The dark November evenings are a sure sign that the season is really starting to get hectic now, and there were plenty of Irish lads in action across a busy weekend in the Premier League and English Football League.
While it was a fairly uneventful gameweek for Irish players in the Premier League, it was a decent weekend for others further down the divisions, with two players featuring in the overall League One and League Two teams of the week. Yesterday, we went through the player ratings from WhoScored.com for each of the Irish players, and we've now put together our XI of the top rated players across the four divisions.
The WhoScored.com ratings are based on "a unique, comprehensive statistical algorithm, calculated live during the game," so they're a good indicator of how well a player has performed. Here's this week's team.
Goalkeeper: James McKeown - McKeown earned himself man-of-the-match in Grimsby Town's 0-0 draw with Stevenage, in League Two at the weekend. His 8.4 rating was good enough to get him in the League Two Team of the Week as well.
Right back: Matt Doherty - Spurs' win over Brighton was a little more low key than their recent games but Doherty went about his business well, and was the standout Irish player in the Premier League at the weekend.
Centre back: Eoghan O'Connell - One of about 95 Irish players at Rochdale, Eoghan O'Connell was solid at the back and got an assist in their 1-1 draw with Bristol Rovers.
Centre back: Anthony O'Connor - Speaking of teams with a strong Irish contingency, Bradford City's all Irish back three may have been on the losing side in a 1-0 defeat to Barrow, but Anthony O'Connor still had a great game.
Let back: Stephen Ward - Wardy is still doing the business for Ipswich Town, helping them to a 1-0 win over Crewe Alexandra.
Right midfield: Ronan Curtis - We've had to squeeze Curtis in on the right wing here, but he was on the left for Portsmouth against Charlton, and had a good game, despite his side's 2-0 defeat.
Centre midfield: Jack Taylor - Taylor was the best performing Irish player in League One over the weekend, getting himself a goal in Peterborough's 5-1 trouncing of Shrewsbury Town.
Centre midfield: Glenn Whelan - He's aging like a fine wine, is Glenn Whelan. The Irish international was a rock in Fleetwood Town's midfield, as they beat Oxford United 2-0.
Left midfield: James McClean - Stoke City bounced back from a defeat to high-flying Swansea City midweek, with a 1-0 win over Rotherham on Saturday. Who got the goal? You guessed it: James McClean.
Striker: Conor Wilkinson - It was a good weekend for Leyton Orient, who beat Bolton Wanderers 4-0, with Conor Wilkinson getting on the scoresheet. That's four goals in five matches for him now.
Striker: Padraig Amond - A name Irish football fans will be very familiar with, Amond is still banging them in for Newport County, getting their opener in a 2-1 win over Harrogate Town.
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For further detailed analysis of how all the Irish players abroad got on at the weekend, check out our player ratings article here.
See Also: Irish Player Ratings: James McClean Hitting Peak Form For Stoke City
