The State of the Republic
13:04, 07 Mar 2011
Shane Stapleton
PLAYER OF THE WEEKEND
Damien Duff (Fulham)
Played 90 minutes (Fulham 3 Blackburn 2)
That's four goals in five games for Duff and the hope is that he can take this form into the Macedonia game in a few weeks' time. Put manners on his former club here and slotted in both goals through the legs of Blackburn defenders. Great display terrorising the visitors and Duff was certainly man of the match, indeed our man of the week.
GOALKEEPERS
Shay Given (Manchester City)
Injured (Manchester City 1 Wigan 0)
Colin Doyle (Birmingham City)
Unused sub (Birmingham 1 West Brom 3)
DEFENDERS
Richard Dunne (Aston Villa)
Injured (Bolton 3 Aston Villa 2)
John O'Shea (Manchester United)
Played 14 minutes (Liverpool 3 Manchester United 1)
No joy for O'Shea this time out on a ground where just a few seasons ago he plundered a late winner to sicken The Kop. The game was over here when JOSh was introduced for the firebrand right-back Rafael, and the Irishman did fine.
Stephen Kelly (Fulham)
Not in the squad (Fulham 3 Blackburn 2)
Greg Cunningham (Manchester City)
Injured (Manchester City 1 Wigan 0)
Broken leg.
Ciaran Clark (Aston Villa)
Played 90 minutes (Bolton 3 Aston Villa 2)
Good performance for much of the game but Kevin Davies and Daniel Sturridge were a handful at times. Missed Richard Dunne beside him.
Marc Wilson (Stoke City)
Played 90 minutes (West Ham 3 Stoke City 0)
We usually can't say enough good things about Wilson but his mix-up with Asmir Begovic did gift Demba Ba the opener on 21 minutes. Not a happy day at the office.
Kevin Foley (Wolves)
Played 90 minutes (Wolves 3 Tottenham 3)
Had a good little battle with Jermaine Defoe when the striker drifted out to Foley's right-back position. The Irishman got forward well to support Adam Hammill.
Matt Doherty (Wolves)
Unused sub (Wolves 3 Tottenham 3)
Steven Reid (West Brom)
Played 90 minutes (Birmingham 1 West Brom 3)
Quiet and effective from Reid but he did set up the goal of the day for James Morrison: he travelled up the right flank and dropped in a lovely ball from which his teammate lashed home an excellent volley.
Stephen Carr (Birmingham City)
Played 90 minutes (Birmingham 1 West Brom 3)
Had a tough time with Jerome Thomas and was possibly still feeling the effects of a long 90 minutes against Arsenal last week. Did help set up the goal for Jean Beausejour though.
Shane Duffy (Everton)
Unused sub (Newcastle 1 Everton 2)
Joey O'Brien (Bolton Wanderers)
Not in the squad (Bolton 3 Aston Villa 2)
MIDFIELDERS
Keith Andrews (Blackburn Rovers)
Unused sub (Fulham 3 Blackburn 2)
Seamus Coleman (Everton)
Played 5 minutes (Newcastle 1 Everton 2)
David Moyes gave Coleman a rest here but the Donegal man came on for Leon Osman near the end and should have put his team 3-1 ahead when he drove the ball into the chest of Steve Harper.
Keith Fahey (Birmingham City)
Played 90 minutes (Birmingham 1 West Brom 3)
Great to see Fahey becoming such a key figure at Birmingham and many Irish fans will want him to start against Macedonia. Not a great day here though, it must be said. Booked near the final whistle.
James McCarthy (Wigan)
Played 90 minutes (Manchester City 1 Wigan 0)
We're big fans of McCarthy but this was not a performance on which his career will be made. Didn't force the issue enough in midfield and was bypassed at times. Lashed a shot just wide with his left foot after a poor clearance from Vincent Kompany.
David Meyler (Sunderland)
Injured (Arsenal 0 Sunderland 0)
Knee.
Glenn Whelan (Stoke City)
Played 90 minutes (West Ham 3 Stoke City 0)
Had manners put on him by Scott Parker all day and never looked like creating anything at the other end.
Rory Delap (Stoke City)
Played 90 minutes (West Ham 3 Stoke City 0)
Pretty much invisible for most of the game and was only noticeable when his long throw-ins were being booed.
Stephen Hunt (Wolves)
Injured (Wolves 3 Tottenham 3)
Missed out with a calf strain.
Stephen Ward (Wolves)
Played 60 minutes (Wolves 3 Tottenham 3)
You couldn't really suggest that this was anything other than a disappointing showing from utility man Ward. Should have scored from a brilliant Matt Jarvis cross and too many passes went astray. Tried hard though.
Darron Gibson (Manchester United)
Unused sub (Liverpool 3 Manchester United 1)
Conor Henderson (Arsenal)
Not in the squad (Arsenal 0 Sunderland 0)
ATTACKERS
Robbie Keane (West Ham United)
Injured (West Ham 3 Stoke City 0)
Missed the game with injury and he may find himself down the pecking order when he returns.
Kevin Doyle (Wolves)
Played 90 minutes (Wolves 3 Tottenham 3)
Nice to see Doyle back on the scoresheet as his Wolves teammates finally created for him some chances. Nodded home the first nicely and put away his penalty with ease.
Leon Best (Newcastle United)
Played 85 minutes (Newcastle 1 Everton 2)
Best is becoming the king of offsides and that's not a title he will want to aspire to. Worked hard and got his sixth goal in nine starts with a tidy header.
Jon Walters (Stoke City)
Played 24 minutes (West Ham 3 Stoke City 0)
Threatened very little but worked very hard. Had one effort in the first half that might have gone in but otherwise was just carrying water for the team. Lost Manuel da Costa at the set-piece when The Hammers went 2-0 up on 29 minutes.
Connor Sammon (Wigan)
Played 6 minutes (Manchester City 1 Wigan 0)
Lively debut from the striker who set up one good chance and went agonisingly close himself near the death. Encouraging.
Simon Cox (West Brom)
Unused sub (Birmingham 1 West Brom 3)
See all the Premier League goals from the weekend here