Andorra 1 – 4 Ireland
In a game that most Irish fans will prefer to forget, Troy Parrott will be the happiest man in green having scored his first two international goals to secure Stephen Kenny’s first ever win for Ireland.
Parrott’s double came after a serious scare from Andorra, when Marc Vale’s header found the back of the net to give the home side an unexpected lead.
In the first half Ireland were frustrated, attempted cross after cross but were getting nowhere and not even registering a single shot on target. The best chance fell to James Collins who couldn’t convert a glancing header from a wonderful Jason Knight cross.
It took things to go from bad to worse before the Irishmen finally abandoned their route one football (which ultimately was leading them to nowhere) and actually started running at the Andorra defence.
Parrott’s first goal was a fantastic solo effort, which highlighted all of the promising potential Irish fans have been hoping to see. His second took Ireland into the lead and the game finally settled into the one-sided affair that many predicted.
Jason Knight – who was the only shining light in the first half – got his toe to a cross that saw them stretch their lead by two, before Daryl Horgan sealed victory in the 89th minute.
All three of Ireland’s scorers had not hit the net at international level before tonight, so Irish fans will be hoping that this is the start of a new era and the frustrating football played in the first hour will go down in history as teething problems.
Player ratings:
Bazuna – 5 – Not much to do for the keeper but was still caught when Andorra took the lead
Doherty – 6 – Calm in defence, didn’t have to deal with too many threats
O’Shea – 6 – Played the ball well across the back-line but it was kept there too long at times
Egan – 7 – Tried his best to get the ball into the attacking players
McLean – 6 – Was on the ball a lot and constantly posed a threat but his crossing was wayward more times than not
Cullen – 6 – Missed one of the only chances in the first half with a sliced volley, but otherwise decent on the ball
Hourihane – 5 – Gave away the ball sometimes and struggled to get into the game
Curtis – 5 – Didn’t have a great game and was subbed off
Parrott – 9 – Didn’t have a great first half but exploded onto the scene in the second half and got two fantastic goals
Collins – 4 – Missed the best chance of the first half and never looked like scoring really
Knight – 8 – The best player in the first half and deserved his goal
