How the Irish fared: Wes Hoolahan and Robbie Brady on song for Norwich

With the World Cup qualifier against Georgia just days away Ireland boss Martin O’Neill will have been pleased to see Wes Hoolahan and Robbie Brady shine at club level this weekend.

Hoolahan made the first goal before Brady curled in an exquisite second as Norwich won 2-1 at Wolves to climb to second in the Championship.

Brady’s beauty came after he received some tough love from manager Alex Neil at half-time.

“To be fair to the manager he asked for a little bit more from Rob at half-time and he certainly gave him that,” Brady’s team-mate Russell Martin revealed.

“We know what Robbie is capable of and he is coming to the boil now. As soon as it left his boot I knew it was going in. It was a great finish and deserved to win any game.”

Neil described Brady’s strike as “fantastic” but reserved most of his praise for Hoolahan.

He said: “He’s magic, isn’t he? He’s a special player for us. I know that when teams are quite open and they play with one sitting midfielder, with the quality he has got he can do damage.

“He’s done what he’s capable of doing, which is create chance after chance for us.”

Elsewhere, it was a good weekend for Stephen Gleeson, his goal securing a 1-0 win over Blackburn and lifting Birmingham to sixth.

It was a mixed weekend for the Irish managers in the Championship, Chris Hughton’s Brighton maintaining their fine run with a 2-1 win at a Sheffield Wednesday side who lost keeper Kieren Westwood to injury, while Mick McCarthy’s Ipswich lost 1-0 at home to leaders Huddersfield.

The Tractor Boys are now 16th and McCarthy admits these are dark days.

“It’s my hardest time as a manager here at the moment, without a doubt,” he said.

In League One, a Billy Clarke strike gave Bradford a 1-0 win at Chesterfield, a result that lifted the Bantams to second.

A goal from Rory Gaffney helped Bristol Rovers to a 3-2 win at Northampton Town while Chris McCann was among the scorers as Coventry won 2-0 at Port Vale.

But Gary Deegan as he was sent off in Shrewsbury’s 1-1 draw with Swindon.

In League Two, a brace from Pádraig Amond inspired Hartlepool to a 3-0 win at Grimsby Town, Graham Carey netted as leaders Plymouth hammered Yeovil Town 4-1, Mark Connolly grabbed the winner as Crawley Town won 1-0 against Blackpool, while Patrick Hoban scored as Mansfield Town drew 1-1 at Crewe.

In the Scottish Premiership, Adam Rooney scored twice as Aberdeen won 4-0 at Kilmarnock.