By Ed Leahy & Rob Wright
Ipswich Town manager Mick McCarthy issued a hands-off warning for any club looking to acquire the services of his top striker in the January transfer window, however, Daryl Murphy’s 16-goal league tally from the opening half of the season will certainly create a lot of interest in the lower half of the Premier League.
Murphy’s fine goalscoring form continued as Ipswich travelled to third-placed Brentford and beat them 4-2 on St Stephen’s Day with the Ireland striker grabbing a fine brace.
The former Celtic and Sunderland man smashed home the opener with a well-hit volley within the opening minute before completing his double as he rounded the keeper to slot the ball home. David McGoldrick and the in-form Jay Tabb had a hand in the Tractor Boys’ third as Mick McCarthy’s side kept the pressure on leaders Bournemouth.
The Championship’s top scorer, Murphy, was on target again with his 16th league goal of the campaign as Mick McCarthy’s side made it two from two for Christmas with a 3-0 win over Charlton.
McGoldrick was also on target, while Luke Chambers, the brothers Hunt - Stephen and Noel - and the aforementioned Tabb were involved as Ipswich stay second.
It was a disappointing holiday season for Alan Judge, Jonathan Douglas and high-flying Brentford who were beaten again, 2-1 by Wolves, to end the period pointless and lose valuable ground on the leaders as they now sit in sixth place.
The race for the Championship title and Premier League promotion really took shape over the Christmas period as leaders Bournemouth also took maximum points from their two fixtures.
And if Ireland boss Martin O’Neill is looking to add goals to his side, he must really start considering Bournemouth’s Harry Arter who enjoyed a fruitful festive frolic as he scored in both the Cherries’ victories.
On St Stephen’s Day, Arter grabbed the second with a left-foot drive from outside the box in a 2-0 win over Fulham, where the former Ireland Under-19 international secured the bragging rights over brother-in-law Scott Parker a day after sharing Christmas lunch.
And Arter brought that form into the final game of the calendar year as the Bournemouth midfielder grabbed his fifth goal in consecutive league games as he slipped one past Ireland keeper David Forde in a 2-0 victory.
In fact, it was a pretty glum Christmas period for the Ireland keeper as he watched Norwich smash six goals past him in Millwall’s previous fixture, which included a goal from a sloppy keeper clearance.
Derby County’s Irish contingent were also instrumental in seeing the Rams smash Darren Randolph’s Birmingham 4-0 on St Stephen’s Day. And Derby made it a very merry Christmas with a 2-0 victory over Leeds to move third, just two points off the automatic promotion place.
Birmingham, meanwhile, redeemed themselves as they went to Nottingham Forrest and won 3-1 to move up to 14th in the table with both Randolph and Stephen Gleeson impressing at the City Ground.
James McClean helped Wigan to grab their first win in nine games as they beat Leeds 2-0 on St Stephen’s Day. The Ireland winger smashing home the Latics’ second with a fine left-footed volley.
Keiren Westwood’s fine form continued as he kept another clean sheet in Sheffield Wednesday’s 1-0 victory over Blackpool on St Stephen’s Day with the Ireland keeper making a point-blank save to secure the victory.
And the Owls took full points from the festive period with Westwood again keeping a clean sheet in their 1-0 victory over Wigan to move up to tenth in the table.
The Ireland keeper kept out a McClean effort in his shut-out, while the Ireland winger also had a goal ruled out for offside.
And former Ireland B international, Lee Frecklington, got on the scoresheet as his last-minute strike grabbed Rotterham a much-needed point against Huddersfield.
Ireland striker Simon Cox was a candidate for miss of the Christmas period as he skied the ball over the bar from five yards with the keeper out of the equation, but the linesman saved his blushes with an offside flag.
But Cox proved he still has an eye for goal as he grabbed his side’s second with a low left-foot strike as Reading beat Norwich 2-1 and finished the year in 16th place, six points clear of the relegation zone.
Meanwhile in the English Premier League, it was a decent Christmas for Hull City and their sizeable Irish contingent, with two league wins, which helped put some daylight between them and the relegation zone, one defeat and an FA Cup exit.
The Tigers started the festive period with a convincing 3-1 victory over fellow strugglers Sunderland, a game in which Stephen Quinn, Robbie Brady and David Meyler all started.
All three put in a decent shift but it was Quinn who really stood out with a fine midfield display, which he would replicate in the FA Cup clash with Arsenal in a repeat of last year's Cup final.
Quinn, Brady and Meyler all kept their places for the home clash with bottom side Leicester but were to suffer a poor 1-0 defeat in which none of them shone.
Meyler and Brady both had half-chances, with Meyler’s first-half long-range effort forcing a decent save from Ben Hamer, but it was a disappointing result which was compounded by Quinn’s late red card for deliberate handball.
That red card meant that Quinn was unavailable for Hull’s home game with Everton on New Year’s Day and manager Steve Bruce dropped Brady to the bench. Meyler retained his starting place and showed good discipline in midfield as he managed himself through the game after picking up an early yellow card.
Brady was introduced at the break with his side leading 2-0 and he would offer a useful outlet down the wings as the game wore on with Everton chasing and pushing Hull further and further back.
Hull then rounded off the festive period with a 2-0 FA Cup defeat away to Arsenal which was notable for the return of defender Paul McShane who has mended fences with manager Steve Bruce after being forced to train with the club’s youth squad following a bust-up.
McShane was immediately at the heart of the action against an Arsenal side that were clearly in the mood. There was little he could do about either of the Gunners' goals from right-back but he produced a stunning goal-line clearance to deny Alexis Sanchez with the score at 1-0. Quinn and Brady both endured a difficult afternoon in midfield with Quinn emerging with the most credit as his thrusting runs from midfield kept the Gunners busy throughout.
There was plenty of festive cheer at The Britannia Stadium as Stoke City enjoyed an almost perfect string of results that saw them climb to eleventh in the Premier League and ease into the fourth round of the FA Cup.
Glenn Whelan and Jonathan Walters both impressed in their 1-0 victory away to Everton on St Stephen’s Day. Whelan played the role of midfield destroyer to a tee, helping to break up Everton attacks before they could get going while Walters worked hard on the left, linking up well with Bojan up front.
Walters will consider himself lucky not to have seen a red card, however, as he pulled down Leighton Baines who was in on goal in the first-half, only to escape with a booking.
A 2-0 win away to West Brom was up next for the Potters with Whelan starting again and Walters and Marc Wilson both named as substitutes. Whelan was again playing the role of the defensive midfield, shielding the back four which he performed admirably. Wilson and Walters were both introduced from the bench, tasked with helping their side see out the game, which they did.
Walters was restored to the starting line-up for the visit of a rejuvenated Manchester United side and was shifted out to the right wing, while Whelan was again deployed in the heart of midfield, ably providing a shield to his side’s back four. It was a backs-to-the-wall display from Stoke at times but both Irish internationals impressed in frustrating United’s multi-million point front line.
Stoke were much changed for their FA Cup tie with Conference Premier side Wrexham who looked set to claim a shock result against the Premier League outfit until the introduction of forgotten man Stephen Ireland.
Whelan and Walters were rested for the tie with Marc Wilson starting in defence. Wrexham, the lowest ranked team in the FA Cup third round, took a surprise lead with just 17 minutes to go and Stoke manager Mark Hughes responded by introducing Ireland, who turned the game on it’s head.
The former Manchester City midfield helped to set up the equaliser as his cross fell to Peter Crouch who played in Marko Arnautovic to level things up at 1-1.
Ireland then put his side in front with a half-volley from just outside the penalty area which crept into the net before he made sure of the win deep in injury time with a well placed shot to break the hearts of the non-league side.
If Stoke enjoyed a great Christmas, Everton’s was as bad as a New Year’s Day hangover, with three league defeats which saw them slip down to 13th in the table and just four points clear of the relegation zone.
It started with that 1-0 defeat away to Stoke, a game in which Seamus Coleman and James McCarthy struggled to make any kind of meaningful impact. McCarthy in particular will be disappointed with his display as he gave away the penalty that led to Stoke’s winner as he pulled back Bojan in the penalty area.
He was then substituted in the second-half as his side chased an equaliser.
McCarthy would be substituted again in his side’s next game, a 3-2 defeat to Newcastle, the midfielder was taken off at the break after a disappointing display.
Despite the defeat, Coleman and the returning Aiden McGeady both turned in impressive performances for the Toffees. McGeady in particular looked lively throughout and he combined brilliantly with Coleman to set up Arouna Kone for Everton’s first goal as his through-ball allowed the Everton fullback to send over a cross converted by Kone. Indeed it came as a big surprise was McGeady was withdrawn with half-an-hour to go.
Coleman meanwhile was a constant threat going forward, always offering the overlap run and was Everton’s best performer on the day.
The former Sligo Rovers man was the only Irish player to start in Everton’s 2-0 defeat to Hull on New Year’s Day and struggled to get into the game at any stage.
Well marshalled by a Hull side set-up to contain Everton, Coleman was denied the kind of space down the wings that he is used to and was reduced to a bit part player going forward.
Perhaps the most interesting development of the Christmas period for Coleman however was some well placed transfer speculation linking him with a move to Manchester United.
With Everton in danger of slipping into a relegation fight and transfer money being short, manager Roberto Martinez may well be tempted to sacrifice the full-back for some much needed funds.
Southampton’s Shane Long had to settle for a bit-part role over the Christmas period for the Saints. Introduced with 14 minutes to go in his side’s 1-1 league draw with Chelsea, he had little time to make any kind of impact and it was a similar situation in the Saints New Year’s Day 2-0 defeat to Arsenal.
Long played the full 90 minutes in Sunday’s 1-1 FA Cup draw with Championship high-fliers Ipswich but will have been disappointed by his wastefulness in front of goal. The Irish striker had several chances to claim a winning goal but was unable to make any of them count. He did have the ball in the net on the 72nd minute but saw his effort cancelled out for offside.
A lack of goals continues to be Aston Villa’s biggest concern and while Ciaran Clark and Jack Grealish both featured heavily in their games over the Christmas period, they were forced to watch their side pick up just two points from three league games in which they failed to score a single goal. They did however edge to a narrow 1-0 FA Cup win over Blackpool.
Central defender Clark can hardly be blamed for his side’s lack of firepower in front of goal and he was instrumental in helping Villa keep clean sheets over Christmas and New Year. The only game in which Villa did concede was the 1-0 St Stephen’s Day defeat to Swansea. Clark endured an undistinguished first-half but looked a much improved player in the second-half when he moved to left-back.
Grealish meanwhile was utilised as substitute in all three league games, coming in as an impact player late on. He was unlucky not to have scored in to the 0-0 draw with Sunderland on 28 December when he broke quickly and saw his side-footed effort drift just the wrong side of the far post.
Both Grelish and Clark started the FA Cup game against Blackpool, as did veteran goalkeeper Shay Given, who will be happy to have kept a clean sheet on a rare start.
QPR’s struggles continued over Christmas as they failed to register a single win, suffering two defeats and two draws but it was telling that Rangers were unbeaten in both games central defender Richard Dunne started, conceding just one goal.
Up against a pacey Crystal Palace front line, Dunne’s positional awareness was crucial to his side’s success and he was on hand to make several last-ditch tackles and interceptions, helping his side to a 0-0 draw.
It was a similar story against Swansea on New Year’s Day as Dunne helped to cope with the pace of Bafetimbi Gomis throughout and he was unfortunate to see his side denied a crucial win by a late equaliser from Wilfred Bony for a 1-1 draw.
Crystal Palace may have got a new manager in the shape of Alan Pardew over the festive period, but it made little difference to Damien Delaney, who started all of his side’s Christmas games, as they put a 3-1 defeat to Southampton on St Stephen’s Day and the exit of manager Neil Warnock behind them to go unbeaten after that.
Delaney was poor in that Southampton game and he struggled to cope with the pace and movement of Sadio Mané in particular but like the rest of his team, he improved massively in the following games.
The Irish defender put in a commanding performance in a 0-0 draw against fellow strugglers QPR, ably marshalling the threat of Bobby Zamora and Charlie Austin, disrupting the interplay between the two and dominating in the air.
Delaney turned in a similar display against Aston in another scoreless draw in which the Irish defender was always in the right place at the right time to keep his side’s clean sheet intact.
The Ireland centre-half had a much quieter day when his side beat Dover Athletic 4-0 in the FA Cup. Second-half substitute Kevin Doyle made his mark, however, as he scored his first and only goal of his loan spell with QPR, smartly finishing off an impressive team move.
Doyle now returns to Wolves with the end of his loan period, but with his contract with the Championship club expiring in the summer, he may well be on the move before the January transfer window closes shut.
Like Delaney, John O’Shea was another defensive ever-present for his club over Christmas and New Years, in what was a mixed period for him and his Sunderland side.
A 3-1 defeat to Hull at home on St Stephen’s Day was a disappointing way for Sunderland to start the busy period. O’Shea had one of his less impressive games and was culpable for Hull’s opening goal as he allowed Gaston Ramirez to get away from him far too easily before he hit a shot from the edge of the box that found the net.
It was a better performance from O’Shea in his side’s scoreless draw with Villa as he helped to keep Christian Benteke quiet and was on hand to provide a crucial interception to deny the Villa frontman late on.
Sunderland followed that draw up with a narrow 3-2 defeat to Champions Manchester City and while O’Shea’s defence conceded three times, those goals were more to do with City’s ability than errors in defence.
A 1-0 FA Cup win over Leeds rounded out Sunderland and O’Shea’s festive period and the defender was impressive throughout, ably marshalling his back line and capably dealing with anything that Leeds could throw his way.
Burnley’s Kevin Long suffered a heart-breaking Premier League debut on New Year’s Day in a 3-3 draw with Newcastle. The Corkman was introduced after just 18, replacing the injured Jason Shackell but lasted just 20 minutes before he was taken off on a stretcher with a cruciate knee ligament injury.
Long was replaced by former Ireland international Steven Reid who turned in a competent display in defence as his side bossed the second-half.
In Scotland, it was a Christmas for Aberdeen to remember as three wins from three games saw them move four points clear at the top of the table with Adam Rooney taking centre stage in his side’s title push.
The Dons started with a 1-0 win away to Inverness CT in which Rooney was a constant threat. Linking up well with Niall McGinn and David Goodwillie, the Dubliner was at the heart of everything Aberdeen did creatively and was desperately unlucky to be denied a penalty when his goal-bound header was blocked by a raised arm.
Rooney turned in a slightly disappointing performance in his side’s 2-0 win at home to St Johnstone, squandering several good chances but more than made up for that with a brace of goals that gave the Dons a 2-0 win away to Motherwell.
With a New Year’s Day game against Partick Thistle postponed, Celtic has just one game over Christmas, a disappointing scoreless draw with Ross County in which striker Anthony Stokes only lasted ten minutes before he was forced off through injury.
Ross County’s Irish midfielder Graham Carey suffered a similar fate and was replaced in his side’s starting line-up before kick-off after he suffered a back spasm during the warm-up. That injury kept Carey out of his side’s 1-1 draw with Dundee as he was forced to settle for a place on the bench.
A New Year’s Day double for Corkman Aaron Doran helped Inverness CT to a 3-1 victory over Carey’s Ross Couty. The young winger opened the scoring with a fine low, powerful drive before doubling his side’s lead with a smart finish on 58 minutes. Doran also featured is Inverness’ 1-0 win over St Mirren at the weekend but have a more subdued game.
In League One, Greg Cunningham played his part as leaders Bristol City stayed clear at the top, beating Yeovil 2-1. The 23-year-old Ireland man was fouled in the box to win a penalty, which proved decisive in this narrow victory.
And the former Man City man, operating at left wingback, was instrumental as City maintained their push for the Championship with an impressive 3-1 away win at Gillingham to stay joint top with a game in hand on Swindon.
MK Dons are trying to stay in touch with City and were not helped when former Ireland international Darren Potter put the ball into his own net against Walsall. Things got worse for the former Liverpool man as he left his keeper in no man’s land for Walsall’s second as they eventually lost 3-0.
Chesterfield maintained their push for the play-offs but Paul Cook may be about to lose his ace marksman as Eoin Doyle, who is the league’s top scorer with 18 league goals, is being touted for a move in the January window.
The former Sligo Rovers and Shamrock Rovers striker grabbed another goal in Chesterfields’s 3-2 victory over Peterborough.
Dave Mooney helped Leyton Orient ease their relegation worries with a goal in their 4-1 victory over Crawley, and Paddy Madden was also in goalscoring form as Scunthroupe beat Rochdale to move clear of the relegation zone.
In League Two, James Collins almost got on the scoresheet as Shrewsbury remained unbeaten at home with a scoreless draw against fellow high-fliers Wycombe and sit just off the top of the table.
Graham Cummins was recalled to the Exeter side as they faced Wimbledon. At 1-0 down the former Cork City striker was denied an equaliser by the width of the post but the Dons romped to a 4-1 victory.`
Moving Down Under, Damien Duff finally got on the scoresheet with a strike for Melbourne City as they beat Newcastle Jets 5-2.
Duff scored one, made another and won a penalty for his side as they remain sixth on the ladder (Aussie speak), 16 points behind top dogs Perth Glory who won again with Andy Keogh scoring their opener as they beat Melbourne Victory 2-1.
Andy Keogh is sporting an unusual look for Perth Glory today. He took a cut lip earlier. via @neilsherwin pic.twitter.com/xboYPgdMMV
— The Emerald Exiles (@EmeraldExiles) January 2, 2015And with the cross-channel transfer window now open, there has been some movement for Irish players as former St Patrick’s Athletic, Sligo and Limerick midfielder Lee Lynch has completed his move to Hamilton. Another former Blue, Craig Curran, also joins Lynch in the Scottish Premier Division, signing for Ross County.
And former Sligo player, Seamus Conneely, has joined former Bit O’Red boss John Coleman at Accrington Stanley.
