Troy Parrott Shines in Betis XI as Irish Striker Helps Team to Third Place
Troy Parrott did not ease his way back into Real Betis’ starting line-up. He tore into it.
Restored to Manuel Pellegrini’s XI for the La Liga meeting with Getafe on Thursday night, the Ireland striker almost lit up Estadio Benito Villamarín inside five minutes with the sort of audacious effort that sticks to a season’s highlights reel.
Spotting David Soria off his line after pouncing on a loose Getafe pass near halfway, Parrott went for it. One touch, head up, then a long, looping attempt that had the goalkeeper scrambling backwards in panic. Soria just about survived, clawing the ball away at full stretch with his fingertips. The crowd knew how close it was. So did Parrott.
Betis were on the front foot from there. They pinned Getafe back, they probed, they shot. Antony twice lashed efforts over the bar when composure was needed, and Betis’ early dominance risked drifting into frustration as the half wore on and the visitors sat deeper and deeper.
The pressure finally told on the stroke of half-time – and Parrott was right in the middle of it.
Abde Ezzalzouli started the move from inside Betis territory, carrying the ball into midfield before sliding it wide to Antony bursting down the flank. Betis flooded forward. Parrott, cutting through the centre, took the next pass at the edge of the area. One sharp touch, head up again, and he threaded the ball back across goal into space. Abde had kept running. He met the return and drilled a low finish beyond Soria for 1-0 in the 45th minute.
Parrott would not get the goal his performance threatened, but he had the assist and the appreciation of the home crowd. His link play knitted Betis’ attacks together, his movement dragging defenders into places they did not want to go as Getafe retreated towards their own box.
The second half became a different type of contest. Getafe sank even deeper, content to spoil and wait for a late opening, while Betis chased the cushion that never came. The hosts kept working the ball around the blue wall, yet clear chances dried up.
Pellegrini blinked first. Just past the hour, he rolled his attacking dice, withdrawing Parrott, Isco and Abde in search of fresh legs and a different angle of threat. The rhythm of the game changed, but the scoreline did not.
That left Betis to suffer through a tense finish. Getafe finally stepped out, threw bodies forward, and forced the home side to defend their own box in the closing stages. Crosses flew in, half-chances flickered, but Betis held their nerve and their line. The whistle eventually arrived with the 1-0 lead intact.
The victory carries weight beyond the single goal. It lifts Betis up to third in La Liga on 15 points, level with second-placed Real Madrid and separated only by goal difference. Barcelona, perfect so far with six wins from six, sit three points clear at the top.
For Parrott, it extends a quietly impressive start to life in Seville. A fortnight ago, he stepped off the bench at Estadio La Cartuja and struck the winner against Real Madrid in his first home appearance, handing José Mourinho’s side their first defeat of the season. Now he has returned to the line-up and supplied the decisive touch again, this time as creator.
Betis are moving with purpose, the table already starting to tilt in their favour. And with Parrott growing into his role under Pellegrini, the question is no longer whether he belongs at this level – it is how far this Betis side can go with him in full stride.
