Bandon’s Conor Hourihane was back in the Ireland starting line up for Tuesday evening’s 4-0 friendly win over World Cup hosts Qatar at the Aviva Stadium.
The Sheffield United midfielder made the most of his chance too, bagging two assists for Stephen Kenny’s side in what was an impressive team performance.
Hourihane has found himself relegated to the role of squad player under Kenny in recent games so he will have been very pleased with his impact on Tuesday.
His first major contribution to the game came after only three minutes when he played a neat one-two at the edge of the Qatar box with man of the moment Calum Robinson who struck home for his first of the evening.
Robinson would later complete his first hat-trick in international football to take his tally to five goals during this international window.
Ireland’s fourth goal came from a Shane Duffy header, the Brighton defender rising to meet an inch-perfect Hourihane corner.
Speaking to the media after the game a visibly pleased Conor Hourihane said: ‘Tonight is probably one of the most enjoyable games I’ve had for Ireland. Loads of touches on the ball, loads of options, it was great, just free-flowing.’
Next up for Ireland is a home game against Portugal in just under four weeks time.
