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10th July 2010
10:17pm BST
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 this weekend.
Premier League
Damien Duff
‘Duff man’ has been conspicuous by his absence so far in this column, but on Saturday against Stoke he played his third 90 minutes in succession as the Cottagers continued a good run that has seen them pick up seven points from a possible nine and move up to the relative security of 14th place in the Premier League.
Duffer was never renowned for his shooting ability, but to quote an overused football cliché, the crossbar is still shaking at Craven Cottage after Duff’s first half rasper was tipped onto the woodwork by Asmir Begovic. Duff was involved in a lot of things that Mark Hughes’ side did well and all in all it was a return to form for the 31-year old whose career was perilously close to stagnating.
Richard Dunne
After a shocking start to the campaign which contrasted startlingly with his commanding displays of last season, Dunne has put a rift with the Villa management behind him and produced some sterling displays alongside James Collins at the heart of the Villa defence of late.
The Honey Monster stood firm once again on Saturday evening in the face of an onslaught from his former club Manchester City and although Collins arguably stole the show with some inspirational blocks, Dunne also played his part in securing a clean sheet and a vital three points. Special mention must also go to Ciaran Clark, who managed to prevent what looked like a certain goal from Nigel de Jong with his arse.
John O’Shea
With Rafael suspended, John O’Shea made a welcome return to the Manchester United side after nearly two months out with a calf injury. O’Shea should really have marked his return to the side with a goal, but greedy Dimitar Berbatov headed Long John’s flick into the net from millimetres out for United’s first goal in the second minute rather than let the Waterford man take the glory.
It was good to see John O'Shea back in action at the weekend
In a game in which the league leaders were absolutely dominant, O’Shea was not overly stretched on his return, but he will have been glad of such a comfortable reintroduction to action before United get down to the serious business of an assault on the Premier League and Champions League titles.
nPower Championship
Liam Lawrence
Pompey may be struggling in the Championship, but it has little to do with Lawrence, who notched up his sixth assist of the season when teeing up Joel Ward for a wonder goal against Leeds in a 2-2 draw at the weekend. Lawrence also has eight goals to his name and his ability as both a provider and scorer of goals has had him linked with a return to the Premier League.
Frankly, we think that the Championship is just about the right level for a man of his abilities and Trapattoni would want to have his head examined if he dares select Lawrence ahead of Seamus Coleman at right midfield in the upcoming Carling Nations Cup and European qualifiers.
Ian Harte
It seems like only yesterday that Ian Harte missed a penalty in the heartbreaking exit to Spain at the 2002 World Cup and he was back on spot-kick duties again at the weekend as Reading looked to salvage a point against Hull at the Madejski Stadium. Harte made no mistake this time as he slotted home with ten minutes remaining to equalise for the Royals after man of the moment Shane Long had been sent tumbling in the area.
Ian Harte was on target for Reading from the penalty spot
It was just as well for Harte, however, as he was badly at fault for Hull’s opener when a misunderstanding with ‘keeper Adam Federici allowed Corry Evans to open the scoring for the visitors early in the second half. The Drogheda man has fallen off the radar a little in the last few years, but has scored five goals for Reading already this season having been voted on the League One Team of the Season in the last campaign thanks to some excellent displays for Carlisle United.
Scottish Premier League
Anthony Stokes
Fresh from his double against Hibernian last weekend, Stokes was Celtic’s hero once more as he scored the only goal in the Hoops’ win over Aberdeen at Celtic Park. Stokes showed admirable composure to go around Dons' 'keeper Jamie Lingfield and tap the ball into an empty net after receiving a pass from Gary Hooper.
Stokes’ strike was his fourth in three games and his 12th of the season overall and it helped Neil Lennon’s side open up a five-point gap over arch rivals Rangers at the top of the SPL table after Rangers lost out to Aberdeen at the weekend.
Neil Lennon was certainly impressed by Stokes and strike partner Gary Hooper, saying: "The front two were a handful and they worked the goal very well. They are in the driving seat at the moment.
"I thought they dovetailed very well together. You can tell there is a bit of chemistry between them and they are doing what we brought them to do, they are scoring goals."
Are you watching Trapattoni?
Conor Sammon
Sammon turned down a move to Championship side Scunthorpe last week and Kilmarnock fans will have been delighted by the decision as the 24-year-old netted once again at the weekend. Sammon put Killie ahead against Dundee United just before half-time with a neat close-range finish, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough to claim all three points as despite being down to nine men, the visitors equalised through Garry Kenneth in the 90th minute.
Sammon was forced to deny speculation that he turned down Scunthorpe because Celtic were sniffing around, but if the Hoops were to maintain their interest, it would be a difficult move for Sammon to turn down. Even if that doesn’t come about, however, it looks as if Sammon will be on his way out of the club in the summer.
