Four of West Ham United's on-loan players were in action for their respective temporary clubs in midweek.
On Tuesday, Regan Clayton started and played the full 90 minutes for Dagenham & Redbridge in their 2-1 home defeat to Woking in the National League.
The defender was at the heart of the Daggers’ performance against Neal Ardley’s Cardinals, and was voted the Player of the Match for his excellent showing, a performance that saw the 20-year-old pull off an unbelievable goal-line clearance in the second half.
Junior Morias’ powerful, long-range effort gave the visitors the lead just 16 minutes in at Chigwell Construction Stadium, before Josh Rees restored parity on 46 minutes with a brilliant curling effort into the far corner.
The hosts’ momentum was short-lived, however, as Morias latched on to Lewis Walker’s defence-splitting pass, rounded goalkeeper Nathan Harvey and placed the ball into the empty net to seal three points.
In the EFL Championship, George Earthy came off the bench on 61 minutes as Bristol City defeated Stoke City 2-0 to maintain their push for the play-offs.
Anis Mehmeti was the hero for the Robins at Ashton Gate, scoring a goal either side of half-time for Liam Manning’s side, who now sit seventh in the standings.
In National League South, on the same night, Mason Terry produced another stellar display between the sticks as Hornchurch collected another win in a rich vein of form, securing a 2-1 victory at home to Boreham Wood.
The shot-stopper was forced into a string of saves to keep the Urchins level, denying the likes of Matt Rush and Kwesi Appiah before Tom Wraight headed home to give the hosts the lead after 28 minutes. Ángelo Balanta then doubled their lead eight minutes later.
Terry, 20, was only beaten when Junior Dixon bulleted home a header after a well-timed run, but Hornchurch held on to claim the three points and rise to 15th in the National League South table.
In the UEFA Europa League, on Thursday, Nayef Aguerd was introduced as a second-half substitute as Real Sociedad earned a 2-1 win over FC Midtjylland in the first leg of their knockout play-off round tie.
Brais Méndez had opened the scoring from the spot in the eleventh minute before Takefusa Kubo doubled the visitors’ lead just after the half-hour mark. Adam Buksa halved the hosts' deficit before the break as he capped off a well-worked move with a close-range finish.
Aguerd came off the bench for Jon Pacheco at the interval and delivered a commanding second-half performance in defence as Sociedad secured their first knockout triumph since beating Atlético Madrid in November 1998.
The second leg takes place at Anoeta Stadium, San Sebastián, on Thursday 20 February, with kick-off scheduled for 8pm GMT, as Sociedad look to book their spot in the Europa League round of 16.
