Monday, 25 February 2019

Round Up for weekend of Friday, 22nd February 2019

Friday, 22nd February 2019
Premier League
Cardiff 1-5 Watford
Harry Arter made his 250th career start

Saturday, 23rd February 2019
Championship
Norwich 3-2 Bristol City
Callum O'Dowda scored his fifth goal of the season, this is the first time since 2015/16 that the midfielder has reached this total

Reading 1-1 Rotherham
John O'Shea came off the bench for his first appearance since Tuesday, 1st January

West Bromwich Albion 0-1 Sheffield United
Enda Stevens was booked for the first time in a month

League 1
Bristol Rovers 0-2 Sunderland
Aiden McGeady scored his tenth goal in League One

Burton Albion 0-1 Fleetwood
Paddy Madden was shown his first yellow card since Saturday, 29th December

Plymouth 5-1 Rochdale
Graham Carey completed his first assist in a month

Walsall 3-2 Bradford City
Anthony O'Connor scored his 15th goal of his career

League 2
Bury 3-1 Oldham
Jay O'Shea scored his 20th goal for Bury in what was his 350th appearance in English football

Crawley 1-1 Macclesfield
Reece Grego Cox's second half introduction was his first appearance since Tuesday, 15th January

Stevenage 1-2 Northampton
Sam Foley was booked for the first tme since Tuesday, 8th January in his first appearance since Saturday, 12th January

Yeovil 1-0 Cambridge United
In his first start for Yeovil, Courtney Duffus scored his first goal in English football

Slovakian Super Liga
Spartak Trnava 3-1 DAC
Connor Ronan's second half introduction was the midfielder's 50th career appearance

Sunday, 24th February 2019
Premier League
Arsenal 2-0 Southampton
Michael Obafemi's second half introduction was his first appearance in two months

League 1
Luton 1-1 Coventry
Jordan Shipley scored his first goal of the season

Scottish Premier League
Celtic 4-1 Motherwell
Conor Sammon came off the bench for his first appearance in a month

Australian A-League
Western Sydney Wanderers 1-1 Perth Glory
Andy Keogh was booked for the first time since Saturday, 8th December

Tuesday, 19 February 2019

A brief history of formerly Irish dual nationalist footballers

It's been a week since Declan Rice announced that he was changing his international allegiance from the Republic of Ireland to England. While Rice had earned three caps at senior level for the Republic against Turkey, France and the USA, none of these were in a competitive international, leaving him open to declaring for another side.

The announcement itself has resulted in waves of comments from those within and without the football family, including thinkpieces on the state of underage football in Ireland, the over-reliance on players born, and developed, outside of the FAI's underage setup, and comparisons with similar defections in other sports.

Only one other senior international has changed his allegiance before this - defender Alex Bruce switched from the Republic, having earned two caps, the last of which came in 2008, to Northern Ireland in 2013, and has matched that total with Michael O'Neill's side.

Three other players have also switched from Ireland to England in recent years. In 2015, then U21 player of the year Jack Grealish notified the national side that he wanted to represent the Three Lions. Previous to this, in 2012 Michael Keane decided to play for England competitively at U19 level having represented Ireland at the same level, but only in friendlies. Of these two, only Keane has earned senior caps for his country, four in 2017 and one in 2018. Ironically enough, his twin brother, Will Keane, is currently in the process of changing his international allegiance from England to Ireland. Having only appeared in friendlies at U16 and U17 for Ireland, playmaker Daniel Crowley decided to play for England competitively at U17 and U19 level. However, in recent years Crowley has spoken of a desire to play for the Republic senior side.

In 2009. former Aston Villa, and Ireland U21, defender Shane Lowry decided to represet Australia (where he was born to Irish parents), although he has yet to make his international debut.

Having appeared for Ireland at U20 and U21 level, Dublin born Eamon Zayed opted to represent Libya at senior international level, qualifying through his Libyan grandparents. Of the players to change allegiance thus far, Zayed has had arguably the most successful international career - playing eight times and scoring once.

What does this mean for Rice? Historically, no player who switched from the FAI has reached double figures in terms of international caps, and Rice himself has said he does not believe the act of switching alone will guarantee him a place in the England squad. His current club mate Mark Noble, once touted as an Ireland callup, has not earned an England cap, and at 31 is unlikely to do so before he retires. Current England squad members Eric Dier(25) and Jordan Henderson(28) have 38 and 48 caps, respectively, as well as playing at higher profile clubs, and have Champions League experience. The process of switching allegiance itself is time consuming, so his is unlikely to be processed before the summer, meaning his second international debut will probably not be until September, at the earliest.

As noted by Daniel McDonnell of independent.ie, the real long term effects of Rice no longer playing for the Republic could be a suspicion of players either born outside Ireland, or who qualify for other countries through parentage.

What could have been.

Monday, 18 February 2019

Round Up for weekend of Friday, 15th February 2019

Friday, 15th February 2019
Australian A-League
Newcastle Jets 3-1 Melbourne City
Roy O'Donovan scored his 15th goal for Newcastle Jets

Saturday, 16th February 2019
Championship
Rotherham 2-2 Sheffield Wednesday
Richie Towell scored his tenth goal for Rotherham

Ipswich 1-1 Stoke City
James McClean scored for the first time since August in his 300th appearance in English football
Alan Judge completed his first assist since signing for Ipswich

Sheffield United 4-0 Reading
In his first appearance for Sheffield United, Scott Hogan made his first assist of the season
John Egan made his 100th appearance in the Championship

League 1
Bradford City 0-0 Plymouth
Billy Clarke started his first game in two months

Charlton 0-0 Blackpool
Josh Cullen made his 100th career appearance

Gillingham 1-0 Scunthorpe
Mark Byrne's winner was his first goal since September
Callum Reilly's first booking since October was his fifth yellow card of the season

Oxford United 0-1 Peterborough
Samir Carruthers made his 100th appearance in the competition

League 2
Exeter 0-1 Bury
Joe Murphy was booked for the fifth time this season

Grimsby 1-0 Cheltenham
Kevin Dawson made his 200th appearance in English football

Lincoln City 2-2 Stevenage
Michael Timlin made his 200th appearance in the competition
Cian Bolger was booked for the first time this season

Scottish Premier League
Hibernian 2-0 Hamilton Academical
Daryl Horgan made his 25th appearance for Hibernian
David McMillan made his first start for Hamilton Academical

English FA Cup
AFC Wimbledon 0-1 Millwall
Shane McLoughlin made his first appearance in the FA Cup

Newport Co. 1-4 Manchester City
Padraig Amond's consolation strike was his tenth goal in the Cup

Australian A-League
Perth Glory 4-0 Brisbane Roar
Andy Keogh made his first assist of the season

Slovakian Super Liga
DAC 0-1 Slovan Bratislava
Connor Ronan came off the bench to make his first appearance for DAC

Sunday, 17th February 2019
Championship
Blackburn 0-1 Middlesbrough
Derrick Williams was sent off for the second time this season

Scottish Premier League
Kilmarnock 0-1 Celtic
Alan Power made his 50th appearance in the SPL

Monday, 11 February 2019

Round up for weekend of Saturday, 9th February 2019

Saturday, 9th February 2019
Australian A-League
Western Sydney Wanderers 2-0 Central Coast Mariners
Loanee Stephen Mallon made his senior professional debut for Central Coast Mariners as a second half substitute

Premier League
Brighton and Hove Albion 1-3 Burnley
Shane Duffy's fifth Premier League goal of the season made him the first Irish player to reach the total since Shane Long and Jonathan Walters both managed it in the 2015/16 season

Championship
Blackburn 0-1 Bristol City
Derrick Williams was named in the Blackburn starting XI for the first time since December, and was his first appearance for Rovers in a month
Callum O'Dowda's assist on Bristol's winner was his first assist in two months

Bolton 1-2 Preston North End
Marc Wilson's start was his first appearance for Bolton in a month

Rotherham 1-1 Wigan
Both Anthony Forde and Anthony Pilkington were booked for the first time this season

League 1
Charlton 1-1 Southend United
Josh Cullen was booked for the fifth time this season

Doncaster Rovers 3-1 Peterborough
In his first appearance in League One, Kieran Sadlier scored his first goal for Doncaster Rovers

Oxford United 1-1 Sunderland
Aiden McGeady was named in a Sunderland starting XI for the 50th time
Jimmy Dunne scored his first goal for the Black Cats, this was the defender's first goal since October

Plymouth 1-1 Portsmouth
Graham Carey's first goal since September was his 20th goal in League One

League 2
Cambridge United 1-0 Port Vale
Having signed for Cambridge on loan during the January transfer window, Jake Doyle-Hayes made his first appearance for Cambridge United as The U's as a second half substitute
Jake Carroll was shown his first yellow card since November

Carlisle United 1-1 Exeter
Jamie Devitt tenth goal of the season was also his 20th goal for Carlisle

Colchester 3-0 Cheltenham
Kevin Dawson's first start in a month was also his 100th appearance in League Two

Macclesfield 3-3 Crewe Alexandra
Kieran O'Hara was booked for the first time since October

Morecambe 2-3 Bury
The first goal of Jay O'Shea's brace was his 30th goal in England's fourth tier

Newport Co. 1-0 Mansfield Town
Padraig Amond was booked for the first time since October
Ryan Sweeney was booked for the tenth time this season

Scottish FA Cup
Hibernian 3-1 Raith
Daryl Horgan both scored his fifth goal, and completed his fifth assist, for Hibs against Raith

Sunday, 10th February 2019
Scottish FA Cup
Celtic 5-0 St Johnstone
Following his substitute appearance for Celtic midweek, Jonathan Hayes was named in a Celtic starting XI for the first time in two months. It was an eventful game for the winger, he was booked for the first time in more than 17 months and completed his first assist since August
Niall Keown came off the bench for his St Johnston debut

Hearts 4-0 Auchinleck Talbot
Aidan Keena scored his first goal for Hearts

Romanian Liga I
Dunărea Călăraşi 2-1 Concordia Chiajna
Conor Henderson made his first appearance for Dunărea Călăraşi, this was the midfielder's first appearance in nine months

Monday, 4 February 2019

Round Up for Friday, 1st February 2019

Friday, 1st February 2019
Championship
Preston North End 0-0 Derby County
Sean Maguire made his 25th start for Preston North End

Scottish Premier League
Kilmarnock 1-2 Hearts
Jake Mulraney completed his first assist since 24th July

Australian A-League
Western Sydney Wanderers 1-5 Newcastle Jets
Roy O'Donovan made his 25th start for Newcastle Jets

Saturday, 2nd February 2019
Premier League
Burnley 1-1 Southampton
Jeff Hendrick made his 100th appearance for Burnley

Everton 1-3 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Matt Doherty made his 250th career start

Championship
Bristol City 2-0 Swansea
Callum O'Dowda marked the 200th appearance of his career with the 20th goal of his career

Hull City 2-0 Stoke City
James McClean made his 100th appearance in the Championship

Ipswich 0-1 Sheffield Wednesday
Keiren Westwood made his 150th appearance for Sheffield Wednesday

League 1
Coventry 1-1 Gillingham
David Meyler captained Coventry on his first appearance for the Sky Blues. This was the midfielder's first start (and appearance) since Saturday, 1st September Graham Burke made his first appearance for new loan club Gillingham

Peterborough 0-1 Plymouth
Niall Canavan was booked for the first time this season - more than two years after his last booking on in December 2016

Sunderland 1-0 AFC Wimbledon
Aiden McGeady's goal was his 15th goal for Sunderland

Walsall 1-2 Rochdale
Ryan Delaney made his 50th start for Rochdale

Wycombe Wanderers 0-0 Bradford City
Anthony O'Connor made his 50th appearance in League One
The first appearance of Billy Clarke's second spell at Bradford was his first appearance in two months


League 2
Exeter 3-1 MK Dons
Pierce Sweeney completed his first assist since Saturday, 13th October

Northampton 0-4 Colchester
John-Joe O'Toole's start (his first appearance since Tuesday, 27th November) was his 400th career appearance


Notts County 1-1 Lincoln City
In his first appearance for Notts County, Michael Doyle was booked for the first time since November

Stevenage 1-0 Yeovil
Courtney Duffus made his debut for new club Yeovil

Scottish Premier League
Hibernian 1-2 Aberdeen
Tommie Hoban's was shown his first booking since Saturday, 25th August

Scottish Championship
Dunfermline 1-2 Ross County
Daniel Devine was booked for the fifth time this season

Dundee Utd 2-1 Greenock Morton
Mark Connolly made his first appearance for Dundee United

Australian A-League
Perth Glory 3-0 Wellington Phoenix
Andy Keogh's tenth goal of the season was also his 50th goal in the A-League

Friday, 1 February 2019

January 2019 Transfer Window - Transfers, Loans and Contracts

Wednesday, 2nd January
After leaving Polish side Jagiellonia Białystok, Cillian Sheridan signed for A-League side Wellington Phoenix until the end of the 2018/19 season: 📝

Thursday, 3rd January
Winger Dylan Connolly left League of Ireland Champions and FAI Cup Winners Dundalk FC to sign for League One AFC Wimbledon: 📝

Thursday, 10th January
After being left out of the Cardiff squad for the Premier League, Anthony Pilkington signed an 18 month contract with Wigan Athletic: 📝

Monday, 14th January
Having almost joined Ipswich Town twice before, Alan Judge signed a six month contract with the Tractor Boys, with the option of a further 12 months: 📝

Thursday, 17th January
After cancelling his contract at Gillingham by mutual consent, Conor Wilkinson has signed for Dagenham and Redbridge until June 2020: 📝

Cian Bolger signed a two and a half year deal with Lincoln City: 📝

Friday, 18th January
Recent senior squad call up Sean McDermott left Kristiansund in Norway to sign for Romanian side Dinamo Bucharest: 📝

After leaving Bulgarian side Pirin Blagoevgrad in the summer, Conor Henderson signed for Romanian Liga I side AFC Dunarea Calarasi: 📝

Wednesday, 23rd January
Having agreed with his previous club Aberdeen to cancel his contract, Chris Forrester returned to the League of Ireland with former club St Patrick’s Athletic: 📝

After more than 250 appearances for Rochdale, Joe Rafferty signed a three and a half year deal with Preston North End: 📝

Thursday, 24th January
Ryan Scully returned to Dunfermline Athletic on an initial six month contract, with the option of a further twelve months: 📝

Saturday, 26th January
Recent Florida State University graduate Megan Connolly signed for Brighton and Hove Albion until the end of the season: 📝

Tuesday, 29th January
After a successful six month loan at Mansfield Town, Ryan Sweeney signed a 30 month contract at Field Mill: 📝

Thursday, 31st January
Versatile midfielder Shane McLoughlin left Ipswich Town for AFC Wimbledon: 📝

After more than 70 appearances in his second spell with Coventry City, Michael Doyle signed for Notts County: 📝

Billy Clarke returned to Bradford, signing a contract until the end of the season: 📝

After cancelling his contract with Yeovil Town by mutual consent earlier in January, Shaun Donnellan signed for Maidstone United until the end of the season: 📝

Former U21 striker Courtney Duffus signed a two and a half year contract with Yeovil Town: 📝

Mark Connolly returned to Scotland with Dundee - his third club north of Hadrian's Wall: 📝

Friday, 4th January
Brentford defender Canice Carroll joined Swindon Town on loan until the end of the season: 📝

Alex Pearce signed for Millwall on loan until the end of the season: 📝

Monday, 7th January
Conor Shaughnessy signed on loan at Hearts until the end of the season: 📝

Simon Power extended his contract at Norwich until June 2021, and signed for FC Dordrecht on loan until the end of the season: 📝

Tuesday, 8th January
After his parent club, Leeds United, recalled Paudie O’Connor from his loan at Blackpool, the defender signed for Bradford City on loan until the end of the season: 📝

Wednesday, 9th January
Following his return to parent club Burnley from his loan deal at Hearts, Jimmy Dunne signed for Sunderland on loan until the end of the season: 📝

Thursday, 24th January
Sophie Perry signed for Lewes FC, famous for paying their men’s and women’s team the same, on loan 📝

Tuesday, 29th January
Andy Boyle signed a loan deal with Ross County until the end of the season: 📝

Niall Keown joined St Johnston on loan in a swap deal with fellow defender Steven Anderson: 📝

Thursday, 31st January
Aston Villa striker Scott Hogan signed for Sheffield United on loan for the rest of the season: 📝

U19 international Stephen Mallon signed for Central Coast Mariners on loan until the end of the A-League season: 📝

St Johnstone striker David McMillan signed for fellow SPL side Hamilton Academical on loan: 📝

David Meyler left Reading to sign for Coventry City until the end of the season: 📝

Aaron Connolly to Luton Town on loan until the end of the season: 📝

Wolves winger Connor Ronan signed on loan with Slovakian side FC DAC 1904 Dunajská Streda 📝

Winger John O’Sullivan signed for Dundee on loan for the rest of the season: 📝

Sunday, 6th January
Graham Coughlan was appointed manager of Bristol Rovers, signing a contract until June 2021: 📝

Monday, 14th January
Having left his post as Shamrock Rovers U15 coach, Damien Duff took over as reserve team coach at Celtic: 📝

Thursday, 17th January
Callum O’Dowda extended his contract with Bristol City by 18 months, keeping him at Ashton Gate until June 2020: 📝

Friday, 25th January
After scoring ten goals since signing in the summer, David McGoldrick signed a two and a half year contract with Sheffield United: 📝

Preston North End youth captain Adam O’Reilly signed his first professional contract: 📝

Thursday, 31st January
Aaron Connolly signed an extension to his contract at Brighton and Hove Albion: 📝