International friendly: hat-trick hero Robinson makes headlines again in Republic win
The Republic's winning form continued last night (Tuesday) in Dublin after they beat World Cup hosts Qatar 4-0.
And it was striker Callum Robinson who came up trumps in front of goal.
He bagged a hat-trick - his fifth goal in two games., following on from is double in Saturday's qualifying victory in Azerbaijan.
Asked about the contribution of a player who has missed football for his country after twice catching Covid-19, manager Stephen Kenny said: "I just hope he knows how important he is to us and realises that he can be a really significant player for us.
"He's very good in the group, he's a really bubbly character with a lot of decency, a lot of good points as a person.
"But as a player, he has more to give. He's obviously missed that much, which has been difficult, so to get those five goals now will give him real belief over the next while, I hope.''
Robinson repeated Saturday evening's feat inside 13 minutes at the Aviva Stadium, sending keeper Meshaal Barsham the wrong way from the spot after defender Bassam Hisham Alrawi had deflected his fourth-minute shot into his own net.
He completed his treble eight minutes after the restart to claim Ireland's first hat-trick since Robbie Keane's against Gibraltar seven years and a day earlier.
Defender Shane Duffy cemented what was as routine a victory as it could be after a run of just one win in 16 games for Kenny before the trip to Baku, with a 59th-minute header to send the Republic into next month's concluding World Cup qualifiers against Portugal and Luxembourg knowing they cannot make it to Qatar but with spirits significantly raised and with Kenny targeting Nations League success in June next year.