By Rob Wright
Robbie Keane stole all the headlines this weekend as the Republic of Ireland captain claimed the winning goal in injury time to help LA Galaxy claim their fifth MLS Cup.
It's the third time that Keane has won the cup and despite having a quiet game in which he struggled to make an impact for long periods, he still made the most telling contribution.
With nine minutes remaining in extra-time Keane collected a through-ball, beat the off-side trap and held his nerve to slot the ball past goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth, giving Galaxy the victory.
Closer to home it was a good week for Irish players in the English Premier League with crucial goals and impressive performances from many of Martin O’Neill’s squad.
Jonathan Walters has been in fine form with Stoke recently and he continued that run, scoring what proved to be the winning goal in his side’s 3-2 victory over Arsenal.
With his side leading 1-0 thanks to a Peter Crouch goal in the opening minute, Walters helped to double Stoke’s lead when he delivered a superb cross for Bojan to fire home. He was then on hand to blast the ball to the back of the net when he collected a loose ball in the penalty area just before half-time.
Arsenal rallied in the second half, scoring twice. Walters saw less of the ball, but he still managed to offer an outlet when the pressure was on, holding up the ball and bringing others into the play to help give his side some respite as the Gunners chased an equaliser.
Glenn Whelan was a second-half substitute for Stoke, coming on for Muniesa with just under half an hour left, but had little impact.
Also among the goals this weekend was Aston Villa defender Ciaran Clark, who scored his first goal in two years with a fine header after just 17-minutes, helping to set his side on the way to a 2-1 victory over Leicester at Villa Park.
Clark had a solid game defensively although he did play a role in Leicester’s goal as he deflected a Riyad Mahrez shot, which goalkeeper Brad Guzan spilled, allowing Leonardo Ulloa to tap the ball home.
Jack Grealish was also involved in the game, replacing Tom Cleverly on 62 minutes, and his surging runs and clever use of the ball helped to give Villa an extra dimension when going forward.
Sunderland’s John O’Shea produced a fine performance as he helped the Black Cats claim a 0-0 draw with Liverpool at Anfield.
The Irish central defender will face more difficult days, coming up against what was largely a blunt Liverpool frontline, however, he marshalled Rickie Lambert excellently, nullifying his threat in the air, and denying him any time or space on the ball, as well as helping to keep the lively Raheem Sterling quiet.
Richard Dunne was another Irish defender who was able to boast a clean sheet this weekend as he helped QPR to a 2-0 victory over a Burnley side shorn of both Steven Reid and the injured Stephen Ward.
There were a few nervy moments for Dunne, who went within inches of adding to his own-goal record of ten, when he deflected George Boyd’s low cross goalwards and was lucky to see the ball go just the wrong side of the post.
Dunne was to frustrate Boyd throughout the afternoon as he was always in the right place to produce vital interventions from Boyd and the threatening Danny Ings.
Seamus Coleman was the only one of Everton’s Irish quartet to feature in their 1-0 defeat to Manchester City. With James McCarthy and Darron Gibson continuing to recover from injury and Aiden McGeady on the bench, it was left to Coleman to fly the flag for Ireland.
Deployed almost as a right-winger by manager Roberto Martinez, Coleman struggled to gain a foothold in midfield as he attempted to adjust to the move from his more traditional full-back role and struggled against the likes of Gael Clichy and Jesus Navas.
There was better news for Coleman elsewhere, however, as he was nominated for the RTÉ Sportsperson of the Year award. Time to send that tux’ in for dry-cleaning Seamus.
At the KC Stadium David Meyler, Robbie Brady and Stephen Quinn were all involved as Hull City held out for a 0-0 draw against West Brom.
Meyler and Quinn both started in midfield for the Tigers with Meyler making the bigger impact, although Quinn went closest to scoring when he forced a fine save from Ben Foster with his diving header in the 57th minute.
Brady was introduced as a second-half substitute, but struggled to make any headway down the left wing and was well marshalled by Andre Wisdom.
On Monday night, Shane Long started for Southampton and was involved in Graziano Pelle's equaliser, although the Saints went down 2-1 and have now dropped out of the Champions League places.
In the Championship, Sean Scannell continues to push his claim for a call-up for the senior Ireland squad with a match-winning display for Huddersfield against Brentford.
On what was his 100th appearance for Huddersfield, Scannell scored a goal and helped to set-up another in his side’s win. Opening the scoring on 18 minutes when he fired home from close range, Scannell was a constant threat and had a role in the second goal as he put Jake Bidwell under pressure, forcing him to turn a cross into his own net.
Former Monaghan United midfielder Jonathan Douglas managed to pull a goal back for Brentford as he toe-poked the ball home from close range, but afterwards all the focus was on Scannell.
The Irish midfielder earned high praise from his Huddersfield manager Chris Powell after the match. “He's a flying machine! People said to me when I came here he doesn't score goals and doesn't make assists, but he has proved what a good player he is. He can be a match-winner at this level."
Mick McCarthy’s Ipswich Town continued their promotion push with a 4-1 victory over Leeds United in a game in which Daryl Murphy, David McGoldrick, Luke Chambers, Stephen Hunt, Jay Tabb and Conor Sammon all featured.
Murphy was the star of the show, equalising with a header from Chambers’ cross after Leeds took an early lead before David McGoldrick scored from the penalty spot to put Ipswich in front.
Former Celtic and Sunderland player Murphy then bagged a second goal and Ipswich’s third, nut-megging Leeds goalkeeper Marco Silverstri in the process before Hunt crossed for Tommy Smith to make it four.
Keiran Westwood helped Sheffield Wednesday claim their first away win against Blackburn Rovers since 1999 with a string of fine saves as the Owls ran out 2-1 winners.
After racing into an early lead, Wednesday were pegged back and there was little Westwood could do to stop Alex Baptiste’s equaliser. However from that point on, the Irish goalkeeper was unbeatable.
He denied international team-mate Shane Duffy, saving at the near-post before producing a stunning save to tip-over Ryan Tunnicliff’s piledriver from just inside the penalty area.
Birmingham City’s goalkeeper Darren Randolph was on the losing side as the Blues were edged out 1-0 by Blackpool.
Randolph was unable to prevent his side going behind in the second-half as Steven Davies slipped the ball past him as he rushed out to try and close down the Blackpool forward. However the goalkeeper was able to keep the scoreline down, denying Jacob Murphy from close range and then at full stretch, tipping a long-range effort wide.
Stephen Gleeson went closest to scoring for Birmingham but his first-half volley from 25-yards out was well saved.
Jeff Hendrick and Cyrus Christie were both involved in Derby County’s 3-0 win against Brighton and Hove Albion as Ireland assistant manager Roy Keane was on hand to see the Rams maintain their lead at the top of the table.
Hendrick helped Derby to control the midfield and went close to scoring, forcing David Stockdale into making an impressive one-handed save with a late fierce drive. Christie, meanwhile, shone at right-back, offering defensive solidity and a real threat going forward. The 22-year-old produced the cross for Derby’s third goal, which was headed home by Chris Martin.
David Forde undoubtedly had the worst weekend of all the Irish goalkeepers as his shipped five goals in Millwall’s 5-1 thrashing at the hands of Middlesbrough. Alan Dunne and Shaun Williams both featured and both disappointed in a Lions’ side that struggled throughout.
Manager Ian Holloway said afterwards, “It was an awful day, probably my worst in football,” and Forde, Williams and Dunne can all expect some extra training this week.
Bournemouth’s Harry Arter had a better weekend as he scored the equaliser as the Cherries came from behind to beat Wolves 2-1. Arter’s long-range effort may have taken a deflection on the way to the back of the net, but it gave his side the platform to go on and win the game from.
In the SPL, Anthony Stokes scored the only goal in Celtic’s 1-0 victory against Motherwell as the Bhoys extended their seven-match winning run and maintained their place at the top of the table.
Celtic were far from convincing; however, and were it not for Stokes being on hand to tap home from Stefan Johansen’s pull back, the Hoops may have had to settle for a share of the spoils.
Adam Rooney and Jonny Hayes both started Aberdeen’s 3-0 victory over Hamilton Academical. In a game in which the Dons never looked in danger of losing, the Irish duo combined for the third goal as Hayes was fouled for a penalty, which Rooney converted.
Dundee United stalwart Sean Dillon captained his side to a 3-2 victory over Ross County, a result which saw the Terrors move up to second place in the SPL. Dillon was involved in the build-up play to the game’s first goal and was as solid and dependable at the back as ever for his team.
In the Scottish Championship, Jon Daly was a second-half substitute for Rangers as they held on for a nervy 1-0 victory at home to Cowdenbeath. Daly had little time to make a major impact although he could have been more selfish and gone for goal himself instead of playing in Nicky Clark when he had a late chance to test the goalkeeper.
In Australia Perth Glory continue to top the A League courtesy of a 2-1 win against Sydney FC. Andy Keogh scored the winning goal from the penalty spot, blasting his spotkick down the middle and ensuring that his side remain one point clear of second-placed Melbourne Victory.
Damien Duff continues to struggle to adapt to life in the A League. Duff’s Melbourne City claimed a 1-0 victory over Brisbane Roar, but Duff had to go off injured at the end of the first half and is now nine games without a goal since making the move Down Under.
Liam Miller, who had moved from Brisbane Roar to Melbourne in acrimonious circumstances, didn’t feature in the game.
Finally, former Raheny United left-back Megan Campbell had a hugely successful week in America as her Florida State University side won their first National Championship on Sunday with a 1-0 victory against Virginia in the Women's College Cup final.
We did it !!! National Champions 🎉😜 #FlyingtheFlag #fsusoccer pic.twitter.com/obKkrRtL1w
— Megan Campbell (@megcam10) December 8, 2014