Irish players of the week

It proved a bit too tricky to pick out a single Irish player of the week so we copped out and decided to share it between five - the Irish contingents at Tranmere Rovers and Wrexham who helped their clubs cause two of the weekend's biggest FA Cup upsets.

Tranmere goalkeeper Joe Murphy had only two saves to make against West Ham, from a Neil Ruddock chip and a close-range effort from Frank Lampard, but make them he did, adding to his reputation as one of the best young Irish prospects in English football. Alan Mahon and David Kelly also drew the praise of manager John Aldridge after the game and they can now look forward to meeting up with Sunderland's Irish contingent - Niall Quinn, Paul Butler and Michael Reddy - in the next round.

Former Irish internationals Brian Carey and Phil Hardy also played significant roles in Wrexham's 2-1 win over Middlesbrough, with Carey making a superb tackle on Juninho when he looked set to score and later clearing a Christian Ziege corner off his own line. Hardy, too, prevented a certain goal when he cleared a Brian Deane header off the line.

A special mention for that young fella in France. Tony Cascarino scored Nancy's winner, from a penalty, against Le Havre on Saturday. He's now up to fifth, with eight goals, on the French first division's top scorers' list.