Loan Watch: Hat-trick hero Tella hits headlines again
Southampton’s loan players have enjoyed another busy week of action with Nathan Tella once again dominating the headlines, whilst more important minutes were racked up across the footballing pyramid. This and more in our latest Loan Watch…
For the second week in a row, the in-form Tella has had cause for celebration as his red-hot scoring streak continues in the Championship.
After scoring a brace last week, he hit a hat-trick on Wednesday night as Burnley were 3-1 winners away to Hull City.
It was his second hat-trick of the season, and of his career, rightfully earning him Man of the Match and a place in the EFL Team of Midweek.
At the weekend, however, the Clarets were on the end of a rare defeat as they took a break from league proceedings to face Manchester City in the FA Cup quarter-finals; Tella played just over an hour in their defeat at the Etihad Stadium.
The midfielder has 19 goals in all competitions after his midweek haul, as Burnley remain 13 points clear at the top of the Championship table.
Elsewhere in the Championship,
helped Stoke to an unbeaten week with two draws against playoff-contending teams.
Smallbone played 90 minutes in both games as the Potters drew 1-1 away to third-placed Middlesbrough then played out a goalless draw with seventh-place Norwich.
Meanwhile, in the Premier League,
’ AFC Bournemouth side tasted defeat away against Aston Villa as they sit 19th in the table.
Down in League One, B team midfielder
returned to the starting line-up for Exeter City as he made his first start in nine games but couldn’t help prevent a 3-1 defeat against Cheltenham.
There were two games in a week for
at Morecambe as he played the full 90 in both matches, helping the Shrimps bounce back from a midweek defeat against Charlton to draw 1-1 with Oxford United at the weekend.
Fellow Morecambe loanee
didn’t feature against Charlton, but did make a cameo off the bench in Saturday’s draw with Oxford.
Down in League Two, there were contrasting fortunes for youngsters
and
.
Finnigan started in Crewe Alexandra’s Tuesday night clash with Stevenage but was unfortunately forced off in the first half through injury as his side fell to a narrow defeat.
For Olaigbe, he starred in Harrogate Town’s 1-0 win against Barrow, which helped move the Yorkshire side up to 19th in the table with a healthy seven-point gap above the relegation zone.
Outside of the EFL,
continued to shine despite the tricky spell for relegation-threatened Torquay United.
He was at the heart of the defence for the Gulls’ 1-1 draw away to Gateshead in the National League, earning a place in the Non-League Paper’s Team of the Day.
Another B team loanee who impressed despite results this week was
, as he featured twice for Taunton Town in the National League South.
He couldn’t prevent defeats against Chippenham Town and Hemel Hempstead, but earned the Man of the Match award in midweek for a string of important saves that kept the scoreline down for the Peacocks.
Elsewhere in the same division,
played almost the full game in Eastbourne Borough’s 2-0 win over Slough Town which moved them to within two points of the playoff places.
Meanwhile,
kept his place in the Braintree Town side as they maintained their 5th-place standing with a midweek draw against Hemel Hempstead.
Turner played the full 90 on Tuesday evening, then featured for just over an hour at the weekend as The Iron fell short in a narrow defeat against Hungerford.
Finally, up in Scotland,
was back in action with St. Mirren as he was introduced off the bench in the second half of a 1-1 draw with Dundee United, making his seventh appearance in the Scottish Premiership.
