Troy Parrott's penalty nightmare summed up as manager demands 'much better'
Troy Parrott tried to chip his penalty down the middle - but got it horribly wrong(Image: Jeroen van den Berg/Soccrates/Getty Images)Agony for Ireland hero after penalty shamblesMatch result and context: AZ Alkmaar were in action against FC Twente in the Dutch Eredivisie on Sunday, looking to climb the table by picking up points on the road at the De Grolsch Veste stadium.Last-gasp drama: With Twente leading 1-0 deep into stoppage time, Troy Parrott - so recently Ireland's hero on the international stage - stepped forward to take a penalty awarded by VAR, that would have secured a 1-1 draw for his side.A dink too far? The Irishman attempted a Panenka-style penalty but got it all wrong, sending his audacious dink high over the crossbar - much to the delight of the Twente players who gave him plenty of stick for his perceived arrogance. Incredibly, it’s his third consecutive penalty miss for AZ. He also failed to convert in a 1-0 win away to Sparta Rotterdam on November 2, and in a 4-1 win against FC Utrecht on October 26. Unlike those instances, this one proved costly as it denied his side a share of the spoils.Manager reaction: AZ Alkmaar boss Maarten Martens had some stinging words for Parrott. The 23-year-old wasn't exactly spared by his manager, who was critical of his penalty technique choice. "It was poor finishing," said Martens. "If he chipped it there and scored, he'd be doing well. Troy took responsibility; he gave it his all today, but didn't finish well. He's already taken responsibility for that with the rest of the team. He took responsibility for the loss of points, and rightly so. He can do much better than this, he realises that himself. It wasn't good enough today. He's still a striker, and he is creative. We'll definitely talk about it.”Deflated: Parrott put his head in his hands immediately after the miss and was visibly disappointed at the full-time whistle. According to OptaJohan, Parrott is the third player this century to miss three consecutive penalties in the Eredivisie.Click here to sign up to our sport newsletter, bringing you the top stories and biggest headlines from Ireland and beyond.
