Jon Dahl Tomasson has claimed that it was great to see Sammie Szmodics score his first career hat trick in the FA Cup on Saturday afternoon. Szmodics is the English Championship's top scorer and took his tally for the season to 19.
Yesterday, Blackburn Rovers beat Cambridge United 5-2 in the FA Cup third round, with goals from Szmodics' hat trick and single strikes from Arnor Sigurdsson and Harry Leonard.
Several players impressed in the FA Cup tie, but Tomasson gave special mention to uncapped Ireland player Szmodics for his display at Ewood Park.
Sammie Szmodics goal to complete a FIRST HALF HAT TRICK for Blackburn !🇮🇪
He’s on another level atm💥 pic.twitter.com/gqMbRhpZhP— Rep of Ireland Player Tracker (@reptracker) January 6, 2024
"The development of Sammie is great to see. He's a team player; he's a goal scorer. He's very good at doing all the things we want, then, of course, scoring those goals and even getting assists," he said.
"And still, the good thing is, he can miss a chance, and it doesn't matter; he can go on. Great character, and great to see him getting the ball with him at home.
"After Christmas last season, I think he's been really good for Rovers, and after the summer holiday, he's been extremely good. He's also added those goals.
"We always know he can score goals, but he's not used to playing a lot of games at this level. First of all, he played with Peterborough, but not a lot. The way he's scoring goals, the confidence he's playing with, and the role he takes as one of the senior players are quite incredible."
Szmodics is eligible to represent the Republic of Ireland and Hungary through his County Longford Irish-born grandmother and Hungarian-born grandfather.
Last October, the Blackburn sharpshooter was called up to the Ireland squad to face Greece and Gibraltar fixtures but pulled out for personal reasons.
"He obviously had to leave on the second day of the last camp for personal reasons," said Kenny in October. "Those personal reasons haven't changed. He just can't be away for 10 days, so he can't be considered."
Another interesting takeaway from Blackburn's win on Saturday was the debut of 15-year-old Irish starlet Rory Finneran, who replaced Szmodics in stoppage time. However, Finneran was forced to wear a different jersey than the rest of his teammates. Because of Finneran's age, he could not promote the club's vaping partner, Totally Wicked.
Finneran is the Republic of Ireland's Under-15 Player of the Year and became Blackburn's youngest-ever player by coming on.
The teenager has been at the club since the age of 9, is regarded as a future star by the Championship club, and is already a Republic of Ireland Under-17 international.
Reports have emerged that Newcastle is preparing an offer for the young Irish defensive midfielder.
"Great to see some of the young boys getting their first minutes," Tomasson added.
"Rory Finneran, he's 15 years of age. Yasin got his first minutes. Gamble has played before, but just being involved and having the opportunity. I didn't use James Hill, so he wasn't cup-tied.
"It was not necessary, but he was ready to help the team. He's a very good player, and it's been a pleasure to work with him. He's done really, really well."
A history-making moment! 🌹
Congratulations to our youngest ever appearance maker, Rory Finneran 👏#Rovers 🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/LukuTTBLzI
— Blackburn Rovers (@Rovers) January 6, 2024
