Troy Parrott's glory night keeps Ireland alive as Ronaldo's ends in infamy
Ireland's Troy Parrott celebrates scoring his side's second goal. Pic: Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Ryan Byrne
Don’t just remember the result. Remember the date in history.
When pressed up against the wall to produce something special, a team embarrassed by Armenia eight weeks ago succeeded in embarrassing one of the favourites for next year’s World Cup.
What was supposed to be a night for Cristiano Ronaldo to reinforce last week’s claim of being the most famous person in the world ended the infamy of being red carded.
He’s broken records galore but one he’ll rue is getting to his the 226th appearance of a 22-year international career before being sent off.
His petulant swipe at Dara O’Shea inside the box approaching the hour marked a disgraceful crescendo to a frustrating evening for the 40-year-old.
All it took was a VAR alert to referee Glenn Nyberg before his yellow was upgraded upon inspection of the sideline monitor.
A bout of indiscipline far from the ‘good boy’ he promised to be in his pre-match press conference at the same venue.
Ronaldo’s jabbed finger towards Heimir HallgrÃmsson during his walk of shame stemmed from his pre-match theory that comments about his undue influence in Lisbon were designed to pressurise the Swedish whistle Glenn Nyberg.
Remarkably, all three of Ireland’s group opponents incurred a red card on their visits – all within the first 15 minutes of the second half. That may have been a factor is a handsome seven-point home haul from nine.
Ireland’s prefect was Troy Parrott. As a youngster, he was hyped in similar terms to Ronaldo as a saviour and is finally delivering the goods in competitive action at 23.
His contributions for Ireland were too sporadic, hampered by injury of course, and on his first start of this campaign, the refreshed AZ Alkmaar forward bagged a first-half brace.
Any concerns about the unavailability of Evan Ferguson were allayed by Parrott supplying two classic Parrott finishes, the first from a rehearsed corner on 17 minutes.
His second on the stroke of half-time illustrated the depth of talent we’ve only witnessed glimpses of, sprinting off the shoulder, drifting wide before cutting back inside and finding the bottom corner.
That his shot went through the legs of Rúben Neves, this time part of a back-five, was ironic given he was the stoppage-time matchwinner in Lisbon to deny Ireland a worthy point.
Some would say justice was served but there was nothing marginal about this. Aware from the earlier win by Hungary in Armenia that at least a point was essential, the hosts started like a team chasing three.
It might have looked ominous when Ireland were chasing shadows for the first minutes against the visiting keep-ball but it was their wall, specifically O’Shea’s head, which prevented CaoimhÃn Kelleher having to deal with Ronaldo’s seventh minute free-kick.
That was awarded on the edge of the box in harsh circumstances, Josh Cullen deemed to have handled Vitinha’s shot.
Maybe Heimir HallgrÃmsson has a point when warning the referee might be influenced by Ronaldo and Co.
Quick-thinking by Kelleher to release Finn Azaz shortly afterwards hinted at a vulnerability in the Portuguese backline. A better pass inside from Azaz would have given Chiedozie Ogbene a clear sight on goal.
Gradually, Ireland got more joy in the final third and some pressing by Parrott on goalkeeper Diogo Costa led to a corner – their first in 110 minutes of action between the nations over two games.
They made it count in a structured move.
Cullen’s arrowed cross to the far post allowed Liam Scales to ghost in and nod across for Parrott to prod home from close-range.
That breakthrough has roused the crowd, which had threatened to be treated to a Portuguese masterclass based on the early pattern.
Goals change matches and Ireland have a lead to protect but they didn’t sit on it either, displaying ambition when in possession that was lacking last time out against Armenia.
Ronaldo wasn’t the only member of officially the fifth best in the world to endure an off-night.
Even up to the sending off – the third qualifier in a row Ireland’s visitors lost a player early in the second half – Portugal hardly troubled Kelleher in the Irish goal.
Not until three minutes from the finish, with the game all but over, was the repertoire of the Corkman’s flexibility called upon when he brilliantly turned around the post a low drive on the turn from substitute Gonçalo Ramos.
Portugal’s seemingly blazing trail to North America was on track until Dominik Szoboszlai’s late equaliser denied them a fifth straight victory last month.
This defeat – their first away loss in a World Cup qualifier for nine years – means they need something off Armenia on Sunday to be sure of consolidating top spot. And they must do so without their golden boy.
Enough about Portugal’s blemishes.
Ten years on from slaying the world champions Germany, also in a penultimate qualifier, a new crop fashioned their result of their generation.
O’Shea is integral to that bunch. He spoke about the long wait, five years on from his debut, to finally enjoy a big result and was the fore, scooping the ball forward for Parrott to bag his second on the stroke of half-time.
Two interval substitutes by Roberto Martinez failed to ignite a Portuguese side who’d created scant end product from 74% possessional dominance. Vitinha’s scuffed shot off a corner soon after the restart exemplified their struggles.
Ogbene flashed a shot wide of the far post as the crowd sought a a third but defensive resistance was the calling card that alleviates questions about a managerial succession.
For three days at least, rare joy of this kind deserved to be embraced. The Land of Opportunity doesn’t seem so far away, after all.
C Kelleher; J O’Brien, N Collins, D O’Shea; S Coleman, J Cullen, J Taylor (C Coventry 68), L Scales (J Dunne 85); C Ogbene (M Johnston 85), F Azaz; T Parrott (A Idah 68).
D Costa; R Dias, R Neves, G Inácio (R Veiga 46); João Cancelo (N Semedo 46), Vitinha, João Neves (G Ramos 78), D Dalot; B Silva (F Trincão 65), João Félix (R Leão 62); C Ronaldo.
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