Hungary; of which Dominic Szoboszlai was in imperious form; had looked well on the way to the Playoffs themselves; having taken a 1-0 lead via Daniel Lukacs' glancing header and then a 2-1 lead via a stunning Barnabas Varga strike; only to lose it all in a calamitous finale at a stunned Ferenc Puskas Stadium.
Ireland are a team never to quit in the best of times; and they certainly weren't about to do so now; coming back strongly via Parrott's penalty and composed clipped finish to level things up. But as the clock ticked past the allotted 5 minutes of stoppage time; it looked like their dream was about to be over.
Only for substitute Ryan Manning; who hadn't had the best of second halves; to launch a final assault deep into the Hungarian territory. Then came 'The Climb' that Miley Cyrus would have been proud of; as Liam Scales rose first & highest to flick on the ball for Parrott to insurmountably prod home right at the death.
It was the greatest of great escapes; and after beating Portugal 2-0 to even get to this point; Ireland must surely be whetting their appetites for the Playoffs come March. We can't wait.
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