IRISH TEENAGERS EVAN Ferguson and Andrew Moran both made their first-team debuts for Premier League side Brighton tonight as they defeated Cardiff City 2-0 in the Carabao Cup.
Graham Potter’s Brighton team have made a strong start to the season with full points from their opening two games, Shane Duffy scoring in Saturday’s 2-0 success over Watford while fellow Ireland international Aaron Connolly came on as a half-time substitute.
Potter made 11 changes from the side which beat Watford 2-0 in the Premier League on Saturday, with every outfield player aged 23 or under.
It proved a momentous evening for Irish players with 16-year-old Ferguson, 17-year-old Moran and 19-year-old James Furlong all making the bench against Mick McCarthy’s Cardiff side.
While Brighton boasted an average age of 21, McCarthy plumped for a mixture of experience and youth with Cardiff on the back of an unbeaten start in the Championship.
Moran joined Brighton from Bray Wanderers in the summer of 2020 and came on in the 68th minute of tonight’s game at the Cardiff City Stadium. He was joined on the pitch towards the end by Ferguson, introduced in the 81st minute.
The talented young striker joined from Bohemians’ last January with Ferguson having previously become the youngster player to feature for the first team in the Dalymount Park club’s history, when he played as a 14-year-old against Derry City in September 2019.
Brighton won tonight’s game 2-0, both goals arriving before the Irish youngsters took to the field, courtesy of Jakub Moder after nine minutes and Andi Zeqiri early in the second half.
🔴⚫️🟠 Congratulations @Evan_Ferguson9 from all at Bohemians on your first-team Brighton debut. 👏
— Bohemian Football Club (@bfcdublin) August 24, 2021
Evan made his first-team league debut for Bohs in September 2019, having come thorough at St Kevin’s and Bohs-SKB. https://t.co/cnrX7Uoo3V
67': Marc Leonard and Taylor Richards make way for two Albion debutants: Andrew Moran and Odel Offiah! 🔁
— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) August 24, 2021
[0-2] 📲 https://t.co/S3j1TIedJv ✘ #BHAFC 🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/eYyBaAufDY
Elsewhere there was Irish interest tonight with Aiden O’Brien scoring a hat-trick in Sunderland’s 3-2 win over Blackpool.
Aiden O’Brien’s first hat-trick since September 2015 saw Sunderland stun Championship Blackpool 3-2 and book a place in the third round of the Carabao Cup.
Shayne Lavery opened the scoring for Blackpool before O’Brien did the damage for the League One visitors at Bloomfield Road.
Josh Bowler seemingly sent the game to penalties before O’Brien’s dramatic winner in added time.
Lavery gave Neil Critchley’s side an early lead when he poked home Tyreece John-Jules’ cross in the ninth minute.
But the hosts’ advantage did not last long as O’Brien met Dan Neil’s pinpoint ball three minutes later. The Irishman got his deserved second just before the hour after Alex Pritchard’s corner fell to the 27-year-old at the back post.
When Bowler bundled the ball home with two minutes to go to level proceedings it looked as though spot kicks were on the cards.
Instead, Patterson denied Richard Keogh from winning it late on for Blackpool before O’Brien sent the travelling fans home happy when he fired home from Jack Diamond’s cross.
Conor Hourihane captained Aston Villa to a 6-0 success over Barrow, while Daryl Horgan scored his penalty as Wycombe Wanderers won 5-3 in their shootout victory over Stevenage, after the game had finished 2-2 at full-time.
- Additional reporting by PA
