Top Performer
Padraig Amond (Grimsby Town)
The Carlow native is enjoying one of the finest seasons of his career with 24 goals in all competitions so far. A hat-trick for The Mariners in their demolition of Welling United proved that he is such a difficult forward to stop when in full flow but his aim will simply be to help his team seal automatic promotion to League Two.
Watch Out For
Richie Towell (Brighton & Hove Albion)
Recently crowned both the PFAI Player of the Year and SSE Airtricity/SWAI Personality of the Year, Towell got to make his FA Cup and Brighton debut at the KC Stadium. It’s only a matter of time before the goalscoring midfielder turns head in England, just like he did with Dundalk in the last three years.
Irish Manager Monitor
In the FA Cup, Chris Hughton’s Brighton & Hove Albion crashed out following a 1-0 loss to Hull City, Mick McCarthy’s Ipswich Town drew 2-2 at home to Portsmouth, Brian McDermott’s Reading also drew 2-2 but with Huddersfield Town, while Sean O’Driscoll’s Walsall claimed a 1-0 victory away to Brentford.
Further Afield
In Australia’s A-League, Andy Keogh played the full 90 minutes for Perth Glory in their 3-1 defeat at home to Adelaide United.
Weekend Stats
FA Cup
48 appearances– Ciaran Clark (Aston Villa), Eunan O’Kane (Bournemouth), Billy Clarke (Bradford City), Alan Judge, Alan McCormack (Brentford), Richie Towell (Brighton & Hove Albion), Stephen Ward (Burnley), Ian Lawlor (Bury), Joe Mason (Cardiff City), Gary Dicker (Carlisle United), Owen Garvan (Colchester United), Damien Delaney (Crystal Palace), Jack Connors (Dagenham & Redbridge), Alex Pearce (Derby County), Paul Keegan (Doncaster Rovers), Darron Gibson (Everton), Jake Carroll (Hartlepool United), Joe Murphy, Sean Scannell (Huddersfield Town), Samir Carruthers (MK Dons), Rob Elliot (Newcastle United), Brendan Moloney, John-Joe O’Toole (Northampton Town), Pat Hoban, Callum O’Dowda (Oxford United), Chris Forrester (Peterborough United), Adam Barton, Brian Murphy, Enda Stevens (Portsmouth), Alan Browne, Greg Cunningham, Eoin Doyle (Preston North End), Stephen Quinn (Reading), Paul Green (Rotherham United), Stephen Dawson, Paddy Madden (Scunthorpe United), Conor Sammon (Sheffield United), Shane Long (Southampton), Jonathan Walters, Glenn Whelan, Marc Wilson (Stoke City), John O’Shea (Sunderland), Anthony Forde, Liam Kinsella (Walsall), James McClean (West Bromwich Albion), Darren Randolph (West Ham United), Matt Doherty (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Michael Harriman (Wycombe Wanderers)
1 goalscorer– Jonathan Walters (Stoke City)
13 un-used substitutes– Stephen Gleeson (Birmingham City), Jack Bonham (Brentford), Derrick Williams (Bristol City), Stephen Henderson (Charlton Athletic), Kane Ferdinand (Dagenham & Redbridge), Cyrus Christie (Derby County), Clinton Morrison (Exeter City), David Meyler (Hull City), Jay Tabb (Ipswich Town), Conor Masterson (Liverpool), Simon Cox, Niall Keown (Reading), Niall Canavan (Scunthorpe United)
8 yellow cards– Gary Dicker (Carlisle United), Owen Garvan (Colchester United), Samir Carruthers (MK Dons), Chris Forrester (Peterborough United), Stephen Dawson (Scunthorpe United)Shane Long (Southampton), Jonathan Walters (Stoke City), Michael Harriman (Wycombe Wanderers)
1 clean sheet– Darren Randolph (West Ham United)
League One
19 appearances– Colin Doyle, Mark Yeates (Blackpool), Jay O’Shea (Chesterfield), John Egan, Bradley Garmston, Emmanuel Osadebe (Gillingham), David Forde, Aiden O’Brien, Shaun Williams (Millwall), Rhys Murphy (Oldham Athletic), Sam Foley, Sam Kelly (Port Vale), Donal McDermott (Rochdale), Gary Deegan, Noel Hunt, Dave Mooney, Michael Timlin (Southend United), Anton Rodgers (Swindon Town), Chris McCann (Wigan Athletic)
1 goalscorer– Jay O’Shea (Chesterfield)
3 un-used substitutes– Charles Dunne (Blackpool), Joe Rafferty (Rochdale), Cian Bolger (Southend United)
3 yellow cards– David Forde (Millwall), Donal McDermott (Rochdale), Gary Deegan (Southend United)
League Two
3 appearances– Liam Lawrence (Bristol Rovers), Barry Corr, Rory Gaffney (Cambridge United)
1 un-used substitute– Shamir Fenelon (Crawley Town)
National League
9 appearances– Sean McGinty (Aldershot), Ryan O’Reilly (Barrow), Conor Clifford (Boreham Wood), Padraig Amond, Conor Henderson, James McKeown (Grimsby Town), Alan Power (Lincoln City), Ritchie Branagan, Neill Byrne (Macclesfield)
2 goalscorers– Sean McGinty (Aldershot), Padraig Amond [3] (Grimsby Town)
1 yellow card– Alan Power (Lincoln City)
1 clean sheet– James McKeown (Grimsby Town)
Scottish Cup
8 appearances– Willo Flood, Jonny Hayes, Adam Rooney (Aberdeen), Sean Dillon (Dundee United), Conor Pepper (Morton), Jon Daly (Raith Rovers), Graham Cummins, Joe Shaughnessy (St Johnstone)
2 un-used substitutes– Eoghan O’Connell (Celtic), Rob Kiernan (Rangers)
2 yellow cards– Adam Rooney (Aberdeen), Conor Pepper (Morton)
Johnston’s Paint Trophy
4 appearances– Conor Hourihane, Kevin Long, Aidan White (Barnsley), Jimmy Ryan (Fleetwood Town)
1 yellow card– Jimmy Ryan (Fleetwood Town)
Compiled by GARETH MAHER