Loan Watch: Ballard bags first League One goal
Southampton’s loan players have had another eventful week in league and cup action, with a goal and assist in the Football League to celebrate for two Academy prospects.
Dom Ballard was on target for Reading in midweek as he scored his first League One goal on the road against Northampton Town.
Despite it being a difficult week for the Royals with two defeats, there was personal success for Saints’ young striker as he calmly rolled the ball home from the edge of the area for his first EFL strike.
Ballard played the final half hour against Northampton before starting and playing 84 minutes against Leyton Orient at the weekend.
Down a division, in League Two, Lewis Payne also recorded a goal contribution despite defeat for Newport County.
After coming on as a late sub in a midweek loss against Colchester, Payne then played over 30 minutes at the weekend against Harrogate Town and assisted Will Evans with a pinpoint low cross.
Despite the goal ultimately being a consolation, it was Payne’s second assist of the season in his five league appearances so far.
In non-league, two of Saints’ youngsters faced each other in the National League South as Ollie Wright and Matt Carson lined up for Bath City and Braintree Town respectively - both played the full 90 minutes in a 1-1 draw.
Elsewhere in the division, Luke Pearce made his debut for Weston-super-Mare after making the switch following the end of his month’s loan with Torquay United.
Pearce played the full 90 minutes as his new side fell to defeat against playoff-chasing Chelmsford.
In FA Cup qualifying, Josh Squires came off the bench for Salisbury in their replay against higher-division Slough Town, playing the final 30 minutes as their cup run came to an end with defeat.
Outside of England, it’s been a successful period for goalkeeper Mateusz Lis with Göztepe in Turkey’s second division.
He kept his third successive clean sheet on Sunday in a 2-0 win over Boluspor, saving a penalty just before the hour mark as Göztepe extended their unbeaten run to five games.
In France, Romain Perraud was a late substitute for Nice in their 1-0 win over Metz, which extended their unbeaten start to the season as they rose to second in the league table.
For Armel Bella-Kotchap, he featured off the bench twice in both the Champions League and the Eredivisie for PSV.
The German centre-back played a thrilling final ten minutes in PSV’s 2-2 draw against Sevilla, making a vital block in the closing stages before three goals were scored in an entertaining ending.
Bella-Kotchap then came on at the weekend in PSV’s 4-0 win over Sparta Rotterdam that kept up their 100% start to the league season.
Finally, Paul Onuachu’s scoring start to life at Trabzonspor came to a halt as he played 90 minutes in a narrow 1-0 defeat against Adana Demirspor.
Main Image: JasonPix
