Episode 70 - Meet the interim boss

I'm joined by Mark Kennedy of Hawkeye Sidekick and Philip Flanagan of The Bottomless Pit of Football to discuss the Republic of Ireland's friendlies against Belgium and Switzerland, under interim manager John O'Shea. Did the rookie boss do enough to convince the FAI, and the fans, that he's a genuine candidate for full time manager of the senior men's team?

While the U21s got their European Championship campaign back on track against San Marino, the more important result came in Italy, where a last minute goal earned a draw for Turkey. What do these do results mean for the team's chances of qualification for next year's tournament in Slovakia?

And finally, we discuss the women's team's opening fixtures in their European Championship qualifying campaign. We've earned the right to face the top teams in the world, what do we need to do to continue facing them?

Repeat XIs

 A recent post on twitter asked which game did this Ireland lineup photo come from?

Your Choice #Eire #Tiger 1978-08-26 pic.twitter.com/MyzdtD8LxQ

— Scottish Footy Cards (@ScotsFootyCards) February 13, 2022

It's from a friendly against Denmark in May 1978 that ended 3-3, with the goals coming from Frank Stapleton, Tony Grealish, and Gerry Daly. This was the only time these eleven players would start together. This is not uncommon for the national side, in the 587 games played by the Republic, there have been 453 unique selections for the the starting XI. 

But what of the repeated selections? What collection of starting players has been selected more than any other for the Boys in Green?

On Friday, 2nd September 2011, Giovanni Trapattoni selected Shay Given, John O'Shea, Stephen Ward, Sean St Ledger, Richard Dunne, Glen Whelan, Keith Andrews, Aidan McGeady, Damien Duff, Kevin Doyle, and captain Robbie Keane to face Slovakia at home in a qualifier for Euro 2012 that finished 0-0.

Ireland Team: Given, O'Shea, Dunne, St. Ledger, Ward, Duff, Andrews, Whelan, McGeady, Keane, Doyle #IreSlo

— FAIreland ⚽️🇮🇪 (@FAIreland) September 2, 2011

The same starting XI would go on to be selected against Hungary the following June in a pre-tournament friendly, then faced Croatia in Euro 2012 six days later, before being named for the fourth, and final, time to face Italy in the final game of the group - the most the same starting XI has played together for Ireland.

The most recent repeat selection came in June 2019, when Mick McCarthy named Darren Randolph, Seamus Coleman, Enda Stevens, Shane Duffy, Conor Hourihane, Richard Keogh, Robert Brady, Jeff Hendrick, Glen Whelan, David McGoldrick, and James McClean in the starting XI to face Denmark, the same team named by the manager to face Georgia the previous March.

Round Up for weekend of Friday, 3rd May 2019

Friday, 3rd May 2019

Premier League

Everton 2-0 Burnley

Robbie Brady started a game for the first time in three months, six weeks after his last appearance for Burnley
Seamus Coleman scored his 20th goal in the Premier League, taking him ahead of Stephen Ireland in the all time list of Irish goalscorers in the competition

Saturday, 4th May 2019

Premier League

Bournemouth 1-0 Tottenham

Mark Travers' start was his first appearance for Bournemouth
This, combined with Michael Obafemi's appearances this season for Southampton, means 2018/19 is the first season since 2015/16 where two, or more, Irish players under the age of 20 appeared in the Premier League

Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-0 Fulham

Cyrus Christie started a game for the first time in a month

League 1

Blackpool 0-3 Gillingham

Jimmy Ryan made his first appearance of the season as a second half substitute, one day short of a full year since his last appearance on Saturday, 5th May 2018 Bradley Garmston's first start in three months was his 100th appearance for Gillingham, and he made his first assist since November
Mark Byrne made his fifth assist of the season

Bradford City 0-0 AFC Wimbledon

Eoin Doyle made his 100th appearance in League One

Charlton 4-0 Rochdale

Ryan Delaney's start was first appearance in two months
Jimmy Keohane was booked for the first time this season

Doncaster Rovers 2-0 Coventry

Kieran Sadlier's strike was his first goal in five weeks

Plymouth 3-2 Scunthorpe

Graham Carey's scored his first goal since Tuesday, 12th March

Southend United 2-1 Sunderland

Robert Kiernan was booked for the first time this season

League 2

Bury 1-1 Port Vale

Jay O'Shea made his 50th appearance of the season

MK Dons 1-0 Mansfield Town

Ryan Sweeney made his 100th career appearance

Oldham 2-5 Northampton

Sam Foley made his fifth assist of the season

Romanian Liga I

Dunărea Călăraşi 1-0 Dinamo Bucharest

Conor Henderson started a game for the first time since Friday, 8th March

Sunday, 5th May 2019

Championship

Aston Villa 1-2 Norwich

Glenn Whelan made his 25th start of the season

Blackburn 2-2 Swansea

Darragh Lenihan scored his fifth goal of his career in his 100th appearance in the Championship

Brentford 3-0 Preston North End

Sean Maguire made his 50th appearance in the Championship
Callum Robinson made his 25th start of the season

Reading 0-0 Birmingham City

Josh Barrett's started a game for the first time since Saturday, 10th November
John O'Shea's late second half introduction for the final appearance of his career was his first appearance since Saturday, 23rd February

Rotherham 1-2 Middlesbrough

Darren Potter made his first appearance of the season, 17 months after his last appearance in December 2017

Sheffield Wednesday 1-2 QPR

Olamide Shodipo made his first start of the season
Ryan Manning's start was the 50th of his career

Stoke City 2-2 Sheffield United

Enda Stevens scored his fifth goal for Sheffield United

Wigan 1-0 Millwall

Anthony Pilkington was named in a starting XI for the first time since Saturday, 23rd February

Norwegian Eliteserien

Kristiansund 1-0 Tromsø

Sean McDermott made his 25th start of the season

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

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 weekend of Friday, 21st September 2018

Friday, 21st September 2018

Danish Superliga

Vejle Boldklub 1-0 Esbjerg

Sean Murray's start was his first appearance since Sunday, 19th August

Saturday, 22nd September 2018

Championship

This was the first time two Irish players were sent off on the same day in the Championship since Lee Frecklington and Tommie Hoban were both shown red cards on Saturday, 7th March 2015

Aston Villa 1-2 Sheffield Wednesday

Conor Hourihane made his 350th career appearance

Ipswich 0-0 Bolton

In his first start in a month, Marc Wilson was sent off for the first time since May 2015. This was the third red card in the defender's career

Middlesbrough 0-0 Swansea

Darren Randolph made his 150th appearance in the Championship

Nottingham Forest 1-0 Rotherham

Richie Towell was booked for the first time this season

Reading 3-0 Hull City

John O'Shea was sent off for the second time in his career - the veteran's last red card came in August 2013

League 1

Charlton 2-1 Plymouth

Graham Carey marked his 150th start for Plymouth with his second goal of the season

Gillingham 2-4 Peterborough

Mark Byrne's first goal of the season was also his fifth goal in League One
Callum Reilly's first goal for Gillingham (his first strike since November 2017) was also the the fifth goal of his career

Southend United 1-0 Fleetwood

Paddy Madden made his 25th start for Fleetwood

Sunderland 4-1 Rochdale

Joe Rafferty was booked for the first time this season

League 2

Cambridge United 1-1 Mansfield Town

Barry Corr's first start of the season was his 25th start for Cambridge United
Gary Deegan was booked for the fifth time this season

Crewe Alexandra 0-1 Port Vale

Corey Whelan was booked for the first time this season

Forest Green 1-0 Crawley

Mark Connolly was booked for the fifth time this season

Scottish Championship

Ross County 0-0 Inverness CT

Aaron Doran made his 150th start for Inverness CT

Round Up for week of Tuesday, 28th August 2018

Tuesday, 28th August 2018

English League Cup

Brighton and Hove Albion 0-1 Southampton

Aaron Connolly made his first appearance since November 2017

Burton Albion 1-0 Aston Villa

Stephen Quinn's start for Burton was his first start in a year

Cardiff 1-3 Norwich

After signing for Cardiff in the summer, Greg Cunningham made his first appearance for the Bluebirds

Doncaster Rovers 1-2 Blackpool

Ian Lawlor made his first appearance of the season

Fulham 2-0 Exeter

Dara O'Shea was booked for the first time since August 2016 in his debut for Exeter

Leeds United 0-2 Preston North End

Conor Shaughnessy's start for Leeds was his first appearance since January

Middlesbrough 2-1 Rochdale

Ryan Delaney scored his first goal of the season in his 25th start for Rochdale

Sheffield Wednesday 0-2 Wolverhampton Wanderers

Matt Doherty's start was the 250th appearance of his career

Walsall 3-3 Macclesfield

Kieran O'Hara made his first appearance in the League Cup

Wycombe Wanderers 2-2 Forest Green

Gavin Gunning made his 25th appearance for Forest Green

Wednesday, 29th August 2018

English League Cup

Millwall 3-2 Plymouth

Shaun Williams made his 200th appearance for Millwall

Nottingham Forest 3-1 Newcastle Utd

Daryl Murphy's first goal in the League Cup was also his tenth goal for Forest, and the landmark 100th goal of his career

Reading 0-2 Watford

John O'Shea started his first game for Reading

Round Up for week of Tuesday, 14th August 2018

Tuesday, 14th August 2018

English League Cup

Nottingham Forest 1-1 Bury

Eoghan O'Connell scored his first goal for Bury, 18 months after his last goal in January 2017
Joe Murphy was booked for the first time this season, almost a year to the day since his last booking on Sunday, 13th August 2017

Crewe Alexandra 1-1 Fleetwood

Eddie Nolan made his 50th appearance for Crewe Alexandra

Macclesfield 1-1 Bradford City

Fiacre Kelleher scored his first goal for Macclesfield

Sheffield United 1-1 Hull City

Enda Stevens made his 50th start for Sheffield United

Leeds United 2-1 Bolton

After signing for Bolton during preseason, Marc Wilson made his debut for the Trotters

Mansfield Town 6-1 Accrington Stanley

Ryan Sweeney made his first appearance for loan club Mansfield Town

Preston North End 3-1 Morecambe

Graham Burke marked his first start for Preston North End with his first goal for the Lilywhites

Blackpool 3-1 Barnsley

John O'Sullivan's first start for Blackpool was also his first start since February

Yeovil 0-1 Aston Villa

Jake Doyle-Hayes's start for Aston Villa was the midfielder's first appearance at senior level since September 2017
Conor Hourihane's late winner was his first goal in the League Cup and the 60th goal of his career

Southend United 2-4 Brentford

Alan Judge made his 100th start for Brentford

Bristol Rovers 2-1 Crawley

Mark Connolly scored his first goal in the League Cup, this was the defender's first goal since February

Bristol City 0-1 Plymouth

Niall Canavan made his first appearance for Plymouth

Cambridge United 1-4 Newport Co.

Padraig Amond's brace were his first goals in the League Cup

Reading 2-0 Birmingham City

John O'Shea came off the bench late in the second half to make his debut for Reading

Scottish League Challenge Cup

Inverness CT 1-2 Dunfermline

Aaron Doran made his 200th appearance for Inverness CT

Thursday, 16th August 2018

UEFA Cup

Burnley 1-0 Istanbul Buyuksehir

In his first appearance of the season, Kevin Long was booked for the first time since February
Stephen Ward was booked for the first time since November 2017

Republic of Ireland Premier League Starting XI

While researching yesterday's article on Irish starting XI's of players with Premier League experience, we wondered how many times the Republic of Ireland started a game with eleven players who were under contract at a club in the PL at that time.

As we said in the article, the Boys in Green have played 269 games since the breakaway league was formed in 1992. According to our research, of these, only eight (3% of the total amount) of these were started by eleven players who were all playing Premier League football at the time. As always, we are open to correction on this.

When we investigated this, we realised that, in the early years of the league, squad mainstays like Packie Bonner and John Aldridge never played in England's top division, and in more recent years Robbie Keane's time in MLS as well as Sean St Ledger's time in the Irish starting XI meant that there was a narrow window where regular starters for Ireland were all playing in the PL.

Even though the first game of the league was played in 1992, it took nine years before an Irish manager named a starting XI of players from the league. Mick McCarthy had the honour of being the first Irish manager to name 11 Premier League players to face Portugal in 2001 for a qualifier for the World Cup in Japan and South Korea. A year later, in August, he would repeat the feat in a 3-0 friendly win against Finland following the tournament.

Brian Kerr has named a team of players in the Premier League in five games, more than any of the other managers since the league was formed, four of which were in 2005. The last time an Irish manager named a starting XI of Premier League players was Steve Staunton's first competitive game against Germany in 2006 - 130 games have been played since that 1-0 loss in Stuttgart.

No player started all eight games, but Shay Given, Kevin Kilbane, Damien Duff, and Robbie Keane started seven of the eight, while John O'Shea, Steve Finnan, and Kenny Cunningham started six.

Of the eight games, three finished all square, there are three wins (although only one of these was in a competitive game) and two were losses.

Date	Home	Score	Away	Starting XI
2-June-2001	Republic of Ireland	1-1	Portugal	Shay Given(Newcastle Utd) Ian Harte(Leeds United) Steve Staunton(Aston Villa) Richard Dunne(Manchester City) Stephen Carr(Tottenham) Kevin Kilbane(Sunderland) Roy Keane(Manchester United) Mark Kinsella(Charlton) Gary Kelly(Leeds United) Niall Quinn(Sunderland) Robbie Keane(Leeds United)
21-August-2002	Finland	0-3	Republic of Ireland	Dean Kiely(Charlton) Ian Harte(Leeds United) Gary Breen(West Ham United) Kenny Cunningham(Birmingham City) Gary Kelly(Leeds United) Thomas Butler(Sunderland) Mark Kinsella(Charlton) Lee Carsley(Everton) Jason McAteer(Sunderland) Damien Duff(Blackburn) Robbie Keane(Leeds United)
9-October-2004	France	0-0	Republic of Ireland	Shay Given(Newcastle Utd) Kevin Kilbane(Everton) Kenny Cunningham(Birmingham City) Andy O'Brien(Newcastle Utd) Stephen Carr(Newcastle Utd) Damien Duff(Chelsea) John O'Shea(Manchester United) Roy Keane(Manchester United) Steve Finnan(Liverpool) Clinton Morrison(Birmingham City) Robbie Keane(Tottenham)
9-February-2005	Republic of Ireland	1-0	Portugal	Shay Given(Newcastle Utd) Kevin Kilbane(Everton) Andy O'Brien(Newcastle Utd) Kenny Cunningham(Birmingham City) John O'Shea(Manchester United) Damien Duff(Chelsea) Andy Reid(Tottenham) Matt Holland(Charlton) Steve Finnan(Liverpool) Clinton Morrison(Birmingham City) Robbie Keane(Tottenham)
26-March-2005	Israel	1-1	Republic of Ireland	Shay Given(Newcastle Utd) John O'Shea(Manchester United) Andy O'Brien(Newcastle Utd) Kenny Cunningham(Birmingham City) Stephen Carr(Newcastle Utd) Kevin Kilbane(Everton) Roy Keane(Manchester United) Steve Finnan(Liverpool) Damien Duff(Chelsea) Clinton Morrison(Birmingham City) Robbie Keane(Tottenham)
17-August-2005	Republic of Ireland	1-2	Italy	Shay Given(Newcastle Utd) Kenny Cunningham(Birmingham City) John O'Shea(Manchester United) Richard Dunne(Manchester City) Steve Finnan(Liverpool) Damien Duff(Chelsea) Kevin Kilbane(Everton) Matt Holland(Charlton) Steven Reid(Blackburn) Andy Reid(Tottenham) Clinton Morrison(Birmingham City)
8-October-2005	Cyprus	0-1	Republic of Ireland	Shay Given(Newcastle Utd) John O'Shea(Manchester United) Kenny Cunningham(Birmingham City) Richard Dunne(Manchester City) Stephen Carr(Newcastle Utd) Damien Duff(Chelsea) Kevin Kilbane(Everton) Graham Kavanagh(Wigan) Steve Finnan(Liverpool) Stephen Elliott(Sunderland) Robbie Keane(Tottenham)
2-September-2006	Germany	1-0	Republic of Ireland	Shay Given(Newcastle Utd) John O'Shea(Manchester United) Andy O'Brien(Portsmouth) Richard Dunne(Manchester City) Stephen Carr(Newcastle Utd) Damien Duff(Newcastle Utd) Steven Reid(Blackburn) Kevin Kilbane(Wigan) Steve Finnan(Liverpool) Kevin Doyle(Reading) Robbie Keane(Tottenham)

Round Up for weekend of Thursday, 29th Match 2018

Thursday, 29th March 2018

Australian A-League

Perth Glory 2-3 Sydney

Andy Keogh made his 100th appearance for Perth Glory

Friday, 30th March 2018

Championship

Millwall 2-0 Nottingham Forest

Shaun Williams scored his first goal of the season, almost a year to the day since his last goal on Saturday, 1st April 2017
Aiden O'Brien came off the bench for his first appearance since Saturday, 20th January

Middlesbrough 1-2 Wolverhampton Wanderers

Matt Doherty was sent off for the second time in his career, his last red card was in December 2014

Derby County 1-4 Sunderland

John O'Shea marked his 250th appearance for Sunderland with his first goal since December 2013 - also his first goal in the Championship
Marc Wilson came off the bench for first appearance since Saturday, 13th January
Aiden McGeady scored his seventh goal of the season, one less than his total for 2016/17

League 1

Wigan 3-0 Oldham

Eoin Doyle was booked for the first time since December in what was his 25th appearance for Oldham

Rochdale 3-1 Shrewsbury

Joe Rafferty made his 200th career start - all of which have been for Rochdale

League 2

Cambridge United 3-1 Crawley

Jake Carroll's first appearance in a month was also his first start since January

Cheltenham 0-1 Carlisle United

Jamie Devitt scored his first goal in six weeks, and in the same game he was booked for the first time since December

Colchester 2-1 Luton

Sean Murray made his 50th appearance for Colchester
Alan Sheehan was booked for the tenth time this season

Mansfield Town 0-1 Accrington Stanley

Seamus Conneely scored his first goal since September. This was the defender's second goal of the season, one more than he scored in 2016/17

Newport Co. 1-1 Coventry

Mark O'Brien made his 50th appearance for Newport Co.

Notts County 0-0 Wycombe Wanderers

Michael Harriman' early introduction from the bench was his first appearance since September and also his 150th appearance in League Two

Swindon Town 1-1 Morecambe

Donal McDermott's introduction as a late substitute was his first appearance since mid-December

Saturday, 31st March 2018

Premier League

West Ham United 3-0 Southampton

1️⃣7️⃣ @JoshCullen is the 17th @FAIreland player to appear in the @premierleague this season, one less than in 2016/17 #COYBIG https://t.co/h2cn9jq6Dk

— Irish Abroad (@irish_abroad) March 31, 2018

Josh Cullen came off the bench for his second Premier League appearance, this was the midfielder's first appearance in two months
Declan Rice made his 25th appearance for West Ham's senior side (the defender also has three appearances for the Hammers' under-23 team)

Scottish Premier League

Motherwell 2-2 Rangers

Carl McHugh made his 200th career appearance

Hibernian 2-0 Partick Thistle

Daniel Devine was sent off for the third time in his career, eleven months after his last red card on Saturday, 29th April 2017

Scottish Championship

Inverness CT 2-2 St Mirren

Aaron Doran was shown his first yellow card in two months

Round Up for the weekend of Saturday, 10th Match 2018

Saturday, 10th March 2018

Premier League

Newcastle Utd 3-0 Southampton

Shane Long made his 25th appearance of the season

Championship

Preston North End 1-2 Fulham

Sean Maguire scored his eighth goal for Preston in his first start since November

QPR 1-0 Sunderland

John O'Shea was booked for this first time since November

Reading 2-2 Leeds United

Liam Kelly's 25th start of the season was also his 50th start for Reading
Eunan O'Kane made his 100th appearance in the Championship

Aston Villa 4-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers

Conor Hourihane was shown his first yellow card since Saturday, 30 December 2017

League 1

Blackburn 3-0 Blackpool

Jimmy Ryan made his 400th career start

Bury 2-2 Oldham

Jay O'Shea scored his first goal since Saturday, 14 October
Jack Byrne was booked for the tenth time this season

Peterborough 4-1 Charlton

Chris Forrester made his 100th appearance in League One

Portsmouth 1-3 Gillingham

Conor Wilkinson's first goal since December

League 2

Grimsby 1-1 Port Vale

James Berrett scored his first goal of the season, 11 months after his last goal in April 2017

Mansfield Town 1-1 Colchester

Olamide Shodipo made his first appearance for Colchester, this was the winger's first appearance since Tuesday, 21st March 2017

Scottish Premier League

Hamilton Academical 2-0 Motherwell

Charles Dunne was booked for the first time since November

Kilmarnock 3-2 Ross County

Aaron McCarey made his first appearance since Sunday, 28 January

Round Up for week of Tuesday, 20th February 2018

Tuesday, 20th February 2018

Championship

Aston Villa 1-1 Preston North End

Greg Cunningham made his 100th appearance for Preston North End - all of which were starts!
Alan Browne made his 150th appearance for Preston North End

Nottingham Forest 1-1 Reading

Liam Kelly was booked for the first time since since Monday, 11th December

Bolton 1-0 Sunderland

John O'Shea made his 25th start of the season was also his 25th appearance in the competition

League 1

Shrewsbury 1-1 Gillingham

Mark Byrne scored his first goal since December, this was his fourth goal of the season, his most in a single season since 2014/15 (see below, from 1:28)

League 2

Barnet 1-3 Carlisle United

Jamie Devitt marked his 50th start for Carlisle United with his ninth goal of the season
After ten substitute appearances, John O'Sullivan was named in Carlisle's starting XI for the first time since Saturday, 16th December

Wednesday, 21st February 2018

Championship

Bristol City 1-1 Fulham

Cyrus Christie made his first appearance for Fulham, and marked it with an assist. This was the full back's first appearance in a month

Round Up for weekend of Friday, 24th November 2017

Friday, 24th November 2017

Bulgarian Championship

Cherno More 0-1 OFK Pirin

Conor Henderson scored his first goal for the OFK Pirin, this was the former U21 midfielder's first goal since January 2016

Saturday, 25th November 2017

Championship

Barnsley 0-2 Leeds United

Conor Shaughnessy came off the bench in the second to make his first appearance for Leeds in a month

Burton Albion 0-2 Sunderland

Joe Mason introduction in the second half was the striker's first appearance since Friday, 13th October
John O'Shea was booked for the first time this season

League 1

Scunthorpe 2-0 Charlton

Paddy Madden made his 25th appearance of the season

Southend United 1-1 Oxford United

Simon Cox scored his fifth goal of the season
Michael Timlin was booked for the fifth time this season and is suspended for the next game

League 2

Carlisle United 1-1 Morecambe

Jack Bonham made his 25th career start

Exeter 2-0 Accrington Stanley

Pierce Sweeney marked his 50th appearance in League Two with his third goal of the season

Sunday, 26th November 2017

Premier League

Southampton 4-1 Everton

Shane Long's second half introduction was his 250th appearance in the Premier League

Burnley 0-1 Arsenal

Robbie Brady was booked for the first time since Sunday, 10th September

Scottish Premier League

Kilmarnock 1-3 Aberdeen

Gary Dicker came off the bench at half time to make his first appearance of the season

Anthony O'Connor made his 50th start for Aberdeen

Monday, 27 November 2017

Championship

QPR 2-2 Brentford

John Egan made his 50th appearance in the Championship

October 2017 Appearance Stats

Irish Abroad players appearance statistics for October 2017

Wins
With the play off for the World Cup in Russia looming on the horizon, Richard Keogh won the most games in October, finishing on the winning side four times

Draws
Sunderland teammates John O'Shea and Aiden McGeady started the most drawn games, finishing all square on three occasions

Losses
Leeds midfielder Eunan O'Kane lost four games in October, more than any other player

Starts/Completed Games
O'Kane also started the most games in October, being named in the Leeds starting XI on five occasions, and completing 90 minutes in each one

Substitutions/Introductions
Jeff Hendrick and new international squad member Aiden O'Brien were both substituted three times. Four players were introduced twice - Wes Hoolahan, James McClean, Scott Hogan and Graham Cummins

Stayed On Bench
Five players were left on the bench four times - goalkeepers Brian Murphy and Stephen Henderson, along with Alex Pearce, Kevin Long, and Samir Carruthers

Goals
Only six players scored in October, and only Hendrick and Sean Maguire scored more than once. Anthony Stokes was the only player to score a penalty

Discipline
Darren O'Dea was shown three yellow cards in October

Round up for week of Tuesday, 31st October 2017

Tuesday, 31st October 2017

Championship

Leeds United 1-2 Derby County

Richard Keogh was shown his first yellow card in a month

QPR 1-0 Sheffield United

Ryan Manning made his 25th appearance for QPR

Sunderland 3-3 Bolton

Sunderland started four Irish players (John O'Shea, Marc Wilson, Darron Gibson and Aiden McGeady) for the first time since April 2008
This was Wilson's first start since Tuesday, 26th September

League 1

Blackburn 2-2 Fleetwood

Derrick Williams was booked for the first time in two months

Football League Trophy

Bristol Rovers 1-3 West Ham U21

Ryan Sweeney made his first appearance in the Football League Trophy

Wednesday, 1 November 2017

Championship

Preston North End 0-2 Aston Villa

This game featured eight Irish players on the pitch in the Championship for the first time since Sunderland V Luton in December 2006, and four ex-League of Ireland players on the pitch at the same time for the second time this season
Andy Boyle returned to the Preston North End team for his first start since Tuesday, 8th August
Daryl Horgan came off the bench to make his 25th appearance in the Championship
Kevin O'Connor made his Championship debut as a second half substitute

May 2017 Appearance Stats

Irish Abroad players appearance statistics for May 2017

Wins
In the final month of the season, only Adam Rooney started three wins, the only player to start more than two

Draws
Keiren Westwood was the only player to draw more than once in May, and curiously no striker started a draw

Losses
Partick Thistle midfielder Adam Barton finished the season with four losses in May, and no goalkeeper started a loss for the final four weeks of 2016/17

Starts/Completed Games
Joe Shaughnessy, Darren O'Dea, Carl McHugh, John O'Shea, Gary Dicker, Adam Barton, Jonathan Hayes, and Conor Sammon all started four games in May, with O'Shea, O'Dea, Shaughnessy, McHugh, Dicker, Barton, and Sammon going on to complete 90 minutes in each one

Substitutions/Introductions
Marc Wilson was substituted in each of the three games he started in May, while Darron Gibson was introduced in each of the three games he started on the bench in May

Stayed On Bench
Goalkeeping pair Darren Randolph and Aaron McCarey were unused substitutes in three games in May, while Dean Ebbe and Declan Rice was the only outfield player to be left on the bench in more than one game - both players spent two games without seeing a minute of action

Goals
Jonathan Hayes(3) and Wes Hoolahan(2) were the only players to score more than once in May, while Darren O'Dea and Conor Sammon were the only players to score a penalty

Discipline
Marc Wilson was shown three yellow cards in the four games he played in May. No Irish striker or goalkeeper was booked in May 2017

Round Up - International games

Friday, 24th March 2017

FIFA World Cup European Qualifying

Republic of Ireland 0-0 Wales

James McClean's 48th appearance for Ireland was also his 25th start
Jeff Hendrick's start was his 30th appearance for Ireland
John O'Shea started his first game for Ireland since Monday, 5 September 2016
Richard Keogh's first appearance since the same game was his 15th start for Ireland
David Meyler's first start since Tuesday, 31 May 2016 was his tenth start for Ireland, and was booked for the first time since November 2014 - coincidentally the same game Aiden McGeady got his last booking for Ireland before this game
Stephen Ward made his 40th start for Ireland
Cyrus Christie's introduction was his first appearance since Wednesday, 31 August 2016

Tuesday, 28th March 2017

International Friendly

Republic of Ireland 0-1 Iceland

Aiden McGeady's start against Iceland was his first start for Ireland since Tuesday, 31 May 2016
Jonathan Hayes made his first start for Ireland, in what was his third cap
Cyrus Christie's first start since Wednesday, 31 August 2016
Alex Pearce's start (first start since Tuesday, 18 November 2014) was his fifth start for Ireland, and his first appearance since March 2016
Keiren Westwood made his 20th appearance for Ireland in his first appearance since August 2016
Conor Hourihane and John Egan's inclusion in the starting XI was their first appearances for Ireland, with Egan also earning his first international booking
This was Kevin Doyle's first start since Friday, 25 March 2016
Preston players Andy Boyle and Daryl Horgan came off the bench to make their first appearances for Ireland
Stephen Gleeson made his third appearance for Ireland, almost ten years after his last cap in May 2007

Round Up - Weekend of 17th March 2017

Friday, 17 March 2017

League 1

Port Vale 2-1 Shrewsbury

Sam Foley scored his first goal of the season, this was the midfielder's first goal in more than a year - he last scored on Saturday, 5 March 2016 against Colchester

Saturday, 18 March 2017

Premier League

Crystal Palace 1-0 Watford

Damien Delaney's appearance off the bench (his first appearance since February 11th) was his 25th appearance of the season

Stoke City 1-2 Chelsea

Jonathan Walters scored his first goal of 2017, 81 days after his last goal on December 27th

Sunderland 0-0 Burnley

John O'Shea, Darron Gibson, Jeff Hendrick and Stephen Ward started this game, making it the first Premier League game this season where four Irish players started the same game
For O'Shea, it was his 200th start for Sunderland

West Ham United 2-3 Leicester City

Darren Randolph made his 25th Premier League appearance

Championship

Blackburn 2-2 Preston North End

Aiden McGeady marked his 25th start for Preston North End with his fifth goal for the club. This was also his fifth goal of the season, the first time the midfielder had managed this since 2012-13 with Spartak Moscow

Wigan 0-2 Aston Villa

Conor Hourihane was booked for the tenth time this season

League 1

Bolton 2-1 Northampton

Brendan Moloney late second half introduction from the bench was his first appearance since November

Bristol Rovers 2-1 Chesterfield

Rory Gaffney scored his 15th goal for the Bristol Rovers in his 25th start of the season

Oxford United 2-1 Scunthorpe

Stephen Dawson made his 150th appearance in League One
Paddy Madden's 70th goal in League One was also his 50th league goal for Scunthorpe

Rochdale 4-1 Gillingham

Conrad Logan returned to the Rochdale starting XI for his first appearance since January 28th

League 2

Luton 1-1 Exeter

Alan Sheehan's yellow card against Exeter was the defender's fifth booking of the season

Plymouth 1-0 Morecambe

Graham Carey's winner was his 25th goal for Plymouth

Stevenage 3-0 Portsmouth

Noel Hunt made his first start of 2017
Eoin Doyle made his 150th start since leaving the League of Ireland

Scottish Premier League

Aberdeen 2-0 Hearts

Jonathan Hayes' goal was his first strike in a month

Motherwell 1-2 St Johnstone

Joe Shaughnessy made his 150th career appearance

Kilmarnock 1-1 Partick Thistle

Adam Barton made his 25th appearance for Partick Thistle
Conor Sammon scored his fifth goal of the season

Scottish Championship

Raith 2-1 Dundee Utd

Willo Flood made his 25th appearance in the Scottish Championship

Sunday, 19 March 2017

League 2

Notts County 1-0 Barnet

Mark Yeates was sent off for the first time in his career

MLS

Colorado Rapids 2-2 Minessota United

Kevin Doyle made his 50th appearance for Colorado Rapids

Round Up - Weekend of 5th January 2017

Thursday, 5 January 2017

League 2

Doncaster Rovers 3-1 Portsmouth
Michael Doyle and Enda Stevens both made their 25th appearances of the season

Australian A-League

Perth Glory 2-1 Wellington Phoenix
Andy Keogh was booked for the first time since October 21st

Friday, 6 January 2017

Scottish Championship

Hibernian 3-0 Dundee Utd
Willo Flood made his 25th appearance of the season

Saturday, 7 January 2017

League 1

Bradford City 2-0 Chesterfield
Josh Cullen made two assists, and was voted man of the match, despite his first booking since October 18th

Scunthorpe 3-2 Bury
Stephen Dawson scored his first goal for Scunthorpe, almost three years after his last goal in March 2014 for Barnsley

Southend United 2-4 Sheffield United
After signing for Sheffield United on Tuesday, Samir Carruthers came off the bench to make his first appearance for the Blades

League 2

Hartlepool 0-1 Grimsby
Sean Kavanagh signed for Hartlepool on Thursday, and his start for them today was his first appearance since August 24th

Stevenage 3-1 Newport Co.
Mark O'Brien made his first start for Newport County after signing for them on Wednesday

English FA Cup

Accrington Stanley 2-1 Luton
Glen Rea was sent off for the first time in his career

Birmingham City 1-1 Newcastle Utd
Daryl Murphy's opener today for Newcastle was his first goal for the club, his first goal of the season, and his first goal in the FA Cup!

Blackpool 0-0 Barnsley
Barnsley's cup tie was Aidan White's first appearance since September 17th

Brentford 5-1 Eastleigh
After the end of his contract in India, and signing for Eastleigh in December, Graham Stack made his first start for the club and marked the occasion with his first booking since April 2015

Brighton and Hove Albion 2-0 MK Dons
Richie Towell made his second start for Brighton, almost a year after his last start on 9th January 2016

Everton 1-2 Leicester City
Seamus Coleman made his 250th appearance in England

Ipswich 2-2 Lincoln
Sean Long made his first appearance for Lincoln after signing for them on loan

Millwall 3-0 Bournemouth
Shaun Williams made his 250th start in England
Marc Wilson's appearance for Bournemouth in the cup was his first since September 20th

Preston North End 1-2 Arsenal
Daryl Horgan came off the bench to made his first debut for Preston North End

QPR 1-2 Blackburn
Both Olamide Shodipo and Anthony Stokes made their first appearance in the FA Cup as second half substitutes

Sunderland 0-0 Burnley
John O'Shea made his 200th appearance for Sunderland

West Bromwich Albion 1-2 Derby County
James McClean returned to the West Brom starting XI for his first start since October 29th

Sunday, 8 January 2017

English FA Cup

Chelsea 4-1 Peterborough
Chris Forrester was booked for the fifth time this season and is suspended for the next game

Australian A-League

Central Coast Mariners 2-3 Sydney
Roy O'Donovan scored his 15th goal for Central Coast

Round Up - Week of 20th September 2016

Tuesday, 20 September 2016

English League Cup 
Leeds United 1-0 Blackburn
Darragh Lenihan was booked for the first time this season, before this the midfielder hadn't been booked April

Bournemouth 2-3 Preston North End
Marc Wilson was booked for the first time January

Brighton and Hove Albion 1-2 Reading
Stephen Quinn scored his first goal of the season

Newcastle Utd 2-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Daryl Murphy made his first appearance for Newcastle since signing for the toon

Wednesday, 21 September 2016

English League Cup

QPR 1-2 Sunderland
John O'Shea returned to the Sunderland starting XI for the first time in a month

Thursday, 22 September 2016

Scottish League Cup

Aberdeen 1-0 St Johnstone
Adam Rooney scored his fifth goal of the season, this was the Dons' striker's tenth goal in the League Cup, during spells with both Aberdeen and Inverness Caledonian Thistle
Joe Shaughnessy was booked for the first time this season