Stephen Ireland gave another reminder of his talents as he was one of two Irish internationals on the scoresheet for Stoke as the Potters left Wales with a dramatic 3-3 draw at Swansea.
The new Irish management seem to have had an immediate effect on the Irish contingent in the Premier League with John O’Shea, Ciaran Clarke, Damien Delaney and Seamus Coleman enjoying clean sheets over the weekend, and Shane Long, Jon Walters and Ireland getting on the scoresheet in a timely reminder to MONKeano of what they can offer.
Ireland has stated he is hoping to get a run of games at club level before he even contemplates a return to the international fold, and yesterday he showed that he still has something to offer despite an indifferent couple of years.
Clever work from Walters on the right-hand side, already buoyed from scoring himself, saw him play the ball into Peter Crouch who played a perfectly weighted first-time ball into the path of the former Manchester City player who coolly rolled the ball into the net.
The goal was reminiscent of Ireland in his pomp and breaking from midfield and while he may not be everyone’s cup of tea, an in-form Ireland, in the right frame of mind, will certainly be on the radar of Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane.
