Irish striker, Troy Parrott enjoyed a successful debut for Real Betis as he came off the bench to help his side grab a late victory away to Valencia last night.
Parrott, who has recently joined the Spanish club from AZ Alkmaar for a fee in the region of £20 million, came on as a sub in the 71s minute and was in the thick of the action, having missed a huge chance to make the breakthrough when he dragged his shot just wide from close range, after beating the home side's offside trap.
But on 83 minutes, Betis grabbed what proved to be the winner, in a move which saw Parrott heavily involved, having showed decent strength and awareness to start a counter attack, which was finished off by Pablo Garcia.
Betis, managed by former Real Madrid and Manchester City boss, Manuel Pelligrini, held on for the three points and an impressive away victory, continuing their perfect start to their La Liga campaign, having beaten Real Sociedad by the same score line last Friday.
Prior to his side's clash with Valencia, Manuel Pelligrini spoke of Troy Parrott's chances of succeeding in Spanish football.
"He is a player who has an important challenge in front of him, to make a leap in his career," he said. "He has many attributes to do it. He is not only a number nine. I hope he is an important reinforcement because there are many games to play.
"He's a good goalscorer, he knows how to find space and is a good player. He has that instinct for the ball and I think he’s going to do well". (All quotes according to RTÉ).
Parrott joins Real Betis on the back of an impressive season with AZ Alkmaar, scoring 16 goals as the club finished qualified for the Europa League, after finishing 7th in their domestic league last year.
