Trap’s too lazy to do it, so leave it to JOE to look back on the performances of the established and potential members of the Ireland squad over the weekend.
By Frank McCann
Premier League
Darron Gibson
After a less-than-impressive performance against West Ham last time around, the Derryman was much improved during the game against Fulham on Saturday afternoon.
With Paul Scholes also playing, it looked like it could have been another subdued performance by Gibson. However, he managed to outshine the United stalwart, producing several excellent cross-field balls and better distribution than usual. Unfortunately for Gibson, seeing as the game was something of a non-event given that the Cottagers failed to turn up, his performance won’t live too long in the memory.
With squad rotation being vital at this stage of the season, however, it seems as if Gibson will be getting a few starts between now and the end of the campaign.
Whether he will be at United this time next season is not a certainty, but if he produces more performances like this, he should at least grab the attention of other Premier League clubs, who might be prepared to take a punt on a man who doesn’t quite cut the mustard at the Theatre of Dreams.
Stephen Carr
Despite his advancing years, Stephen Carr showed his amazing energy during Birmingham’s 1-1 draw with Blackburn on Saturday.
His excellent turn of pace was enough to keep Rovers midfielder Morten Gamst Pedersen quiet all afternoon, denying the Norwegian any space down the Blues’ right side.
The former Ireland right-back has had a wonderful campaign at St. Andrews, the highlight being lifting the trophy following Birmingham’s Carling Cup final victory over Arsenal at Wembley earlier this year.
nPower Championship
Ian Harte
Ian Harte continued his excellent form during Reading’s 4-3 victory over Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Saturday.
Having recently been named the Championship Player of the month for March, Harte has been in the the best we have seen in years after the Louth native disappeared off the radar somewhat during spells with Levante, Sunderland and Blackpool.
Ian Harte has enjoyed something of a career renaissance at Reading
The former Irish full-back got his name on the scoresheet again this weekend, with an excellently taken free-kick that opened the scoring in the Royals’ vital victory.
His performances may once again have grabbed the attention of Giovanni Trapattoni, who is currently (and ludicrously) starting Kevin Kilbane at left-back for the Irish national side.
Paul McShane
Never did we expect to see McShane hailed in this column, but despite a relatively poor spell at Oakwell, the former Manchester United youth player managed to get amongst the goals during Barnsley’s 4-2 victory over Bristol City at the weekend.
McShane made the move from Hull to Barnsley in February on a two-month loan deal, and was not expected to have his stay extended.
However, a decent performance on Saturday showed that McShane still has something to offer, despite being considered one of Ireland’s “average” players (to put it nicely).
Scottish Premier League
Jonathan Hayes
The Inverness midfielder scored his side’s goal in a 1-1 draw with Kilmarnock that put an end to Caley’s chances of a top-six finish.
The 23-year-old has made three appearances at U-21 level, but has never managed to win a senior cap for Ireland.
The Dublin native started his career at Reading, although he never made a senior appearance. He moved to Leicester in 2007, while also having decent loan spells at MK Dons and Northampton Town.
However, it is at the Caledonian Stadium where Hayes has made a name for himself, playing 58 times for Inverness and scoring 16 goals, such as the one against Rangers earlier in the season, which prompted a ridiculous, ill-advised celebration (see both the goal and the celebration below).
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