IRISH DEFENDER Eoghan O’Connell registered a goal and a clean sheet as Charlton beat Portsmouth 3-0 in League One tonight.
Their seventh successive home win left the Addicks 10th in the table, two points off the playoff places, while Portsmouth remain fifth, albeit with two games in hand on all the teams above them.
O’Connell, a cousin of the former Irish international rugby star Paul, capped a fine night with the third on 67 minutes, heading home Scott Fraser’s free-kick, after first-half goals Ryan Inniss and Corey Blackett-Taylor had given the hosts a commanding lead.
For Pompey, Irish-eligible defender Sean Raggett started and former Derry City winger Ronan Curtis came off the bench.
But the visitors’ hopes of a comeback all but ended when Marlon Pack was dismissed after receiving a second booking just before O’Connell found the net.
Elsewhere tonight, in the Women’s Championship, it was a disappointing evening for Birmingham’s Irish contingent.
Louise Quinn, Jamie Finn, Harriet Scott and Lucy Quinn all started, while Eleanor Ryan-Doyle was an unused sub, as they suffered a 1-0 defeat against Southampton.
A closely fought encounter was settled in the 84th minute when 18-year-old midfielder Lucia Kendall scored the winning goal for the hosts.
