Trap’s eyes: The Irish abroad

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 Conor Heneghan

The FAI are broke and running out of scouts and Giovanni Trapattoni would seemingly prefer to stock up on fine food, wine and weather in Italy rather than check out how Ireland’s finest are getting on across the pond and beyond.

Certainly, when compared to Fabio Capello, who is a ubiquitous presence at Premier League games on a weekly basis, Il Trap’s attendance at games involving the boys in green is extremely poor. How else do you explain his decision to stick with Kevin Kilbane, the man who is so far over the hill that he came down a mountain?

Leave it to JOE then, to report on how both the established and potential members of the Ireland squad on a weekly basis. Here are the pick of the bunch from this weekend.

Premier League

Ciaran Clark (Aston Villa): If Clark’s display against Arsenal is anything to go by; we have a seriously talented player on our hands. Clark was playing in a defensive midfield role against the Gunners, but got forward to score both Villa goals, including a peach of a strike from the edge of the area that flew into Lukasz Fabianski’s top corner.

Also adept at centre-half, Clark should be given a chance in a green jersey at the earliest opportunity, rather than being subjected to the still incomprehensible alienation treatment that has been dished out to Everton’s Seamus Coleman.

Kevin Foley (Wolves): The full back and stand-in captain was magnificent as Mick McCarthy’s side finally grabbed three points with a 3-2 win over Sunderland in the most dramatic game of the weekend. Foley gave the home side the lead at Molineux five minutes after half-time with a wonderful left footed half-volley, his third goal in four games, after Sunderland ‘keeper Craig Gordon had beaten away a Matt Jarvis cross.

Stephen Hunt (Wolves): Introduced with just under half an hour remaining against Sunderland, Hunt’s impact was emphatic. The Waterford man was his usual energetic self on the left wing and scored the equaliser that inspired Wolves’ late comeback, when he stabbed home from close range with less than ten minutes remaining on the clock.

nPower Championship

Wes Hoolahan (Norwich City): Roy Keane is finding life at Ipswich pretty tough at the moment and compatriot Wes Hoolahan helped pile further misery on the grumpy Corkonian in the East Anglia derby against Norwich City at the weekend. Hoolahan found the net for the Canaries after being introduced as a substitute in a 4-1 victory at Carrow Road, a result which sees Norwich climb to the play-off places. Ipswich’s Damien Delaney was also on the scoresheet in the first half, but didn’t make it until half time after being dismissed later on for hacking down Norwich hat-trick hero Grant Holt.

Kieren Westwood (Coventry): Ireland’s number two went head to head with a competitor for his position, Scunthorpe’s Joe Murphy at Glanford Park on Saturday. Westwood was solidity personified as he kept a clean sheet and celebrated victory alongside fellow gaels Richard Keogh, Lee Carsley and Michael Doyle.

Murphy on the other hand, was the unlucky scorer of Coventry’s second goal after Marlon King’s shot rebounded off the woodwork, off his back and into the net. Westwood’s Coventry are now in sixth place in the nPower Championship table, while Murphy’s Scunthorpe are teetering on the brink of relegation in 21st place.

Scottish Premier League

Conor Sammon (Kilmarnock): The former Derry City player was on target for Kilmarnock in their victory over Aberdeen at the weekend, his 11th league goal this season and eighth goal in six games. Sammon was quickest off the mark and finished from close range when Aberdeen ‘keeper Jamie Langfield spilled Alexei Eremenko’s free kick in the second half at Rugby Park.

Richie Foran (Inverness Caledonian Thistle): The well-travelled Dubliner was on the mark as Caley came from behind to grab a 2-2 draw with Celtic at Celtic Park. With 20 minutes to go and Inverness trailing 0-2, Foran capitalised on a mistake by Thomas Rogne, rounded Forster in the Hoops’ goal and put his side right back in the mix.

Fellow Dubliner Adam Rooney also had a large role to play in Caley’s comeback. Fresh from scoring a hat-trick against Hibernian last weekend, Rooney flicked a Jonny Hayes corner into the path of Grant Munro, who finished from close range to earn a share of the spoils for Inverness and maintain their position in fourth place in the SPL table.

Russian Premier League

Aiden McGeady (Spartak Moscow): It was a weekend to forget for Aiden McGeady, who was sent off for only the second time in his career in Spartak Moscow’s derby clash with Dynamo Moscow, the final game of the Russian season.

Having been subject to rough treatment for most of the match, McGeady brought matters into his own hands and was dismissed in the 78th minute for a wild lunge (see below) on Marcin Kowalczyk, which sparked a brawl between the sides in what is always a hotly contested encounter. Being a former Celtic man, McGeady is no stranger to an ill-tempered derby and the sight of blue jerseys may well have been what caused the red mist to descend upon the Muscovite.