IRELAND’S ALAN JUDGE seems to be epitomising Brentford’s reversal of fortunes at the moment, with the club going up to 12th in the Championship this weekend, following a disappointing start to the season.
The Bees have won their last three consecutive matches since former Ireland international Lee Carsley was appointed as head coach, including Saturday’s convincing 3-0 win at Charlton.
One player who has caught the eye in particular of late has been Judge, who recently scored an impressive brace against Rotherham, and at the weekend, the 26-year-old winger scored his sixth goal of the season in total.
It was an influential performance from the Irishman, with Judge setting up John Swift for the opener on 26 minutes, with a David Beckham-esque cross.
Judge’s fellow Dubliner Alan McCormack then threatened to get in on the act, as he produced a rasping shot that struck the crossbar ultimately.
McCormack then turned provider 10 minutes after the break, as he set up Judge, who duly produced a spectacular effort to put his side 2-0 up.
And the former Blackburn player’s day wasn’t done yet — he played through a sumptuous pass for Brentford’s third goal, as substitute Lasse Vibe added a third in the 86th minute.
Judge was named in Ireland’s revised squad for the games against Germany and Poland at the start of this month, and if he keeps up this level of form, Martin O’Neill may even be tempted to throw him in at the deep end against Bosnia in the Euro 2016 play-offs, despite the former St Joseph’s Boys youngster having only played for his country at underage level thus far.
Elsewhere in the Championship, it was a good weekend for another Irish midfielder — David Meyler — as he scored in Hull’s 2-0 victory over Birmingham, in a win that saw Steve Bruce’s side climb to second in the table.
