Round up for weekend of Friday, 24th January 2020

Friday, 24th January 2020

FA Cup

QPR 1-2 Sheffield Wednesday

Ryan Manning's start made his 80th appearance for QPR
Alex Hunt came off the bench for his first appearance August

Saturday, 25th January 2020

Championship

Stoke City 2-0 Swansea

In his 70th appearance for Stoke City, James McClean scored his fifth goal of the season, a month after his last strike

League 1

Bristol Rovers 0-0 Fleetwood

Paddy Madden was named in the Fleetwood starting XI for the 80th time
At the other other end of the scale, Glenn Whelan made his first appearance for the Fisherman after completing his move on Friday

Burton Albion 1-1 Accrington Stanley

John-Joe O'Toole was shown his first yellow card in three months

Ipswich 1-0 Lincoln City

Conor Coventry came off the bench for his tenth career appearance

Rochdale 2-2 Gillingham

Eoghan O'Connell's start was the 100th time in the defender's career that he was named in a starting XI

League 2

Crawley 3-2 Grimsby

Reece Grego Cox came off the bench at half time for his first appearance in six weeks

Macclesfield 2-1 Forest Green

Fiacre Kelleher's start was his 70th appearance in League Two
Corey O'Keeffe was sent off for the first time in his career
After completing his loan move to Forest Green on Friday, Conrad Logan made his first appearance for the Green

Mansfield Town 3-0 Bradford City

Harry Charsley was named in Mansfield Town's starting XI for the first time
Anthony O'Connor made his 80th appearance for Bradford City
Eoin Doyle made his 50th start for Bradford City
Jamie Devitt came off the bench for his first appearance since Tuesday, 3 September

Scottish Championship

Arbroath 2-1 Partick Thistle

Lee O'Connor made his first appearance for loan club Partick Thistle

FA Cup

Burnley 1-2 Norwich

Kevin Long was booked for the first time in more than a year in what was his 60th start for Burnley

Millwall 0-2 Sheffield United

Jay Molumby's start was his 30th career appearance

Sunday, 26th January 2020

Scottish Premier League

Hearts 2-1 Rangers

Aidan White's start was his first appearance in a month

Round Up for week of Tuesday, 7th September 2019

Tuesday, 17th September 2019

League 1

Bristol Rovers 1-1 Gillingham

Thomas O'Connor scored his first goal of his career, at 1:15 in this video

Portsmouth 2-2 Burton Albion

John-Joe O'Toole was sent off for the second time for Burton, 11 months after his last red card in October 2018

Rochdale 1-1 Lincoln City

Cian Bolger's start was his 250th career appearance

Tranmere 2-2 Peterborough

Strangely, Darren Potter was booked, and completed an assist, for the first time October 2017

League 2

Cheltenham 3-2 Bradford City

Jake Doyle-Hayes scored his first goal of his career, see 1:18 in this video

Crawley 2-2 Plymouth

Reece Grego Cox scored his first goal of the season

Leyton Orient 1-2 Crewe Alexandra

Eddie Nolan scored his fifth goal Crewe - all of which have come in League Two

Macclesfield 1-1 Newport Co.

Padraig Amond scored his fifth goal of the season

Wednesday, 18th September 2019

Serie C

Arezzo 1-2 Juventus II

After his first appearance for Arezzo as a sub midweek, Ryan Nolan was named in the starting XI for the first time in his career

Round Up for weekend of Friday, 23rd August 2019

Friday, 23rd August 2019

Premier League

Aston Villa 2-0 Everton

Seamus Coleman's start was his 250th appearance in the Premier League

Saturday, 24th August 2019

Premier League

Brighton and Hove Albion 0-2 Southampton

Shane Duffy made his 250th career appearance

Championship

Fulham 1-2 Nottingham Forest

Harry Arter was booked for the first time this season

Middlesbrough 1-1 Millwall

Aiden O'Brien was booked for the first time this season

Stoke City 0-3 Leeds United

James McClean made his 50th appearance for Stoke City

League 1

Doncaster Rovers 2-1 Lincoln City

Ian Lawlor completed his first assist for Doncaster

Bolton 0-5 Ipswich

Alan Judge's start was his 25th appearance for Ipswich

Coventry 1-0 Gillingham

Mark Byrne was booked for the first time this season

Rochdale 0-0 Blackpool

Jimmy Ryan was named in a Rochdale starting XI for the first time - this was the midfielder's first start since May 2018 due to a long term injury
Eoghan O'Connell was booked for the first time this season

League 2

Bradford City 0-1 Forest Green

After returning to former club Bradford on loan, Jamie Devitt made his first appearance of the season for the Bantams
Kevin Dawson completed his first assist of the season

Cheltenham 2-2 Swindon Town

The first goal of Eoin Doyle's brace was his 15th goal in League Two

Leyton Orient 2-3 Crawley

Reece Grego Cox's assist was his first since November 2018

Macclesfield 1-0 Scunthorpe

Corey O'Keeffe was booked for the first time this season

Mansfield Town 0-0 Stevenage

After coming off the bench for his senior debut during the week, James Clarke made his first start for Mansfield Town

Newport Co. 1-0 Crewe Alexandra

Padraig Amond's goal was his 40th goal for Newport

Plymouth 3-0 Walsall

Callum Cockerill-Mollett's start was his first appearance in League Two

Sunday, 25th August 2019

Premier League

Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-1 Burnley

Jeff Hendrick came off the bench forhis first appearance of the season

Scottish Premier League

Celtic 3-1 Hearts

Glenn Whelan's start was his first appearance for Hearts
Jake Mulraney's start was his 50th appearance in the SPL

Ligat ha'Al

Bnei Yehuda 2-1 Ironi Kiryat Shmona

Cillian Sheridan scored his fifth goal for his new club

Round up for weekend of Friday, 19th April 2019

Friday, 19th April 2019

Championship

Sheffield United 2-0 Nottingham Forest

Enda Stevens made his 100th appearance in the Championship
David McGoldrick completed his first assist since New Year's Day

Birmingham City 2-2 Derby County

Richard Keogh scored his tenth goal in the Championship in what his 50th appearance of the season, all of which were starts. This was the first time Keogh reached 50 appearances in a season in 2014/15

Middlesbrough 1-0 Stoke City

Nathan Collins made his first start for Stoke City

Preston North End 4-0 Ipswich

Joe Rafferty started his first game for Preston North End, more than a month after his last appearance on Wednesday, 13th March

League 1

Gillingham 3-1 Plymouth

Mark Byrne scored his tenth goal for Gillinghm, and completed his first assist since Saturday, 26th January

Walsall 1-1 Southend United

Simon Cox scored his first goal in a month

Sunderland 2-0 Doncaster Rovers

Jimmy Dunne made his first assist of the season in his first appearance in a month

League 2

Exeter 1-3 Crawley

Reece Grego Cox scored his first goal of the season

Mansfield Town 4-0 Morecambe

Ryan Sweeney was booked for the first time since February

Notts County 1-2 MK Dons

Michael Doyle assisted a goal for Notts County since signing for the club

Saturday, 20th April 2019

Premier League

Bournemouth 0-1 Fulham

Cyrus Christie made his 25th appearance in the Premier League

League 1

Accrington Stanley 0-3 Luton

Alan Sheehan's started a game for the first time in 2019
Seamus Conneely was booked for the first time in two months

Scottish Premier League

Hearts 1-3 Rangers

Jake Mulraney assisted a goal for the first time in two months

Kilmarnock 0-1 Aberdeen

Stephen Gleeson was named in a starting XI for the first time since September

Hamilton Academical 1-1 Motherwell

Conor Sammon came off the bench for his first appearance since Sunday, 24th February

St Johnstone 2-0 Dundee

Darren O'Dea was booked for the fifth time this season

Scottish Championship

Inverness CT 0-2 Dundee Utd

Both Aaron Doran and Mark Connolly made their 250th career appearance in this game

Australian A-League

Brisbane Roar 1-6 Newcastle Jets

Roy O'Donovan scored his tenth, and eleventh, goals of the season

Sunday, 21 April 2019

Premier League

Everton 4-0 Manchester United

James McCarthy came off the bench for his first appearance of the season, this was his first appearance since Saturday, 20th January 2018

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

Premier League Players Without International Caps

With the Premier League about to return, we've wondered what Irish players have appeared in the top division in England without going on to play international football.

Scott Fitzgerald made 69 appearances for Wimbledon in the Premier League - as many as the bottom 27 players in the final table made combined - and earned four caps for the Republic's U21 side, scoring once, but never played at a higher level than a B international against Denmark in 1992.

Only five players have scored in the Premier League, and not earned a senior international cap. Current Waterford FC chairman Lee Power scored six goals in the 1992/93 season, and played in the same B international in 1992, but also never earned a senior cap

Of the players who have yet to progress to the senior international side, only Michael Obafemi and Josh Cullen are currently registered with teams who will play in the Premier League in 2018/19.

Player	Starts	Intros	Apps	Goals
Scott Fitzgerald	61	8	69	0
Willie Boland	43	20	63	0
Gareth Whalley	33	2	35	1
Jason Gavin	19	12	31	0
Derek Geary	26	0	26	0
Lee Power	13	10	23	6
Andy Turner	8	12	20	3
Roy O'Donovan	4	13	17	0
Willo Flood	5	9	14	1
Sean Thornton	11	0	11	1
Michael Reddy	0	10	10	1
Tony Sheridan	5	4	9	0
Neale Fenn	0	8	8	0
Chris McCann	7	0	7	0
Anthony Forde	3	3	6	0
Rory Ginty	2	3	5	0
Mark McKeever	2	3	5	0
Marcos Painter	2	2	4	0
Reece Grego Cox	1	3	4	0
Kevin Toner	3	1	4	0
Brian Launders	1	2	3	0
Paul McGee	1	2	3	0
Keith O'Halloran	2	1	3	0
John McGrath	0	3	3	0
Mark Yeates	1	2	3	0
Aaron Doran	0	3	3	0
Samir Carruthers	0	3	3	0
Josh Cullen	0	3	3	0
Jim Crawford	0	2	2	0
David McDonald	2	0	2	0
Michael Cummins	1	1	2	0
Shaun Byrne	0	2	2	0
Richie Ryan	0	2	2	0
Michael Harriman	1	1	2	0
Danny Boxall	0	1	1	0
Rob Quinn	0	1	1	0
Tony Folan	0	1	1	0
Lee Boylan	0	1	1	0
Brian McGovern	0	1	1	0
Paddy McCarthy	0	1	1	0
Jay O'Shea	0	1	1	0
Michael Obafemi	0	1	1	0

Irish Player Transfers, Loans and Contracts - July 2018

Transfers

Monday, 2nd July
Former Dundalk player Patrick McEleney returned to the Lilywhites after a brief spell at Oldham: 🔗

Tuesday, 3rd July
Following his loan spell at Gillingham in the second half of 2017/18, Callum Reilly signed a two year contract with the Gills: 🔗

Friday, 6th July
Former finalist of “Football’s Next Star” Connor Smith signed for Boreham Wood: 🔗

Monday, 9th July
Following his release from Everton, Sam Byrne signed an 18 month contract with former loan club Dundalk: 🔗

Thursday, 12th July
Rhys Murphy signed for non league Chelmsford Town: 🔗

Monday, 16th July
After a short trial, Reece Grego-Cox signed a two year deal with Crawley Town: 🔗

Wednesday, 18th July
19 year old FAI Women’s Team striker Leanne Kiernan signed for West Ham Ladies: 🔗

Thursday, 19th July
Adam Rooney signed a three year deal with non league side Salford City: 🔗

Sheffield United broke their transfer record to sign John Egan to a four year contract: 🔗

Huddersfield Town’s longest serving player Sean Scannell left the John Smith’s Stadium to sign for Bradford City: 🔗

Following his release from Bradford City, four times capped goalkeeper Colin Doyle signed a two year contract with Hearts: 🔗

Sunday, 22nd July
James McClean left West Brom to sign for fellow Championship side Stoke City: 🔗

Tuesday, 24th July
Following a short trial, Marc Wilson signed a 12 month contract with Bolton Wanderers: 🔗

Following a trial during preseason, David McGoldrick signed for Sheffield United: 🔗

Saturday, 28th July
Ireland U21 striker Liam McAlinden signed a two year contract with Cheltenham Town: 🔗

Loans

Friday, 6th July
After signing a two year extension to his contract with Leeds, Paudie O’Connor signed a season long loan deal with Blackpool: 🔗

Wednesday, 11th July
Danny Rogers signed a season long loan deal with newly promoted Scottish Premiership side St Mirren: 🔗

Monday, 16th July
Conor Sammon signed a season long loan deal with Motherwell: 🔗

Tuesday, 24th July
Former Finn Harps defender Shane Blaney signed for non league Tamworth Town on a six month loan: 🔗

Contracts

Thursday, 3rd July
Darragh Lenihan signed an extension to his contract with Blackburn Rovers, keeping the defender at Ewood Park until 2022: 🔗

Friday, 4th July
Ryan Delaney signed a new contract with Rochdale: 🔗

Wednesday, 11th July
Preston’s international midfielder Alan Browne signed a new three year contract at Deepdale: 🔗

Thursday, 12th July
Blackburn Rovers defender Derrick Williams signed a new deal that will keep him with the Lancashire side until 2021: 🔗

Tuesday, 17th July
Highly rated teenage striker Troy Parrott signed his professional contract with Tottenham Hotspur and will play for their U18 side as a first year scholar

Wednesday, 18th July
Former St Francis player Jack Connolly signed his first professional contract with Sunderland: 🔗

Thursday, 19th July
Southampton due Sean Brennan and Kameron Ledwidge signed their first professional contracts: 🔗

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

Premier League Debuts

With U19 striker Reece Grego-Cox making his debut last weekend as a late substitute for QPR against Tottenham, we wondered who the last Irish player to make his professional debut in the Premier League was?
With ever reducing numbers of Irish players moving to English clubs, we were not surprised to find out that the last Irish player to make his debut in the top division in England was former U21 defender Derrick Williams, who came on for Aston Villa in a 1-1 draw with Cox's team QPR in April 2012.

We had to go back to August 2009 to find the last current Irish international to make their debut in the Premier League. Ciaran Clark was given his first start by current Ireland manager Martin O'Neill, again for Aston Villa, in a 2-0 home win against Fulham.

Note: we specifically looked for players who made their debuts in the Premier League, not players who made their debuts for Premier League clubs, but in other competitions, e.g. Anthony Forde made his debut for then Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers in August 2011 as a substitute in the League Cup against Northampton, but didn't make his first Premier League appearance until the following November, again as a substitute against Chelsea