Episode 63 - A Game Of Two Hearts

I'm joined on the show by Mark O'Brien to discuss his life in football, from moving to Derby at 15, winning Ireland U16 Player of the Year, making his senior debut, and being diagnosed with a leaking aorta (all in the space of 12 months!) the recovery from that, and another serious injury, to playing in Scotland, non-league, and scoring one of the most important goals in Newport County history. 

You can order Mark's book, A Game Of Two Hearts, from Morgan Lawrence here: A Game Of Two Hearts

Round Up for weekend of Friday, 25th October 2019

Friday, 25th October 2019

Australian A-League

Brisbane Roar 0-1 Melbourne Victory

Roy O'Donovan was booked for the first time this season

Saturday, 26th October 2019

Premier League

West Ham United 1-1 Sheffield United

Enda Stevens was shown his first yellow card of the 2019/20 season

Burnley 2-4 Chelsea

Robbie Brady's two assists in this game was the first time there were two assists by an Irish player in a single Premier League game since Brady and Jeff Hendrick assisted a goal each for Burnley against Swansea in November 2017

Championship

Millwall 2-0 Stoke City

Scott Hogan was named in the Stoke starting XI for the first time in a month

Preston North End 3-2 Blackburn

Both Sean Maguire and Alan Browne completed their tenth assist for Preston in this game, Browne's was his first of the season

West Bromwich Albion 2-2 Charlton

Josh Cullen marked his 25th appearance in the Championships with his first goal in the competition

League 1

Accrington Stanley 0-1 Gillingham

Mark Byrne's start was his 150th appearance for Gillingham
Thomas O'Connor made his first assist of the season

Bristol Rovers 2-2 Portsmouth

Ronan Curtis' strike was his 15th goal for Portsmouth

Burton Albion 0-0 Blackpool

Stephen Quinn's start (his first appearance in a month) was his 100th appearance in League One

Southend United 1-3 Ipswich

Simon Cox was booked for the first time in a month in what was his 150th start for Southend United

League 2

Colchester 3-1 Newport Co.

Mark O'Brien made his 100th start for Newport County

Scottish Premier League

Hibernian 2-2 Ross County

Daryl Horgan first goal since August was also his fifth goal in the SPL

Tuesday, 29th October 2019

Scottish Championship

Dunfermline 2-0 Arbroath

Ryan Scully's first start since Saturday, 31 August 2019(58 days)
Ryan Scully's first appearance since Saturday, 31 August 2019(58 days)

Queen of the South 0-2 Inverness CT

Aaron Doran's first goal since Saturday, 7 September 2019(51 days)

English League Cup

Manchester City 3-1 Southampton

Shane Long made his 25th appearance in the competition

Football League Trophy

Plymouth 0-1 Chelsea U21

Billy Clarke made his first start for Plymouth

Wednesday, 30th October 2019

Scottish Premier League

Motherwell 2-1 Kilmarnock

Gary Dicker was booked for the first time since August
Jake Carroll made his first assist of the season - his first since November 2018

English League Cup

Liverpool 5-5 Arsenal

Caoimhin Kelleher's start was his first appearance for Liverpool in a month

Round up for weekend of Friday, 27th September 2019

Friday, 27th September 2019

Championship

Stoke City 2-3 Nottingham Forest

James McClean scored his fifth goal for Stoke, all of which have been in the league

League 1

Blackpool 2-1 Lincoln City

Sean Scannell 's opener was his first goal for Blackpool

Saturday, 28 September 2019

Premier League

Twelve players(seven starting players, five substitutes) appeared in the Premier League today for the first time since Saturday, 1st April 2017

Aston Villa 2-2 Burnley

Robbie Brady's second half introduction was his 50th appearance for Burnley

Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-0 Watford

In his 300th career appearance, Matt Doherty scored his fifth Premier League goal

Everton 1-3 Manchester City

Seamus Coleman made his first assist of the season

Championship

Blackburn 1-2 Luton

James Collins' fifth goal of the season was also his 50th goal for Luton

Huddersfield 1-1 Millwall

Both Shaun Williams and Aiden O'Brien were named in the Millwall starting XI for the first time in a month

Preston North End 3-3 Bristol City

Joe Rafferty completed an assist for the first time since December 2018

League 1

Portsmouth 1-0 Bolton

Daryl Murphy made his first appearance for Bolton
Ronan Curtis was booked for the first time this season

League 2

Cheltenham 1-1 Crewe Alexandra

Sean Long made his 50th appearance in League Two

Crawley 2-3 Walsall

Rory Gaffney completed his first assist of the season

Exeter 1-3 Grimsby

Pierce Sweeney was booked for the first time this season

Scunthorpe 1-1 Bradford City

Paudie O'Connor scored his fifth goal of his career

Swindon Town 0-2 Newport Co.

Mark O'Brien marked his 100th appearance in League Two with his first goal of the season
Padraig Amond made his first assist of the season

Scottish Premier League

Hibernian 1-1 Celtic

Jonathan Hayes' second half introduction was his 250th appearance in the SPL

Sunday, 29th September 2019

Bulgarian Championship

Beroe Stara Zagora 2-1 CSKA Sofia

Graham Carey was booked for the first time in two months

Slovakian Super Liga

DAC 1-0 Žilina

After returning from injury in his previous game, Connor Ronan was named in the DAC starting XI for the first time since Saturday, 10th August

Round Up for week of Monday, 12th August 2019

Monday, 12th August 2019

Toto Cup Ligat Al

Ironi Kiryat Shmona 3-1 Hapoel Kfar Saba

Cillian Sheridan scored his second career hat trick, his first since September 2012

Tuesday, 13th August 2019

English League Cup

Wigan 0-1 Stoke City

Nathan Collins scored the first goal of his career in the same game where he became Stoke City's youngest ever captain

Port Vale 1-2 Burton Albion

Stephen Quinn's start was his 50th appearance for Burton Albion

Bradford City 0-4 Preston North End

Eoin Doyle played his 300th game in British football

Blackpool 2-2 Macclesfield

Fiacre Kelleher made his 50th start for Macclesfield
Corey O'Keeffe made his first career start at loan club MacclesfieldEmmanuel Osadebe completed his first assist since November 2018

Blackburn 3-2 Oldham

After signing for Blackburn Rovers on loan on transfer deadline day, Greg Cunningham made his first start for them, this was his first appearance since New Year's Day

AFC Wimbledon 2-2 MK Dons

Dylan Connolly was named in a starting XI for the first time since Saturday, 9th February 2019

Oxford United 1-0 Peterborough

Anthony Forde made his first start for new club Oxford United

QPR 3-3 Bristol City

Ryan Manning scored his first goal of the season - his first goal in nine months

Gillingham 2-2 Newport Co.

Mark O'Brien's start was his 100th appearance for Newport

Coventry 4-1 Exeter

Pierce Sweeney scored his first goal in the League Cup, also his first goal in eleven months.

Accrington Stanley 1-3 Sunderland

Aiden McGeady scored his first goal of the season

Scunthorpe 0-1 Derby County

Jason Knight made his first career start

Shrewsbury 0-4 Rotherham

Joe Murphy made his first start for Shrewsbury

West Bromwich Albion 1-2 Millwall

Dara O'Shea made his first appearance for West Bromwich Albion
Jay Molumby's start was his first appearance since November 2017
Aiden O'Brien scored his first goal of the season

Thursday, 15th August 2019

Europa League

Dynamo Tiblisi 1-1 Feyenoord

Liam Kelly came off the bench for his first competitive appearance for Feyenoord - this was his first appearance since February

Round Up for weekend of Saturday, 8th September 2018

Saturday, 8th September 2018

League 1

Accrington Stanley 1-1 Burton Albion

Seamus Conneely made his 150th start for Accrington Stanley
Stephen Quinn was booked for the first time since August 2016

Doncaster Rovers 2-1 Luton

James Collins was booked for the first time this season

Southend United 2-3 Peterborough

Stephen McLaughlin's 15th goal in the competition was also the 20th he scored since leaving the League of Ireland

Sunderland 1-1 Fleetwood

Paddy Madden's goal was his 80th strike in League One

League 2

Cambridge United 1-2 Carlisle United

Gary Deegan made his 100th appearance in League Two

Exeter 5-1 Notts County

The first goal of Pierce Sweeney's first brace of his career was his tenth goal in League Two

Lincoln City 0-1 Crawley

Lee Frecklington was sent off for the first time since March 2015

Morecambe 0-1 Swindon Town

Barry Roche started his 450th game for Morecambe

Tuesday, 11th September 2018

International Match

Poland 1-1 Republic of Ireland

The eleven players who started this game had a combined caps total of 129, the lowest total since a 3-2 friendly loss to Uruguay in February 2011 when the caps total was 102.
Starting XI
Darren Randolph made his 30th appearance for Ireland was also his 25th start at international level
Kevin Long made his eighth appearance for Ireland
Richard Keogh's 18th appearance for Ireland was his first appearance for the Republic since Friday, 2 June 2017
John Egan made his third appearance for Ireland was his first start since the same game
Enda Stevens' third cap for Ireland was also his first start
Cyrus Christie made his 19th appearance for Ireland
Jeff Hendrick made his 41st appearance for Ireland
Shaun Williams' third appearance for Ireland was his first start at international level
Callum O'Dowda made his 12th appearance for Ireland
Aiden O'Brien marked his international debut with a goal, the first player to do so since Robbie Brady and Alex Pearce both scored on their first appearances for Ireland against Oman in September 2012
Callum Robinson made his second appearance for Ireland

Substitutes
Alan Judge made his fifth appearance for Ireland
Daryl Horgan made his sixth appearance for Ireland
Conor Hourihane made his seventh appearance for Ireland
David Meyler made his 26th appearance for Ireland
Graham Burke made his third appearance for Ireland
Matt Doherty made his third appearance for Ireland

Football League Trophy

Fleetwood 2-2 Leicester City U21

Cian Bolger was sent off for the first time for Fleetwood. This was the defender's fourth career red card, and his first since December 2014

Swindon Town 1-0 Newport County

Mark O'Brien's first start of the season was also his 50th start for Newport County

Round Up for weekend of Friday, 22nd December 2017

Friday, 22nd December 2017

League 1

Fleetwood 0-2 Gillingham

Mark Byrne made his 50th appearance in League One

League 2

Coventry 3-2 Wycombe Wanderers

Michael Doyle scored his fifth goal in League Two, his first goal in almost three months, and a memorable strike it was too!

Saturday, 23rd December 2017

Premier League

West Ham United 2-3 Newcastle Utd

Ciaran Clark made his 50th appearance for Newcastle Utd

Championship

Preston North End 1-1 Nottingham Forest

Kevin O'Connor returned to the Preston starting XI for the first time in a month

Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-0 Ipswich

Matt Doherty made his 200th career start

Aston Villa 2-2 Sheffield United

Conor Hourihane made his 300th career start
Samir Carruthers came off the bench to make his 50th appearance in the competition

League 1

Northampton 1-1 Blackburn

John-Joe O'Toole was booked for the first time in two months

Peterborough 3-0 Bury

Stephen Dawson's introduction as a second half substitute (his first appearance for Bury since August) was his 100th appearance for the Shakers
Having only been sent off once in his career before 2017/28, Eoghan O'Connell was sent off for the second time this season

Rotherham 2-1 MK Dons

Lee Frecklington was booked for the first time this season

League 2

Luton 2-0 Grimsby

James Collins scored his tenth goal for Luton (also his 80th goal in League Two) in his first start since Saturday, 11th November

Newport Co. 0-0 Lincoln City

Mark O'Brien was sent off for the second time for Newport County

Stevenage 5-1 Chesterfield

Connor Dimaio made his 50th appearance for Chesterfield

Scottish Premier League

Celtic 3-0 Aberdeen

Adam Rooney made his 300th career start
Anthony O'Connor made his 200th career start
Jonathan Hayes scored his first goal for Celtic since moving to the Bhoys in the summer

Partick Thistle 1-0 Hamilton Academical

Niall Keown scored his first goal since August, and was unfortunately booked for the fifth time this season and so is suspended for the next game

Scottish Championship

Greenock Morton 1-0 Inverness CT

Jake Mulraney made his 25th start for Inverness CT

Indian Super League

Atlético de Kolkata 1-0 Delhi Dynamos

Robbie Keane scored his first goal for Atléletico de Kolkata, this was the striker's first goal anywhere since September 2016

Round Up - Weekend of Saturday, 6th May 2017

Saturday, 6th May 2017

Burnley 2-2 West Bromwich Albion

Kevin Long's first start in 2017 was also his first start in the Premier League and his 25th start for Burnley
Marc Wilson made his first appearance for West Bromwich Albion since signing for them on loan in January and was booked for the first time since September

5️⃣The five @FAIreland players starting @BurnleyOfficial v @WBA is a season high in the @premierleague and the most since March 2015. #penta

— Irish Abroad (@irish_abroad) May 6, 2017

League 2

Crawley 2-2 Mansfield Town

James Collins made his 50th start for Crawley
Mark Connolly was booked for the first time since the end of February

Grimsby 1-1 Plymouth

Graham Carey made his 100th appearance for Plymouth

Newport Co. 2-1 Notts County

Mark O'Brien' first goal of the season, also his first goal for the club, kept Newport in the Football League

Stevenage 0-3 Accrington Stanley

Seamus Conneely scored his first goal of the season, more than a year after his last goal on Tuesday, 19 April 2016

Sunday, 7th May 2017

Championship

Bristol City 0-1 Birmingham City

Stephen Gleeson was booked for the first time since February

Burton Albion 2-4 Reading

Liam Kelly made his 25th start for Reading

Huddersfield 0-3 Cardiff

On his 34th birthday, Brian Murphy made his first start since January

Norwich 4-0 QPR

Reece Grego Cox made his first appearance in the Championship, more than six months after his last appearance for QPR in October

Rotherham 1-1 Derby County

Lee Frecklington scored his first goal of the season, a year to the day after his last goal on Saturday, 7 May 2016

League 1

Scunthorpe 2-3 Millwall

Stephen Dawson scored his first goal since January

Scottish Premier League

Hearts 1-2 Aberdeen

Adam Rooney scored his 20th goal of the season, becoming the first Aberdeen player to register 20 goals in three consecutive seasons since the 1970's

Adam Rooney! 👏👏👏 pic.twitter.com/EIE6Ygod06

— Aberdeen FC (@AberdeenFC) May 8, 2017

Anthony O'Connor's striker was his first goal since December

Round Up - Weekend of Friday, 28th April 2017

Friday, 28 April 2017

Championship

Cardiff 0-2 Newcastle Utd

Robert Elliot made his 50th start for Newcastle Utd. This was the first game where three Republic of Ireland players (Elliot, Ciaran Clark and Daryl Murphy) started a game for Newcastle since February 2008 when Shay Given, Stephen Carr and Damien Duff were in the starting XI for the toon

Scottish Premier League

Ross County 4-0 Inverness CT

Jake Mulraney returned to the Inverness starting XI for his first start since the end of February

Saturday, 29 April 2017

Premier League

Crystal Palace 0-2 Burnley

Jeff Hendrick's appearance in the Burnley starting XI was the midfielder's 200th career start

Championship

Derby County 3-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers

Alex Pearce was booked for the fifth time this season

Ipswich 0-1 Sheffield Wednesday

David McGoldrick made his 25th start of the season

Leeds United 3-3 Norwich

Eunan O'Kane's first start since the beginning of March was also the midfielder's 25th appearance for Leeds United

Reading 1-0 Wigan

Liam Kelly was booked for the first time this season

League 2

Cambridge United 2-0 Crawley

Gerry McDonagh was shown the first yellow card of his loan spell at Cambridge in his first appearance since March 28th
James Collins made his 50th appearance for Crawley

Carlisle United 2-1 Newport Co.

Mark O'Brien made his 25th appearance in League Two

Cheltenham 1-0 Hartlepool

Padraig Amond was booked for the first time this season

Scottish Premier League

Aberdeen 0-2 St Johnstone

Joe Shaughnessy was booked for the first time since September

Hearts 2-2 Partick Thistle

Daniel Devine was sent off for the second time this season

Hamilton Academical 0-2 Kilmarnock

Conor Sammon's opener for Kilmarnock was the striker's first goal since March 18th

MLS

Orlando City 2-0 Colorado Rapids

Kevin Doyle was booked for the first time in the 2017 MLS season

Australian A-League

Sydney 3-0 Perth Glory

Andy Keogh was booked for the fifth time this season

Sunday, 30 April 2017

League 1

Bolton 3-0 Peterborough

Chris Forrester made his 50th appearance of the season

Northampton 0-0 Gillingham

Mark Byrne made his 25th start for Gillingham

Rochdale 1-1 Bradford City

Joe Rafferty made his 50th appearance of the season
Kevin Toner's first start since Sunday, 26th March was also the defender's 25th career start

Southend United 1-0 Bury

Simon Cox made his 50th appearance for Southend United
Stephen McLaughlin marked his 100th appearance since leaving Derry City with his first goal of 2017

Polish Ekstraklasa

Jagiellonia Białystok 1-0 Pogoń Szczecin

Cillian Sheridan scored his fifth goal for Jagiellonia Białystok

Round Up - International Break

Tuesday, 21 March 2017

League 1

Coventry 2-1 Port Vale

Sam Foley was booked for the first time in 2017

Rochdale 3-3 Millwall

Aiden O'Brien scored for the first time in a month

League 2

Newport Co. 1-1 Luton

Mark O'Brien was sent off for the second time in his career, two and half years after his last red card in September 2014

Saturday, 25 March 2017

League 1

Oldham 1-1 Sheffield United

Jay O'Shea's tenth goal of the season (the most he's scored in a single season in England) was also his 30th goal in League One

League 2

Carlisle United 0-2 Crewe Alexandra

Jamie Devitt returned to the Carlisle starting XI for his first start since February 11th

Colchester 2-1 Luton

Sean Murray made his 25th start of the season
Glen Rea made his 50th appearance for Luton

Crawley 3-0 Leyton Orient

James Collins scored his 20th goal for Crawley

Australian A-League

Central Coast Mariners 2-3 Adelaide United

Roy O'Donovan scored his first goal February 12th

Sunday, 26 March 2017

League 1

Scunthorpe 3-2 Bradford City

Kevin Toner marked his first appearance for Bradford City with the first goal of his career
Billy Clarke was booked for the first time in 2017

Tuesday, 28 March 2017

League 1

AFC Wimbledon 3-1 Rochdale

Keith Keane was sent off for the second time this season

Sheffield United 2-0 Millwall

Aiden O'Brien was shown his first yellow card of 2017

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

Talking Points

Zak Gilsenan has been linked with a move from Barcelona to Liverpool. Should there be a ban on transferring players who are only 11 years old?
Joey O'Brien made his first appearance for West Ham this weekend since the end of August. With his history of injury problems, is he still a candidate to appear in defence for Ireland?
Stephen Ward's injury is unfortunate for both club and country, what player do you think can fill in at left full?
Chestefield's Eoin Doyle has been linked with a move to the Championship, with Millwall and Reading both reportedly monitoring the striker. How do you think he would fare at a higher level, and would that be a springboard to the international side?
With the transfer window about to reopen in England, Richie Towell has been linked with Millwall and Ipswich. After failing to agree terms with Cardiff, should he bide his time before going across the water?
Darren O'Dea has signed a short term deal with Blackpool FC. Is he ready to return to football, and a relegation battle at Bloomfield Road?
After some extremely promising performances for club and country, Robbie Brady has slipped out of the starting XI at Hull City. Should he look for a move in January?
Mark O'Brien has reportedly been told he has no future at Derby County, should he try to earn a long term contract at Motherwell, or find another club in England?
Congratulations to U21 player Glen Rea on his first appearance as an unused substitute for Brighton
Ciaran Clark's recent run of form culminated in his goal against Leicester, his first in two years, can he become the first choice partner for John O'Shea?
Congratulations to LA Galaxy's Robbie Keane on scoring the winning goal in the MLS Cup final against New England Revolution.
Please vote for Stephanie Roche for the FIFA Puskas Goal of the Year award here: http://www.fifa.com/ballon-dor/puskas-award/index.html (remember to use multiple browsers on all devices and delete cookies afterwards to vote again!)