MARK O’MAHONY SCORED his first senior goal for Brighton as they cruised to a 4-0 win over Crawley Town in the Carabao Cup second round.
The Cork teenager came on as an early replacement for new signing Matt O’Riley from Celtic and finished calmly on 86 minutes after winning back possession near the 18-yard box.
O’Mahony, 19, may be in contention for the Republic of Ireland U21s’ upcoming Euro qualifiers with Turkiye and Latvia.
Manager Jim Crawford names his squad on Thursday, as does senior boss Heimir Hallgrimsson ahead of the Nations League campaign kicking off next week.
And the senior boss would have been boosted by the return of O’Mahony’s club teammate Evan Ferguson to the matchday squad.
The Ireland international underwent ankle surgery in April and while he was an unused substitute this was his first involvement with Brighton so far this season.
International teammate Jake O’Brien also enjoyed his full debut for Everton after playing the full 90 minutes in a 3-0 win over Doncaster Rovers.
Captain Seamus Coleman started the game alongside O’Brien after missing the opening two Premier League defeats with a calf issue.
One Irish star not in action was Luton Town’s Chiedozie Ogbene. He was not part of the squad that lost 4-1 on penalties to QPR, and Sky Sports reported that a deal was being finalised on a €10 million move back to the Premier League with Ipswich Town.
The Tractor Boys confirmed the signing of Dara O’Shea over the weekend with striker Sammie Szmodics also pitching up wit Kieran McKenna’s men over the summer.
Elsewhere, Ireland U21 midfielder Andrew Moran completed a hat-trick of assists as Stoke City’s youngest ever starting XI ran riot away to Middlesbrough in a 5-0 demolition.
Former Ireland defenderRichard Keogh said pride was his overriding emotion after League One Blackpool beat Blackburn 2-1 in the second round.
The Championship outfit turned early dominance into a lead when Makhtar Gueye’s 21st-minute penalty put Rovers ahead.
But the Seasiders, winless in League One this season, turned the game on its head with quickfire goals through Jake Beesley’s close-range finish and Hayden Coulson’s assured strike after creating the 77th-minute chance himself.
Blackpool’s interim head coach Keogh praised “incredible” togetherness, saying: “I think the first emotion is pride of how the team performed to come here against a great team, unbeaten so far in their season.
“To come here and go a goal down and play like we did, yes, just proud. Proud of how the players performed, how they worked hard for each other, the togetherness was incredible.
“Proud of the effort the lads put in, running back for each other. That was the biggest thing for me. It’s powerful to watch.”
Additional reporting – PA Sports
Written by David Sneyd and originally published on The 42 whose award-winning team produces original content that you won’t find anywhere else: on GAA, League of Ireland, women’s sport and boxing, as well as our game-changing rugby coverage, all with an Irish eye. Subscribe here.
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