A double knee injury means Dundalk captain Stephen O’Donnell has played his last game of the season. A penalty in Belgrade for former club Shamrock Rovers in 2011 had shifted the landscape for Irish clubs in Europe. Against his former employers the midfielder suffered the antithesis of the joy felt that August evening in Serbia.
O’Donnell had been in fine form this season for Stephen Kenny’s side and will be missed. And it was an opportunity missed for his teammates against Rovers when Ronan Finn drilled an injury time equalizer past Peter Cherrie in the Dundalk goal.
It was a less traumatic weekend for St. Patrick’s Athletic with Irish internationals past and (possibly) future in fine fettle. Keith Fahey was as magisterial as the on-looking Michael D. Higgins at St. Richmond Park on Good Friday. And his young aide Chris Forrester was adroit and fluid, skipping through an attritional Bohemians defence to score a fine individual goal.
He kept the truly magical though for Easter Monday, resurrecting a hopeless and hapless brief pattern of Drogheda play to collect a loose header and score a wondrous 40-yard volley, all in one swift swing of an agile foot. In some quarters, voting on goal of the season is now closed.
In England the award for goal of the season is only a few weeks away but it was the omission of Seamus Coleman from the PFA Young player of the year shortlist that drew some criticism. Unfounded it turns out with the Donegal man not as young as we may have thought. Or maybe we just didn’t read the rulebook. Aged 23 or under at the start of the season is the requirement. Coleman was 24 when this season kicked off.
Sean Dyche has won many plaudits for the limited resources at his disposal not hindering his successful efforts to achieve promotion as manager of Burnley. A 2-0 win over Wigan on Monday saw his side confirm their future top-flight status. Unfortunately Kevin Long and Keith Treacy did not make it off the bench in the game at an ultimately jubilant Turf Moor but were deserving in joining in the celebrations.
Former Cork City defender Long has seen his opportunities limited this season but was resilient in his sides previous game with Wigan in a 0-0 draw over the Christmas period. It’s a month since he last played for his club. Treacy though has been a more regular starter and has been impressive at times. No more so when he salvaged a point in a seemingly lost game against promotion rivals Bournemouth in February; slaloming off the bench and through on goal to finish emphatically.
Exposure next season in the Premier League could see him add to his six existing Ireland caps, earned during Giovanni Trapattoni’s tenure. The Italian also trusted faith, to criticism and derision in some quarters, in Derby County striker Conor Sammon.
Derby are the highest placed of the current play-off teams, and Sammon has been a significant presence for Steve McLaren’s side. A return of four goals this season might not excite, but Sammon’s hard working and aggressive play up front has been significant for Derby and the Dubliner could be playing top level football for the second time after his previous stint with Wigan Athletic.
Wigan’s own hopes of promotion are alive and while James McClean has found his starting position on the bench more often than not in recent weeks, Chris McCann was a regular starter until the midfielders season was brought to a premature end after his knee-cap injury against Manchester City in the FA Cup - in a game in which the former Burnley stalwart was holding his own.
McCann would be a worthwhile and possible inclusion in the Republic of Ireland’s end of season tour had it not been for his injury; but the former Home Farm player, still only 26, can look at Wes Hoolahan to see that an international stretch can begin in earnest in a career’s early Autumn.
You can follow Brian on Twitter via @StrahanBrian
