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13th September 2023
12:22pm BST

"On Friday morning, I'm thinking I'm going to play my first game with the u21s. And next thing, the gaffer Mr Crawford tells me, you're going to the senior team. "Very emotional on the journey up to Castleknock. It's something I've dreamed of since I was a kid, to play with the Ireland senior team. It's a dream come true."Armstrong terrorised the San Marino defence for most of the match, but before he got his goal, he missed some chances and in his refreshing post-match interview, he wasn't afraid to make light of that. "Listen, I was trying my best to get myself in these positions to score, and it obviously wasn't happening in the first half, but I kept going."
When the panel showed Armstrong one of his misses from close range, the young striker replied laughing: "Janey Mac, how did I miss that?""But listen, I just had to keep getting myself in the right positions, and that goal there, I would take anything I can get." When watching the goal that did go in, they were particularly keen to get his take on his celebration, because the QPR man went for the classic knee slide, only to fall flat on his face. https://twitter.com/RTEsoccer/status/1701702451605192897
"This is horror man. What is that?" laughed Armstrong. "Listen a goal is a goal, so I'll take what I can get."The Dublin native, who began his career at Cherry Orchard before appearing at the FAI Cup at age 15 with Shamrock Rovers, has made a strong start to the season with QPR, scoring his first goal for the club in their away win over Cardiff City. "Last season just wasn't my season. I couldn't get a run of games. I couldn't score any goals," Armstrong said.
"Over that summer break, I had to train as hard as I can and come back with a new mentality to go, listen, it's every man for themselves. "I want to play in the Championship, I want to play for QPR. That's exactly what I'm doing. Four games in and I have two goal contributions."I know by my standards, that's not enough. I want to keep playing games, keep scoring a few goals for QPR. Getting my senior debut for the Republic of Ireland, and scoring tonight in Cork is only going to instil more confidence into me. "I don't want to be a guy that just runs in behind, like a sprint merchant. I want to bring other stuff into my game. "I'm still young. I'm 20 years of age, I feel like I have a lot to give." In what has been a disappointing week for Ireland, at least the u21s and Sinclair in particular, have given the Irish fans a glimmer of hope for the future. Related links:
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