Troy Parrott scored one goal and made another as he tasted victory in Prague seven days out from Ireland's visit to Czechia. The Conference League round of 16 draw that pitted Parrott's AZ Alkmaar up against Sparta Prague has created a strange month for the player.
The Premier League top four get a Champions League place, but that can be extended to five if English sides do well enough in Europe (Image credit: Getty Images) The Premier League were the beneficiaries of an extra Champions League place last season thanks to their club's performance in European competition. Tottenham's Europa League win, Chelsea's Conference League triumph, and the presence of Arsenal, Aston Villa and Liverpool in the round of 16 and beyond -
AZ Alkmaar 2 Shelbourne 0 Just like any franchise, we can't expect the Troy Story to keep churning out sequels with the same levels of quality. And although Troy Parrott's club side, AZ Alkmaar, came through this test in the Conference League as victors, they did so without a goal from their leading man, as they struck through Mees de Wit's header on 70 minutes and a superb strike by sub Isak Jensen three minutes from time.
Both managers made changes to their strongest teams, which was expected from a Sparta perspective ahead of Sunday's Prague derby but a little surprising from the Irish point of view considering Kerry are their FAI Cup opponents - Bradley said afterwards that the meeting with the First Division underdogs did influence his selection. Graham Burke is used to dropping out for away days in Europe to make room for Darragh Nugent, but Dylan Watts and Danny Mandroiu also joined him on the bench,
The draw for the 2025/26 edition of the Conference League has scheduled the league phase as teams from across Europe bid to succeed Chelsea as champions. The Blues beat Real Betis 4-1 in the 2024/25 final to become the second Premier League club to win the competition after West Ham in 2022/2023. Olympiacos won the 2023/2024 Conference League and Roma triumphed in the inaugural edition in 2021/22.
