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



#

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

Round up for week of Tuesday, 27th November 2018

Tuesday, 27th November 2018

Championship

Rotherham 2-2 QPR

Richie Towell made his 50th start for Rotherham

League 1

Accrington Stanley 1-2 Wycombe Wanderers

Michael Harriman was booked for the first time in almost four months

Bristol Rovers 1-2 Gillingham

In his first appearance in a month, Callum Reilly scored his first goal since September, and was sent off for the first time in his career

Luton 4-0 Bradford City

Glen Rea made his 150th career appearance

Portsmouth 2-0 Walsall

Connor Ronan made his 25th appearance in League One
Ronan Curtis scored his first goal in nearly two months

Sunderland 4-2 Barnsley

Aiden McGeady scored his fifth goal of the season in his 50th appearance for Sunderland

League 2

Crewe Alexandra 2-0 Cambridge United

David Forde was booked for the first time this season - this was the goalkeeper's first yellow card in eleven months

Newport Co. 3-1 Northampton

John-Joe O'Toole made his 150th start for Northampton

English League Cup

Leicester City 0-0 Southampton

Michael Obafemi made his first start for Southampton's senior side

Round Up for weekend of Saturday, 24th November 2018

Saturday, 24th November 2018

Premier League

Fulham 3-2 Southampton

Michael Obafemi was booked for the first time this season

Championship

Millwall 1-1 Bolton

Marc Wilson was booked for the first time this season

Rotherham 2-2 Sheffield United

John Egan made his 200th career start

Preston North End 4-1 Blackburn

Alan Browne's fifth goal of the season was also his 15th goal in the Championship

Brentford 1-2 Middlesbrough

Alan Judge scored his 25th Championship goal his first start in almost two months

League 1

Rochdale 1-0 Accrington Stanley

Ryan Delaney was booked for the first time this season

League 2

Cambridge United 2-2 Bury

In his 50th appearance for Bury, Jay O'Shea scored his tenth goal for the club
Jake Carroll was booked for the fifth time this season

Scottish Premier League

St Mirren 2-0 Hearts

Danny Rogers' start was his first appearance in four months

Sunday, 25th November 2018

Championship

Aston Villa 4-2 Birmingham City

Glenn Whelan started his first game in a month

Australian A-League

Perth Glory 3-2 Central Coast Mariners

Andy Keogh was booked for the first time this season

Monday, 26th November 2018

Premier League

Burnley 1-2 Newcastle Utd

Robbie Brady made his 25th start for Burnley
In his first start in two months, Ciaran Clark scored his second goal of the season, matching his total from 2017/18

Round Up for weekend of Saturday, 17th November 2018

Saturday, 17th November 2018

League 1

Burton Albion 1-0 Coventry

Stephen Quinn was booked for the fifth time this season and is suspended for the next game

Luton 5-1 Plymouth

The first goal of James Collins' hat trick was his 25th goal for Luton

Peterborough 1-1 Bradford City

Anthony O'Connor scored his fifth goal in League One

League 2

Bury 4-0 Stevenage

In his 25th appearance for Bury, Eoghan O'Connell scored his third goal of the season
The first goal of Jay O'Shea's brace was his 20th goal in League Two

Crewe Alexandra 3-2 Tranmere

Eddie Nolan's start for Crewe was his 300th career appearance

Swindon Town 0-4 Carlisle United

Jamie Devitt's fifth goal of the season was also his 15th goal for Carlisle

Monday, 19 November 2018

UEFA Nations League

Denmark 0-0 Republic of Ireland

Martin O'Neill is the first Ireland manager to be in charge of four consecutive games where the team failed to score

Ireland complete a calendar year without a competitive win for the first time since 1986

Starting XI

Darren Randolph made his 34th appearance for Ireland

Shane Duffy made his 25th appearance for Ireland

Richard Keogh made his 21st appearance for Ireland

Kevin Long made his 11th appearance for Ireland

Enda Stevens made his sixth appearance for Irelandand

Cyrus Christie made his 23rd appearance for Ireland

Jeff Hendrick made his 45th appearance for Ireland

Seamus Coleman made his 49th appearance for Irel

Aiden O'Brien made his fourth appearance for Ireland

Callum O'Dowda made his 15th appearance for Ireland

Robbie Brady made his 41st appearance for Ireland

Substitutes

Michael Obafemi made his first appearance for Ireland - the Southampton striker is the first player born this century to play senior football for the national side
Ronan Curtis made his second appearance for Ireland
Callum Robinson made his sixth appearance for Ireland

Round Up for week of Tuesday, 13th November 2018

Tuesday, 13th November 2018

Football League Trophy

Walsall 1-2 Port Vale

Liam Kinsella was booked for the first time this season

Cambridge United 3-1 Colchester

Emmanuel Osadebe scored his first goal for Cambridge

Blackpool 3-2 Accrington Stanley

John O'Sullivan was booked for the first time this season

Charlton 0-1 Swansea City U21

Billy Clarke made his first start of the season, 11 months after his last start in December 2017

MK Dons 2-3 Brighton U21

Warren O'Hora's start was his first appearance in senior football
Aaron Connolly scored his first hat trick in senior football

Thursday, 15th November 2018

International Match

Republic of Ireland 0-0 Northern Ireland

Starting XI
Darren Randolph made his 33rd appearance for Ireland
Shane Duffy made his 24th appearance for Ireland
John Egan made his fourth start for Ireland
Darragh Lenihan's second appearance for Ireland was also his first start
James McClean made his 63rd appearance for Ireland
Glenn Whelan's first appearance since Saturday, 11 November 2017 was his 85th appearance for IrelandJeff Hendrick made his 44th appearance for Ireland

Seamus Coleman made his 48th appearance for Ireland
Callum O'Dowda made his 14th appearance for Ireland
Robbie Brady's first appearance since Tuesday, 14 November 2017 was his 40th appearance for Ireland
Callum Robinson made his fifth appearance for Ireland

Substitutes
Ronan Curtis made his first appearance for Ireland
Sean Maguire made his fourth appearance for Ireland
Enda Stevens made his fifth appearance for Ireland
Cyrus Christie made his 22nd appearance for Ireland
Scott Hogan made his third appearance for Ireland
Conor Hourihane was booked for the first time for Ireland in his eighth appearance

Round Up for weekend of Saturday, 10th November 2018

Saturday, 10th November 2018

Premier League

The eight Irish players that appeared in the Premier League today (four starting players, four introduced substitutes) is a season high for a single day

Cardiff 2-1 Brighton and Hove Albion

Greg Cunningham was booked on his first appearance since Sunday, 30th September

Leicester City 0-0 Burnley

Kevin Long's start was his first appearance since Sunday, 30th September

Newcastle Utd 2-1 Bournemouth

Ciaran Clark came off the bench for first appearance since Saturday, 29th September

Championship

Bristol City 0-1 Preston North End

Callum Robinson marked his 150th appearance for Preston North End with his eighth goal of the season

Derby County 0-3 Aston Villa

Conor Hourihane's goal against Derby was scored his 15th goal for Villa, and also his 20th goal in the Championship

Norwich 4-3 Millwall

Shaun Williams' start was his 350th appearance in English football

Scottish Premier League

St Johnstone 4-0 Hamilton Academical

Sam Kelly's appearance off the bench for Hamilton was his first appearance since Saturday, 29th Septembe

English FA Cup

Luton 2-0 Wycombe Wanderers

James Collins' start was his 400th career appearance

Southend United 1-1 Crawley

Reece Grego Cox cane off the bench for his first appearance since AugustSimon Cox was booked for the fifth time this season

Crewe Alexandra 0-1 Carlisle United

Eddie Nolan was named in the Crewe starting XI for the first time since Saturday, 1st September, and was booked for the first time this season
Jamie Devitt's winner was also his first goal in theFA Cup

Sunday, 11th November 2018

Premier League

Liverpool 2-0 Fulham

Cyrus Christie started his first game in a month

Arsenal 1-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers

Matt Doherty was booked for the first time this season

Scottish Premier League

Rangers 7-1 Motherwell

Carl McHugh was sent off for the second time this season

English FA Cup

Mansfield Town 1-1 Charlton

Billy Clarke returned from injury as second half substitute, this was the striker's first appearance since December 2017

Alfreton Town 1-4 Fleetwood

The first goal of Paddy Madden's brace was his fifth FA Cup goal

Chorley 2-2 Doncaster Rovers

Ian Lawlor started his first game in a month

Port Vale 1-2 Sunderland

Aiden McGeady was booked for the first time this season

Round Up for weekend of Saturday, 3rd November 2018

Saturday, 3rd November 2018

The 13 goals scored today is a season high for the 2018/19 season

Premier League

Cardiff 0-1 Leicester City

Harry Arter was booked for the fifth time this season

Everton 3-1 Brighton and Hove Albion

Seamus Coleman's first goal since Saturday, 21 January 2017 was also his 25th goal for Everton

Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-3 Tottenham

Matt Doherty made his 200th start for Wolverhampton Wanderers

Championship

Reading 3-2 Bristol City

Liam Kelly scored his first goal of the season - his first goal since April

Rotherham 2-1 Swansea

Ryan Manning scored a brace of goals for the first time in his career

League 1

Coventry 1-1 Accrington Stanley

Michael Doyle scored his first goal of the season - this was his tenth goal in League One

Gillingham 3-0 Fleetwood

Mark Byrne was booked for the fifth time this season

League 2

Carlisle United 3-2 Newport Co.

On his first start in a month, Jamie Devitt scored twice for the first time in his career

Macclesfield 1-4 Bury

Jay O'Shea's strike was the 60th goal of his career

Northampton 2-0 Crewe Alexandra

John-Joe O'Toole made his 150th appearance in League Two
Eddie Nolan came off the bench for his first appearance since in two months

Scottish Premier League

Celtic 5-0 Hearts

Jake Mulraney was named in the Hearts starting XI for the first time since Saturday, 25 August. This was his first appearance since 22nd September

Hibernian 0-1 St Johnstone

Joe Shaughnessy scored his first goal of the season

Motherwell 1-0 Dundee

Conor Sammon came off the bench for his first appearance in a month

Sunday, 4th November 2018

Premier League

Manchester City 6-1 Southampton

Shane Long started a game for Southampton for the first time since Saturday, 22 September
Michael Obafemi came off the bench for his first appearance in the Premier League since January

Irish Player Appearances In English Football

One of our twitter followers contacted us to know if representation of Irish players across the four divisions in England had dropped in recent years - not just in the Premier League. It's taken a little while to collate the data from the last ten years, but we can confirm that this is correct.

Note that one appearances in league football for each season were counted - appearances in FA Cup, League Cup, European, etc were disregarded

The number of Premier League players have steadily declined from 39 in 2009-10 to only 13 this season. There hasn't been an increase in player numbers season-to-season since 2011-12.

Championship numbers were almost double those in the Premier League in 2009-10 with 70 of the Boys in Green appearing in England's second tier. This has declined to 33 this season, with only slight increase in 2013-14, 2014-15, and 2016-17 arresting the slide.

Following the European Championships in 2012, there was a brief improvement in the player numbers in League One and League Two from the 2012-13 season until 2015-16 and declined since then, with the only increase coming in League One in 2017-18.

While there has been improvement in the fortunes at underage level for Ireland, this has not yet had an effect on the numbers playing at senior level in England, and it may be at least another 12 months before we start to see the talent from the underage sides make an impact for their respective club sides.

(mouse over the dots on the graph to see the players from that division that season)

Round Up for weekend of Saturday, 27th October 2018

Saturday, 27th October 2018

Premier League

Leicester City 1-1 West Ham United

Conor Coventry was named in a Premier League squad for the first time

Championship

Preston North End 1-1 Rotherham

Sean Maguire was booked for the first time this season

Swansea 2-0 Reading

John O'Shea's start was the defender's first start in a month

West Bromwich Albion 1-1 Blackburn

Derrick Williams made his 100th start for Blackburn

League 1

Fleetwood 3-2 Blackpool

Paddy Madden scored his fifth goal of the season

Scunthorpe 1-4 Plymouth

Niall Canavan scored his first goal for Plymouth, his first goal since February 2017

Sunderland 3-0 Southend United

Aiden McGeady scored his first goal of the season

Walsall 3-2 Wycombe Wanderers

Michael Harriman made his 150th appearance for Wycombe Wanderers

League 2

Crewe Alexandra 2-0 Grimsby

Corey Whelan scored his first goal of the season

Exeter 1-2 Forest Green

Pierce Sweeney made his 100th start for Exeter

Mansfield Town 1-1 MK Dons

Ryan Sweeney was booked for the fifth time this season and is suspended for the next game

Northampton 2-1 Oldham

John-Joe O'Toole was booked for the fifth time this season and is suspended for the next game
Sam Foley was sent off for the first time in his career

Scottish Premier League

Kilmarnock 1-1 Hamilton Academical

After being introduced as a substitute, Jack Byrne was booked for the first time this season

Sunday, 28 October 2018

Premier League

Burnley 0-4 Chelsea

Jeff Hendrick's start was his 200th career appearance
Robbie Brady was booked on his return from injury, making his first appearance in 11 months

Round Up for week of Tuesday, 24rd October 2018

Tuesday, 23rd October 2018

Championship

Middlesbrough 0-0 Rotherham

Ryan Manning made his 50th appearance in the Championship

Norwich 2-1 Aston Villa

Glenn Whelan started his first game since Saturday, 1st September
Conor Hourihane made his 100th appearance in the Championship
Scott Hogan came off the bench for his first appearance of the season

Sheffield United 1-1 Stoke City

John Egan made his 200th career appearance

League 1

Plymouth 3-1 Gillingham

Callum Reilly made his 25th start for Gillingham
Bradley Garmston made his 100th career appearance

Wycombe Wanderers 3-0 Rochdale

Joe Rafferty made his 150th appearance in League One

League 2

Bury 1-1 Newport Co.

Joe Murphy made his 50th appearance for Bury

Wednesday, 24th October 2018

Championship

Preston North End 4-3 Brentford

Alan Browne scored his 20th goal for Preston

Round Up for weekend of Saturday, 20th October 2018

Saturday, 20th October 2018

Premier League

Manchester City 5-0 Burnley

Jeff Hendrick was booked for the first time this season

Championship

Blackburn 2-1 Leeds United

Darragh Lenihan scored his first goal of the season

Hull City 1-1 Preston North End

Sean Maguire made his first start of the season

Rotherham 1-1 Bolton

Richie Towell made his 50th appearance for Rotherham

League 1

Luton 2-0 Walsall

Glen Rea's first goal of the season was his fifth goal for Luton

Portsmouth 1-0 Fleetwood

Cian Bolger made his 100th appearance for Fleetwood

Southend United 1-2 Coventry

Michael Doyle was booked for the first time this season
Simon Cox was sent off for the first time in his career

League 2

Bury 4-0 Notts County

Jay O'Shea's first goal of the season was his fifth goal for Bury

Forest Green 1-1 Cheltenham

Kevin Dawson made his 150th career start in England
Liam McAlinden came off the bench for his first appearance since Tuesday, 28th August

Lincoln City 1-1 Cambridge United

David Forde made his 100th appearance in League Two

MK Dons 1-0 Northampton

Sam Foley was booked for the first time this season

Scottish Premier League

Motherwell 0-1 St Johnstone

Charles Dunne's start was his first appearance since Saturday, 21st July

St Mirren 1-2 Kilmarnock

Alan Power scored his first goal for Kilmarnock, this was his first goal since January 2017

Scottish Championship

Dunfermline 0-1 Queen of the South

Aidan Keena made his first appearance for loan club Dunfermline

Sunday, 21st October 2018

Premier League

Everton 2-0 Crystal Palace

Seamus Coleman was booked for the first time this season

Australian A-League

Perth Glory 1-1 Western Sydney Wanderers

Andy Keogh scored on the opening day of the A-League 2018/19 season 

Round up for UEFA Nations League games in October 2018

Saturday, 13th October 2018

UEFA Nations League

Republic of Ireland 0-0 Denmark

Starting XI
Darren Randolph made his 31st appearance for Ireland
Kevin Long made his ninth appearance for Ireland
Shane Duffy continued his remarkable record of starting every game when he plays for Ireland in his made his 22nd appearance, and was booked for the first time since November 2016
Richard Keogh made his 19th appearance for Ireland
James McClean made his 61st appearance for Ireland
Callum O'Dowda made his 13th appearance for Ireland
Harry Arter's 14th appearance for Ireland was his first start since November 2017
Cyrus Christie made his 20th appearance for Ireland
Matt Doherty made his fourth appearance for Ireland was also his first start for the national side
Jeff Hendrick made his 42nd appearance for Ireland
Shane Long made his 81st appearance for Ireland

Substitutes
Aiden O'Brien made his second appearance for Ireland
Enda Stevens made his fourth appearance for Ireland
Callum Robinson made his third appearance for Ireland

Tuesday, 16th October 2018

UEFA Nations League

Republic of Ireland 0-1 Wales

Starting XI
Darren Randolph made his 32nd appearance for Ireland
Shane Duffy made his 23rd appearance for Ireland
Richard Keogh made his 20th appearance for Ireland
Kevin Long was booked for the first time at international level in his tenth appearance for Ireland
James McClean made his 62nd appearance for Ireland
Cyrus Christie made his 21st appearance for Ireland
Jeff Hendrick made his 43rd appearance for Ireland
Harry Arter made his 15th appearance for Ireland
Matt Doherty made his fifth appearance for Ireland
Aiden O'Brien made his third appearance for Ireland
Callum Robinson made his fourth appearance for Ireland

Substitutes
Sean Maguire made his third appearance for Ireland, this was his first appearance since Friday, 23 March 2018
Scott Hogan made his second appearance for Ireland
Shane Long made his 82nd appearance for Ireland, and was shown his first yellow card since September 2017

Round up for week of Tuesday, 9th October 2018

Tuesday, 9th October 2018

Football League Trophy

Cambridge United 4-0 Southampton U21

Emmanuel Osadebe's start was his first appearance in a month

Doncaster Rovers 2-0 Grimsby

Ian Lawlor start for Doncaster was his first appearance since the end of August
After signing for Doncaster from Finn Harps last January, Shane Blaney made his first appearance for Donny

Blackpool 1-2 West Bromwich Albion U23

Paudie O'Connor's start was his first appearance in a month
Kevin Healy made his first appearance in senior football

Crawley 0-1 Portsmouth

Joe Mason started his first game for Portsmouth

Colchester 2-0 Southend United

Rene Gilmartin's start was the goalkeeper's first appearance since November 2017

Luton 3-0 MK Dons

Alan Sheehan scored his first goal of the season

Oxford United 1-2 Northampton

Samir Carruthers started his first game in two months
John-Joe O'Toole was sent off for the fourth time since joining Northampton, the was the seventh red card of the midfielder's career

Saturday, 13th October 2018

League 1

Barnsley 3-2 Luton

Alan McCormack came off the bench in the second half for his first appearance in a month, and was shown his first yellow card in two months

Accrington Stanley 3-1 Bradford City

Eoin Doyle scored for the first time in a month

Fleetwood 2-1 Shrewsbury

Paddy Madden scored his tenth goal for Fleetwood in his 250th appearance in League One

Gillingham 0-2 Southend United

The first goal of Simon Cox's brace was his fifth goal of the season

Round Up for weekend of Friday, 5th October 2018

Friday, 5th October 2018

Premier League

Brighton and Hove Albion 1-0 West Ham United

Shane Duffy's start was his 50th appearance in the Premier League

Saturday, 6th October 2018

Premier League

Crystal Palace 0-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers

Matt Doherty scored his first goal of the season - this is the fifth Premier League goal scored by an Irish player this season, more than scored in the last two seasons at this point (four in 2016/17 and three in 2017/18)

Championship

Norwich 0-1 Stoke City

James McClean returned from injury for his first start since Saturday, 1st September

Preston North End 4-0 Wigan

Sean Maguire came off the bench for his first appearance of the season
Callum Robinson scored his fifth goal of the season, and in the same game was booked for the first time since August 2017
Darron Gibson was shown his first red card since December 2012

Sheffield United 1-0 Hull City

David McGoldrick scored his fifth goal of the season

Bolton 0-1 Blackburn

Derrick Williams made his 100th appearance for Blackburn

League 1

Blackpool 2-2 Rochdale

Ryan Delaney scored his second goal of the season

Bradford City 1-2 Sunderland

Anthony O'Connor's first goal of the season was the tenth goal of his career
Sean Scannell was sent off for the first time since April 2011

Portsmouth 0-2 Gillingham

Callum Reilly made his 25th appearance for Gillingham

League 2

Bury 2-2 Mansfield Town

Jay O'Shea was booked for the first time since November 2016

Forest Green 1-1 Newport Co.

Padraig Amond scored his fifth goal of the season

Swindon Town 1-1 Northampton

John-Joe O'Toole scored his first goal of the season

Yeovil 2-2 Exeter

Pierce Sweeney made his 100th career appearance for Exeter

Scottish Premier League

Motherwell 1-1 Livingston

Carl McHugh was sent off for the third time in his career

Sunday, 7th October 2018

Scottish Premier League

Rangers 3-1 Hearts

Jimmy Dunne scored his second goal in two consecutive games