Northern Ireland midfielder Justin Devenny secured the FA Community Shield for Crystal Palace when he fired home the decisive spot kick in a penalty shoot-out win over Liverpool at Wembley Stadium at the weekend.
After the game had finished 2-2 in normal time, the 21-year-old, who only came on as a substitute in the closing minute of the match, coolly smashed his penalty into the top right corner of the Liverpool net to seal a memorable victory for the Eagles.
In a post-match interview with the BBC, Devenny said: “It was a long walk up to the penalty spot but I was confident and believed in myself.
“I think the keeper was trying to take as long as he could for me to get set up, but I just waited, believed in myself, put the ball down, and I knew where I was going (to put it) and thankfully it went in.”
Meanwhile, West Brom’sIsaac Price scored the only goal of the game as the Baggies opened their Championship campaign with a hard-fought victory at home to Blackburn Rovers.
“We always knew it was going to be a tough game because Blackburn Rovers make it tough,” Price told the club website.
“We probably didn’t play the way we wanted to play as much, but at the end of the day we’ve got the three points and we’re absolutely buzzing with that.”
Also in the Championship Brodie Spencer’s debut for Oxford United ended in a 1-0 home defeat to Portsmouth, while Ethan Galbraith’s first outing for Swansea City also ended in defeat with a 1-0 loss at Middlesbrough.
There was better fortune for on-loan attacking midfielder Jamie Donley though. After coming on as a second half substitute he provided a sublime assist for Stoke City’s third goal in a 3-1 opening day win against Derby County.
Following the game Stoke City boss Mark Robins was full of praise for Donley’s cameo performance.
“Class. He’s class,” said Robins. “Stoke fans will be thinking back to players that they might be able to relate him to.
“I know I do - he looks a lot like Charlie Adam in some of the things that he does, and if he can live up to that then fantastic. He’s his own man - he's Jamie Donley.”
In League One Jamie Reid’s explosive start to the new season continued when he made it three goals in two games after hitting the winner for Stevenage in their 1-0 success at home to Rotherham United.
Also on the scoresheet was former Derry City defender Eoin Toal who opened the scoring for Bolton Wanderers when he powered home a header on 20 minutes as the Trotters claimed their first victory of the season with a 2-0 success at home to Plymouth Argyle.
Striker Dale Taylor, who signed a four-year deal with Blackpool last week, was expected to make his debut for his new club at Exeter City on Saturday, however that had to be put on hold due to a minor registration issue.
Finally, in League Two, Lee Bonis made his first start for Chesterfield in a 2-0 away win at Cheltenham Town and Luke Southwood was in goal as Bristol Rovers fell to a 2-1 defeat at Fleetwood Town.