Loan Watch: Tella goes top and youngster returns
Nathan Tella returned to the top of the SkyBet Championship with Burnley, whilst Saints B’s Caleb Watts enjoyed a return to action with Morecambe. All this and more in this week’s Loan Watch…
It was another unbeaten week for Tella and the Clarets, as they stretched their impressive unbeaten run to 15 league games.
On Tuesday night, Burnley beat Norwich 1-0 thanks to a late penalty from former Saint Jay Rodriguez, with Tella playing 73 minutes.
Then, on Saturday, Tella played a further 85 minutes in their comeback victory over Reading with Burnley returning to the Championship summit.
Elsewhere, in the SkyBet Championship, Will Smallbone started once again for Stoke City, playing just over an hour in an away defeat against 5th place Norwich City.
In League One, Southampton B star Watts continued his return from injury with a positive personal week that included back-to-back appearances for Morecambe.
The Australian started his first game since the start of September on Saturday in a 1-1 draw away to Wycombe, which came after a second half substitute appearance earlier in the week against Cheltenham.
In the Tuesday night fixture between Cheltenham and Morecambe, Dan N’Lundulu led the line for the hosts in their 1-0 win.
The striker was withdrawn in the 51st minute with a slight knock, but still had cause for celebration this week as he won a second successive goal of the month vote for the Robins.
Down a division in League Two, Dynel Simeu gained another two games under his belt for Tranmere Rovers.
Simeu played 90 minutes in both games - a 1-1 draw against Rochdale on Tuesday and a 2-0 defeat to Carlisle on Saturday – as Rovers sit three points out of the playoff positions.
In the Non-League system, Jake Vokins started back-to-back games for Woking as they continue to rise up the Vanarama National League table.
Vokins played over an hour in a 3-3 draw with Dorking Wanderers and a 1-0 win over Eastleigh, as the Cards move up to 5th place.
In the National League South, Academy goalkeeper Jack Bycroft was part of an impressive victory for Taunton Town on Saturday as they beat playoff-chasing Tonbridge Angels 4-1 at home.
Bycroft also featured in a narrow, late defeat against Oxford City earlier in the week.
Finally, another Academy loanee, Kazeem Olaigbe, continued his experience in the SPL with Ross County as a 76th minute substitute against Hearts, who have featured in the Europa Conference League this season.
