As players returned from the international break across the football league, five of West Ham United Academy's loanees were in action over the weekend for their respective clubs....
Freddie Potts, who recently signed a new four-and-a-half year contract with West Ham, helped his Portsmouth side take a big step towards safety in the EFL Championship, securing their tenth home league win of the season, a 1-0 victory over Play-Off contenders Blackburn Rovers at Fratton Park. Josh Murphy’s 17th goal contribution of the league season in the 20th minute was enough to move Pompey seven points clear of the drop zone with seven games left.
Saturday’s win marked Pompey’s seventh home victory since the turn of the year, an impressive run that has lifted them from second-bottom to 17th as they enter the Championship’s home stretch.
🔵 "These are the games you want to be playing in."
🎙️ Log in and catch Freddie Potts' thoughts on #Pompey+.— Portsmouth FC (@Pompey) March 29, 2025
Fortunes were not as favourable for George Earthy’s Bristol City, whose seven-match unbeaten run came to an end against promotion-chasing Burnley. Unbeaten in the league since November, Burnley struck early through Zian Fleming’s second goal in three games. With the best defensive record in the division, the Clarets saw out their 28th clean sheet of the season to claim all three points. Earthy, who had withdrawn from the England Elite Squad during the international break, made his return to competitive action with a 30-minute cameo, replacing Anis Mehmeti.
In EFL League One, it was an uncharacteristic defeat for Callum Marshall’s Huddersfield Town, who conceded four goals for the first time this season in a 4-0 loss to Charlton Athletic at The Valley.
Chasing an immediate return to the Championship, the Terriers have struggled for form since the end of February, taking just six points from a possible 21. The result saw them drop out of the Play-Off places for only the second time since October.
Gideon Kodua’s Wycombe Wanderers remain firmly in the promotion hunt, though, having secured back-to-back victories for the first time since November. Kodua was an unused substitute as Ipswich Town loanee Cameron Humphreys’ second-half strike sealed a 1-0 win over Lincoln City. With six games left, the Chairboys sit just three points off the final automatic promotion spot, with a game in hand and a superior goal difference to their second-place rivals Wrexham.
In League Two, Patrick Kelly’s Doncaster Rovers also kept their promotion hopes alive with a comfortable 3-0 victory over bottom-of-the-table Carlisle United. Fresh from international duty with Northern Ireland U21s, Kelly was introduced as part of a double substitution alongside Manchester United loanee Ethan Ennis as Rovers ended a three-game winless run. They are now just one point off automatic promotion with a game in hand over third-placed Port Vale.
In the Vanarama National League, Regan Clayton was a stoppage-time substitute as Dagenham & Redbridge earned a crucial 1-0 win against fellow relegation strugglers Maidenhead United, taking a vital step towards safety.
One tier below in the National League South, Mason Terry’s Hornchurch were defeated 4-2 at home to Weston-super-Mare. Despite going two goals behind in the first half, Hornchurch fought back and were 3-2 down going into the final seconds. In a desperate attempt to equalise late on, Terry went up for a last-minute corner but the ball fell to visiting captain Luke Coulson, who unleashed a long-range strike which carried all the way into the Hornchurch goal to seal his hat-trick.
Finally, in Poland’s first tier, Luizão featured on the bench for the second time since signing for Pogon Szczecin, who drew 0-0 away to 15-time Polish champions Legia Warszawa in the Ekstraklasa.