Blackburn Rovers manager Jon Dahl Tomasson has heaped praise on Ireland's Andrew Moran after the Irish youngster scored two and set up two goals as Blackburn battered Cardiff 5-2 in the Carabao Cup third round on Wednesday night.
Moran had made six appearances already for his loan side but had never scored a goal before last night's events.
Here's how Moran's night went:
Brighton & Hove Albion loanee Moran's first assist came in the 36th minute when his attempted cutback was finished by Arnor Sigurdsson. After the break, Moran would get in on the action with his first goal in English football. Bad defending from Cardiff allowed the Irish star to make it 2-1.
Moran would score again, with a brilliant long-range drive from outside the penalty area. He then set up Dilan Markanday for the fifth and final goal in their 5-2 win.
⚽️⚽️ Two goals.
🅰️🅰️ Two assists.What a performance, @AndrewMorannn!#ROVvCAR | #Rovers 🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/nsXuDj6dSM
— Blackburn Rovers (@Rovers) September 27, 2023
Blackburn boss Tomasson, speaking after the game, said, "(Moran is) a great player, first of all. He scores goals, he can give assists.
"He's intelligent; his flair on the ball is extremely good, to carry the ball, he's good to play one or two touches. He works hard for the team.
"A young boy, young man, who is also very driven. He wants to become better; he is very ambitious. So we are very pleased with Andy."
The Irish youngster is highly rated in Irish circles and is tipped to be a future star like his Brighton teammate Evan Ferguson. Let's wait and see if he gets an Ireland senior call-up in the near future.
Blackburn's next game will be against Leicester City on Sunday.
