Youngest Premier League debutants

When Michael Obafemi came off the bench for Southampton to make his debut, he became the fourth youngest Irish player to appear in the Premier League, and one of only six to make their first appearance in the top division in England before their 18th birthday.

Winger Aaron Doran came off the bench for Blackburn to face Liverpool in April 2009, aged 17 years and 10 months. He would only make two more appearances for the Lancashire side, and (following a series of loan moves) made a permanent move to Inverness Caledonian Thistle in 2011

Willie Boland was 17 years, 8 months and 25 days when he made the first of his 63 appearances for Coventry (over seven years) as a second half substitute against Chelsea in May 1993. Following moves to Cardiff and Hartlepool, he came out of retirement for one final appearance for Limerick FC in the League of Ireland

Alan Maybury started for Leeds against Aston Villa in February 1995, aged 17 years, five months and 27 days, but was replaced by Mark Tinkler at half time. He played more than 400 games for several clubs before retiring in 2015 after a season with Falkirk

In August 1992, future Ireland U21 (and England C) cap Andy Turner made his debut for Tottenham against Southampton at the age of 17 years, four months and 24 days. His first goal for Spurs a month later made him the the youngest scorer in the competition until Michael Owen broke it in the 1996/97 season

Richard Dunne was the youngest player to appear for Everton since Joe Royle in 1966 when he started an FA Cup third round tie against Swindon in January 1997, before making his first appearance in the Premier League a week later against Sheffield Wednesday three months and 22 days after his seventeeth birthday

Less than a month after his seventeenth birthday, Stephen Carr was named in the Tottenham starting XI against Ipswich in September 1993, still the youngest Irish player to appear in the Premier League

Player	Date of Birth	Debut	Home	Score	Away	Age
Stephen Carr	29th August 1976	29th September 1993	Ipswich Town	2-2	Tottenham	17y 27d
Richard Dunne	21st September 1979	11th January 1997	Sheffield Wednesday	2-1	Everton	17y 3m 22d
Andy Turner	23rd March 1975	15th August 1992	Southampton	0-0	Tottenham	17y 4m 24d
Alan Maybury	8th August 1978	3rd February 1996	Aston Villa	3-0	Leeds	17y 5m 27d
Michael Obafemi	6th July 2000	21st January 2018	Southampton	1-1	Tottenham	17y 6m 15d
Willie Boland	6th August 1975	1st May 1993	Chelsea	2-1	Coventry	17y 8m 25d
Aaron Doran	13th May 1991	11th April 2009	Liverpool	4-0	Blackburn	17y 10m 30d

Round Up for weekend of Saturday, 29th December 2018

Saturday, 29th December 2018

Championship

Bristol City 1-0 Rotherham

Ryan Manning was booked for the fifth time this season and is suspended for the next game
Richie Towell was sent off for the first time since leaving the League of Ireland

Millwall 1-0 Nottingham Forest

Daryl Murphy started his first game since Saturday, 6th October

Preston North End 1-1 Aston Villa

Glenn Whelan assisted a goal for the first time since September
Congratulations to Adam O'Reilly on his senior debut

🙌 Congratulations to @pnefcacademy pair @Adam_o_reilly and @Ethanwalker_7 on making their first team debuts this afternoon! 👏 #pnefc pic.twitter.com/VPckeGfDzJ

— Preston North End FC (@pnefc) December 29, 2018

QPR 0-0 Reading

John O'Shea was booked on his first appearance in a month

Sheffield United 3-0 Blackburn

David McGoldrick was booked for the fifth time this season and is suspended for the next game in what was his 25th appearance for Sheffield United

Swansea 2-2 Wigan

Darron Gibson started his first game in a month

League 1

Burton Albion 1-1 Plymouth

Stephen Quinn made his 25th appearance for Burton Albion
Damien McCrory's introduction from the bench was his first appearance in a month

Coventry 1-0 Southend United

Michael Doyle came off the bench for his first appearance in a month

Rochdale 0-4 Bradford City

Anthony O'Connor scored his fifth goal for the club

Walsall 2-2 Luton

Alan McCormack was booked for the fifth time this season in his first start since Tuesday, 13th November; this was also the midfielder's 25th appearance for Luton
James Collins' tenth goal of the season was also his 30th goal for Luton

League 2

Carlisle United 2-1 Macclesfield

Kieran O'Hara's start against Carlisle was his 25th career start

Mansfield Town 0-0 Swindon Town

Ryan Sweeney made his 25th appearance for Mansfield Town

Notts County 0-0 Bury

Jay O'Shea's start was the midfielder's 250th career start

Scottish Premier League

Dundee 0-2 St Johnstone

Andy Boyle was booked for the fifth time this season and is suspended for the next game

Sunday, 30th December 2018

Premier League

Burnley 2-0 West Ham United

Declan Rice was booked for the first time since September

Australian A-League

Newcastle Jets 1-2 Adelaide United

Roy O'Donovan's first goal of the season was his tenth goal for the club



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Monday, 31st December 2018

Australian A-League

Central Coast Mariners 1-4 Perth Glory

The first goal of Andy Keogh's brace (his fifth and sixth goals of the season) was his 50th goal for Perth Glory

Round Up for weekend of Saturday, 22nd December 2018

Saturday, 22nd December 2018

Premier League

Arsenal 3-1 Burnley

Kevin Long's assist for Burnley's only goal of the game was his first of the season

Huddersfield 1-3 Southampton

Michael Obafemi scored his first goal for Southampton, in the process becoming their youngest goalscorer in the Premier League, and the 105th Irish player to score in the PL.
This was the eleventh goal scored by an Irish player in the 2018/19 season - matching the total scored in 2017/18.

West Ham United 0-2 Watford

Congratulations to Declan Rice on his 50th appearance for West Ham United

Congratulations, @_DeclanRice! 👏 pic.twitter.com/NRnyd6aOuN

— West Ham United (@WestHamUtd) December 22, 2018

Championship

Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 Preston North End

Keiren Westwood's start was his first appearance in more than a year, his last time lining out for the Owls was on Saturday, 9th December 2017

League 1

Blackpool 0-1 Barnsley

John O'Sullivan was named in the Blackpool starting XI for the first time in a month

Bradford City 2-0 Scunthorpe

Eoin Doyle scored his fifth goal for Bradford, and was also booked for the first time this season

Bristol Rovers 2-1 Fleetwood

Paddy Madden was booked for the fifth time this season, three months after his last yellow card, and also made his fifth assist of the season

Peterborough 1-1 Walsall

Conor O'Malley was booked for the first time this season in his first league appearance of the season

Plymouth 0-3 Accrington Stanley

Seamus Conneely was shown his first yellow card since August

League 2

Crawley 2-3 Carlisle United

Jamie Devitt made his first assist since September

Forest Green 1-0 Crewe Alexandra

Paul Green came off the bench for his first appearance for Crewe since August

Lincoln City 3-2 Newport Co.

The first goal of Padraig Amond's brace was his 70th goal in League Two

Stevenage 1-3 Mansfield Town

Ryan Sweeney scored his first goal for Mansfield, his was the fifth goal of the defender's career, his first goal in League Two, and his first goal of the season

Yeovil 1-1 Northampton

Sam Foley was booked for the first time in two months

Scottish Premier League

Aberdeen 2-0 Hearts

Stephen Gleeson's came off the bench for his first appearance since Saturday, 6th October
Colin Doyle made his first appearance for Hearts, also his first appearance in the SPL

Hamilton Academical 1-1 Kilmarnock

Gary Dicker made his 400th appearance since leaving the League of Ireland

Scottish Championship

Greenock Morton 1-2 Inverness CT

Aaron Doran's scored his fifth goal in the Scottish Championship

Sunday, 23rd December 2018

Championship

Aston Villa 2-3 Leeds United

Conor Hourihane scored his first goal since Saturday, 10th November

Scottish Premier League

St Johnstone 1-2 Rangers

Joe Shaughnessy made his 150th appearance for St Johnstone

Australian A-League

Central Coast Mariners 1-2 Newcastle Jets

After completing his record suspension, Roy O'Donovan returned to the Newcastle Jets starting XI for his first appearance since May

Round Up for weekend of Friday, 14th December 2018

Friday, 14th December 2018

Championship

Sheffield United 1-2 West Bromwich Albion

David McGoldrick scored his first goal in two months
John Egan was booked for the fifth time this season, and is suspended for the next game

Polish Ekstraklasa

Jagiellonia Białystok 0-4 Zagłębie Lubin

Cillian Sheridan made his 50th appearance in the Polish League

Saturday, 15 December 2018

Premier League

Tottenham 1-0 Burnley

Kevin Long made his 25th appearance in the Premier League

Championship

Aston Villa 2-2 Stoke City

James McClean was booked for the fifth time this season, and also made his fifth assist of the season

Bristol City 2-2 Norwich

In his 100th career start, Callum O'Dowda scored his first goal of the season. This was his first strike since November 2017

League 1

Bradford City 4-0 Walsall

Liam Kinsella made his 50th appearance in League One
Eoin Doyle's first goal in two months was the 40th time he scored in England's third tier

Gillingham 2-2 Wycombe Wanderers

Bradley Garmston was booked for the first time in two and a half months

Oxford United 2-0 Blackpool

John O'Sullivan came off the bench for his first appearance in a month

Sunderland 2-1 Bristol Rovers

Aiden McGeady made his fifth assist of the season

 

League 2

Macclesfield 2-0 Crawley

Fiacre Kelleher made his 25th appearance for Macclesfield
Reece Grego Cox was named in the starting XI for the first time in a month

Northampton 1-1 Stevenage

Michael Timlin was booked for the fifth time this season and is suspended for the next game

Scottish Premier League

Kilmarnock 3-1 Dundee

Alan Power started a game for Kilmarnock for the 50th time
Andy Boyle was booked for the first time since Saturday, 6th October

St Johnstone 1-2 Motherwell

David McMillan started his first game in eight weeks
Charles Dunne was booked for the first time this season in what was his 50th appearance for Motherwell

Danish Superliga

Randers 2-0 Vejle Boldklub

Sean Murray came off the bench for his first appearance in a month

Sunday, 16 December 2018

Premier League

Southampton 3-2 Arsenal

Shane Long's introduction was the striker's first appearance in six weeks, and he marked his return with his first assist of the season

Scottish Premier League

Hibernian 2-0 Celtic

Jonathan Hayes made his 25th appearance for Celtic

Round Up for weekend of Friday, 7th December 2018

Friday, 7th December 2018

Championship

West Bromwich Albion 2-2 Aston Villa

Glenn Whelan was booked for the first time this season, almost a year to the date of his last booking on Saturday, 9th December 2017

Saturday, 8th December 2018

Championship

Birmingham City 0-1 Bristol City

Callum O'Dowda was booked for the first time this season - this was the midfielder's first yellow card since April 2016!

Middlesbrough 1-1 Blackburn

Derrick Williams' was booked for the first time in two months

Millwall 2-2 Hull City

Aiden O'Brien's goal was his first strike since August

Nottingham Forest 0-1 Preston North End

Daryl Murphy's appearance off the bench was the striker's first appearance in two months

Sheffield Wednesday 2-2 Rotherham

Richie Towell scored in consecutive games for the first time since December 2016

League 1

Bristol Rovers 0-4 Doncaster Rovers

Ian Lawlor made his 50th appearance in League One

Wycombe Wanderers 1-0 Barnsley

After signing on an emergency loan midweek, Stephen Henderson made his first start for Wycombe Wanderers. This was the goalkeeper's first appearance since February

League 2

Cheltenham 2-1 Grimsby

James McKeown was booked for the first time since August

Crewe Alexandra 0-2 Oldham

Corey Whelan made his 25th career start

Swindon Town 2-1 Newport Co.

In his 25th appearance of the season, Padraig Amond scored his 25th goal for Newport County

Scottish Premier League

Aberdeen 0-2 St Johnstone

Joe Shaughnessy's first goal in a month was also his fifth goal in the SPL and the tenth goal of the defender's career

Celtic 5-1 Kilmarnock

Alan Power was booked for the fifth time this season

Hearts 1-0 Motherwell

Charles Dunne's start was the defender's first appearance since Saturday, 20th October

Polish Ekstraklasa

Wisła Kraków 2-2 Jagiellonia Białystok

Cillian Sheridan scored his fifth goal of the season

Sunday, 9th December 2018

Premier League

Newcastle Utd 1-2 Wolverhampton Wanderers

Ciaran Clark was booked for the first time this season

Scottish Premier League

Dundee 1-1 Rangers

Andy Boyle's start was his first appearance in a month

MLS

Atlanta United 2-0 Portland Timbers

Congratulations to Chris McCann on winning the MLS Cup with Atlanta United

Monday, 10th December 2018

Premier League

Everton 2-2 Watford

Seamus Coleman's own goal was his first OG since August 2014

Round Up for week of Tuesday, 4th December 2018

Tuesday, 4th December 2018

Premier League

Brighton and Hove Albion 3-1 Crystal Palace

Shane Duffy was sent off for the third time in his career, more than two years after his last red card in August 2016.
Duffy is the first Irish player to be sent off in the Premier League since Jeff Hendrick in February 2017

West Ham United 3-1 Cardiff

Declan Rice's start was his 50th career appearance

Football League Trophy

Portsmouth 2-1 Arsenal U21

Joe Mason came off the bench for his first appearance in two months

Cheltenham 1-1 Newport Co.

Padraig Amond scored his tenth goal of the season

Mansfield Town 0-1 Bury

In his first first appearance since September, Stephen Dawson was set off for the third time in his career. This was his first red card since April 2013
Conrad Logan was booked for the first time this season

Polish Cup

Arka Gdynia 0-2 Jagiellonia Białystok

Cillian Sheridan scored his first goal in the Polish Cup

Wednesday, 5 December 2018

Scottish Premier League

Motherwell 1-1 Celtic

Conor Sammon was named in the Motherwell starting XI for the first time since Saturday, 22 September
Jonathan Hayes' start was his first appearance since Thursday, 30 August

Round Up for weekend of Friday, 30th November 2018

Friday, 30th November 2018

Premier League

Cardiff 2-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers

Matt Doherty scored his 15th goal for Wolves, this was also the 20th goal of the defender's career

Polish Ekstraklasa

Jagiellonia Białystok 3-1 Arka Gdynia

Cillian Sheridan's start (his first since Friday, 19th October) was his 350th career appearance

Saturday, 1st December 2018

Premier League

Crystal Palace 2-0 Burnley

Jeff Hendrick was named in the Burnley starting XI for the first time in a month

Huddersfield 1-2 Brighton and Hove Albion

Shane Duffy's third goal of the season was also his fifth goal for Brighton.
Before this goal, no Irish player had scored more than two Premier League goals in a season since the 2016/17 season, and no Irish player had scored in December since Shane Long scored on 31st December 2016

Southamton 2-2 Manchester United

Michael Obafemi marked his first start in the Premier League with an assist. Obafemi is only the fifth teenage Irish striker to start a Premier League game, following Robbie Keane, Leon Best, Anthony Stokes and Reece Grego-Cox

Championship

Birmingham City 3-0 Preston North End

Graham Burke came off the bench for his first appearance in two months

Norwich 3-1 Rotherham

Anthony Forde's first appearance in a month was also his first time in Rotherham's starting XI since AugustRichie Towell's scored his first goal in two months

Reading 2-2 Stoke City

James McClean was shown his first yellow card since August

Middlesbrough 0-3 Aston Villa

Glenn Whelan came off the bench to score his first goal since February

Scottish Championship

Dunfermline 3-0 Greenock Morton

Aidan Keena scored his fourth goal of the season, a month after his last strike

English FA Cup

Peterborough 2-2 Bradford City

Anthony O'Connor made his 25th appearance for Bradford City - all of which have been starts

Walsall 1-1 Sunderland

Liam Kinsella made his 50th start for Walsall
Aiden McGeady's strike was his first goal in the FA Cup

Charlton 0-2 Doncaster Rovers

Billy Clarke's start was his 25th appearance for Charlton

Wrexham 0-0 Newport Co.

Mark O'Brien was booked for the first time in a month

Sunday, 2nd December 2018

Championship

Bristol City 1-1 Millwall

Callum O'Dowda came off the bench for first appearance in a month
Aiden O'Brien started a game for Millwall for the first time in a month
Shaun Williams scored his fifth goal of the season

English FA Cup

Bury 0-1 Luton

Eoghan O'Connell's first start in two months was his 25th start for Bury

Australian A-League

Wellington Phoenix 1-1 Perth Glory

Andy Keogh's start was his 100th appearance in the A-League