Monday 09 Jan 2023

Galbraith on target again for Salford City | NI Player Watch

Ethan Galbraith was on target for the fourth time this season as Salford City moved into the League Two play-off positions with a 2-1 home win over Northampton Town and Billy McKay took his goal tally into double figures after finding the net in Inverness Caledonian Thistle's 4-1 success at Arbroath.

Daniel Ballard and Trai Hume both started again for Sunderland who scored an injury time winner after being a goal down at Shrewsbury Town in the FA Cup and Ali McCann was part of the Preston North End team that beat fellow Championship side Huddersfield Town to set up a lucrative home tie against Premier League outfit Spurs.

Former Northern Ireland Under-21 international Jamie Reid scored from the penalty spot as League Two Stevenage deservedly knocked Premier League Aston Villa out of this season’s competition following a late 2-1 victory at Villa Park.

The 28-year-old, who won two Northern Ireland U21 caps, was introduced to the action midway through the second period and levelled the tie after converting an 88^th minute penalty. 

Stevenage, who are ranked 59 places below Villa in the football pyramid, then shocked their hosts with a 90^th minute winner to set up a fourth round tie at Stoke City.

Elsewhere in the third round of the competition, Conor Washington also scored a penalty to record his fifth goal of the campaign as Rotherham United fell to a 4-1 defeat to Ipswich Town. 

Goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell got another 90 minutes under his belt after high-flying Burnley convincingly beat AFC Bournemouth 4-2 at the Vitality Stadium, while Jamal Lewis made his first start of the season as Newcastle United were surprisingly defeated 2-1 by League One side Sheffield Wednesday.

Middlesbrough boss Michael Carrick praised defender Paddy McNair who made his first start since the former Manchester United midfielder took over the managerial reins at the Riverside Stadium

“I thought Paddy did well,” Carrick told the club website following their 5-1 home reverse to Brighton and Hove Albion. “It’s not easy for Paddy to come into a team after not playing for so long, and more so against such a good team.

“But he did fine. He’s a good player and has played at a good level all of his career. He’s got good experience and is a big option for us.”

There were debuts at the weekend for on-loan midfielder Oisin Smyth who came on as a substitute for Solihull Moors in their 3-0 National League defeat to Southend United and also striker Kyle Vassell who started Kilmarnock’s 2-0 loss at Scottish champions Celtic following his return from America.

In the U21 Premier League former Larne central defender Kofi Balmer scored his first goal of the season for Crystal Palace in their 4-2 win at Brighton, while Aaron Donnelly scored the only goal of the game as Nottingham Forest overcame Leeds United.

Meanwhile, in the U18 Premier League in England the prolific Callum Marshall scored his 12^th goal in just nine games as West Ham trounced Crystal Palace 4-0 to stay top of the table a massive 15 points ahead of second-placed Spurs.

Megan Bell scored with a spectacular strike in the Scottish Cup for Rangers Women in an 11-0 victory against Stirling Uni. 

Finally, in the Women’s FA Cup, Northern Ireland international Ellie Mason scored a stunning goal as Lewes progressed to the next stage of the competition with a comprehensive 5-0 victory over London Bees.