Round Up - Weekend of 26th February 2016

Friday, 26 February 2016
League 1
Port Vale 3-1 Southend United
Cian Bolger made his fiftieth appearance for Southend United

Australian A-League
Western Sydney Wanderers 2-1 Perth Glory
Andy Keogh scored his twentieth goal for Perth Glory from the penalty spot to equalise shortly after Wanderers had taken the lead, but unfortunately it wasn't enough to earn his side anything from the tie

Saturday, 27 February 2016
Premier League
Stoke City 2-1 Aston Villa
Glenn Whelan made his two hundred fiftieth start for Stoke City

Watford 0-0 Bournemouth
Harry Arter made his two hundredth appearance for Bournemouth

Southampton 1-2 Chelsea
Shane Long scored his tenth goal of the season

Championship
Blackburn 3-2 MK Dons
Samir Carruthers made his one hundredth appearance for MK Dons, and marked the occasion with his first goal of the season. This was the fifth goal of the midfielder's career, coming almost a year since his last goal in April 2015!

Bolton 1-2 Burnley
Stephen Ward made his twenty-fifth appearance for Burnley

Cardiff 2-1 Preston North End
Alan Browne made his fiftieth start for Preston, and unfortunately picked up his fourth booking of the season.
Anthony Pilkington's two penalties today (his seventh and eighth of the season, and third in his last three games) makes him the third player to manage the feat this season, after Robbie Keane in July and Cillian Sheridan in August

Rotherham 2-1 Brentford
Lee Frecklington returned from injury to start his game since 2nd January, along with Leon Best who made his first start for Rotherham in more than three months

League 1
Gillingham 1-2 Chesterfield
Emmanuel Osadebe's scored his second of the season, more than three months after his last goal on 14th November

League 2
AFC Wimbledon 1-2 Oxford United
Callum O'Dowda made his fiftieth start for Oxford in this win

Accrington Stanley 2-2 Barnet
Seamus Conneely made his fiftieth appearance for Accrington today

Leyton Orient 2-0 Crawley
Shamir Goodwin made his twenty-fifth career appearance as a second half substitute for Crawley Town

Newport Co. 1-0 Mansfield Town
Mark Byrne was booked for the fifth time this season

Plymouth 1-0 Notts County
Graham Carey scored the twenty-fifth goal of his career in England and Scotland, more than three months after his last goal for Plymouth

Scottish Premier League
Aberdeen 1-1 St Johnstone
Willo Flood returned to the Aberdeen starting XI with his first appearance for the Dons since 9th January

Cypriot Premier League
Enosis 1-4 Omonia Nicosia
Cillian Sheridan scored his tenth league goal of the season, with three more in the Europa League, more than a month since his last goal for Omonia Nicosia

Eredivisie
SC Cambuur 1-0 PEC Zwolle
Jack Byrne scored his second of the season. Coincidentally, his last goal came in Cambuur's last win on Sunday, 20th December

Further Reading
Sonny Pike on life as a football prodigy: ‘At 17 my head was finished. I was suicidal’ - The Guardian
Why Wes Hoolahan is more effective than Alexis Sanchez, and 11 other interesting stats - FourFourTwo

Round Up - Midweek games of 23rd February 2016

Tuesday, 23 February 2016
Championship
Brentford 3-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Matt Doherty made his one hundredth appearance for Wolves

Bristol City 0-4 Brighton and Hove Albion
Alex Pearce made his first start for Bristol City since signing for them on loan

Middlesbrough 3-1 Cardiff
Following his man of the match performance at the weekend, Anthony Pilkington made his fiftieth appearance for Cardiff against Middlesbrough

Reading 1-0 Rotherham
Paul Green made his fiftieth start for Rotherham, while Stephen Kelly returned to the matchday squad for the first time in more than two months

League 2
York City 1-2 Northampton
James Collins scored his fifth goal for Northampton

AFC Wimbledon 1-0 Carlisle United
Connor Smith made his first start for AFC Wimbledon since signing for them following his release from Watford, it was the player's first minutes of football since September

Accrington Stanley 3-2 Notts County
Graham Burke came off the bench to make his first appearance for Notts County since early January, while fellow substitute Ronan Murray scored his first goal of the season

Barnet 1-0 Portsmouth
Enda Stevens made his one hundredth career appearance in England since leaving Shamrock Rovers

Thursday, 25 February 2016
CONCACAF Champions League
LA Galaxy 0-0 Santos Laguna
Robbie Keane led the line for LA Galaxy in their first game of the 2016 season
Further Reading
Giovanni Trapattoni praises Roy Keane impact with Ireland - goal.com
On being tired of football - Popular Stand

Round Up - Weekend of 20th February 2016

Saturday, 20 February 2016
Championship
Brentford 1-3 Derby County
This tie was the second time this season where three Irish players scored in the same game. That hasn't happened in one season since the 2012/13 season
Cyrus Christie scored his first goal for Derby County today, before that the defender hadn't scored since March 2013

Burnley 2-0 Rotherham
Leon Best came off the bench for Rotherham to make his first appearance in three months after recovering from an injury

MK Dons 0-2 Bristol City
Darren Potter received his fourth booking of the season, almost three months after his last yellow card

League 1
Bradford City 2-2 Rochdale
After signing for them on loan, Niall Canavan made his first start for Rochdale, before that the midfielder hadn't played a minute of football since starting an tie for parent club Scunthorpe on 2nd January

Chesterfield 3-1 Crewe Alexandra
Connor Dimaio celebrated his debut for Chesterfield with a the first goal of his career, and also weighed in with an assist. Congratulations Connor!

Fleetwood 2-1 Scunthorpe
Paddy Madden's eighteenth goal this season was his milestone fortieth goal for Scunthorpe!

Oldham 2-1 Gillingham
Bradley Garmston's start today for Gillingham was the defender's fiftieth career appearance

League 2 
Bristol Rovers 2-1 Morecambe
Rory Gaffney's eighth goal of the season was the former League of Ireland striker's first goal since 2nd January
Jamie Devitt's fifth goal of the season was his tenth goal for Morecambe

Cambridge United 3-1 York City
James Berrett scored his fifth goal of the season

Crawley 1-1 Plymouth
Shamir Goodwin scored his first goal for Crawley Town

English FA Cup 
Reading 3-1 West Bromwich Albion
Simon Cox made his fiftieth appearance for Reading in the same game Paul McShane scored his first goal for the club

Bournemouth 0-2 Everton
James McCarthy made his one hundredth appearance for Everton

Scottish Premiership
Kilmarnock 0-0 Dundee
Darren O'Dea's performance earned him a place in the BT Sport SPFL Team of the Week

#TEAMOFTHEWEEK @Fox1NtheBox @leehods2 @odea_darren @kierantierney1 (1/2) pic.twitter.com/iBIlIr7I3p

— BT Sport SPFL (@BTSportSPFL) February 22, 2016

Australian A-League
Perth Glory 6-3 Brisbane Roar
Andy Keogh scored his third goal in seven games since returning to Perth Glory

Sunday, 21 February 2016
Scottish First Division
Queen of the South 0-1 Rangers
Robbie Kiernan's booking this afternoon was his first yellow card in almost two months

English FA Cup
Blackburn 1-5 West Ham United
Shane Duffy made his fiftieth start for Blackburn, while Darragh Lenihan made his twenty-fifth career start

Monday, 22 February 2016
League 1
Southend United 3-1 Burton Albion
Cian Bolger made his one hundredth career start
David Mooney scored his seventh goal of the season, his first in almost two months

Further Reading
Premier League’s five best stand-in stoppers - football365.com
Two-touch penalties, imaginary cards, lazy subs: Football's unwritten rules - ESPN FC
Ruud Dokter: 'We want our best young players to go to United, Arsenal and Chelsea but UK not always the best step' - Irish Independent

Round Up - Midweek games of 16th February 2016

Tuesday, 16 February 2016
Championship
Blackburn 3-0 Fulham
Shane Duffy scored the fifth goal of his career on the occasion of his fiftieth appearance for Blackburn

League 1
Bradford City 2-0 Southend United
Michael Timlin and Stephen McLaughlin both returned to the starting XI for Southend. Timlin hadn't started a game in more than a month, whereas McLaughlin hadn't lined out for the Shrimpers since early November 

Colchester 1-1 Chesterfield
Conor Dimaio made his first start of the season on loan at Chesterfield

League 2
Accrington Stanley 1-1 Carlisle United
Seamus Conneely made his fiftieth start since moving to England

Scottish FA Cup
Hibernian 1-0 Hearts
Anthony Stokes made his fiftieth start for Hibernian

Further Reading
The FBI VS FIFA - ESPN's The Magazine
15 Greatest Athlete's of All Time - The 365 Skinny (includes handball's Paul Brady)

Round Up - Weekend of 12th February 2016

Saturday, 13 February 2016 
Premier League
Three Irish players scored in the same day in the Premier League - Shane Long, Wes Hoolahan and Robbie Brady - for the second time this season, that's the first time that's happened since the 2011/12 season

Norwich 2-2 West Ham United
Robbie Brady marked his one hundred fiftieth career appearance with his first goal since September 26th, and with his "weaker" right foot!

Championship
Bristol City 2-1 Ipswich
Kevin Foley made his first appearance for Ipswich since signing for them on a short term deal, and was booked. It was the defender's first minutes of football since coming off the bench for Copenhagen in June

Derby County 0-1 MK Dons
Samir Carruthers picked up his tenth booking of the season

League 1
Gillingham 2-1 Barnsley
Emmanuel Osadebe returned to Gillingham's starting XI for the first start since November 24

Peterborough 0-4 Bradford City
After signing for Bradford City on an emergency loan midweek, Josh Cullen made his first career league start with the Bantams

Port Vale 0-0 Fleetwood
Sam Foley picked up his fifth booking of the season

Rochdale 0-1 Millwall
Shaun Williams was booked for the tenth time this season

Scunthorpe 1-0 Southend United
Cian Bolger was booked for the fifth time this season

League 2
AFC Wimbledon 4-1 Luton
Ryan Sweeney marked his first appearance of the season with the first goal of his career - congratulations Ryan!

Accrington Stanley 4-1 Crawley
Seamus Conneely's goal this afternoon was his fifth goal for Accrington Stanley

Leyton Orient 0-4 Northampton
James Collins scored his tenth and eleventh goals of the season

Plymouth 3-0 Mansfield Town
Graham Carey returned to the starting XI for Plymouth, and was booked for the fifth time in 2015/16

Wycombe Wanderers 1-0 Exeter
Michael Harriman made his fiftieth start for Wycombe

Further Reading
The sliding history of the League of Ireland - These Football Times
How Tottenham cracked the defensive code - The Telegraph
Soccer still battling for recognition in schools across the country - The Irish Times

Round Up - Midweek games of 9th February 2016

Tuesday, 9 February 2016
English FA Cup
West Ham United 2-1 Liverpool
After featuring as a first half substitute in the original tie between West Ham and Liverpool, Joey O'Brien returned to the Hammers starting XI in the replay for the first time since the end of July

Wednesday, 10 February 2016
English FA Cup
Peterborough 1-1 West Bromwich Albion
James McClean made his twenty-fifth start for West Brom since signing for them last summer

Further Reading
Darren Randolph relishing Republic of Ireland chance after NBA dreams - ESPN
Sunderland fans bid to have statue of Charlie Hurley created for 80th birthday - Sunderland Echo
Perennially underappreciated, Trapattoni made Ireland a competitive force again - the42.ie

Round up - Weekend of 6th February 2016

Saturday, 6 February 2016
Premier League
Stoke City 0-3 Everton
Seamus Coleman's first goal of the season, which he dedicated to his newborn daughter, was also his twentieth goal for Everton. The defender had gone almost a year since his last goal, scored against QPR in March 2015

Championship
Birmingham City 1-2 Sheffield Wednesday
Aiden McGeady made his first start for the Sheffield Wednesday since signing for them on loan. it was also the winger's first league start of the season

Cardiff 0-0 MK Dons
Samir Carruthers made his one hundredth career appearance in this draw at Cardiff

Charlton 0-1 Bristol City
Stephen Henderson made his fiftieth start for Charlton in this loss

Preston North End 2-1 Huddersfield
Alan Browne's goal this afternoon, his second of the season, was his first goal since 3rd October 2015

League 1
Sheffield United 0-2 Wigan
Conor Sammon made his one hundred fiftieth career start in England and Scotland

League 2
Stevenage 0-1 Crawley
After signing for Stevenage during the January transfer window, Patrick Hoban made his first start for the Boro

Scottish FA Cup
Rangers 0-0 Kilmarnock
After transferring to Kilmarnock in January, Gary Dicker made his first start for the club

Sunday, 7 February 2016
Scottish FA Cup 
Hearts 2-2 Hibernian
Anthony Stokes was booked for the first time this season

Round Up - Midweek games of 2nd February 2016

Tuesday, 2 February 2016
Premier League
Manchester United 3-0 Stoke City
Stephen Ireland was booked for the first time this season

Norwich 0-3 Tottenham Hotspur
Due to an illness, Robbie Brady was not in the starting XI for Norwich in a league game for the first time in 2015/16. After starting the last three games for Norwich, Wes Hoolahan started on the bench. He hasn't started more than three games in a row for the Canaries this season

Championship
Sheffield Wednesday 1-1 Burnley
Aiden McGeady made his first appearance for Sheffield Wednesday since signing for them on loan as a second half substitute

Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-2 Bolton
Joe Mason marked his debut for Wolves by scoring the opener against Bolton

League 1
Shrewsbury 1-2 Southend United
Michael Timlin was sent off for the second time for Southend, this was the midfielder's third red card of his career

League 2
Luton 1-1 Yeovil
Alan Sheehan scored his first goal for Luton since signing for them on loan during the January transfer window

Morecambe 1-1 Portsmouth
Barry Roche scored the first goal of his career, he's also the first goalkeeper to score a goal since we started compiling appearance data for Irish players!

Scottish First Division
Greenock Morton 0-1 Hibernian
Anthony Stokes marked his fiftieth appearance for Hibs with his second goal in two games. The Celtic striker hadn't managed that feat since August 2014

Wednesday, 3 February 2016
Scottish Premier League
Aberdeen 2-1 Celtic
Jonathan Hayes' opener in the Dons win was his fifth goal of the season

Thursday, 4 February 2016
Football League Trophy
Fleetwood 1-1 Barnsley
Conor Hourihane's eighth goal of the season (his first since mid December) puts him second on the list of goalscoring Irish midfielders in 2015/16 with Graham Carey, both are behind Alan Judge's 12 strikes.

Further Reading
World Soccer Awards - World Soccer (Richie Towell joint 72nd with Andre Ayew, Carlos Bacca, Claudio Bravo, Marcelo Diaz, Luciano Figueroa, Hulk, Mats Hummels, Marcelo, Riyad Mahrez, Mesut Ozil, and Willian)
FIFA World Rankings - fifa.com (Republic of Ireland climb one place to 30th)

January 2016 Transfer Window - Loans, Contracts and Managerial moves

Loans
Tuesday, 5th January 2016
Due to ongoing financial issues at Shrewsbury Town, their captain James Collins has been loaned out to Northampton until the end of the season: http://www.ntfc.co.uk/news/article/james-collins-northampton-town-shrewsbury-town-2884118.aspx

Thursday, 7th January 2016
After being recalled from his emergency loan at Barnet, Manchester City’s Ian Lawlor has signed for Bury on loan until the end of the season: http://www.buryfc.co.uk/news/article/keeper-lawlor-joins-bury-2888545.aspx

Friday, 8th January 2016
Josh O’Hanlon returned to his former club Longford Town on loan from Bournemouth: http://ltfc.ie/josh-ohanlon-returns-to-de-town-on-loan/

Thursday, 14th January 2016
Following a short spell on loan with Stevenage last season, Keith Keane has returned to Broadhall Way on a one month loan: http://www.stevenagefc.com/news/article/keith-keane-signs-on-loan-from-cambridge-united-2902139.aspx

Friday, 15th January 2016
U21 winger John O’Sullivan has joined compatriot Ian Lawlor at Bury on an initial 28 day loan: http://www.buryfc.co.uk/news/article/osullivan-joins-on-loan-2903657.aspx

Tuesday, 19th January 2016
With first team opportunities at Celtic limited, Anthony Stokes rejoined Hibernian FC, where he scored 24 goals in 48 appearances, on loan until the end of the season: http://www.hibernianfc.co.uk/news/6088
After only making two appearances for Derby County since signing for them in the summer, Alex Pearce has signed for Bristol City on loan until the end of the season: http://www.bcfc.co.uk/news/article/defender-pearce-joins-on-loan-2910051.aspx

Friday, 22nd January 2016
After returning to Bradford City from his loan at Notts County. and scoring for the Bamtams’ reserves, Alan Sheehan signed for Luton on on loan until the end of the season: http://www.lutontown.co.uk/news/article/luton-town-sign-alan-sheehan-on-loan-for-the-rest-of-the-season-2915410.aspx
Following a loan spell with Barnsley earlier in the season, Bolton’s Ireland U21 striker Conor Wilkinson has signed for Newport County on a one month emergency loan: http://www.newport-county.co.uk/news/article/the-exiles-secure-the-loan-signing-of-conor-wilkinson-2913203.aspx

Saturday, 23rd January 2016
Sean Kavanagh signed for Mansfield Town on loan until the end of the season: http://www.mansfieldtown.net/news/article/-signs-sign-full-back-from-fulham-2916285.aspx

Monday, 1st February 2016
After making only a few appearances for Everton this season, Aiden McGeady signed for Sheffield Wednesday on loan until the end of the season: http://www.swfc.co.uk/news/article/aiden-mcgeady-joins-sheffield-wednesday-2931856.aspx
Oxford striker Pat Hoban signed for Stevenage FC on loan: http://www.stevenagefc.com/news/article/pat-hoban-signs-on-loan-from-oxford-united-2931997.aspx

Managerial Moves
Wednesday, 13th January 2016
John Sheridan has returned to Boundary Park to take control of relegation-threatened Oldham Athletic after a seven year absence: http://www.oldhamathletic.co.uk/news/article/breaking-news-sheridan-returns-as-first-team-manager-2900097.aspx

Contract Details
Tuesday, 12th January 2016
Striker Aiden O’Brien signed an extension to his contract at Milwall until June 2019: http://www.millwallfc.co.uk/news/article/millwall-aiden-obrien-contract-the-lions-2896334.aspx

Monday, 1st February 2015
After impressing management at the Ricoh Arena, Stephen Hunt’s short term deal at Coventry City has been extended to a permanent deal until the end of the season: http://www.ccfc.co.uk/news/article/signing-stephen-hunt-coventry-city-new-deal-2932712.aspx
John O’Sullivan extended his loan from Blackburn Rovers to Bury FC until the end of the season: http://www.buryfc.co.uk/news/article/osullivan-extends-2931330.aspx
Kevin Long extended his loan at Barnsley FC until February 19th: http://www.barnsleyfc.co.uk/news/article/long-loan-extended-to-february-19th-2933298.aspx

January 2016 Transfer Window - Permanent Deals

Permanent Deals
Tuesday, 5th January 2016
After negotiating a release from his contract at Tottenham Hotspur, U21 winger Kenny McEvoy signed for York City until the end of the season: http://www.yorkcityfootballclub.co.uk/news/article/kenny-mcevoy-inks-permanent-york-city-contract-2885894.aspx

Wednesday, 6th January 2016
Following a succesful loan, former QPR midfielder Michael Harriman signed for Wycombe Wanderers on a three and a half year deal: http://www.wycombewanderers.co.uk/news/article/michael-harriman-signs-permanent-deal-2887055.aspx

Thursday, 7th January 2016
Darren O'Dea has returned to the Scottish Premier League after a nomadic career including Canada, Ukraine and India and has signed for Dundee FC until the end of the season: http://www.dundeefc.co.uk/news/odea-is-a-dee
In a similar situation to James Collins, Liam Lawrence signed for Bristol Rovers until the end of the season: http://www.bristolrovers.co.uk/news/article/liam-lawrence-signs-for-the-club-2888454.aspx
Mark Yeates signed for Blackpool on a 18 month deal: http://www.blackpoolfc.co.uk/news/article/yeates-agrees-blackpool-deal-2889176.aspx

Friday, 8th January 2016
Following a release from his contract at Rotherham, former U21 defender Aidan White has signed for Barnsley until the end of the season: http://www.barnsleyfc.co.uk/news/article/aidy-white-signs-for-the-reds-2889972.aspx
After training with the club, Stephen Hunt signed for Coventry City on a short term contract: http://www.ccfc.co.uk/news/article/signing-stephen-hunt-coventry-city-short-term-2890421.aspx
Midfielder Jimmy Keohane signed for Sligo Rovers following his release by Woking Town: http://www.sligorovers.com/news/16/jan/keohane-latest-agree-terms

Monday, 11th January 2016
After making only one appearance for Peterborough since signing for them in the summer 2015 transfer window, U21 midfielder Kieran Sadlier has signed for Sligo Rovers ahead of the new season in the League of Ireland: http://sligorovers.com/news/16/jan/sadlier-joins-bit-ored

Thursday, 14th January 2016
Following a successful loan spell earlier in the season, in which he scored five times in seven games, Rory Gaffney returned to Bristol Rovers on a permanent deal: http://www.bristolrovers.co.uk/news/article/signing-rory-gaffney-becomes-a-rovers-player-2901352.aspx

Thursday, 16th January 2016
Following international clearance, Joe Gorman signed for Conference South side Maidenhead United: http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/maidenheadunited/news/gorman-cleared-to-join-squad-for-woking-tie-1552785.html

Friday, 15th January 2016
Fury FC’s Cork born defender Colin Falvey signed for NASL rivals Indy Eleven: http://www.indyeleven.com/news/2016/01/15/falvey-transfer

Friday, 22nd January 2016
Kevin Foley signed for Ipswich until the end of the season: http://www.itfc.co.uk/news/article/ipswich-town-sign-kevin-foley-as-a-free-agent-2914921.aspx
After negotiating a release from his contract with Watford, Connor Smith signed for AFC Wimbledon: http://www.afcwimbledon.co.uk/news/article/done-deal-connor-signs-2915251.aspx

Thursday, 28th January 2016
James Chambers signed with United Soccer League side Bethlehem Steel: http://www.philadelphiaunion.com/post/2016/01/27/bethlehem-steel-fc-add-eight-roster
Former U21 striker Joe Mason moved from Cariff to Wolverhampton Wanderers on a three and a half year deal: http://www.wolves.co.uk/news/article/read-mason-nets-wolves-move-2926297.aspx

Monday, 1st February 2016
Following a short trial after being released by Sheffield United, midfielder Connor Dimaio signed for Chesterfield FC until the end of the season: http://www.chesterfield-fc.co.uk/news/article/young-midfielder-signs-2932503.aspx
After making his fiftieth appearance for former club Carlisle at the weekend, Gary Dicker signed for Kilmarnock on a permanent deal: http://www.kilmarnockfc.co.uk/Article?id=3404

January 2016 Appearance Stats

Irish Abroad players appearance statistics for January 2016: http://irish-abroad.appspot.com/MonthlyStats?month=1

Wins

Defender Kevin Long won five games on loan at Barnsley, while fellow full back Stephen Ward returned to the Burnley side with four wins in January

Draws

West Brom's James McClean started more games that finished all square in January than any other Irish player, the winger drew four of the six games he started

Losses

Not a good month for defenders, with teammates Richard Keogh and Cyrus Christie losing four of their games in January, the same as fellow defender Damien Delaney, and midfielder Jack Byrne

Starts/Completed Games

Goalkeeper Ian Lawlor started seven games in January, split between his loans at Barnet and Bury, and completed 90 minutes in each one. Of the outfield players, Delaney, Long, Ward, McClean, Glenn Whelan and Samir Carruthers all started six games, with the defenders going on to play every minute of those games

Substitutions/Introductions

Striker Eoin Doyle was substituted more than any other player in January, the striker was withdrawn from the action in all five of the games he started. He's only completed 90 minutes in three of the fifteen games he's started so far in 2015/16. Midfielders Jeff Hendrick and Darragh Lenihan were introduced from the bench more than any other player, both players coming off the bench three times

Stayed on bench

Goalkeeper Jack Bonham and defender Niall Keown were both left on the bench for six games in January, Boham for four home and two away games, and Keown for three home and three away games

Goals

Jonathan Walters scored three goals in January, while Wes Hoolahan and Adam Rooney were the only players to score a penalty

Discipline

Carruthers was shown the most yellow cards in January, the MK Dons midfielder was booked four times in the seven games he appeared in

Round Up - Weekend of 29th January 2016

Friday, 29 January 2016
English FA Cup
Derby County 1-3 Manchester United
Jeff Hendrick made his two hundredth appearance for Derby County as a second half substitute

Saturday, 30 January 2016
League 1 
Rochdale 2-1 Burton Albion
Joe Rafferty made his return to the Rochdale starting XI after two months out injured

League 2
Accrington Stanley 1-0 Bristol Rovers
Liam Lawrence made his first start for Bristol Rovers since signing for them recently

Luton 0-2 Notts County
Alan Sheehan unfortunately scored an own goal against Notts County, it was the defender's first own goal since December 2011

Plymouth 0-1 Wycombe Wanderers
Graham Carey made his two hundredth career appearance in England and Scotland, the winger also made a further 18 appearances on loan at Bohemians in the 2009 League of Ireland season
Michael Harriman made his fiftieth appearance for Wycombe, in his second spell at the Chairboys

York City 2-1 Stevenage
Kenneth McEvoy scored his first goal of the season, while for Stevenage, Keith Keane likewise scored his first goal of the season

English FA Cup
Crystal Palace 1-0 Stoke City
Stephen Ireland returned to the Stoke starting XI for the first time since 22nd September, but the midfielder has yet to start a league game for the Potters in 2015/16

Oxford United 0-3 Blackburn
Darragh Lenihan picked up his first booking of the season

Portsmouth 1-2 Bournemouth
In front of a watching Martin O'Neill, Eunan O'Kane assisted Bournemouth's equaliser, is he in line for a call up for the March friendlies?

Liverpool 0-0 West Ham United
Joey O'Brien returned from injury for West Ham to make his first appearance for the Hammers since 30th July

Australian A-LeaguePerth Glory 3-2 Melbourne Victory
Andy Keogh scored his first goal for Perth Glory since returning to them after a spell in Thailand, it was nine months since his last strike for the A-League side

Sunday, 31 January 2016
English FA Cup
Carlisle United 0-3 Everton
Gary Dicker made his fiftieth appearance for Carlisle
After coming off the bench midweek, James McCarthy returned to the Everton's starting XI for the first time since the end of December

MK Dons 1-5 Chelsea
Darren Potter scored his first goal of the season

Further Reading
Harry Arter: 'Every single game now I go out to play for her' - The Guardian
Over One In Every Four League Of Ireland Players Has Been Rejected Abroad - punditarena.com