Dan Crowley gave Birmingham the lead in their FA Cup third round tie against Blackburn on Saturday afternoon.
Crowley, who has played for Ireland and England at underage level, scored just four minutes into the game at St Andrews. It is the first FA Cup goal of the decade and the player's first goal for the club.
The 22-year-old picked the ball up on the left side of midfield and surged through a lackadaisical Blackburn defence before curling a superb shot beyond the reach of Jayson Leutwiler from the edge of the box.
Crowley joined Birmingham during the summer from Dutch side Willem II. He has played 22 times for the club in the Championship this season.
The first goal of the #EmiratesFACup third round and the first goal of the decade ✨@BCFC's Daniel Crowley! pic.twitter.com/H8JKa8Rqaa
— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) January 4, 2020
Born in Coventry, the midfielder said earlier this year that he wished to switch allegiance to Ireland. He had most recently lined out for the England U19s in 2015.
However, Mick McCarthy said back in August that were doubts regarding Crowley's eligibility to play for Ireland.
"[It’s an] eligibility issue," said McCarthy.
"Does he qualify? We have to make sure that he does and he’s fully qualified to play for us and if he does then we’ll continue watching him."
