Championship Wins For Souttar, Cannon & Nelson In Latest Loan Outings
- Harry Souttar, Tom Cannon and Ben Nelson all triumphed in the Sky Bet Championship
- Silko Thomas, Brandon Cover and Chris Popov also earned EFL minutes last week
- Brad Young again featured for Hartlepool United in the Vanarama National League
Two further victories for Harry Souttar’s Sheffield United saw the Blades remain inside the Sky Bet Championship’s automatic promotion places, with now just goal difference separating the top two.
Beating Bristol City 2-1 thanks to an injury-time winner from Harrison Burrows last Tuesday, Sunday's Steel City derby success over fierce rivals Sheffield Wednesday saw Chris Wilder’s side claim bragging rights courtesy of Tyrese Campbell’s goal.
Souttar was a presence throughout both contests, taking his overall tally to 14 league appearances and 10 clean sheets across his loan move, playing every minute of the last 13 fixtures.
With Coventry City to come after the international break, during which the Australian centre-back is in line to play for his country in FIFA World Cup qualifiers, Souttar will be hoping to help his adopted club continue their quest for an immediate return to the Premier League.
Tom Cannon was among the goals again for Stoke City, converting a late penalty to confirm a 2-0 success at Blackburn Rovers before also playing 90 minutes in the Potters 1-1 home draw with Millwall on Saturday.
The 21-year-old has six goals to his name in 11 Championship matches, a return which has kept Stoke in mid-table, with the play-offs not out of reach. Improving on their 13th-place position and moving closer to the top six will be target when visiting Queens Park Rangers a week on Saturday.
Ben Nelson was forced off just over an hour into Oxford United’s 1-0 triumph over Hull City at Kassam Stadium last Tuesday, due to injury, and missed the U’s latest league outing – a narrow defeat to Watford.
The defender has made a positive impact since joining Des Buckingham’s newly promoted side, but it remains to be seen if he will be available to return to their squad when hosting Middlesbrough next weekend.
Moving into the third tier, Silko Thomas' involvement in Wigan Athletic’s League 1 campaign continued at the weekend, playing 83 minutes of the 1-0 home defeat to league leaders Wycombe Wanderers.
Tuesday night’s Bristol Street Motors Trophy action against Nottingham Forest Under-21s then saw the young winger play throughout the goalless draw at Brick Community Stadium, before converting the third spot-kick to win 3-0 on penalties.
It sees the Latics qualify from Group C in second place, reaching the knockout stages with five points from their three matches in the competition. All focus will be back on league duties on Saturday 23 November, heading to Oakwell for a meeting with Barnsley.
Wales youth international Chris Popov was a late substitute in Barrow’s 1-1 draw with Colchester United, meanwhile, coming off the bench 78 minutes into the contest to make his eighth Sky Bet League 2 appearance of the season so far.
A fourth consecutive home game for the Bluebirds this Saturday sees AFC Wimbledon visit Holker Street for a 3pm GMT kick-off, with Stephen Clemence’s men positioned just two points outside of the play-off positions.
There was a first league defeat since August for Port Vale on Saturday, however, with Brandon Cover a starter in their 1-0 reverse at Gillingham’s Priestfield Stadium. Remaining top of the table, with a three-point cushion, the Valiants will want to avoid another slip up when taking on Morecambe at Mazuma Mobile Stadium this weekend.
Twenty-year-old Sammy Braybrooke remained a substitute during Dundee’s 4-1 defeat at Aberdeen in Scotland’s top-flight last time out. The young midfielder will now go away with England’s Elite League Squad for this month’s games against Germany and Poland.
Brad Young made his sixth successive Vanarama National League appearance for Hartlepool United but could not prevent the Pools from falling to a 5-3 defeat at the hands of York City. Eastleigh are the next visitors to Victoria Park on Saturday, with just two points separating the sides at present.