ali Reghba, Troy Parrott, Jonathan Afolabi; Adam Idah.

FAROE ISLANDS: Bjarti Vitalis Mørk; Sjúrdur Nielsen, Andrias Edmundsson, Óli Poulsen, Pætur Skipanes; Lukas Giessing, Magnus Holm Jacobsen (capt), Elias El Moustage (Sølvi Sigvardsen, 78 mins), Hanus Sørensen; Stefan Radosavlevic (Bartal S Petersen, 85 mins), Steffan Løkin (Jonn Johannesen, 78 mins).

Referee: Giorgi Kruashvili (Geo).