Troy Parrott’s brilliant hat-trick, his third coming in the depths of injury time, delivered the Republic of Ireland into the World Cup playoffs, denying a sickened Hungary at the death. To cap a remarkable week in Irish football history, Parrott, the two-goal hero of Portugal’s defeat in Dublin on Thursday, stunned Budapest’s Puskás Aréna into silence, barring the ecstatic scenes among the Irish contingent.Parrott had described Thursday’s defenestration of Cristiano Ronaldo’s team as the best night of his life, only for Sunday to be yet more gloriously dramatic. The former Tottenham trainee, who plays in the Dutch Eredivisie for AZ Alkmaar, would almost certainly not have started Ireland’s double-header had Roma’s Evan Ferguson not injured an ankle. Continue reading...