How the Irish fared: David McGoldrick serves reminder as Brian Lenihan takes bow
McGoldrick, twice capped for Ireland, has endured a frustrating, injury-disrupted season but his goal and all-round display at the weekend showcased his well-being.
Securing a place in the final 23-man squad for the Euros is still a tall order but Ipswich boss Mick McCarthy feels his striker wouldn’t let anyone down if selected.
“I sincerely hope he goes and has a great tournament as he would deserve it after a few tough seasons,” McCarthy said.
Ipswich will finish outside the play-off positions this season but McCarthy, who has been linked with Aston Villa, insists he will still be at Portman Road next season.
He added: “I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be back here next season looking to get the team revitalised and up and at it like we were at the start of this season. You can rule me out of anything, I’m staying here.”
A Shane Duffy header gave Blackburn a 1-0 win at Rotherham, a Joe Mason strike helped Wolves to a 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest while a goal from Stephen Quinn – his first for Reading - counted for nothing as the Royals lost 2-1 at home to Preston.
Meanwhile, 20 months after joining Hull from Cork City, Brian Lenihan made his Tigers debut.
The 21-year-old produced an assured display which included a brilliant goal-line clearance but Hull lost 1-0 at Bolton.
Despite the result, Lenihan was thrilled to finally get a chance to shine.
He tweeted: “Delighted to make my debut for @HullCity today - great experience!”
Meanwhile, victory over Derby today will put Chris Hughton’s Brighton side into an automatic promotion spot ahead of the final weekend of the Championship season.
In League One, Chris McCann netted for the second successive week as Wigan confirmed promotion to the Championship with a 4-0 win at Blackpool, Paddy Madden’s 22nd goal of the season kept Scunthorpe’s play-off hopes alive while Jay O’Shea netted in Chesterfield’s 3-0 win over Bury.
League Two saw a late Graham Carey strike rescue a 2-2 draw for Plymouth at Cambridge while Kenny McEvoy scored a consolation goal as doomed York City lost 4-1 at home to Bristol Rovers.
In the Scottish Premiership, Adam Rooney marked his return after a 10-week injury lay-off by scoring goal number 20 for the season in Aberdeen’s 4-1 win over Motherwell.
Jonathan Hayes also netted for the Dons.
