Goalkeeper
Ciaran Nugent (Sligo): The Sligo stopper dealt well with everything that came his way, keeping his fifth consecutive clean sheet in his side’s win in over Longford.
Defenders
Kenny Browne (Cork City): Browne’s dominant performance at the heart of defence was even more impressive given the deteriorating conditions at Turner’s Cross. On an unpredictable pitch, the former St Pat’s defender kept a tricky duo of Ryan Curran and Dave Scully quiet, as well as contributing in attack with some finely placed long balls into space.
Andy Boyle (Dundalk): Was solid and reliable as ever at the back as he helped Dundalk earn a clean sheet amid a convincing 3-0 over Shamrock Rovers, keeping their three-in-a-row bid very much on track in the process.
Brian Gartland (Dundalk): Another goal for the defender and another performance drenched in effort. When Dundalk seemed to be out of ideas against a stubborn Shamrock Rovers defence, Gartland rose high in the box to head goalwards, and despite Barry Murphy saving, the player’s desire to force the ball over the line saw the league leaders eventually score.
Ethan Boyle (Finn Harps): The 19-year-old Boyle was omnipresent last Friday night, covering much of the sodden Cork ground in an unfamiliar wing-back role. The former Waterford United youngster showed maturity beyond his years in dealing with the in-form Maguire, while offering a much-needed option to wingers McNamee and Hanlon in a Harps attack whose main threat was down the flanks.
Midfield
Ronan Finn (Dundalk): The former Hoops man was electric on Friday night, effortlessly linking play with the likes of David McMillan and Patrick McEleney throughout on an evening when the Rovers defence and midfield struggled to come to terms with the movement of the champions.
Aaron McEneff (Derry City) - The former Spurs man has developed a habit of striking the woodwork this season and he was unfortunate not to hit the net with a stunning volley from 25 yards in the first half against Bohs on Friday. And the midfielder took his goalscoring tally to six with an equalising penalty — all six coming from the spot this season!
Kevin Devaney (Galway): A thorn in the Wexford Youths side throughout Friday’s incredible 5-4 match. Despite being at fault for Danny Furlong’s first-half goal where his weak backpass couldn’t find his goalkeeper, the midfielder made up for it with two outstanding strikes in the second half; one in top corner and one in the bottom corner of Graham Doyle’s goal as Galway United tried in vain to get something from the game.
Strikers
Danny Furlong (Wexford Youths) - The striker was back to his best on Friday night. Brought on as first-half substitute, Furlong’s instinctive nature saw him latch onto a United mistake to grab his first goal, before another defensive mistake in the second half allowed Furlong in and he made no mistake to beat Kevin Horgan in the Galway United goal.
Phil Roberts (Sligo) – Roberts was a huge danger for Sligo all night, causing relegation-threatened Longford a host of problems amid a hard-fought 1-0 win.
Rory Patterson (Derry City) – The City hitman took his season’s goal tally to 18 with his match-winning second half strike against Bohemians, which booked the Brandywell club a Europa League qualifier spot. The experienced striker was a handful for the Bohs defence and struck the crossbar with a ferocious shot in the first half. On another night he could’ve netted a hat-trick!
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