First impressions count and it didn’t take Joe Mason long to make his mark on his Burton Albion debut.

Bristol City upset Premier League Watford to reach the third round of the Carabao Cup with a 3-2 victory at Vicarage Road.

It was a mixed weekend for the Irish contingent at Championship outfit Preston as Aiden McGeady’s sixth goal of the season rescued a 1-1 draw at home to Nottingham Forest on an afternoon when Daryl Horgan and Andy Boyle were hauled off at half-time.

As is the case in life, timing is everything in sport. And with Martin O’Neill set to name his squad today for the crucial World Cup qualifier with Wales on Friday week, Daryl Horgan could scarcely have picked a better time to produce a virtuoso display.

Carlos Carvalhal hailed Keiren Westwood as “a fantastic goalkeeper” after his first-half penalty save helped Sheffield Wednesday to a 2-1 win at Nottingham Forest in Championship action.

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.

Wes Hoolahan picked up where he left off on Saturday, following up a brilliant display in Ireland’s World Cup qualifier against Moldova with another superb showing as Norwich beat Rotherham 3-1 to go top of the Championship table.

Aiden McGeady began the latest chapter of his career by scoring on his Preston debut on Saturday but his fine strike from 25 yards wasn’t enough to earn his new employers anything in their Championship clash with Barnsley.

European champions Portugal were brought crashing back to earth in their opening World Cup qualifier last night after suffering a deserved 2-0 defeat to Switzerland.

Holders Arsenal must entertain Burnley in the fourth round of the FA Cup while Northampton’s reward if they can get past MK Dons in a third-round replay will be a visit from Chelsea.

If the game against Scunthorpe was anything to go by, it’s going to be a very long season. Given the lowly opposition, I’m surprised our manager didn’t attempt to inject some flair and inventiveness into our play.

The next pavement slab in Chelsea’s road to recovery under Guus Hiddink has been laid, with a nervy FA Cup victory over Scunthorpe but their performance suggests the route ahead is not yet clear of obstacles.

How the Irish fared...

Jeff Hendrick should have been sent off for a “shocking challenge” before playing a central role in Derby’s last-gasp equaliser in their 1-1 draw against fellow playoff hopefuls Brentford on Saturday.

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.

Cambridge United have been handed a dream FA Cup fourth round tie against 11-time winners Manchester United.

He may have been outshone by clubmate David McGoldrick in Ireland’s 4-1 friendly win over the USA last week but Daryl Murphy remains the star Irishman at Ipswich after his goal earned Mick McCarthy’s men a 2-2 draw at Bournemouth.

How the Irish fared

Steve McClaren hailed Jeff Hendrick as a player who has "everything" after the Republic of Ireland international struck a late winner to hand Derby a 1-0 victory over Rotherham on the opening day of the Championship season.

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers was named the League Managers’ Association Manager of the Year on Monday night.

Millwall chairman John Berylson admits he was reluctant to accept Kenny Jackett’s resignation after the pair developed a friendship throughout their five-and-a-half years of working together.

Reading have called a press conference for this morning where they are expected to confirm Nigel Adkins as their new manager.

Dundee 0 Celtic 2

Tottenham’s partnership with Real Madrid has got off to a rocky start after Andre Villas-Boas revealed he has not spoken to Jose Mourinho for a long time and does not even have his former mentor’s phone number.

Andre Villas-Boas has added his name to the growing list of managers who think the transfer window should close before the start of the season.

Simon Lappin will miss Norwich’s trip to Tottenham with an ankle ligament injury he picked up in the midweek Capital One Cup victory against Scunthorpe.

Sheffield Wednesday served up an upset in the second round of the Capital One Cup as they knocked out Fulham 1-0 at Hillsborough.

Norwich 2 Scunthorpe 1

There are 12 Premier League clubs involved in the Capital One Cup tonight.

He could potentially be sacked by the time the transfer window closes if comments from the club’s global adviser are to be believed but Blackburn manager Steve Kean is on the lookout for a new striker and is looking for players close to these shores.

Noel King has challenged his Republic of Ireland U-21 players to pick up where they left off as they prepare to head into European Championship battle with Turkey.

Ireland can secure second place in their European Under-21 Championship qualification group by beating Turkey at home in August after claiming a draw against leaders Italy yesterday at the Showgrounds in Sligo.

In the canon of Jason McAteer stories, the one about the credit card is still king.

Celtic 1 Motherwell 0

Celtic 0 Atletico Madrid 1

Ireland U21 2 Liechtenstein U21 0