Ipswich Town striker Will Keane staged his very own Late Late Show in front of the Ireland boss at Portman Road on Saturday as he struck a late equaliser in a 1-1 draw with Stoke City, who saw James McClean open the scoring for the visitors. Alan Judge also stood out in the game.
McCarthy, who made his second trip to Ipswich in four days to check on Keane and he made it worthwhile after scoring his second goal in seven appearances for Town since moving on loan from Hull City in the January transfer window.
Keane is currently going through the process of becoming eligible to play for Ireland with paperwork submitted to FIFA.
“Will [Keane] took his goal well at a time when Ipswich really needed it so his timing was good all round today,” said McCarthy.
“I was impressed again with Alan Judge as well. Alan was very unfortunate with the injury he picked up when playing at Ipswich with Brentford and I am delighted to see him back to his best.
“The fact that James McClean scored the opening goal of the game for Stoke was a bonus as well.”
McCarthy, and his coaching staff, are busy scouting players ahead of the start of the EURO 2020 qualifying campaign, with games away to Gibraltar and home to Georgia in March.
Assistant manager Terry Connor was at Villa Park, where Conor Hourihane started alongside former Ireland captain Glenn Whelan in the Aston Villa midfield in their 2-0 derby defeat to West Brom.
McCarthy, Connor and Robbie Keane were all at SSE Airtricity League matches on the previous Friday night - taking in games at Richmond Park, Oriel Park and Dalymount Park respectively.
“It’s been a busy weekend but well worth it,” added McCarthy. “I really enjoyed the game and the atmosphere on Friday night and we will continue to monitor our own League in the months ahead.”
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