Troy Parrott enjoys best moment of his career with late winner for Republic of Ireland

Troy Parrott enjoyed the best moment of his career as he fired the Republic of Ireland to a last-gasp victory over Lithuania.

The 20-year-old Dubliner, who is currently on loan at MK Dons from Premier League Tottenham, blasted home the only goal of the game in the seventh minute of stoppage time at the Aviva Stadium.

Asked afterwards if it was the best moment of his fledgling career, Parrott said: “By far. By far. To score the winner that late in front of the home fans maybe a mile or so away from my house was honestly incredible.

“I’m still shaking now. It was honestly one of the best feelings I’ve ever had in my life. It felt like the ball was never going to come down. I had to take two touches before I could get the shot off, but yes, I’m over the moon.”

Parrott, who had been introduced as a 63rd-minute replacement for Will Keane, making his first senior start for Ireland, intervened in the nick of time on what proved to be a frustrating evening for Ireland three days after their impressive 2-2 draw with Belgium.

They had earlier seen two strikes by Chiedozie Ogbene and two more from Conor Hourihane and substitute Scott Hogan ruled out for offside, and Parrott’s goal-bound effort clawed out of the top corner by keeper Dziugas Bartkus.

However, he refused to be denied and earned the praise of manager Stephen Kenny for both his contribution and his response to not making the starting line-up.

Kenny said: “He hid his disappointment and channelled it in the way that you would want him to. The easy thing would have been for him to be displeased and not showing the best of attitudes.

“But having had a shot tipped over just before, to get the goal showed two characteristics: one, that he has exceptional technical talent to