Had Boots Did Travel - Midweek Fixtures (January 4 2018)

A full calendar of league fixtures saw a busy night for the Irish exiles in England as 75 Republic of Ireland-declared players took the field across the top four divisions.

There were two Irish players on the scoresheet for the first time in 11 months in the Premier League (thanks to Irish Abroad for the stat) as two internationals notched their first of the season.

Two Irish scorers got in on the act in the Championship, while the only other Irish goal of the round was in League Two where ex-Sligo Rovers man Padraig Amond scored.

There were eight Irish in action in the Premier League, two (both scorers) with League of Ireland experience, 20 in the Championship (four with LOI experience), 25 (5) in League One and 22 (6) in the fourth tier.

Premier League

Shane Long scored his first goal at any level in 11 months to give Southampton an early lead at Crystal Palace only to see his side fall to a 2-1 defeat.

There was a first goal of the season too for James McClean as West Brom fell to a 2-1 defeat at West Ham, for whom Declan Rice was a late substitute.

Rice was then named man of the match as West Ham upset Tottenham's applecart at Wembley and earned a 1-1 draw.

Shane Duffy and Harry Arter started for Brighton and Bournemouth respectively as the pair played out a 2-2 draw on the south coast.

Jeff Hendrick started for Burnley but had left the field by the time they conceded deep into injury time as they fell to a 2-1 defeat at home to Liverpool.

Ciaran Clark played the full 90 minutes as Newcastle United won 1-0 away at Stoke City, their first win in four games.

And James McCarthy continued his return from injury as he played the final half-hour of Everton's 2-0 defeat to Manchester United at Goodison Park.

Championship

Scott Hogan and Conor Hourihane were both on the scoresheet as Aston Villa registered a thumping 5-0 win over high-flying Bristol City to boost their promotion chances.

John O'Shea, Darron Gibson and Aiden McGeady all started for Sunderland, but Gibson was taken off injured in the first half as the Black Cats fell to a 1-0 home defeat to Barnsley.

Matt Doherty played 90 minutes as Wolverhampton Wanderers moved 12 points clear at the top with an easy 3-0 win at home to Brentford.

Josh Cullen was an early substitute as struggling Bolton Wanderers surprised Hull City will a hard-earned 1-0 win at the Reebok Stadium.

Richard Keogh started for Derby County and Enda Stevens for Sheffield United, while Samir Carruthers came off the bench for the Blades in a 1-1 draw at Pride Park.

Eunan O'Kane played all 90 minutes of Leeds United's scoreless draw at home to Nottingham Forest.

Paul McShane started and Liam Kelly was a second-half introduction as Reading fell to a 2-0 defeat away to Birmingham City.

Shaun Williams started and Aiden O'Brien was a second-half substitute as Millwall were defeated 2-1 away to Norwich City.

Darren Randolph and Cyrus Christie started as Middlesbrough staged a second-half comeback to win 3-2 at Preston North End, for whom Daryl Horgan was the only one of four subs to make an appearance.

Brian Murphy played 90 minutes but couldn't prevent promotion-chasing Cardiff City from falling to a fourth successive defeat as they lost 2-1 at Queens Park Rangers.

Sean Scannell was an injury-time substitute as Burton Albion registered a third-successive win as they stunned managerless Sheffield Wednesday 3-0 in Hillsborough.

League One

Simon Cox started and Stephen McLaughlin was sprung from the bench but couldn't help Southend United from falling to a 2-0 defeat at AFC Wimbledon.

Rory Gaffney started and Ryan Sweeney was a second-half sub in Bristol Rovers' 2-1 home win over promotion-chasing Portsmouth.

Bradley Garmston and Mark Byrne both started, while Connor Wilkinson was a second-half sub, as Gillingham won 2-1 at Charlton Athletic, for whom Leon Best managed just eight minutes from the bench before picking up an injury.

Cian Bolger played 90 minutes in defence for Fleetwood Town but he was powerless to prevent his side falling 2-1 at home to Bradford City.

Both Brendan Moloney and Sam Foley started, while John-Joe O'Toole came off the bench, as Northampton Town were beaten 1-0 at home to table-toppers Wigan Athletic.

Canice Carroll played the 90 minutes for Oxford United as they comfortable beat MK Dons 3-1 at home.

Ian Lawlor started in goal for Doncaster Rovers as they played out a 1-1 draw at Peterborough United.

Graham Carey started for Plymouth Argyle and Liam Kinsella for Walsall as the home side carved out a 1-0 win at home.

Jimmy Ryan started for Blackpool as they overcame Rochdale 2-1 at the Crown Oil Arena.

Richie Towell and Anthony Forde started for Rotherham United and Derrick Williams started for Blackburn Rovers as they shared the points with a 1-1 draw at the New York Stadium.

Eoghan O'Connell and Callum Reilly played 90 minutes for Bury as they fell to a 1-0 way defeat to play-off hopefuls Scunthorpe United.

Jack Byrne and Anthony Gerrard started, and Paul Green was a late sub, as Oldham Athletic were beaten 1-0 at Shrewsbury Town.

League Two

An early goal from Padraig Amond sent Newport County on their way to a 2-1 win over Exeter City, for whom Pierce Sweeney started and Liam McAlinden came off the bench.

Connor Smith started but saw red for Yeovil Town, while Mark Connolly started for Crawley Town, as the visitors won 2-1 in Yeovil.

David Forde, Jake Carroll and Gary Deegan started for Cambridge United and Sean Murray for Colchester United in their 0-0 draw in Essex.

Michael Doyle started for Coventry City as they returned to the automatic promotion spots with a 1-0 home win over Chesterfield, for whom Connor Dimaio started.

James Berrett played the full 90 minutes as Grimsby Town were beaten 2-0 away to Crewe Alexandra.

James Collins scored, Alan Sheehan was sent off after four minutes and Glenn Rea also started as Luton Town stay top with a 4-2 win over Lincoln City, for whom Sean Long started.

Conrad Logan kept goal for Mansfield Town as they pierced the play-off spots with a 3-1 win over Carlisle United, who had Jack Bonham and Jamie Devitt starting and John O'Sullivan a late sub.

Kevin Dawson started for Cheltenham Town while Jamie Gray was a late substitute for Stevenage as the former recorded an emphatic 4-1 win.

Rest of the World

Robbie Keane was on the scoresheet for ATK as they were held 1-1 at home to Goa in the Indian Super League on Wednesday.