Troy Parrott on target, but dream of promotion falls short

TROY Parrott’s ninth league goal of the season was not enough for the MK Dons to stay in contention for promotion to the Championship as Wycombe Wanderers progress to the play-off final.

ycombe, with Ireland international Daryl Horgan in the starting XI, led 2-0 from the home game of the League One play-offs. But Parrott netted a well-placed header in the 29th minute to make it 2-1 on aggregate and give them hopes of progressing to the Wembley play-off final.

With compatriots Conor Coventry and Warren O’Hora as well as ex-Waterford FC player Scott Twine, MK Dons and Parrott kept threatening to put sustained pressure on the Wanderers goal in the hour after Parrott’s goal, but Wycombe bravely held them off another goal and they are now in the final where they face either Sunderland or Sheffield Wednesday.

Parrott will now take a short break before preparing for international duty for Ireland in the four-game streak of games in June, while he will also hold talks with Tottenham over his long-term future as his loan period has now ended. He scored nine goals in 42 league games for Dons, while Cabra boy O’Hora has been widely praised for his performances this season, 47 league starts for O’Hora (23).

Meanwhile, Norwich City boss Dean Smith says Ireland international Tony Springett deserves a chance to make his Premier League debut.

The Canaries were 3-0 at home to West Ham on a difficult day when Smith Springett (19) called for his first appearance, part of City’s damage limitation.

And while the Hammers scored another goal, Smith praised wide man Springett, who was capped by Ireland at U18 level but has not featured in the international setup since 2019.

“He did really well. He’s full of energy and will run all day,” Smith said of his decision to sign Academy graduate Springett.

“I felt like we needed that at the time. We were 3-0 down and it’s becoming a kind of damage limitation. There are some big points that can sneak up in this league and we wanted a damage control exercise and to bring some more athleticism to the pitch I thought we did that to him and he did well.”

Eligible to play under the descent rule, Springett was called up for the first time by Ireland in August 2019, where Andy Reid was capped twice at under-18 level in a friendly tournament in Sweden, playing in the same side as senior captain Andrew Omobamidele.