St Mirren's connections with Northern Ireland were to the fore as they won the Scottish League Cup yesterday.
Former Northern Ireland coach and player Stephen Robinson masterminded the cup success. And two current internationals also picked up winners' medals.
Robinson, who has established St Mirren as a top-six side in the Scottish Premiership over the past three seasons, showed lots of tactical nous as he guided the Paisley club to a famous 3-1 win over holders Celtic at Hampden Park.
Former Cliftonville and Glentoran winger Conor McMenamin was in the starting line-up in Glasgow and played 72 minutes of the final.
Also picking up a winners’ medal was midfielder Liam Donnelly who was an unused substitute for the Saints.
Goals from Marcus Fraser and a second half Jonah Ayunga double helped St Mirren to secure the League Cup trophy for only the second time in their history.
After the game Lisburn-born Robinson said: "I'm delighted for everyone involved - staff, players. We've got a fantastic group of boys."
Meanwhile, Northern Ireland striker Lee Bonis hit a first half double to take his goal tally for the season to nine as League Two Chesterfield defeated Barnet 3-1 at the weekend.
Bonis, who joined the Spireites from Dutch side ADO Den Haag in the summer, had a slow start to his career with the Derbyshire outfit, however his brace on Saturday meant he has now scored seven goals in his last nine outings for the club.
“I’m massively pleased for him,” assistant boss Gary Roberts told the Derbyshire Times. “At the start of the season he was a bit tetchy with not getting his goals, but his workrate was there. He is getting his rewards now though."
Also getting on the scoresheet, in League One, was Stevenage striker Jamie Reid whose seventh goal of the campaign helped secure all three points for the Hertfordshire side in a 3-1 victory at fellow play-off contenders Stockport County.
Under-21 defender Bayley McCann was on target for Alfreton Town as they were defeated 4-1 on penalties after drawing 2-2 at Alvechurch in the FA Trophy.
In the Premier League Conor Bradley was suspended for Liverpool’s 2-0 win at home to Brighton and Hove Albion, while Justin Devenny remained on the bench as Crystal Palace went down 3-0 at home to Manchester City.
Sunderland’s Daniel Ballard won man of the match for his performance in the Black Cats’ 1-0 North-East derby victory over Newcastle United, while Trai Hume came on for the final 20 minutes at the Stadium of Light.
“It wasn’t the prettiest of games,” Ballard told Sky Sports after the game. “But we stuck in there, we fought really hard and I thought we thoroughly deserved to win.
“There wasn’t much in the game in terms of chances. First half we were great, but when you go a goal ahead it is about managing the game, and we did that really well and I thought the boys were brilliant.”
In the Championship Ruairi McConville, Ciaron Brown, Ethan Galbraith, Terry Devlin and Paul Smyth all completed 90 minutes for their respective clubs, while Jordan Thompson (Preston North End) and Isaac Price (West Bromwich Albion) also managed starts.
Goalkeeper Conor Hazard kept his fourth clean sheet of the season as Plymouth Argyle eased their League One relegation worries with a crucial 1-0 win against Rotherham United and striker Dale Taylor returned to action with Blackpool after two months out with a hamstring injury.
Finally, Rebecca McKenna scored her first goal of the season, and Rebecca Holloway registered an assist, as Birmingham City Women comfortably progressed to the fourth round of the FA Cup with a thumping 6-0 win over Sporting Khalsa.
