Irish player of the week

Quite a few choices again this week with the Keane boys, Robbie and Roy, both finding the net for their clubs in the Premiership…

Quite a few choices again this week with the Keane boys, Robbie and Roy, both finding the net for their clubs in the Premiership, Niall Quinn getting two for Sunderland, Liam George, John Sheridan and Kwame Ampadu all scoring in the FA Cup and Jerry O'Driscoll getting his fifth in six starts for Montrose.

Pipping them all, we reckon, was Rory Delap (right) whose two goals in the last 10 minutes of Derby's game against Chelsea gave Jim Smith's side only their second home win of the season.

They will also have provided a timely reminder of the Irishman's ability to Mick McCarthy when he comes to reduce the size of his squad for the forthcoming play-off games against Turkey.

Mary Hannigan

Mary Hannigan

Mary Hannigan is a sports writer with The Irish Times