Northern Ireland midfielder Brad Lyons opened the scoring for Kilmarnock at the weekend as they ended their 17-game winless run with a 3-0 home success over 10-man Aberdeen.
The 28-year-old set Killie on their way to a first victory in the Scottish Premiership since 4 October with a 12th minute opener and admitted after the game that he knew a win was coming.
“It’s a great feeling,” Lyons told Killie TV. “The team performance, the goals, the three points, the clean sheet, we knew it was coming.
“We kept saying for the fans to believe in us as we know the standard we have in the changing room, and finally we put all the pieces together, no mistakes, a full 90-minute performance, and we well deserved it.”
Also getting his name on the scoresheet over the weekend was midfielder Oisin Smyth, who is on loan with Scottish Championship side Partick Thistle from Stephen Robinson’s St Mirren.
The ex-Dungannon Swifts player took his tally for the Jags this season to four when he hit a brace in his side’s 2-2 draw away to St Johnstone in a top of the table clash.
There were no Northern Ireland players in action in the Premier League as Justin Devenny was ruled out of Crystal Palace’s clash with Nottingham Forest due to an ankle injury, while Trai Hume and Daniel Ballard should both be involved as Sunderland host Burnley this evening (Monday).
Meanwhile, in the Championship, Shea Charles continued his comeback from injury with another substitute appearance for Southampton, who won 2-0 at Stoke City, and Paddy McNair, who moved to Hull City from San Diego FC last week, was an unused substitute for the Tigers.
There were assists in League One for Huddersfield’s Dion Charles and Stevenage striker Jamie Reid, however it was a disappointing Gillingham debut for striker Ronan Hale,who was used as a substitute in the Gills' 4-1 home defeat to League Two leaders Bromley.
In the Scottish Women’s Premier League Naomi McLaughlin, who recently made the switch from Cliftonville to Aberdeen, made her debut as a 79th minute substitute as the Dons drew 2-2 at home with Hamilton Academical.
In the semi-final of the FA Women’s National League Cup, Burnley, who used Danielle Maxwell, Brenna McPartlan and Louise McDaniel as second half subs, lost 4-1 away to Plymouth Argyle.
One Northern Ireland player who will be playing in a cup final though is Laura Rafferty, who helped Rangers beat Old Firm rivals Celtic on penalties to win their Sky Sports Cup semi-final and set up a decider with Glasgow City next month.
Eighteen-year-old Braiden Graham continues to impress after scoring both goals for Everton in their U21 Premier League success at Spurs, while Kieran Morrison and Reece Evans were also on target for Liverpool U21s and Reading U21s respectively.
Finally, Freddie Murdock, son of former Northern Ireland international Colin, scored for Everton U18s in a 5-3 league win over Stoke City and winger Joel Kerr scored his seventh of the season for West Ham United, who went down 5-2 to Southampton in the U18 Premier League.
