Irish Players Abroad Round-up: Ferguson Makes Strong Start To Roma Career Evan Ferguson showed he has the ability to thrive in Serie A as he started Roma’s opening day 1-0 win over Bologna on Sunday. The 20-year-old will have felt he should have scored after having a number of good chances and he was robbed of an assist when he set up Kouadio Kone for a chance with an xG of 0.71. Ferguson ended the game with two chances created, including that big chance for Kone, two shots on target and one off target as he was named the player of the match on Roma’s X. Read our comprehensive guide to all Irish footballers abroad Cullen Leads The Burnley Fight It was also a very positive weekend for Irish players in the Premier League. Keith Andrews picked up his first win as Brentford manager with his side beating Aston Villa 1-0 at home. Caoimhin Kelleher recorded his first clean sheet for the club as Nathan Collins also played 90 minutes against last season’s Champions League quarter-finalists. Josh Cullen also caught the eye for Burnley as they defeated fellow newly-promoted side Sunderland 2-0 at Turf Moor. The 29-year-old scored his side’s opening goal before providing a smart assist for the second. Elsewhere, Jake O’Brien played the full 90 minutes in Everton’s first Premier League game at the Hill Dickinson Stadium as the Toffees beat Brighton 2-0, while Matt Doherty did the same as Wolves lost 1-0 away to Bournemouth. Key Goals In The Championship Like in the Premier League, it was a great weekend for Irish players in the Championship, with Finn Azaz and Mikey Johnston both scoring. Johnston scored in West Brom’s 1-1 draw with Portsmouth, while Azaz netted the winner in a 2-1 win over Norwich to continue Middlesbrough’s perfect start to the season. That was Azaz’s first start of the season after recovering from injury, and both he and Johnston were named in Ireland’s squad for next month’s World Cup qualifiers at home to Hungary and away to Armenia. There are 10 more players from the Championship joining them in Heimir Hallgrimsson’s 23-man squad (see the bottom of the page for the full squad), including the uncapped Bosun Lawal of Stoke City. Trouble In Paradise Despite Celtic’s unbeaten start to the season, there is trouble at Paradise with fans demanding a new striker. That spells danger for Adam Idah who has failed to impress this season, with no goals in his three appearances. The 24-year-old was replaced at half-time during his side’s 0-0 draw with Kazakhstan side Kairat in Champions League qualifying last week as Brendan Rodgers revealed he is “struggling with his knee”. Despite this, Idah was named in the Ireland squad for next month's qualifiers, and while it may explain his lacklustre performances this season, Idah will need to improve, whether or not Celtic sign a new striker before the end of the transfer window. In his absence, another Irish striker scored for Celtic as they beat Livingston 3-0 on Saturday. Johnny Kenny came on for the final 20 minutes to score the Bhoys’ last goal while Liam Scales captained the side for the first time in the absence of Callum McGregor. Teenager Debuts For Hull Cathal McCarthy’s Hull City debut was a baptism of fire as the Tigers lost 3-0 to Blackburn Rovers as he partnered stand-in captain John Egan in the heart of defence. The 18-year-old moved to East Yorkshire from UCD in January and remained on loan in the League of Ireland First Division. A minor injury crisis explained his sudden promotion and it could mean McCarthy retains his position. At the other end, Sean McLoughlin played the full 90 minutes on his return to the MKM Stadium after swapping Blackburn for Hull in the summer. Spare A Thought For Browne Not many players deserve a chance in the Premier League more than Alan Browne, but it looks like it won’t come at Sunderland. After moving to Sunderland last summer following 10-and-a-half years of loyal service to Preston North End, he has been left out of both matchday squads so far this season as well as the Ireland squad for next month’s qualifiers. Sunderland boss Regan Le Bris revealed last week that talks are ongoing with the 37-capped international over his future, with less than a week left to go before the transfer window closes. He will likely return to the Championship and could reach 400 appearances in England’s second tier if he remains injury-free, as he currently has 368 appearances in the division. A fantastic box-to-box centre-midfielder at the level, Browne has also impressed at right wing-back, notably against Kylian Mbappe in Ireland’s 2-0 defeat away to France in World Cup qualifying two years ago. Browne may have had the potential to be a Premier League wing-back, but that should not take away from his fantastic Championship career and there should be plenty of suitors among the sides looking to win promotion this season. Ireland’s World Cup Qualifiers Squad in Full Goalkeepers: Caoimhin Kelleher (Brentford), Gavin Bazunu (Southampton), Mark Travers (Everton) Defenders: Matt Doherty (Wolves), Jake O’Brien (Everton), Jimmy Dunne (QPR), Dara O’Shea (Ipswich Town), Nathan Collins (Brentford), Bosun Lawal (Stoke City), Liam Scales (Celtic), Ryan Manning (Southampton) Midfielders: Jason Knight (Bristol City), Josh Cullen (Burnley), Jack Taylor (Ipswich Town), Killian Phillips (St Mirren) Forwards: Evan Ferguson (Roma, on loan from Brighton), Adam Idah (Celtic), Troy Parrott (AZ), Kasey McAteer (Ipswich Town), Finn Azaz (Middlesbrough), Mikey Johnston (WBA), Chiedozie Ogbene (Ipswich Town), Sammie Szmodics (Ipswich Town).
