Jamie Ward helped ease Nottingham Forest’s relegation worries at the weekend when he scored his second goal of the season for the Championship outfit as they defeated promotion-chasing Huddersfield Town 2-0 at the City Ground.
The Northern Ireland midfielder/winger secured all three points for the home side when he struck nine minutes after the break to record his first goal for the club since August.
Also getting his name on the scoresheet at the weekend was Shay McCartan who celebrated winning League Two player of the month for March with another trademark free-kick as Accrington Stanley came back from two goals down to beat Crewe 3-2 and keep alive their slim hopes of grabbing a play-off place.
Stanley manager John Coleman said: “He’s practising free-kicks in training and putting them over the bar, then he does a demo for Sky and can’t hit a barn door. He then pops up with something special on Saturday to bring us level.
“He really is a special talent. If he looks after himself in the summer and he works hard who knows what he can achieve.”
In Scotland, Kilmarnock winger Jordan Jones, a former Northern Ireland under-19 international, scored his first goal since joining the club from Middlesbrough last summer, however it was merely a consolation as they went down 3-1 to champions Celtic at Parkhead.
Elsewhere in the Scottish Premiership Shea Gordon, fresh from making his Motherwell debut as a substitute against Hamilton last week, was handed his first start for the club by manager Stephen Robinson in the 1-0 defeat at Partick Thistle.
Meanwhile, defender Conor McLaughlin lost out in the ‘battle of the brothers’ in League One on Saturday as Fleetwood Town’s hopes of automatic promotion took a severe dent after they lost 2-0 to brother Ryan’s Oldham Athletic at Boundary Park.
But there was some consolation for 25-year-old Conor after the game when he was named in the EFL 2016-17 team of the season.
Also in League One full-back Danny Lafferty was celebrating promotion to the Championship with Sheffield United after the Blades won 2-1 at Northampton Town, for whom former Northern Ireland under-21 international David Buchanan was making his 50th appearance of the season.
Another Northern Ireland defender playing at a higher level next term will be Portadown-born Luke McCullough after Doncaster Rovers secured their place in League One following a narrow 1-0 home victory over Mansfield Town.
Finally, in League Two, midfielder Mark McKee, an under-19 international, made his debut for Stevenage as a 71st minute substitute in their 4-0 reverse against Colchester United.
The 18-year-old, one of five Northern Ireland players at the club, signed an extended deal with the Hertfordshire outfit at the turn of the year which will see him remain at Broadhall Way until the summer of 2018.
