TV view: Late Late Troy Show sends nation dancing around the living room

From an early gut punch to Troy Parrott’s stoppage-time winner, Ireland’s wild evening in Budapest felt like the end of one grim decade-long story and the start of something brighter

Ireland could do with a rallying point these days and nothing acts as a rallying point for the nation like the Boys in Green. Pic: ©INPHO/Stephen Gormley

And so to the fine and handsome city of Budapest where for the first time since the Pleistocene age Ireland enter the final fixture of the qualifiers for a major international tournament with something to play for. There is no need to implore the Lord to make us truly thankful. We already are.

Truly thankful not merely to have somehow and suddenly wound up in a position we’d happily have grabbed at the outset of hostilities but also because a narrative that obtained for the past 10 years has been thoroughly upended. Terrible for so long, Ireland are now modestly competent. They no longer stink the place out. They defend well. No fewer than five of today’s starters are Premier League regulars, which seems like four more than usual.