Parrott scores twice but Austria recover to hold Republic of Ireland

The Republic of Ireland let a two-goal lead slip as Austria earned a 2-2 draw at the Aviva Stadium on Thursday, despite another productive night for Troy Parrott. BBC Sport reported that the striker scored twice before half-time, but the visitors recovered to remain top of Nations League Group B3.

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Parrott opened the scoring in the 12th minute with an individual run through the Austrian defence. After receiving the ball from Adam Idah, he beat Philipp Lienhart and David Affengruber before finishing past Florian Wiegele. He added a penalty shortly before the interval. BBC Sport's Lauren McCann reported that the double took him to 14 goals in 40 international appearances, including nine in his past six competitive outings.

Austria's response came through two substitutes. Alexander Prass scored in the 71st minute after Liam Kitching's mistake, with the goal confirmed following a video assistant referee review of an offside decision. Michael Gregoritsch then equalised from a free-kick six minutes later. Both teams subsequently had opportunities to win, but neither found a third goal, according to BBC Sport's match report.

Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson praised Parrott afterwards but defended replacing him with Chiedozie Ogbene in the 75th minute, when the forward was still one goal short of a hat-trick. McCann reported that Hallgrimsson cited tiredness, several knocks and the need to have Parrott available for Sunday's meeting with Israel. The coach also highlighted the striker's defensive work alongside his attacking contribution, rather than assessing his value solely through his goals.

The first half was interrupted twice by protests concerning Ireland's fixtures against Israel. Tennis balls were thrown onto the field in the 19th minute, and a man carrying a Palestine flag entered the pitch in the 35th before security intervened. The draw left Austria on seven points from three games, with Ireland third on four, BBC Sport's match coverage showed.

Parrott had also scored in Ireland's 3-0 victory over Israel the previous Sunday. The teams meet again in Serbia to finish this international window. Hallgrimsson's decision to withdraw his leading scorer therefore came with another match approaching, although the manager acknowledged his disappointment that Parrott's contribution against Austria had not produced a victory.