Round up - Week of 17th May 2016

Tuesday, 17 May 2016
Championship Play Off Semi Final
Hull City 0-2 Derby County
Jeff Hendrick returned to the Derby County starting XI for the first time since 19th March, and was booked for the fifth time this season

Wednesday, 18 May 2016
League 2 Play Off Semi Final
Accrington Stanley 2-2 AFC Wimbledon
Seamus Conneely made his 50th start of the season

Friday, 20 May 2016
League 1 Play Off Semi Final
Millwall 1-1 Bradford City
Billy Clarke made his 25th start of the season

Saturday, 21 May 2016
English FA Cup
Crystal Palace 1-2 Manchester United
Damien Delaney was booked for the first time since 6th February

Scottish FA Cup
Rangers 2-3 Hibernian
Both braces scored by Anthony Stokes this season have come in the Scottish Cup
A summary of Conrad Logan's season:

• Released by Leicester City in the summer
• Signs a short term deal with Hibs in March
• Saves two penalties in the Scottish Cup semi final in his first game for Hibs in April
• Wins the Scottish Cup with Hibs for the first time in 114 years in May!

Round Up - Midweek games of 10th May 2016

Wednesday, 11 May 2016
Scottish Premier League
St Johnstone 2-1 Celtic
Graham Cummins scored his seventh goal of the season, his first goal since scoring a brace in October

Hamilton Academical 0-1 Inverness CT
Daniel Devine scored his first goal in the Scottish Premier League, this the defender's second goal of the season after scoring in the League Cup in September

Thursday, 12 May 2016
League 2
Portsmouth 2-2 Plymouth
Adam Barton was booked for the second time this season, more than four months after his first booking of 2015/16 in January
Graham Carey was shown his seventh yellow card of the season

Round Up - Midweek games of 26th April 2016

Tuesday, 26 April 2016
League 2
AFC Wimbledon 0-1 Portsmouth
Adam Barton returned to the Portsmouth starting XI for his first start since 23rd January
Enda Stevens made his 50th appearance for Pompey
Brian Murphy's introduction from the bench was his first appearance since 19th  January

Scottish First Division
Hibernian 4-0 Dumbarton
Anthony Stokes scored the 130th goal of his career

Wednesday, 27 April 2016
Cypriot Premier League
Omonia Nicosia 2-0 Nea Salamis
Cillian Sheridan scored his 15th league goal of the season

Congratulations to Central Coast Mariners' Roy O'Donovan for winning A-League Goal of the Season for this strike


Congratulations to Derby County Player of the Season, and Players' Player of the Season, Richard Keogh, and Young Player of the Season Cyrus Christie

Further Reading
Kevin Doyle holds on to Euro 2016 hopes after dramatic injury return - The Telegraph
Egan eager for Ireland call-up - Herald.ie

Round Up - Weekend of 15th April 2016

Friday, 15 April 2016
Championship
Hull City 2-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers
David Meyler returned to the Hull starting XI for the first time since 8th March

Saturday, 16 April 2016
Premier League
Everton 1-1 Southampton
Darron Gibson returned to the starting XI for his first start since 9th January, this was also his first league start of the season. Remarkably, his booking today was the first time he'd been booked since September 2013 - it's been more than 900 days since his last yellow at club level!

Championship
Blackburn 0-2 Huddersfield
Shane Duffy and Darragh Lenihan were both booked for the tenth time this season. All of Lenihan's bookings this season have come in 2016.

Sheffield Wednesday 1-1 Ipswich
David McGoldrick made his first for Ipswich start since 31st October

League 1
Coventry 2-1 Millwall
Shaun Williams was sent off for the third time for Millwall (fourth in his career), his last red card was in December 2014

Gillingham 0-2 Port Vale
John Egan made his first start since 13th February

League 2 
AFC Wimbledon 1-0 Crawley
Connor Smith was booked for the first time this season, after more than two years since his last booking in February 2014
Charles Dunne was booked for the first time this season, having not been booked since January 2015

Bristol Rovers 2-1 Yeovil
Rory Gaffney scored his tenth goal of the season, more than a month after his last goal

Portsmouth 1-2 Plymouth
Carl McHugh was booked for the tenth time this season

Stevenage 2-1 Newport Co.
Jake Mulraney scored his first goal for Stevenage, which was also the first goal of the season, and the first goal of his career! Congratulations Jake!

Scottish FA Cup
Hibernian 0-0 Dundee Utd
Conrad Logan made his first appearance since December 2014, after recently signing a short term deal with Hibs

Sunday, 17 April 2016
Premier League
Arsenal 1-1 Crystal Palace
Damien Delaney made his 150th appearance for Crystal Palace

Monday, 18 April 2016
Premier League
Stoke City 0-4 Tottenham
Shay Given made his first start since 22nd September, and his first league start since May!

Further Reading
DAVID SHONFIELD: Cesare Maldini: The Italian who turned defending into an art - Irish Examiner
Football clubs trawl social media for gaffes by transfer targets - The Guardian
"The future for the League of Ireland is to have academies" according to Ruud Dokter - Off The Ball

Round Up - Midweek games of 12th April 2016

Tuesday, 12 April 2016
Championship
Middlesbrough 2-1 Reading
Simon Cox scored his first goal of the season, his last goal came in December 2014

League 1
Gillingham 1-2 Walsall
Bradley Garmston returned to the Gillingham starting XI for the first time since 20th February, while John Egan came off the bench for his first appearance since 13th February

Wednesday, 13 April 2016
Premier League
Crystal Palace 0-0 Everton
James McCarthy was sent off for the first time in his career

Further Reading
Richard Dunne and dusted: Irish legend at ease in retirement - Irish Examiner

Round Up - Midweek games of 5th April 2016

Tuesday, 5 April 2016
Championship
Birmingham City 1-2 Brighton and Hove Albion
Richie Towell returned to the Brighton matchday squad for the first time since February, but has still to make his league debut for the Seagulls

Derby County 4-0 Hull City
Congratulations to Cyrus Christie on his 200th career appearance

Middlesbrough 3-0 Huddersfield
Sean Scannell's 25th appearance this season was his 150th appearance for Huddersfield

MK Dons 1-2 Wolverhampton Wanderers
MK Dons' Darren Potter was booked for the fifth time this season, more than a month since his last yellow
In the same game, Wolves' Matt Doherty was booked for the first time this season, after more than a year since his last booking in March 2015

Wednesday, 6 April 2016
Cypriot Cup
AEK Larnaca 0-0 Omonia Nicosia
Cillian Sheridan made his twenty-fifth start for Omonia Nicosia

Further Reading
If It Happened Today: Gazza, Euro ’96 and the dentist’s chair - eurosport
Johnstone's Paint Trophy: Team of the Tournament - www.football-league.co.uk
We Do Not Dream - Claudio Ranieri

Round Up - Weekend of 2nd April 2016

Saturday, 2 April 2016
Premier League
West Ham United 2-2 Crystal Palace
Damien Delaney equaled his most goals scored in one season with his third of the season

Championship
Blackburn 1-2 Preston North End
Shane Duffy's red card in this game was the first time he was sent off in his career
After returning to the starting XI for Preston, Alan Browne has started as many games in 2015/16 for the Lilywhites (26) as in the previous two seasons combined (5 in 2013/14 and 21 in 2014/15)

Bolton 0-1 Reading
Stephen Quinn was booked for the third time this season in his twenty-fifth appearance of the season, but his performance was enough to include him in the WhoScored Championship Team of the Week

Championship Team of the Week - Gameweek 39 https://t.co/7094SxKrhN pic.twitter.com/VssdmME3GP

— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) April 4, 2016

Hull City 4-0 Bristol City
Alex Pearce came off the bench for his first appearance since 23rd February, and was booked for the first time this season

Nottingham Forest 0-3 Brentford
Alan Judge made his one hundredth appearance for Brentford

Rotherham 2-1 Leeds United
Leon Best was booked for the first in more than two years, his last yellow card came in February 2014

Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-0 Ipswich
David McGoldrick came off the bench for his first appearance since 12th December

League 1
Bradford City 1-0 Scunthorpe
Josh Cullen was booked for the fifth time this season

Chesterfield 4-2 Port Vale
Jay O'Shea scored his eighth goal of the season

Rochdale 2-2 Doncaster Rovers
Niall Canavan scored his first goal of the season

League 2
Bristol Rovers 3-0 Crawley
Liam Lawrence scored his first goal of the season, just over a year since his last strike in March 2015
Frankie Sutherland was booked for the first time since November 2014

Luton 0-1 Stevenage
Jake Mulraney made his first appearance for Stevenage and was booked for the first time this season

Scottish First Division
Dumbarton 0-0 Greenock Morton
Paul Heffernan made his first start for Dumbarton

Sunday, 3 April 2016
Scottish Premier League
Aberdeen 3-0 Hamilton Academical
Willo Flood returned from a hamstring injury for his first appearance in a month

Football League Trophy
Barnsley 3-2 Oxford United
Callum O'Dowda's eighth goal of the season in today's final will be some compensation for losing to Conor Hourihane's Barnsley

Australian A-League
Perth Glory 3-2 Melbourne City
Andy Keogh broke the A-League record with his eighth goal in consecutive games, which was also his tenth goal of the season

55' | Andy Keogh, take a bow son! That's 8 consecutive scoring games in a row, NEVER done before in this country! #PERvMCY #WestVsRest

— Perth Glory FC (@PerthGloryFC) April 3, 2016

Further Reading
Conor Hourihane: A Natural Born Leader - The Southern Star

176 - Jack Byrne gave more successful passes into the final third than any other Eredivisie player in 2016. Threat.

— OptaJohan (@OptaJohan) April 2, 2016

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

Round Up - Midweek games of 15th March 2016

Tuesday, 15 March 2016
Championship
Ipswich 2-0 Blackburn
Daryl Murphy marked his 33rd birthday with his ninth and tenth goals of the season. In the same game, Jonathan Douglas was booked for the seventh time this season, more than two months after his last yellow card

League 1
Fleetwood 0-1 Walsall
Liam Kinsella came off the bench to make his first appearance for Walsall since the middle of January

League 2
Oxford United 4-0 Dagenham and Redbridge
Callum O'Dowda's start this evening for Oxford in this game was his one hundredth appearance for the club

Wednesday, 16 March 2016
League 2
Accrington Stanley 1-1 Wycombe Wanderers
Seamus Conneely made his fiftieth start for Accrington Stanley

Scottish FA Cup
Inverness CT 1-2 Hibernian
Richie Foran's start for Inverness Caledonian Thistle in this game was his 200th appearance for the club, having not started a game for them in almost two years due to injury
Anthony Stokes's brace in this game doubled his total for the season, and it was the Celtic striker's first time scoring twice in the same game since October 2014

Further Reading
'If Leicester can do it...' - The triumph of little over large - Liam Mackey

Round Up - Midweek games 8th March 2016

Tuesday, 8 March 2016
Championship
Huddersfield 3-1 Reading
Sean Scannell came off the bench to make his first appearance for Huddersfield since suffering a knee injury in early January
U17 midfielder Josh Barrett came off the bench to make his professional debut - congratulations Josh!

Rotherham 1-0 Middlesbrough
Lee Frecklington scored his third goal of the season, this was the midfielder's first goal since 19th December

Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1 Bristol City
Matt Doherty scored his second of the season, this is the first time the defender scored more than once since the 2012/13 season!

League 1
Bradford City 2-0 Burton Albion
Damien McCrory was booked for the fifth time this season

League 2
Accrington Stanley 1-3 Portsmouth
Michael Doyle scored his first goal for Portsmouth, more than a year since his last goal in February 2015

The performances of Frecklington, Doherty and Doyle led to their inclusion in the Football League's midweek team selection

TEAM OF MIDWEEK: Here's a selection of the stand-out performers from the midweek action >> https://t.co/fJHoTzRspM. pic.twitter.com/ihW4TnWFNV

— The Football League (@football_league) March 9, 2016

Further Reading
Stand In The Place Where You Love - liverpooletc.com
McPhail fears for next generation of Irish players - Irish Independent
Evan’s Burning ambition to Galvin-ise Cobh Ramblers towards top flight of Irish football - leagueofireland.ie
McGregor's defeat puts UFC on brink of mainstream - Philip O'Connor

Round Up - Midweek games of 23rd February 2016

Tuesday, 23 February 2016
Championship
Brentford 3-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Matt Doherty made his one hundredth appearance for Wolves

Bristol City 0-4 Brighton and Hove Albion
Alex Pearce made his first start for Bristol City since signing for them on loan

Middlesbrough 3-1 Cardiff
Following his man of the match performance at the weekend, Anthony Pilkington made his fiftieth appearance for Cardiff against Middlesbrough

Reading 1-0 Rotherham
Paul Green made his fiftieth start for Rotherham, while Stephen Kelly returned to the matchday squad for the first time in more than two months

League 2
York City 1-2 Northampton
James Collins scored his fifth goal for Northampton

AFC Wimbledon 1-0 Carlisle United
Connor Smith made his first start for AFC Wimbledon since signing for them following his release from Watford, it was the player's first minutes of football since September

Accrington Stanley 3-2 Notts County
Graham Burke came off the bench to make his first appearance for Notts County since early January, while fellow substitute Ronan Murray scored his first goal of the season

Barnet 1-0 Portsmouth
Enda Stevens made his one hundredth career appearance in England since leaving Shamrock Rovers

Thursday, 25 February 2016
CONCACAF Champions League
LA Galaxy 0-0 Santos Laguna
Robbie Keane led the line for LA Galaxy in their first game of the 2016 season
Further Reading
Giovanni Trapattoni praises Roy Keane impact with Ireland - goal.com
On being tired of football - Popular Stand

Round Up - Weekend of 20th February 2016

Saturday, 20 February 2016
Championship
Brentford 1-3 Derby County
This tie was the second time this season where three Irish players scored in the same game. That hasn't happened in one season since the 2012/13 season
Cyrus Christie scored his first goal for Derby County today, before that the defender hadn't scored since March 2013

Burnley 2-0 Rotherham
Leon Best came off the bench for Rotherham to make his first appearance in three months after recovering from an injury

MK Dons 0-2 Bristol City
Darren Potter received his fourth booking of the season, almost three months after his last yellow card

League 1
Bradford City 2-2 Rochdale
After signing for them on loan, Niall Canavan made his first start for Rochdale, before that the midfielder hadn't played a minute of football since starting an tie for parent club Scunthorpe on 2nd January

Chesterfield 3-1 Crewe Alexandra
Connor Dimaio celebrated his debut for Chesterfield with a the first goal of his career, and also weighed in with an assist. Congratulations Connor!

Fleetwood 2-1 Scunthorpe
Paddy Madden's eighteenth goal this season was his milestone fortieth goal for Scunthorpe!

Oldham 2-1 Gillingham
Bradley Garmston's start today for Gillingham was the defender's fiftieth career appearance

League 2 
Bristol Rovers 2-1 Morecambe
Rory Gaffney's eighth goal of the season was the former League of Ireland striker's first goal since 2nd January
Jamie Devitt's fifth goal of the season was his tenth goal for Morecambe

Cambridge United 3-1 York City
James Berrett scored his fifth goal of the season

Crawley 1-1 Plymouth
Shamir Goodwin scored his first goal for Crawley Town

English FA Cup 
Reading 3-1 West Bromwich Albion
Simon Cox made his fiftieth appearance for Reading in the same game Paul McShane scored his first goal for the club

Bournemouth 0-2 Everton
James McCarthy made his one hundredth appearance for Everton

Scottish Premiership
Kilmarnock 0-0 Dundee
Darren O'Dea's performance earned him a place in the BT Sport SPFL Team of the Week

#TEAMOFTHEWEEK @Fox1NtheBox @leehods2 @odea_darren @kierantierney1 (1/2) pic.twitter.com/iBIlIr7I3p

— BT Sport SPFL (@BTSportSPFL) February 22, 2016

Australian A-League
Perth Glory 6-3 Brisbane Roar
Andy Keogh scored his third goal in seven games since returning to Perth Glory

Sunday, 21 February 2016
Scottish First Division
Queen of the South 0-1 Rangers
Robbie Kiernan's booking this afternoon was his first yellow card in almost two months

English FA Cup
Blackburn 1-5 West Ham United
Shane Duffy made his fiftieth start for Blackburn, while Darragh Lenihan made his twenty-fifth career start

Monday, 22 February 2016
League 1
Southend United 3-1 Burton Albion
Cian Bolger made his one hundredth career start
David Mooney scored his seventh goal of the season, his first in almost two months

Further Reading
Premier League’s five best stand-in stoppers - football365.com
Two-touch penalties, imaginary cards, lazy subs: Football's unwritten rules - ESPN FC
Ruud Dokter: 'We want our best young players to go to United, Arsenal and Chelsea but UK not always the best step' - Irish Independent

Round Up - Midweek games of 16th February 2016

Tuesday, 16 February 2016
Championship
Blackburn 3-0 Fulham
Shane Duffy scored the fifth goal of his career on the occasion of his fiftieth appearance for Blackburn

League 1
Bradford City 2-0 Southend United
Michael Timlin and Stephen McLaughlin both returned to the starting XI for Southend. Timlin hadn't started a game in more than a month, whereas McLaughlin hadn't lined out for the Shrimpers since early November 

Colchester 1-1 Chesterfield
Conor Dimaio made his first start of the season on loan at Chesterfield

League 2
Accrington Stanley 1-1 Carlisle United
Seamus Conneely made his fiftieth start since moving to England

Scottish FA Cup
Hibernian 1-0 Hearts
Anthony Stokes made his fiftieth start for Hibernian

Further Reading
The FBI VS FIFA - ESPN's The Magazine
15 Greatest Athlete's of All Time - The 365 Skinny (includes handball's Paul Brady)

Round Up - Midweek games of 9th February 2016

Tuesday, 9 February 2016
English FA Cup
West Ham United 2-1 Liverpool
After featuring as a first half substitute in the original tie between West Ham and Liverpool, Joey O'Brien returned to the Hammers starting XI in the replay for the first time since the end of July

Wednesday, 10 February 2016
English FA Cup
Peterborough 1-1 West Bromwich Albion
James McClean made his twenty-fifth start for West Brom since signing for them last summer

Further Reading
Darren Randolph relishing Republic of Ireland chance after NBA dreams - ESPN
Sunderland fans bid to have statue of Charlie Hurley created for 80th birthday - Sunderland Echo
Perennially underappreciated, Trapattoni made Ireland a competitive force again - the42.ie

Round up - Weekend of 6th February 2016

Saturday, 6 February 2016
Premier League
Stoke City 0-3 Everton
Seamus Coleman's first goal of the season, which he dedicated to his newborn daughter, was also his twentieth goal for Everton. The defender had gone almost a year since his last goal, scored against QPR in March 2015

Championship
Birmingham City 1-2 Sheffield Wednesday
Aiden McGeady made his first start for the Sheffield Wednesday since signing for them on loan. it was also the winger's first league start of the season

Cardiff 0-0 MK Dons
Samir Carruthers made his one hundredth career appearance in this draw at Cardiff

Charlton 0-1 Bristol City
Stephen Henderson made his fiftieth start for Charlton in this loss

Preston North End 2-1 Huddersfield
Alan Browne's goal this afternoon, his second of the season, was his first goal since 3rd October 2015

League 1
Sheffield United 0-2 Wigan
Conor Sammon made his one hundred fiftieth career start in England and Scotland

League 2
Stevenage 0-1 Crawley
After signing for Stevenage during the January transfer window, Patrick Hoban made his first start for the Boro

Scottish FA Cup
Rangers 0-0 Kilmarnock
After transferring to Kilmarnock in January, Gary Dicker made his first start for the club

Sunday, 7 February 2016
Scottish FA Cup 
Hearts 2-2 Hibernian
Anthony Stokes was booked for the first time this season

Round Up - Midweek games of 2nd February 2016

Tuesday, 2 February 2016
Premier League
Manchester United 3-0 Stoke City
Stephen Ireland was booked for the first time this season

Norwich 0-3 Tottenham Hotspur
Due to an illness, Robbie Brady was not in the starting XI for Norwich in a league game for the first time in 2015/16. After starting the last three games for Norwich, Wes Hoolahan started on the bench. He hasn't started more than three games in a row for the Canaries this season

Championship
Sheffield Wednesday 1-1 Burnley
Aiden McGeady made his first appearance for Sheffield Wednesday since signing for them on loan as a second half substitute

Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-2 Bolton
Joe Mason marked his debut for Wolves by scoring the opener against Bolton

League 1
Shrewsbury 1-2 Southend United
Michael Timlin was sent off for the second time for Southend, this was the midfielder's third red card of his career

League 2
Luton 1-1 Yeovil
Alan Sheehan scored his first goal for Luton since signing for them on loan during the January transfer window

Morecambe 1-1 Portsmouth
Barry Roche scored the first goal of his career, he's also the first goalkeeper to score a goal since we started compiling appearance data for Irish players!

Scottish First Division
Greenock Morton 0-1 Hibernian
Anthony Stokes marked his fiftieth appearance for Hibs with his second goal in two games. The Celtic striker hadn't managed that feat since August 2014

Wednesday, 3 February 2016
Scottish Premier League
Aberdeen 2-1 Celtic
Jonathan Hayes' opener in the Dons win was his fifth goal of the season

Thursday, 4 February 2016
Football League Trophy
Fleetwood 1-1 Barnsley
Conor Hourihane's eighth goal of the season (his first since mid December) puts him second on the list of goalscoring Irish midfielders in 2015/16 with Graham Carey, both are behind Alan Judge's 12 strikes.

Further Reading
World Soccer Awards - World Soccer (Richie Towell joint 72nd with Andre Ayew, Carlos Bacca, Claudio Bravo, Marcelo Diaz, Luciano Figueroa, Hulk, Mats Hummels, Marcelo, Riyad Mahrez, Mesut Ozil, and Willian)
FIFA World Rankings - fifa.com (Republic of Ireland climb one place to 30th)

Round up - Midweek games of 26th January 2016

Tuesday, 26 January 2016
League 1
Bury 0-0 Crewe Alexandra
John O'Sullivan made his first start for Bury, and was booked for the first time since the end of November

Wednesday, 27 January 2016
Manchester City 3-1 Everton
James McCarthy and Seamus Coleman were both named as substitutes in the same game for only the second time while both players have been at the Toffees

Further Reading
Back In The Groove - www.wolves.co.uk
Up In Smoke - Howler

Round up - Midweek games of 19th January 2016

Tuesday, 19 January 2016
FA Cup
MK Dons 3-0 Northampton
John-Joe O'Toole achieved the milestone of his fiftieth start for Northampton Town in their third round replay

Portsmouth 2-1 Ipswich
Jay Tabb was in the starting XI for Ipswich Town for the first time September, all of his appearances for the Tractor Boys in 2015/16 have been in the cup competitions - three in the League Cup and once in the FA Cup. Ireland U18 striker Shane McLoughlin made his first appearance in a matchday squad for Ipswich, the Kerry born player was named on the subs bench

Aston Villa 2-0 Wycombe Wanderers
Ciaran Clark scored his first goal of the season on what his 150th appearance for the Villains

Yeovil 1-1 Carlisle United
After suffering a succession of injury problems, Kevin Dawson made his first appearance for Yeovil in more than a year. The midfielder last played for the Glovers in an FA Cup third round tie against Manchester United in January 2015

Scottish FA Cup 
Inverness CT 2-0 Stirling Albion
Richie Foran introduction from the bench was his first appearance since September 19th

Wednesday, 20 January 2016
English FA Cup
Liverpool 3-0 Exeter
This was the first game since the end of November that Clinton Morrison was in the starting XI for Exeter

Further reading
The Story Of New Star Soccer - [the set pieces]
Republic of Ireland record against Group E opponents - uefa.com 
Chelsea - Accidents Will Happen - Swiss Ramble 

Round Up - Weekend of 15th January 2016

Saturday, 16 January 2016
Premier League
Southampton 3-0 West Bromwich Albion
Shane Long started five consecutive Premier League games for the first time since the end of the 2013/14 season with Hull

Newcastle Utd 2-1 West Ham United
Robert Elliot was booked for the first time this season

Championship
Blackburn 0-1 Brighton and Hove Albion
Darragh Lenihan's start today was his first league start of the season, having previously only started for Blackburn in a League Cup game in August

Derby County 0-3 Birmingham City
Stephen Gleeson's fourth goal of the season came more than two months after his third, his last goal came on November 7th

League 1
Bradford City 1-0 Oldham
Billy Clarke made his fiftieth start for Bradford in their win over Oldham

Bury 2-3 Walsall
John O'Sullivan made his first appearance on loan at Bury, while teammate (and fellow loanee) Ian Lawlor was booked for the first time in his career
Similar to Stephen Gleeson, Anthony Forde's winner for Walsall was also his first goal since November 7th

Coventry 0-2 Burton Albion
After being an unused substitute for seven consecutive games, Callum Reilly came off the bench to make his first appearance since November 24th

League 2
Crawley 0-1 Notts County
Ronan Murray made his first start of the season in this away win for Notts County

Dagenham and Redbridge 1-2 Northampton
John-Joe O'Toole scored his fifth goal of the season

Plymouth 3-2 Stevenage
After signing for them on loan, Keith Keane went straight into the starting XI at Stevenage for his first start since August

Scottish Premier League
Partick Thistle 2-4 Dundee
After signing for them until the end of the season, Darren O'Dea made his first start for Dundee
  
Australian A-League
Perth Glory 2-2 Melbourne City
Andy Keogh picked up his first booking for Perth Glory in his second spell at the club, in his second appearance since re-signing for them

Sunday, 17 January 2016
Scottish Premier League
Ross County 2-3 Aberdeen
Adam Rooney scored his fifteenth goal of the season

Monday, 18 January 2016
English FA Cup
Newport Co. 1-2 Blackburn
Darragh Lenihan's second start in three days was his twenty-fifth career appearance

Further Reading
Ozil assisting in more ways than one, says chart-topping Shrimps winger - The Football League Paper
The force is still with Leicester City but history may not be - The Guardian
PSG V M.I.A. – The Big Picture PSG VS M.I.A The Big Picture - Pog Mo Goal

Midweek games - 12th January 2016 Round Up

Tuesday, 12 January 2016
Premier League
Bournemouth 1-3 West Ham United
Harry Arter's opener for Bournemouth was his first goal of the season

Championship
Bristol City 1-2 Preston North End
Greg Cunningham's first goal for Preston came against his former club, almost a year since his last goal on February 24th

MK Dons 0-5 Burnley
Darren Potter's two hundreth start for MK Dons will be memorable for all the wrong reasons after this result!

Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-2 Fulham
Matt Doherty's first goal of the season was worth waiting for. The Dubliner's long range finish was his first goal in more than two years, his last strike came on 17th August 2013!

League 1
Wigan 3-3 Sheffield United
Chris McCann marked his twenty-fifth appearance of the season for Wigan with his second goal of the season, having not found the net since early September

League 2
Plymouth 1-2 Northampton
Following his move from Shrewsbury Town, James Collins made his first start for Northampton and marked the occasion with a debut goal
Brendan Moloney was booked for the first time in 2015/16

Wednesday, 13 January 2016
Premier League
The three goals scored tonight by Irish players is the most in a single day in the Premier League this season, two goals were scored on two previous occasions - 26 September and 26 December

Stoke City 3-1 Norwich
Jonathan Walters scored his seventh goal of the season in what was his two hundredth start for Stoke
This game had four Irish players between the two starting XIs - Walters, Glenn Whelan, Robbie Brady, and Wes Hoolahan - the most in a Premier League game this season

Southampton 2-0 Watford
Shane Long scored his fifteenth goal for Southampton, in his fifth consecutive start for the Saints - the first time he's done that since signing from Hull

Thursday, 14 January 2016
Football League Trophy
Millwall 0-2 Oxford United
Callum O'Dowda's booking tonight was his first of the season, and his first in more than two years. His last booking came in November 2013

Further Reading
Millwall forward O'Brien signs new long-term contract - Millwall Official Site

The best editions of PES and FIFA: The games that shaped football’s greatest (virtual) rivalry - FourFourTwo
Stan’s teams were painful to watch, but relentless abuse of an Irish legend didn’t sit right - The42