March 6th
English Premier League
After a promising win over Aston Villa midweek, Sheffield United failed to gather any momentum against Southampton on Saturday. The Saints won 2-0, marking their first Premier League win in 10 games. Enda Stevens and David McGoldrick started again for the Blades.
Leicester City have had their fair share of injuries this season but continue to pull wins out of the bag. Irish youngster Shane Flynn made his first Premier League matchday squad and watched on from the bench as his side beat Brighton 2-1. Aaron Connolly failed a late fitness test and therefore was missing from the Brighton squad.
English Championship
In the Championship, Blackburn Rovers ended a seven game winless streak, beating Millwall 2-0. Darragh Lenihan captained his side in the victory.
Sean Maguire played his first game in over a month. He was introduced in the second-half of Preston’s 1-1 draw with Bournemouth.
At Swansea, Ryan Manning retained his place in the side after his performance against Stoke City. The Galwayman started alongside Conor Hourihane as Swansea won their second game on the bounce, this time against Middlesbrough.
English League One
Another Sunderland game. Another assist for Aiden McGeady (that’s now 11 assists in the league in case you have lost count). The Black Cats are in fine form, moving up to fourth in the league after beating Rochdale 2-0. McGeady’s corner was headed in by Dion Sanderson for Sunderland’s first goal of the afternoon.
English League Two
Padraig Amond scored his first goal since December in Newport County’s 2-0 win over Colchester United.
Mansfield Town’s away trip to Barrow ended in defeat. Ryan Sweeney’s sending off in 63rd minute was the turning point for Mansfield with Barrow going on to score two goals 10 minutes later.
Scottish Premiership
The Irish lads at St Mirren could not delay Rangers’ title celebrations on Saturday afternoon. Steven Gerrard’s side won 3-0 and clinched the Scottish Premiership trophy following Celtic’s goalless draw with Dundee United.
March 7th
English Premier League
Matt Doherty added another assist to his tally this season, teeing up Harry Kane who effortlessly curled one in from the edge of the box in Spurs’ 4-1 win over Crystal Palace. Doherty is hopeful that he has turned a corner at his new club after recent performances. The full-back admitted in a match programme interview “that it has not been a great season for me so far. There are things I need to improve on and things I need to adapt to. It’s been an indifferent start for me personally but, there is a lot more to come.”
Sunday’s tie with Newcastle United marked a third clean sheet from four games for Dara O’Shea and West Brom. Ciaran Clark started at the back for the visitors in the 0-0 draw. Jeff Hendrick also started his first game since his sending off against Southampton at the beginning of February.
With John Egan out injured and Shane Duffy struggling to find form and game time at Celtic, could O’Shea and Clark form a new defensive partnership for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers?
March 8th
English Premier League
There was another Irish international missing from the action in the Premier League on Monday evening. Ireland captain Seamus Coleman failed a late fitness test before Everton’s 2-0 defeat to Chelsea. Thankfully for Everton and Ireland, it is only a minor injury for Coleman and he is expected to be back fit for Everton’s clash with Burnley on Saturday.
March 9th
English Championship
Conor Hourihane started while Ryan Manning dropped to the bench for Swansea’s 1-1 draw with Blackburn Rovers. Swansea remain third in the league, level on points with Watford in second place.
English League One
Shrewsbury Town’s Irish representative Joshua Daniels scored his second goal of the season in a 2-0 win away to a Rochdale side featuring a host of Irish players, including Gavin Bazunu and Conor Grant. Rochdale have now lost four in a row and are rock bottom of the table having only won one game since the turn of the year.
Twenty minutes is all Olamide Shodipo needed to but his stamp on Oxford United’s game against Swindon Town. On as a second-half substitute, the 23-year-old set up Daniel Agyei for Oxford’s second goal in the 82nd minute which ultimately secured the victory.
English League Two
Two Irish veterans, in Eoin Doyle and Wesley Hoolahan, came head-to-head in Bolton’s tie with Cambridge United. Doyle opened the scoring for Bolton who went on to win the game 2-1 and continue to mount pressure on the top six in League Two.
Tranmere Rovers also deserve a special mention having won seven of their last nine games in all competitions and are currently sitting in fourth in the division. Ireland U-21 full-back Lee O’Connor has played in eight of those nine fixtures and seems to have found some form at Tranmere after a tough first year at Celtic.
March 10th
English Championship
Jason Knight featured for the full ninety minutes in Derby County’s 0-0 draw with sixth placed Barnsley, marking his 36th appearance in all competitions for Derby. In comparison with his Irish teammates in England, Knight has completed the most amount of minutes this season, comfortably surpassing the likes of Alan Browne, Conor Hourihane and Jeff Hendrick.