Troy Parrott was happy to get the winner as the Republic of Ireland got one over on Euro 2024-bound Hungary at the Aviva Stadium.
His goal came in injury time in the second half as he used his pace to break from a Hungarian corner before forcing the ball home past Peter Gulacsi.
As well as their impending trip to Germany, the visitors came to Dublin in top form having gone unbeaten in their previous 14 games.
Ireland went ahead thanks to an Adam Idah headed goal in the first half but their lead lasted only four minutes as they conceded a sloppy one to Adam Lang.
The second half was a tough watch but on a rare positive night for Irish soccer, Parrott says he hopes his goal can begin to instil belief in the team ahead of a trip to Portugal for another friendly next week.
"The fact they're going to the Euros and they're unbeaten in 14 games shows how good they are," he told RTÉ Sport afterwards.
"Me personally, I think they're a really good team. For us to get the win is good and it shows we're going in the right direction. We'll take a lot of confidence from tonight and try to take it into the next game."
🇮🇪 2-1 🇭🇺
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) June 4, 2024
GOAL - Troy Parrott surely snatches victory for Ireland, with a late counter-attacking goal.
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At club level Parrott suffered relegation on Sunday but played a huge part in almost seeing Excelsior survive, as he hit seven goals in his last three games with the Eredivisie side.
He scored another 10 over the course of his loan with the club and the Dubliner says it has given him back some goal scoring confidence after a few drier seasons at Preston and MK Dons.
"Before this season it's [goals] been difficult to come by for me. It's one area that I struggled in a little bit so to see all the hard work paying off is nice.
"I've loved it, I think it has helped me a lot. It's given me a chance to try a different style of football and I feel like it's suited me and I've done well."
Having played with Excelsior so recently, interim manager John O'Shea was full of praise for Parrott before kick off for making the trip to Dublin for an end of season friendly.
The 22-year-old wouldn't be drawn on his future however with Portugal next week the only thing on his mind.
"It's too hard to say now. It's been a hectic few days for me, going from club straight into international. I just want to get through the international [window] and then have a holiday and go from there."
