Parrott the toast of the Aviva as his double keeps us in the World Cup mix on a night petulant Ronaldo sees red

TROY PARROTT delivered a brilliant double against Portugal to keep Ireland's World Cup dream alive.

- BY MARK MCCADDEN

And this group of players finally has that "special result against a big team" that Dara O'Shea, on the eve of last night's game said they craved.

We can stick this one on the same shelf as Germany 10 years ago, Italy at Euro 2016 and, if they finish the job against Hungary on Sunday, the Netherlands 24 years ago on the way to Ireland's last World Cup appearance.

Parrott took the headlines, but there wasn't one player out there in green who didn't deserve a share of the limelight.

The AZ Alkmaar striker was one of five changes from the Armenia game last month but they all played like they'd been locked away in a training camp together since that win.

Hemir Hallgrimsson (far right) had talked this week about the advantage of having the Armenia-Hungary game finish before kickoff in Dublin.

It ended up being a gut-punch, as the Magyars win piled the pressure on Ireland. A defeat and it was curtains.

Pressure? Sure, that's for tyres. Each and every one of Hallgrímsson's players rose up like giants, seemingly adding inches with each defensive block and clearance.

Cristiano Ronaldo said in the buildup that he didn't want to be booed.

His wish came true. Well, kind of. He left the pitch to cheers from the Irish supporters after he took his frustrations out on Dara O'Shea, lashing out with his elbow in the 59th minute.

Initially shown a yellow card, referee Glenn Nyberg, VAR called the official over to review his decision and, once he caught a clear view of the incident, there could be no other outcome.