Updated: Tuesday, 27 Jan 2015 14:37 | Comments
By Rob Wright
The weekend's FA Cup action provided some major highs and lows for Irish players but it was the Bradford duo of Billy Clarke and Mark Yeates who had the most to celebrate as they helped their team to a stunning 4-2 victory over Chelsea.
Neither player started the game but Tallaght native Yeates was introduced with ten minutes to go and scored the fourth insurance for his side, linking up well with Jon Stead before calmly slotting the ball past Petr Cech.
Clarke was introduced during injury time but still got to sample some of the incredible atmosphere on one of Bradford's biggest afternoons.
Alan Sheehan, who was in the squad but did not feature on the day for Bradford is now dreaming of another giant killing act and hopes to face Liverpool or Manchester United in the fifth round (Update: they got Sunderland or Fulham).
"I'm a Man United fan so I'd love United away. But when I was at Notts County we got drawn against Liverpool away and I got injured a week before that, so, probably Man United or Liverpool would be nice. But I don't really mind!" he told RTÉ.
Sunderland's skipper John O'Shea turned in a decent performance in his side's 0-0 with Championship side Fulham.
The Black Cats would have been expected to win that game but were forced to hold on after Jack Rodwell was sent-off with just under half an hour to go. O'Shea marshaled his defence well and recovered from what appeared to be a knee injury in the first half to ensure his side kept a clean sheet and remain in the draw for the fifth round.
The news wasn't as good for O'Shea's international teammate Shane Long who not only saw his side suffer a surprise 3-2 defeat against Crystal Palace but suffered suspected broken ribs in a collision with Joel Ward.
Long was introduced on the hour mark with his side trailing 3-2 and made an immediate impact with his surging runs and physical presence as the Saints went in search of an equaliser but he lasted just 13 minutes before going off injured.
Afterwards the Irish frontman tweeted from his hospital bed to claim he was 'on the mend.'
Palace held out in the face of major pressure in the second half and Damien Delaney was instrumental in their rearguard action, putting in a sterling shift in the heart of the Eagles' defence.
Delaney's ability in the air helped to negate the threat of the impressive Graziano Pelle and as Southampton became more and more desperate Delaney had a knack of being in the right place at the right time to cut out the danger.
There was a host of Irish players on display in Derby County's 2-0 victory over League One side Chesterfield. Richard Keogh, Cyrus Christie and Jeff Hendrick all started for the Championship side while former Sligo Rovers manager Paul Cook named Jimmy Ryan, Eoin Doyle and James O'Shea in his Chesterfield side.
Christie impressed again in the Derby defence and had to be alert early on to deny Armand Gnanduillet what would have the opening goal with a well-timed block. After his side went behind James O'Shea would then to go close to claiming an equaliser for Chesterfield only to see his sweetly struck volley from the edge of the penalty area just go the wrong side of the post.
O'Shea was his side's best performer of the afternoon, linking up well with frontmen Doyle and Gnanduillet and he again looked like scoring for his side before he be denied by a great last-ditch challenge from Richard Keogh after skipping through the Derby defence.
Derby had plenty of defensive work to do throughout, and were aided by a calm and composed display from Hendrick in midfield who helped to alleviate much of the pressure. Hendrick came in for special praise from his manager Steve McClaren afterwards.
"I thought Kelle Roos in goal was very good today and I thought the players in front of him defended very well, but for me, Jeff Hendrick and Will Hughes were very, very good," McLaren told Derby's official website. "They were head and shoulders above anybody else in that midfield. They were both excellent."
Alex Pearce captained his Reading side to a 2-1 victory over fellow Championship side Cardiff City, turning in a typically assured performance in defence while Simon Cox was an unused substitute.
Shane Duffy was another Irish defender who shone in the Cup, as his Blackburn Rovers side overcame Premier League opposition, beating 10-man Swansea 3-1.
The Derry man impressed throughout and made crucial blocks to deny Nathan Dyer and Bafetimbi Gomes when the side's were level at 1-1. Duffy came out on top in his personal duel with Gomes and made a case for an extended run in the team after being dropped for several average performances.
Duffy revealed that he was unhappy with his recent form and told goal.com "It was up to me (to respond) because my performances weren't good enough by my own standard and I think the manager knew that, everyone knew that, myself included."
There was no upset in Birmingham's Cup clash with West Brom as the Premier League side ran out 2-1 winners despite some fine saves from Darren Randolph in the City goal.
The Irish goalkeeper should perhaps have done better for West Brom's opener as Victor Anichebe beat him at the near post but there was little he could do to prevent the second goal which took a cruel deflection to wrong-foot him. After that however, Randolph impressed keeping his side in the game with a fine save from a Jolean Lescott header before denying Berahino with a smart save.
Stephen Gleeson also featured for the Blues but had a quiet afternoon, struggling to gain a foothold in midfield and being restricted to a couple of half-chances up front.
Bournemouth will consider themselves unlucky to have exited at the hands of Aston Villa as the Championship side were edged out 2-1 by Premier League opposition.
All three of Bournemouth's Irish players started as Ian Harte, Harry Arter and Eunan O'Kane got the nod. Now 37, Ian Harte showed glimpses of the player that earned 63 caps for Ireland but was often undone by his lack of pace and was replaced on the hour mark.
Arter and O'Kane fared better and O'Kane in particular was a constant threat for his side going forward, forcing a great save from veteran Irish goalkeeper Shay Given on the half-hour mark as the former Newcastle shot-stopper had to be at full stretch to tip his effort around the post.
Ciaran Clark enjoyed another quietly confident and assured display for Villa in defence but both he and Given will be disappointed with the injury-time goal their side conceded to deny them a clean sheet.
Jack Grealish was introduced as an injury time substitute for Villa, suggesting that his row with manager Paul Lambert over comments the player made on twitter may be resolved.
In the Championship, Republic of Ireland manager Martin O'Neill was treated to a barrage of goals as he was in attendance for Watford's stunning 7-2 victory over Blackpool, who had initially raced into a 2-0 lead.
It was a game that will have done nothing for Darren O'Dea's hopes of an international recall as the player, who has only recently joined Blackpool on a short-term deal was part of a defence that conceded an astonishing seven goals.
Tommy Hoban's hopes of a call-up will also have suffered a blow as he was substituted by Watford at half-time after a less than distinguished showing in the first 45 minutes.
Someone who should be in O'Neill's thoughts the next time he names an Ireland squad is Huddersfield's Sean Scannell and he featured in his side's 1-0 victory over Huddersfield at the weekend.
Scannell was lively throughout, working up and down the left flank and at times tying Wigan full-back Andrew Taylor up in knots. He was unlucky not to have claimed an assist after a fine bit of play in which he outmuscled Taylor before lobbing the ball over the out-rushing Wigan goalkeeper an onto the head of Nahki Wells who really should have steered the ball home.
James McClean turned in a solid shift for Wigan but spurned his side's best chance of the game when he contrived to head over the bar when Callum McManaman's cross found him unmarked in the penalty area.
In League One, Liam McAlinden's Fleetwood edged to a 1-0 victory over a Crawley Town side which featured Lance Oyebanjo. In what was Fleetwood's first home win since November, McAlinden who is on loan from Wolves, was mostly a peripheral figure who had little service up front.
Oyebanjo turned in a decent performance at right-back for Crawley but he did give away the free-kick that led to the game's only goal, clipping Jamie Proctor as he ran across the face of goal.
Republic of Ireland Under-21 Will Hayhurst can consider himself unlucky to have been on the losing side as his Notts County side were beaten 2-1 by Peterborough.
Hayhurst was the stand-out player for County and was a constant threat from dead ball situations. The winger saw a first-half freekick from the edge of the penalty area narrowly go the wrong side of the post before laying what should have been a goal for Haydn Hollis on a plate with his expert delivery, only to see his teammate head straight at the goalkeeper.
With the clock ticking down and Notts County still trailing, Castlebar native Ronan Murray won his side a free-kick some 25-yards out. Hayhurst stepped up to take it only to see the Peterborough goalkeeper tip it around the post.
Darren Potter was influential in midfield as his MK Dons side claimed a 2-0 victory over Barnsley to move within three points of top spot in League One.
Potter was favoured in place of Ireland Under-21 Samir Carruthers and did much to validate that decision, helping to control the pace and tempo of the game from midfield as his side rarely looked like being in trouble.
Former Republic of Ireland Under-21 international James Collins was the match-winner for League Two side Shewsbury as he netted two goals in his side's 3-2 victory over Stevenage.
After his side went down to an early goal, Collins equalised, finishing off a quick breakaway move with a calmly taken shot to the bottom corner. Liam Lawrence then put Shrewsbury in front with a well taken penalty before Stevenage equalised.
Just when it appeared as if both sides would have to settle for a share of the spoils, Collins popped up again, this time powering into the penalty area before sliding an powerful effort home to give his side all three points.
There were two former League of Ireland players involved as Oxford United drew 2-2 with Exeter Town. Former Dundalk player Pat Hoban made his first start up front for Oxford while at the other end of the pitch former Cobh Ramblers and Cork City frontman Graham Cummins started, starting in place of veteran Ireland striker Clinton Morrison.
Hoban had the best chance of the two to score, getting on the end of a neat cut-back from Callum O'Dowd only to see his effort blocked after he delayed a fraction too long.
John Joe O'Toole was on the mark in Northampton's 3-0 victory over Newport County, heading home from a corner to put his side 2-0 up just before the hour mark. Mark Byrne featured for Newport and had an early chance to put his equalise but goalkeeper Matt Duke was equal to the effort, denying him at full stretch.
In Scotland Aberdeen's title hopes hit a setback as they were held to a 1-1 draw with St Johnstone. Adam Rooney equalised after the Dons had gone behind and it was a very special goal as the Dubliner hit an unstoppable volley from just outside the penalty area.
Johnny Hayes and Willo Flood also featured for the Dons but this was a game all about Rooney's goal.
Callum Morris and Sean Dillon were both part of the Dundee United defence in their side's 2-1 win against a St Mirren side featuring Jim Goodwin. It was a win that took United to within two points of third place.
In the Scottish Championship Jon Daly helped to create Rangers' only goal as they edged to a narrow 1-0 over Alloa. Daly was impressive throughout for the fallen Scottish giants but his most telling contribution came on the 14th minute when he found a yard of space in the penalty area before fizzing the ball back to Nicky Law who tapped it home.
In Australia, Andy Keogh scored from the penalty spot as his Perth Glory side fought out a 3-3 draw with Melbourne Victory. Keogh scored his side's opening goal with a smartly taken penalty, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way.
Damien Duff's Melbourne City side return to action this coming Saturday after a mid-season break which including a training trip to the UAE.
Further afield and in the Myanmar National League former Ireland international Caleb Folan is plying his trade with Kanbawza, where he scored both goals in last week's 2-0 victory over Zeyar Shwe Myay.
In Malaysia Eamon Zayed continues his pre-season preparations with Sabah FA despite George O'Callaghan's dismissal as manager. Zayed, who is linking up with El Hadji Diouf up front, set up the former Liverpool striker to score in their 1-1 pre-season friendly draw with Sime Darby.
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