Nine of West Ham United’s loanees were involved in a busy weekend of action throughout the English football pyramid and abroad...
In just his second start under Patrick Vieira at Italian outfit Genoa, Maxwel Cornet notched his second goal for the club, scoring the equaliser in a 1-1 draw away to Cagliari. The result moves Genoa ten points clear of the relegation zone in Serie A.
Having played the full 90 minutes in Real Sociedad’s UEFA Europa League round of 16 tie against Manchester United in midweek, Nayef Aguerd retained his place at the heart of defence for Sociedad’s La Liga fixture at home to Sevilla. In a closely-fought contest, Chidera Ejuke’s goal less than a minute after the restart proved decisive, as Sevilla secured a 1-0 victory to leapfrog Real Sociedad in the table.
Back in England, Freddie Potts made his first EFL Championship appearance in a month, returning from a calf injury as Portsmouth beat league leaders Leeds United thanks to a Colby Bishop strike just after the hour mark. Another assured midfield performance from Potts helped his team claim their fourth win in five games, moving them ten points clear of the relegation zone.
Also in the Championship, George Earthy’s Bristol City lost a little bit of ground in the fight for play-off places as they were held to a 1-1 draw by ten-man Hull City. Earthy replaced goalscorer Anis Mehmeti, playing out the final 20 minutes plus stoppage time.
In EFL League One, Callum Marshall’s Huddersfield Town dropped out of the play-off places for the first time since October with a 1-0 defeat away to Bristol Rovers. Despite an energetic performance from Marshall, leading the Huddersfield attack, the away side were unable to find a response to Ruel Sotiriou’s early breakthrough. Following their seventh defeat in eleven games, the Terriers announced the dismissal of head coach Michael Duff.
In the Vanarama National League, Regan Clayton’s Dagenham & Redbridge almost held out against leaders Barnet but for a stoppage-time winner from substitute Lee Ndlovu. Making his sixth start for the Daggers, Clayton played 54 minutes before being replaced by Trent Rendall.
Staying in the fifth tier, Brad Dolaghan featured on the bench as Aldershot Town moved away from the relegation zone with a 3-1 home win over promotion-chasing Gateshead.
In National League South, Mason Terry’s Hornchurch extended their unbeaten run to five matches with a goalless draw at home to Maidstone United. The result marked back-to-back clean sheets for Terry, bringing his tally to ten for the season.
Further afield, Krisztián Hegyi’s Debreceni VSC suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat to reigning Hungarian champions Ferencváros, while Kurt Zouma featured in the second half of Al-Orobah’s 2-1 loss to Al-Ettifaq in the Saudi Pro League.
