Robbie Brady was the hero for Ireland as the Preston star bagged a late winner in the 3-2 win over Armenia on Tuesday night.
Ireland had to end this International break on a high after losing 2-1 to Scotland on Saturday evening.
It looked like Tuesday’s game would be a walk in the park as Ireland went 2-0 up.
Brady crossed for John Egan to open the scoring before Michael Obafemi added number two.
Ireland threatened to fall apart though as Artak Dashyan and Eduard Spertsyan quickly brought Armenia level in the blink of an eye.
There was another twist in the tale though as Brady stepped up from the spot – after a major delay and two red cards – to slot home the winner.
This was an emotional moment for Brady, who was starting his first game for Ireland since featuring against Qatar in March 2021 – a game in which Brady picked up an injury.
That has sadly been a common theme for Brady in recent years with injuries limiting his action domestically and internationally.
A goal and an assist is something of a dream for Brady on his return to starting for Ireland and the national press have been hailing him.
RTE gave Brady a 7/10 rating, praising his delivery for the opening goal as well as his penalty, remarking about his huge impact.
The Irish Times have added that Brady brought an ‘extra dimension’ to the Ireland side with his comeback celebrated.
Sports Joe handed Brady an 8/10 rating, the highest of any Ireland player and Balls.ie followed suit, claiming that Brady was ‘very lively’ down the left flank and put in ‘excellent crosses’ all night long.
It’s great to see Brady earning this kind of praise and he certainly deserves it after an injury nightmare in recent times; we can only hope that he can make this kind of impact for Preston against Sunderland this weekend!