FOOTBALL: Parrott at the double as Kenny gets first win
Stephen Kenny has bagged his first win as Republic boss.
His side beat Andorra 4-1 yesterday (Thursday) evening in a friendly.
Teenager Troy Parrott helped himself to a brace - his first-ever international goals.
Kenny is backing the Spurs forward to have a bright future.
Asked about the frontman, who spent the second half of last season on loan a League One Ipswich, Kenny said: "There is a bit of pressure when you concede a goal like that when you are in a place like that and not been on a good run. There is an element of pressure, of course.
"Troy has not had his best season, but he showed a lot of character. That is sort of what I felt when I was under-21 manager away to a very good Sweden team.
"Troy came into that game with it in the melting pot and got two goals in a match of that calibre. You can see his character, that ability to elevate.
"It hasn't been perfect for him. He still got learning and improving to do when we play against better opposition than we did today, but it just shows mentally he has the capacity to do that when it was going against us. For one so young, that was encouraging.''
It was Parrott's fifth appearance for the senior team, the same stage at which record goalscorer Robbie Keane claimed the first of his 68 for his country, although Parrott was not allowing himself to be carried away by the comparison.
He said: "He was an unbelievable striker and to reach the level of goals he had would be a dream come true. It's good to get off the mark, though.
"It feels amazing, to be fair, the stuff you dream of when you're growing up. The most important thing is the win, though, it's good to get that.''