Four of West Ham United’s loanees were involved in a busy bout of action throughout the English football pyramid...
After being rested for the first time since September, Freddie Potts marked his return to the starting line-up with perhaps his best performance yet in a Portsmouth shirt on New Year's Day.
Playing the full 90 minutes for the 14th time this season, Potts dominated the midfield in Pompey’s 4-0 win over Swansea City, making important interceptions, kickstarting many of their attacks, covering a lot of ground with and without the ball as well as creating a number of opportunities for his teammates.
Potts capped off his stellar display with a pinpoint free-kick assist for Ryley Towler, his second assist in as many home games. The delivery came at a crucial moment as Swansea threatened to rally back after first-half goals from Josh Murphy and Paddy Lane had given Pompey a solid lead.
With 12 minutes to go, Colby Bishop put the icing on the cake to extend Pompey’s unbeaten run at Fratton Park to six games, moving them one point above the relegation zone with a game in hand.
Staying in the EFL Championship, George Earthy featured as a second-half substitute in Bristol City’s 2-2 draw against Plymouth Argyle.
Under caretaker boss Kevin Nancekivell, Plymouth fought back twice after trailing to goals from Anis Mehmeti and Jason Knight. Rami Al Hajj equalised early in the second half, and a stoppage-time strike from Julio Pleguezuelo salvaged a point for the home side in the West Country derby.
In League One, Gideon Kodua continued his gradual return to fitness with another late substitute appearance for Wycombe Wanderers in their 2-1 win over Exeter City.
Luke Leahy opened the scoring for Wycombe with a deflected free-kick, only for Exeter to equalise through Tristan Crama’s header. Late in stoppage time, Wycombe were awarded a penalty for a handball offence, and Aaron Morley calmly converted to secure all three points.
The victory moves Wycombe provisionally top of League One, bouncing back from their first defeat in 20 league games.
In League Two, Patrick Kelly also came on off the bench as Doncaster Rovers edged Fleetwood Town 2-1 to reclaim a place in the automatic promotion spots.
Introduced in the 73rd minute, Kelly helped drive Rovers forward in search of a winner after Matthew Virtue-Thick’s equaliser had cancelled out Owen Bailey’s opener. Veteran striker Billy Sharp, who made his senior debut when Kelly was just a month old, provided the decisive moment with a stoppage-time winner, sealing Doncaster’s eleventh league win of the season.
In National League South, Mason Terry’s first outing of the year for Hornchurch against Tonbridge Angels was abandoned due to torrential rain that rendered the pitch unplayable.
By the time the referee called a halt to proceedings in the 37th minute, the score was tied at 1-1. Ollie Muldoon had put Hornchurch ahead, only for Naz Bakrin to equalise before the weather intervened.
