Stats don’t lie as Ireland u21 star puts on a masterclass in Carabao Cup tie

The future looks bright.

Young Irish prodigy Andrew Moran put on a masterclass last night in the Carabao Cup, as he helped his Blackburn side beat Cardiff 5-2. The Irish midfielder is currently on loan at Blackburn Rovers, while his parent side, Brighton are very keen to see him progress, even offering him a long-term contract before his loan move. Moran already grabbed the headlines a few weeks ago when his rocket of a goal for Ireland u21s helped his country beat Turkey in a thrilling game, but now he's grabbing the attention of those outside of the country as well. In a crazy first half the creative midfielder set up Arnor Sigurdsson for the opening goal of the game before finding the net himself twice in quick succession. Still buzzing from going in at half-time with two goals and an assist to his name, the Irishman attacked the second half with the same intensity. https://twitter.com/Rovers/status/1707138936047538440 Soon after the restart, Moran won a penalty for his team which Sigurdsson missed, but he never stopped pushing, much to the delight of the Blackburn fans. His persistence paid off when he teed up Dilan Markanday for the final goal of the game to cement his side's victory and their progress in the cup. Moran had to be patient initially when he made the move to Blackburn, but he is now starting regularly and his development at this level will be a key factor to his future with both Brighton and Ireland. Of course his international teammate Evan Ferguson is also at Brighton, and has set the standards pretty high, but the u21 captain is a different sort of player and could be a real asset for Stephen Kenny going forward. The added cherry on top for this game was that Ireland star Callum Robinson managed to get one of the goals for Cardiff, so it was something of an all-Irish affair in this game. Related links:

• Ireland U21 star on course to follow in Evan Ferguson's footsteps after wonder goal
• Brighton laughed at Man United’s bid for Evan Ferguson
• Gareth Southgate confirms England approach failed for "bloody good" Evan Ferguson