Loan Watch: Payne earns place in TOTW
It was a successful week of action for Southampton’s loanees, with several standout performances and results to highlight in the return of our Loan Watch…
Lewis Payne has made a successful return to regular playing time at Newport County, as he completed back-to-back 90 minutes for the SkyBet League Two side for the first time since January.
The full-back impressed in midweek as The Exiles were victorious in an eight-goal thriller, beating Morecambe 5-3 as they returned to winning ways.
Payne assisted the game’s opening goal - his fifth of the campaign - before keeping a clean sheet on the weekend in a 2-0 victory over AFC Wimbledon.
His performance on Tuesday night earned him a spot in the division’s ‘Team of Midweek’, as Newport lifted themselves up to 11th place just two points off the play-offs.
Elsewhere in League Two, fellow Academy full-back Derrick Abu helped Harrogate Town keep consecutive clean sheets against promotion-chasing sides.
With two trips on the road, Abu played 90 and 85 minutes respectively in goalless draws against both Wrexham and Barrow.
Over in Turkey, Mateusz Lis kept his seventh consecutive clean sheet for Göztepe as they continued their impressive form in the Turkish second division.
Göztepe are now nine games unbeaten after their goalless draw with Ankara Keçiörengücü, as they are safely in second place with automatic promotion in their sights with seven games remaining.
In France, Duje Ćaleta-Car made his ninth consecutive start for Lyon as they recorded back-to-back wins with a 3-2 triumph over Toulouse.
That win came a week after a clean sheet for the Croatian centre-back in a 2-0 win over FC Lorient.
Lyon have put their poor start to the season firmly behind them as they sit in 10th place, eight points below European qualification but still just nine above the relegation play-off zone.
Also in Ligue 1, Romain Perraud made his first start in seven games for Nice as they beat RC Lens 3-1 on the road to maintain their position in fifth place.
Finally, Lyanco kept a clean sheet for Al-Gharafa as he played the full 90 minutes of a 3-0 win over Al-Rayyan, which kept his side in second place of the Qatar Stars League.
Main image: Lewis Payne (Photo: Newport County)
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