Ryan Sessegnon became one of the youngest goalscorers in FA Cup history with the winner in Fulham's 2-1 victory at Cardiff.

David McGoldrick came off the bench to ease the pressure on Ipswich manager Mick McCarthy in Saturday’s Championship action.

In the run-up to the back-to-back World Cup qualifiers at home to Georgia and away to Moldova, a depleted Irish squad held its first training session of the week at Abbotstown yesterday.

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.

With Robbie Keane expected to retire from international football, Martin O’Neill’s need to unearth a striker who regularly finds the net grows ever more urgent.

Martin O’Neill has poured scorn on the suggestion he will have to guard against the boredom and grumbles that were supposedly rife among Giovanni Trapattoni’s Republic of Ireland squad in the lead-up and during Euro 2012.

Famine at one end of the pitch, feast at the other.

Republic of Ireland 1 Switzerland 0: Amidst the official Good Friday drought, the Aviva Stadium might have seemed an inviting watering hole for some in the attendance of 35,450 but, if not exactly intoxicating, the friendly fare on the pitch certainly provided a lively enough distraction and even some all too feisty exchanges as Ireland edged past Switzerland thanks to a Ciaran Clark goal after just two minutes of the game.

Martin O’Neill might not have had any fresh news to report on the state of his contract negotiations with the FAI yesterday but, as he unveiled a 40-strong Ireland squad which includes three players wholly new to the international scene, he gave a strong hint that, as Ireland manager, he’s already looking beyond even Euro 2016.

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.

Goals from Anthony Pilkington and Joe Mason broke Huddersfield’s resistance on Saturday and lifted Cardiff to second in the Championship.

Having upped sticks from Malahide, the Irish squad will get a first taste of their new Dublin base when they step out on Pitch Number One at the National Training Centre in Abbotstown this morning, to begin preparations for the European Championship double-header away to Gibraltar in Faro on Friday and at home to Georgia in the Aviva Stadium on the following Monday.

In-form Stephen Gleeson returned to haunt MK Dons on Saturday, scoring the opening goal as Birmingham maintained their unbeaten start to the season to climb to seventh in the Championship.

To John O’Shea, the solution is simple.

Martin O’Neill is trusting that his players will go the extra mile in keeping themselves sharp and focused in the long post-season run-up to the friendly against England on June 7 and, more crucially, the Euro 2016 qualifier against Scotland on June 13.

After the rugby heroics on Saturday, Martin O’Neill last night admitted that his Irish team have "a lot to live up to" as they begin a week of preparations ahead of the meeting with Poland next Sunday.

Bournemouth midfielder Harry Arter is the only newcomer in a provisional 34-man Irish squad for the Euro qualifier against Poland but Martin O’Neill has sprung something of a surprise by including injured Hull City winger Robbie Brady.

Aiden McGeady, John O’Shea and Jon Walters are all in the running for the ‘Three’ FAI Senior International Player Of The Year award.

Ireland newcomer Cyrus Christie has revealed his swashbuckling debut on Tuesday was tinged with sadness due to a family bereavement.

Shay Given and his Republic of Ireland team-mates will return to Euro 2016 battle next year with renewed spirit after soothing the pain of defeat in Scotland.

International Friendly

Republic of Ireland boss Martin O’Neill immediately turned his attention to next year’s Euro 2016 qualifiers against Poland and Scotland after seeing his under-studies deliver their lines to perfection.

Republic of Ireland 4 United States 1

Sky Sports News HQ have gotten involved in the row about soccer players not born in the Republic of Ireland pulling on the green jersey and have upset a lot of people with their “country of birth” statistic this morning.

Euro Championship 2016 qualifier

Martin O’Neill has today named his final 27-man squad for the Republic of Ireland’s next two games - the crucial Euro 2016 qualifier against Scotland on Friday and the friendly against the USA next week.

Martin O'Neill has named a provisional 36-man squad for Ireland's upcoming games against Scotland and USA.

Injured midfielder James McCarthy will be monitored after being left out of the Republic of Ireland squad for the Euro 2016 qualifiers against Gibraltar and Germany because of injury.

Republic of Ireland boss Martin O’Neill has named a provisional 37-man squad for next month’s Euro 2016 qualifiers against Gibraltar and Germany.

Club managers measure the passage of time in days and weeks, international managers in months and years.

That’s that, then. The last box finally ticked after eight largely forgettable friendlies that yawned across the course of 10 interminable months, in four different countries and against opposition from three continents.

Republic of Ireland 2 Oman 0

Republic of Ireland 2 Oman 0

So it’s business as usual, as in business unusual, across the Irish Sea, the fledgling new Premier League season having already sent the back pages into overdrive with LVG’s nightmare start at Old Trafford, Liverpool prepared to swap frying pan for fire as Balotelli replaces Suarez and, simply stinking the whole place out, the Malky Mackay scandal.

Republic of Ireland boss Martin O’Neill sprang no surprises when he named a provisional squad for his first competitive game.