GOALSCORING CENTRE-BACKS are a pretty rare thing but when they come along, it’s an immense bonus for their respective team.
There was that incredible season in 1990/91 when Steve Bruce found the net 13 times for Manchester United in the old First Division and 19 times in all competitions.
And down through the years, you’ve had some central defenders who are pretty adept at finding the net, with the most obvious modern-day example being Sergio Ramos at Real Madrid.
Now, it’s quite a jump from the Bernabeu to Brentford but the Championship side have their own version of Bruce and Ramos.
Step forward John Egan.
The Irishman has scored again tonight while on EFL Cup duty against QPR – his second goal in successive games and it’s two in three for the season.
Last term, he managed four league goals, including two on his home debut for the club.
And, when he was with Gillingham, he racked up 11 in just two seasons.
Still just 24 and with, essentially, three full seasons of football under his belt, he’s rapidly closing in on 20 competitive goals.
There are some Championship strikers who’d struggle to hit those sorts of numbers.
Elsewhere in the EFL Cup tonight, there was a big moment for another Irish defender as Brian Lenihan captained Hull City as they suffered a 2-0 defeat to Doncaster.
The 23-year-old hasn’t played much recently because of a knee injury but signed a new one-year extension with the club during the summer – his determination and doggedness rewarded by the Tigers.
Tonight, he was the most senior player in the Hull squad as seven academy prospects were handed starts.
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