Round up for weekend of Friday, 15th December 2017

Friday, 15th December 2017

League 2

Swindon Town 2-3 Colchester

Donal McDermott's first appearance since Wednesday, 8 November was also his first start for Swindon the previous Sunday

Saturday, 16th December 2017

Premier League

Arsenal 1-0 Newcastle Utd

Robert Elliot's start was his 50th Premier League appearance

Brighton and Hove Albion 0-0 Burnley

Shane Duffy was booked for the fifth time this season and is suspended for the next game

Championship

Bolton 0-1 Burton Albion

Sean Scannell made his 300th appearance in the Championship

Derby County 2-0 Aston Villa

Scott Hogan came off the bench for his first appearance since Saturday, 4th November

Ipswich 2-0 Reading

Paul McShane was booked for the fifth time this season and is suspended for the next game

Preston North End 1-0 Sheffield United

This was the first time since March 2016 that four Irish players (Kevin O'Connor, Andy Boyle, Daryl Horgan and Alan Browne) started on the subs bench for a single team.
Samir Carruthers's first start since August was his 25th appearance for Sheffield United

Cardiff 1-0 Hull City

In his first appearance for Cardiff since August, Anthony Pilkington assisted the winner against Hull

League 1

Blackburn 2-0 Charlton

Derrick Williams made his 200th career appearance
Leon Best unfortunately scored his first own goal since May 2007

Doncaster Rovers 1-1 Oldham

Eoin Doyle scored his 15th goal of the season

Gillingham 4-1 Bristol Rovers

Bradley Garmston made his first appearance since Saturday, 28th October

Northampton 2-1 Walsall

Brendan Moloney made his 100th appearance for Northampton

Rotherham 1-1 Plymouth

Graham Carey made his 300th career appearance in British football

Southend United 1-2 Bradford City

Stephen McLaughlin scored his 15th goal for Southend

League 2

Carlisle United 1-2 Port Vale

John O'Sullivan's first start of the season was also his 25th appearance for Carlisle United

Exeter 2-1 Stevenage

Pierce Sweeney scored his fifth goal of the season in his 25th start of the season
Liam McAlinden was booked for the first time this season

Forest Green 0-2 Luton

Alan Sheehan made his 100th appearance in League Two
Glen Rea made his 25th appearance of the season
Alan Sheehan's scored his first goal since September

Lincoln City 2-0 Accrington Stanley

Seamus Conneely returned for his first appearance in a month

Scottish Premier League

Aberdeen 4-1 Hibernian

Adam Rooney made his 200th appearance in the SPL
Anthony Stokes' late consolation for Hibernian was his tenth goal of the season, and his 100th goal in the top level of Scottish football

Rangers 1-3 St Johnstone

Graham Cummins' first goal of the season was also his 15th goal for St. Johnstone

Scottish Championship

Inverness CT 1-0 Dumbarton

Jake Mulraney's start against Dumbarton was his 50th appearance for Inverness Caledonian Thistle

Sunday, 17th December 2017

League 1

Fleetwood 2-3 Peterborough

Cian Bolger scored his third goal in two games (the first time the defender has scored in consecutive games) in his 25th start of the season

Indian Super League

Mumbai City 0-1 Atlético de Kolkata

Robbie Keane made his first start for Atlético de Kolkata, this was his first time being named in a starting XI since October 2016, and was voted as Fans Player of the Match

You voted for @WorldATK's Robbie Keane as the Fans' Player of the Match and he has a message of gratitude. #LetsFootball #MUMKOL pic.twitter.com/JtFlogGOWw

— Indian Super League (@IndSuperLeague) December 17, 2017

Round Up - Midweek games of 28th March 2016

Monday, 28 March 2016
League 1
Port Vale 0-1 Barnsley
Conor Hourihane's tenth goal of this season was also the fortieth goal of his career 

Millwall 2-0 Burton Albion
Aiden O'Brien scored his twelfth goal of the season, more than two months after his last strike in January

League 2
Barnet 2-1 Luton
Graham Stack's start for Barnet was his first appearance in the starting XI since August
Alan Sheehan's was booked for the fifth time this season

Notts County 0-0 Wycombe Wanderers
Graham Burke started his first game since 2nd January

Tuesday, 29 March 2016
International Friendly
Republic of Ireland 2-2 Slovakia
Paul McShane returned to the starting XI for his first start since June 2013.
The friendly was Robert Elliot, Alex Pearce and Anthony Pilkington's first appearance for Ireland since November 2014, and Elliot's first start since May 2014. We wish Elliot a speedy recovery from his knee injury
John O'Shea made his 110th appearance for Ireland, this was also the defender's 60th home start for Ireland, while Aiden McGeady and Glenn Whelan earned their 80th and 70th caps, respectively. At the other end of the appearance scale, Eunan O'Kane's second cap was his first start for Ireland
Shane Longs penalty was his fifteenth goal for Ireland, while James McClean's strike from 12 yards was his fifth goal for Ireland

Further Reading
The Eamon Dunphy Interview: 'I wanted to tell the story of the life of an ordinary footballer' - Irish Examiner
Jason Denayer and Jack Byrne have thrived on loan - but will it help them at Manchester City? - Manchester Evening News
Ciaran Clark in the FIFA 2016 Team of the Week

#TOTW 29 available now! https://t.co/7WATqjwXOJ #FUT pic.twitter.com/OS73rmi3hh

— EA SPORTS FIFA (@EASPORTSFIFA) March 30, 2016

Talking points

Brian Lenihan retained his place in the senior international squad despite still having not made his debut for his new club, should another player have been called up, or is his continuation in the squad a sign of how highly the management rate him?
Jack Grealish was again omitted, but will he be a late call up for the USA friendly?
If their paperwork is completed in time, will David McGoldrick or Cyrus Christie be included in the friendly squad
Following Shane Long's first goal for Southampton, what's a realistic target for the Tipperary striker?
After his loan move to AFC Wimbledon, can Frank Sutherland play his way into the QPR first team?
With Richie Towell's trial at Cardiff City, can other League of Ireland players make their way across the Irish Sea during the close season?
Despite returning to the West Ham bench, Joey O'Brien was omitted from the squad, given the defender's injury history will he retire from international football to prolong his club career?