A visibly emotional Troy Parrott reflected on his "fairytale", hattrick which sealed the Republic of Ireland's place in the World Cup play off, following this 3-2 win over Hungary this afternoon.
Parrott's goals, including a winner in stoppage time, saw Ireland overturn a 2-1 deficit to win by three goals to two, capping off a perfect week for the AZ Alkmaar striker, who also scored both goals in Ireland's incredible win over qualifying group winners Portugal in Dublin on Thursday.
Following their heroics in Budapest, tears flowed down the faces of many of the Irish players, especially Parrott, who basked in the glory his match winning hattrick.
Speaking to RTÉ Sport, Parrott said: "I'm really, really emotional right now," followed by an apology for "tears for joy".
"This is why we love football because things like this can happen. I love where I'm from, so this means the world to me. My family is here, this is the first time I've cried in years", he continued. "I just really, really can't believe it. Everyone's crying. I said against Portugal that this is what dreams are made of but this, yeah I don't think I'll ever have a better night in my whole life".
"It's a fairytale, you can't even dream about something like that".
Parrott's first goal of the day came from the penalty spot, which was delayed when he was unable to hear the referee's whistle owing to the seismic noise of the home support at the Puskas Arena.
This noise did not deter Parrott, who converted from the spot.
"The referee told me to wait for the signal so I was waiting for him to blow his whistle but then he never blew it so I looked at him then he told me I could take it", he said. "I'd rather have that pressure on me and whatever happens will happen. To put on somebody else and leave it out of my hands, I'd rather be in my hands".
Thanks to Parrott's five goals in a week, Irish fans can now dream of seeing their team secure a place at a World Cup finals for the first time since 2002.
"I think everyone wrote us off at the start of the group, and I couldn't have said it enough that there's always a chance, and we've taken the chance", Parrott added. "I think everyone should be proud of the group of players that are over there. To go down it the game twice and come back like that, it’s beautiful".
