Weekend of 2nd January 2016 Round Up

Saturday, 2nd January 2016
Premier League
Norwich City 1-0 Southampton
This was Shane Long's third start in a row, before this he hadn't started more than two games in a row for Southampton in 2015/16. He hasn't started more than four consecutive games for the Saints since signing from Hull City.

West Bromwich Albion 2-1 Stoke City
Jonathan Walters came off the bench to score his fifth goal of the season for Stoke, and his first since his League Cup goal against Chelsea in October

Championship
Burnley 0-0 Ipswich
Stephen Ward second start in a row for Burnley, his first consecutive starts since December 2014, was his three hundredth career appearance in England

Cardiff 1-0 Blackburn
Joe Mason marked his return to the Cardiff starting XI (his first start since November 21st) with his first goal since October 3rd
Darragh Lenihan made his second appearance of the season for Blackburn Rovers, his last coming in a League Cup game against Shrewsbury in August

Leeds United 1-1 MK Dons
Darren Potter's start against Leeds was his two hundredth appearance for MK Dons

Preston North End 2-1 Rotherham
Similar to Joe Mason, Eoin Doyle's return to the Preston starting XI was also marked with a goal, in his case his first since scoring the winner against Nottingham Forest in November

League 1
Burton Albion 1-0 Blackpool
Colin Doyle returned to the Blackpool team after recovering from an ankle injury sustained playing for the Seasiders in the FA Cup against Barnet in early November

Chesterfield 7-1 Shrewsbury
Jay O'Shea made his one hundred fiftieth appearance for Chesterfield memorable by scoring his fourth and fifth of the season in this win. Coincidentally, his last goals for the Spireites was also a brace, against Millwall in August.

League 2
Notts County 2-4 Oxford United
U21 forward Callum O'Dowda scored his fifth goal of the season for Oxford

Scottish First Division
Dumbarton 0-6 Rangers
Robert Kiernan's start in this win for Rangers was his one hundredth career start

Sunday, 3rd January 2016
Premier League
Crystal Palace 0-3 Chelsea
Damien Delaney's booking this afternoon was his first of the season

Further Reading
Manchester City Loan Report (Part 1) (includes Jack Byrne) - In Good Kompany
Manchester City Loan Report (Part 2) (includes Ian Lawlor) - In Good Kompany

The contenders to make the Irish squad on Martin O’Neill’s friendly route to Euro 2016 - Irish Times

Five month summary for 2015/16

Irish Abroad players appearance statistics for 2015/16 so far: http://irish-abroad.appspot.com/MonthlyStats?month=13

Wins

Danny Rogers has won 15 of his 23 games on loan at Falkirk so far this season. Of the outfield players Derby's Richard Keogh and Cyrus Christie along with Aberdeen's Jonathan Hayes have all won 13 games so far in 2015/16

Draws

Defenders Greg Cunningham and Shane Duffy both started 10 drawn games before New Year's Day

Losses

Sean Dillon and Derrick Williams have both started 11 losses in their games in 2015/16

Starts/Completed Games

Along with his 13 wins, Jonathan Hayes has also started the most games to date, the midfielder has started 26 games for Aberdeen. However, Richard Keogh, Daniel Devine and Stephen Gleeson have completed the most games, each player was still on the pitch after ninety minutes in 24 games this season

Substitutions/Introductions

Wes Hoolahan, Anthony Pilkington and Graham Cummins have all been substituted 11 times in 2015/16, while Ipswich striker David McGoldrick has been introduced in each of the 11 games he's started on the bench

Stayed on bench

Goalkeeper Jack Bonham has been an unused substitute in 24 games this season, while defender Stephen Ward has stayed on the bench 22 times.

Goals

Robbie Keane's 19 goals since July 1st is more than any other Irish player, while Adam Rooney has scored more penalties than anyone else. Six of the Aberdeen striker's 14 goals have been from 12 yards

Discipline

Alan McCormack has been booked more than anyone else in 2015/16. The Brentford midfielder has acquired seven yellow cards

December 2015 Appearance Stats

Irish Abroad players appearance statistics for December 2015: http://irish-abroad.appspot.com/MonthlyStats?month=12

Wins

Ipswich's Irish duo Daryl Murphy and Jonathan Douglas won the most games in the final month of 2015, starting four wins for the Tractor Boys

Draws

Charlton's Stephen Henderson started three draws in December, as did Derby's Richard Keogh and Cyrus Christie

Losses

John O'Shea, Paul McShane and Lee Frecklington all had identical loss records in December, each player lost one game at home and three away

Starts/Completed Games

Henderson, Keogh, Christie, Douglas, Frecklington, and Murphy also started the most games in December, along with Seamus Coleman, Greg Cunningham, Anthony Pilkington, and Alan Judge. Each player started six games. Of these Henderson, Keogh, Coleman, Cunningham, Christie, and Judge completed 90 minutes in each game

Substitutions/Introductions

Anthony Pilkington was substituted from the action more than any other Irish player in December - four times - while Jonathan Walters was introduced from the bench more than anyone else - also four times

Stayed on bench

Goalkeepers Aaron McCarey and Jack Bonham were both unused substitutes six times in December. Of the outfield players, Stephen Ward, Darron Gibson, Marc Wilson, and Simon Cox were left on the bench five times

Goals

Alan Judge and Adam Rooney topped the scoring charts in December with four goals each. Neither of their clubs lost a game when either player scored.

Discipline

Richard Keogh, Greg Cunningham, Shane Duffy, Harry Arter, Jonathan Douglas and Robbie Brady were all booked twice in December