Brentford’s Alan Judge last week revealed that being away on international duty with the Republic of Ireland helped improve his club performances, and if his current form continues, he could be in with a chance of featuring in Ireland's Euro 2016 play-off.
Fresh from a man-of-the-match performance against Wolves last week, Judge again turned on the style and was the match-winner in his side’s 3-0 victory over Charlton.
The Irish midfielder created the first goal with a wonderfully precise cross to pick out the run of John Swift who headed home. He then claimed the second himself with an unstoppable curled effort that nestled in the right corner of the net.
Judge wasn’t finished yet and he created his side’s third goal, again with another accurate cross-field ball which found Denmark international Lasse Vibe free in the penalty area and he slotted home.
Alan McCormack also impressed for Brentford and had some kind words for Judge afterwards.
“He’s brewing with confidence at the moment,” McCormack said.
“Going away with the Ireland team has helped him because he’s come back from that and stepped up a level. We can help him do that by pushing him in training every day. They’re some good players here, he gets pushed and you can see that in the games.”
There was a scare for Martin O’Neill at the Stadium of Light where Sunderland captain John O’Shea went off injured during his side’s 3-0 derby victory over Newcastle United.
O’Shea pulled up in the first half with an obvious hamstring injury but his manager Sam Alladyce revealed afterwards that it may not be as serious as it first appeared.
"We won't know until we scan him a couple of days," Allardyce said.
"He feels it's not a serious hamstring - he feels that it's what we call a tweak."
West Brom midfielder James McClean enjoyed a better weekend and put last weekend’s bust-up against Sunderland behind him.
McClean had been criticised for celebrating in front of Sunderland supporters after West Brom claimed a 1-0 victory and his manager Tony Pulis went as far as saying: “He’s not the sharpest tool in the box.”
However, McClean hit the headlines for the right reasons on Saturday when his side edged to a 1-0 victory.
The Irish midfielder was impressive throughout and helped to create the game’s only goal as he provided the cross that Salomon Rondon headed past John Ruddy in the Norwich goal.
Stoke duo Marc Wilson and Glenn Whelan both had an afternoon to forget as their side went down 2-0 at home to Watford.
Whelan was busy in midfield and did a decent job of protecting his back four where and when he could, but Wilson, who was introduced as a first-half substitute, was responsible for his side conceding their second goal, killing any chance of a fightback.
The Irish defender was caught in possession outside his own penalty are and had the ball pinched off his toe by Odion Ighalo, who played in midfielder Almen Abdi to score.
Everton’s Seamus Coleman and James McCarthy were also on the wrong end of a scoreline as Arsenal edged to a 2-1 victory over the Toffees.
Coleman did not appear to be operating at full strength following his recent return to the first team from a hamstring injury and he often struggled to keep up with the likes of Alexis Sanchez and Olivier Giroud.
The Donegal defender’s trademark surging runs from defence were often lacking too, as he struggled to make any kind of attacking impact.
McCarthy operated with a bit more freedom going forward, but often left too much space in front of his own back four, which Mesut Ozil in particular was able to exploit.
In the Championship, David Meyler appears to have hit a rich vein of form with Hull City, helping to propel the Tigers to second in the table with goals in both their midweek 3-0 victory over Ipswich and Saturday’s 2-0 win against Birmingham.
Meyler helped to control the midfield against Birmingham with some neat passing and clever use of the ball, but his best moment came after 36 minutes when his precise header went in off the post to put his side in front.
Paddy Madden is another Irishman bang in form and he scored twice in Scunthorpe’s League One victory over Chesterfield. The former Bohemians player is now the top goalscorer in League One with nine goals.
Madden was a constant threat for Scunthorpe. He opened the scoring from the penalty while his second took a slight deflection before beating the Chesterfield goalkeeper.
Jay O’Shea lined out for Chesterfield and went closest to scoring for them, first with a deflected shot and then with a free-kick which came back off the crossbar.
Millwall’s Aiden O’Brien also plundered a brace at the weekend as the 22-year-old striker scored both of the goals in his team’s 2-1 victory away to Sheffield United.
O’Brien headed his side in front on the half-hour mark before scoring the winner with a smartly taken finish from a Shane Ferguson cross.
Afterwards Millwall boss Neil Harris was left singing the praises of O’Brien.
"The biggest compliment I can give Aiden is that he never stands still," the Lions’ boss said. "He is always on the move and that is such an important quality in a striker.”
Owen Garvan scored a stunning 25-yard volley for Colchester as they drew 4-4 with Walsall, while Stephen McLaughlin scored with a neatly taken volley in Southend’s 1-1 draw with Gillingham.
Seamus Conneely was on target for Accrington Stanley as they continued their fantastic start to the season with a 3-1 win over AFC Wimbledon. The former Sligo Rovers man has been a near ever-present for Stanley so far this year.
Carl McHugh netted for Plymouth Argyle in their dramatic 2-1 win over Luton Town.
Finally in England, Rory Gaffney had a long-awaited first start for Cambridge United and made it count with two goals in their 3-1 success over York City.
In Scotland, Adam Rooney helped Aberdeen end a losing streak of four games as his glancing header gave his side the lead on 43 minutes but they were eventually pegged back and had to settle for a 1-1 draw with Motherwell.
In the MLS, Robbie Keane was again on the mark, scoring his 20th goal of the season with a clever chip, but it proved to be little more than a consolation goal as his LA Galaxy side were beaten 2-1 by Sporting Kansas City.
Sean St Ledger and Kevin Doyle both featured for Colorado Rapids as they suffered a 4-1 defeat to Portland Timbers, with neither player making much of a positive impact.
It was also worth noting an achievement by ex-Sligo and Shamrock Rovers man Richie Ryan.
The Tipperary midfielder led Ottawa Fury to the NASL Regular Season title, the second tier of football in the US.
Ryan is captain of the side and they now prepare for the play-offs.
