Defender Eoin Toal celebrated his 26th birthday in style on Saturday with a goal and an assist as Bolton Wanderers came from behind to record a crucial 3-2 victory at Shrewsbury Town.
With the visitors a goal down at the break, the former Derry City player fired home from outside the box to draw his side level 14 minutes into the second half to help send them on their way to back-to-back League One wins.
“I just had a go. I thought the near post was a bit open and luckily it went in,” he told the Bolton News. “It was brilliant, I didn’t know what to do! Obviously I don’t score much but it is something I want to add to my game.
“It was a good feeling. I just ran back because I wanted to get another one as quickly as possible.”
Also getting his name on the scoresheet over the weekend was Josh Magennis who followed up his FA Cup brace against Nottingham Forest in midweek with the only goal of the game in Exeter City’s 1-0 win at Cambridge United.
That’s now four goals in three games, and 11 for the season, for the Bangor-born striker who feels he is currently in the best form of his career.
“The type of striker I am, I like to think I bring a lot more to the team than just goals,” he told the club website. “If you get wrapped up whether you score or not it can distract from what the team needs you to do.
“I always do my extras with the coaching staff, do what I need to do, and when chances arrive I back myself to score.”
Meanwhile, Ronan Hale also made it four goals in his last three outings with a brace in Ross County’s 3-0 Scottish Premiership win at Motherwell and another former Cliftonville striker, Ben Wilson, scored his 13th of the campaign in Airdrieonians' 2-2 draw at Greenock Morton in League One.
Justin Devenny, fresh from his superb FA Cup goal in midweek, made his third Premier League start for Crystal Palace who went down 2-1 at home to a rejuvenated Everton and Conor Bradley again replaced Trent Alexander-Arnold midway through the second half as Liverpool maintained top spot with a hard-fought 2-1 success at home to Wolves.
In the Championship, teenage defender Ruairi McConville is still waiting for his Norwich City debut after being an unused substitute for the third successive game, while Terry Devlin came off the bench to set up Portsmouth’s second goal in the 2-0 away win at Oxford United.
Former Manchester United midfielder Ethan Galbraith continued his red-hot form for League One Leyton Orient as he assisted all three of the south London outfit’s goals in the 3-2 victory over Lincoln City.
It means that the 23-year-old becomes only the fifth player across the top four divisions of English football to achieve the feat of three assists in a single match this season.
Waterford goalkeeper Stephen McMullan, who is on loan from Fleetwood Town, saved a penalty on his debut in the 3-2 away success at Sligo Rovers and 21-year-old striker Conor Falls also made his debut for Curzon Ashton at the weekend after joining the National League North side on a month’s loan from Huddersfield Town.
In the Women’s Championship, Rachel Dugdale scored her first goal for Blackburn Rovers who lost 3-2 at Durham and ex-Cliftonville player Toni-Leigh Finnegan also registered her first goals for her new club, scoring twice in Aberdeen’s 4-2 defeat to Motherwell in SWPL1.
Elsewhere, Brenna McPartlan was on target for the seventh time this season as Burnley went down 3-2 to Stoke City in the Northern Premier Division.
Finally, 17-year-old Braiden Graham scored his first goal for Everton’s U21 team in their U21 Premier League defeat at home to Southampton.
