Stephen Kenny has said that he is delighted for Troy Parrott that the 17-year-old Spurs player has received his first senior Ireland call-up even though it means the U21 manager will be without his star striker for next Thursday’s Euro 2021 qualifier away to Armenia.

Conor Hourihane, Greg Cunningham, and Enda Stevens were teammates in the same Ireland U21 side when James Collins hit a hat-trick on his debut against Liechtenstein.

The deal is until July next year.

Manchester United fans were involved in more football-related arrests where racism was an aggravating factor or a feature than any other club in England in the four seasons up to 2017-18, data from the UK Home Office shows.

Nottingham Forest manager Martin O’Neill hailed super-sub Daryl Murphy after the veteran striker sparked a comeback against Swansea in Saturday’s Championship clash at the City Ground.

Newport County’s remarkable FA Cup odyssey may have ended on Saturday but a 4-1 defeat didn’t stop Irish striker Pádraig Amond from leaving the pitch with a pep in his step.

There’s no Ireland striker in better form than David McGoldrick at the moment and the 31-year-old illustrated that reality again this weekend, opening the scoring as Sheffield United maintained their promotion push courtesy of a 2-0 win over Bolton Wanderers on Saturday.

How the Irish fared

Daniel Storey's talking points after the FA Cup weekend

Holders Chelsea are safely through to the fourth round of the FA Cup but Premier League Cardiff were victims of a giant-killing act by Gillingham.

Saturday was a landmark day for Adam O’Reilly as the 17-year-old from Mahon in Cork city made his Preston debut in the 1-1 draw against Aston Villa.

In sharp contrast to the scarcity of strikers in the Ireland squad, John Egan knows he’s a victim of the riches in the central defensive department.

There had been severe doubts in many quarters about City’s ability to stage an apt Premier League coronation after the gross mishap in midweek when they had shot their Champions League feet off with the ceremonial cannons.

Sean Maguire maintained his blistering form on Saturday, scoring his fourth goal in three games since returning from injury.

Middlesbrough have appointed Tony Pulis as manager following the departure of Garry Monk.

Mick McCarthy was grateful for a moment of “magic” from David McGoldrick as Ipswich maintained their perfect start to the new Championship season by winning 2-1 at Barnsley on Saturday.

Wes Hoolahan was at his mesmeric best at the weekend, scoring twice as Norwich hammered play-off contenders Reading 7-1.

For someone experiencing their first taste of senior international football yesterday, there was an air of familiarity which made John Egan feel right at home in his new habitat.

Ireland U21 boss Noel King has strenuously denied pursuing Northern Ireland-born players for his squad following allegations made by Michael O’Neill.

In January 2012, John Egan was thrown in at the deep end. He had just joined Crystal Palace on a month’s loan from Sunderland. Dougie Freedman had promised him a couple of games and he was true to his word.

Vincent Janssen showed there may be life after Harry Kane as the stand-in striker scored his first Tottenham goal in a 5-0 romp over Gillingham.

Fourteen years on from the World Cup finals in Japan and Korea, when he scored for Ireland against Saudi Arabia, Gary Breen is still being followed around the place by one of the daftest and most memorable of the Green Army’s all-time greatest hits.

Leicester striker Jamie Vardy has accepted an FA charge of improper conduct.

Anthony Pilkington’s transition from winger to striker continued to gather momentum at the weekend as his brace helped play-off hopefuls Cardiff to a 2-1 Championship win over Preston.

Jermain Defoe’s hat-trick spared Sunderland’s blushes as they defeated Exeter 6-3 in a thrilling Capital One Cup clash last night.

The opening weekend of the Championship season was a pretty uneventful one for the Irish.

Former England manager Graham Taylor has insisted he would never have blocked black footballers’ path into the national team and denied that two Football Association members tried to cap numbers.

The final day of the Championship brought contrasting emotions for the Irish as the title and the identity of the last two teams to reach the play-offs was decided.

The global sports betting market is worth up to $3,000,000,000,000 (three trillion), the vast majority of that generated by illegal gambling, a United Nations conference on crime being held in Doha has heard.

It was a case of no pain, no gain for Daryl Murphy this weekend as the Republic of Ireland striker broke his nose scoring Ipswich’s opening goal in their 2-1 Championship win at Fulham.

Now that the dust has settled on the January winter transfer window, a number of clubs hoping to have made the signings that will make the difference for them between now and May.

Bristol City 0 West Ham 1: FA Cup Fourth Round: Sam Allardyce had warned his players about being another Premier League "victim" as Diafra Sakho’s late goal was enough to secure West Ham a 1-0 victory at Bristol City.

FA Cup Third Round