Northern Ireland striker Ronan Hale scored twice to earn Ross County a point in a 2-2 draw with Dunfermline Athletic at the weekend.
The Dingwall outfit, who remain next to bottom of the Scottish Championship table without a league win after four games, came from behind twice to pick up a valuable point following the departure of manager Don Cowie last week.
“It’s always tough with the gaffer going and change around the place,” the former Cliftonville player told the Press & Journal. “It could go either way. We could have let the heads drop at 2-1 down and let the game pass us by.
“Thankfully I came up with two good finishes. It was all about getting the result."
“It’s brilliant to get the recognition with Northern Ireland,” he added. “I’ve scored two goals in this game and that will breed confidence going into the international break.”
Also on the scoresheet ahead of Northern Ireland’s opening two World Cup qualifiers against Luxembourg and Germany was winger Paul Smyth, who opened his account for the season in QPR’s 3-1 home success against Charlton Athletic.
The 27-year-old returned to the starting line-up following last week’s disastrous 7-1 defeat at Coventry City and was delighted to be able to help the west London outfit secure their first league win of the new campaign.
“I just wanted to get fit and come back and help the team as much as I could,” Smyth told the club website. “The Championship is tough; everyone knows that teams can beat anyone in the league.
“We have just been unfortunate the past couple of games, and to put it right today was just perfect.”
Elsewhere Josh Magennis scored twice in three minutes to help Exeter City to a 3-0 home win over Peterborough United in League One, while winger Paddy Lane scored his first goal for Reading, who defeated Port Vale 1-0 at the Select Car Leasing Stadium.
Also chalking up his first goal of the new campaign was loanee defender Bayley McCann, who has been called into Tommy Wright’s Under-21 squad. He fired home a superb free-kick to give Peterborough Sports a single-goal victory in their National League North game at Marine.
Meanwhile, in the Premier League, Trai Hume got another 90 minutes under his belt as Sunderland recorded their second home win of the season with a 2-1 success over Brentford, though Daniel Ballard missed out due to a groin injury.
Striker Callum Marshall was absent from the West Ham United squad over the weekend, while Justin Devenny came on for the final five minutes of Crystal Palace’s 3-0 win at Aston Villa. And Conor Bradley was an unused substitute as Liverpool overcame Arsenal 1-0 at Anfield.
In the Championship Ali McCann, Ethan Galbraith, Shea Charles and Isaac Price all started for their respective clubs, as did Northern Ireland senior men's squad newcomers Jamie McDonnell and Ryan Johnson for Mansfield Town and AFC Wimbledon in League One.
Former Armagh City and Dungannon Swifts youth Ryan Donnelly scored for Leicester City in their U21 Premier League win over Derby County, and Reece Evans was also on target in Reading U21s' 5-2 defeat at Middlesbrough.
Scott Hamilton scored his second of the season for Nottingham Forest U18s, who lost 3-2 at home to Everton. Finally, also in the U18 Premier League, Glenn McCourt found the net for the first time as Norwich City suffered defeat at Brighton and Hove Albion.
