How the Irish fared: Alan Judge on target as buzzing Brentford continue flying form

His manager may be different but Alan Judge’s form remains unchanged as he netted his sixth goal of the season in Brentford’s 2-0 victory over MK Dons on Saturday.

Former Ireland midfielder Lee Carsley had been named Championship manager of the month for leading the Bees to five wins during his eight-game temporary stint, yet happily returned to his previous role of managing the development squad to allow Dean Smith take permanent charge at Griffin Park.

Ex-Walsall boss Dean Smith, in his first game, saw Judge once again shine as they rose to 10th in the Championship.

It has been a joyous couple of months for the 27-year-old, having graduated to Martin O’Neill’s Ireland squad, and a continued run in the second half of the season could secure him a place in the 23-man squad for France.

“Dean Smith is known for playing good football and introducing young players into his teams, so that’s good news for both Brentford and myself,” said the Dubliner.

In Scotland, Judge’s childhood pal Adam Rooney was also on target. His strike for Aberdeen in the 2-0 win against Dundee brought his tally for the season to 11 goals.

Meanwhile, Stephen O’Halloran’s Salford City could be paired with one of the big guns in this evening’s draw for the FA Cup third draw.

The Cork native’s equaliser on Friday has earned a second round replay at Hartlepool for the non-league club owned by Manchester United’s “Class of ‘92” including as Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville.

“I just gambled in the box on getting to the second ball and managed to score my first goal for the club,” said O’Halloran, who played for Ireland in 2007 under Stephen Staunton.

“Hopefully, through our performances in the FA Cup live televised games, we’ve earned the public’s respect for what a strong club Salford is.”

Another former Ireland U21 defender, Michael Harriman, was on target grabbing a stoppage-time winner for his on-loan club Wycombe (from QPR) over Millwall and a third-round FA Cup berth.

Yesterday, Billy Clarke’s Bradford City took their first step towards trying to emulate last season’s FA Cup heroics as they coasted past Welling United 5-0.

The Bantams were declared the FA’s giant-killers of the 2014/15 competition for conquering Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on their way to reaching the quarter-finals where they exited at the hands of Reading.