Randall downs the “invincibles” and Origi makes the headlines…for the wrong reasons

The Loan Report

Connor Randall – Hearts

Hearts produced an unbelievable 4-0 win over Celtic and it was a result that everyone around the world noticed. The victory for Hearts ended Celtic’s 69 match unbeaten run in the league and Connor Randall played a major part in toppling former Liverpool boss, Brendan Rodgers. Playing once again in his favourable full-back position, Randall was solid in defence and his unit prevented Celtic from scoring a league goal for the first time since March 2015. Randall was influential when turning defence into attack and was always dangerous going forward. He was credited with an assist on the third goal for an admittedly optimistic ball over the top, that was met with rather shambolic defending from the league leaders. Nonetheless, this is a result that will be remembered for a considerably long time.

Allan Rodrigues – Apollon Limassol

Apollon Limassol played just over an hour against ten men at the weekend and it’s fair to say they took advantage. Their 5-0 win included two penalties and one goal. Allan Rodrigues was on the pitch for the full allocation of minutes and helped guide his side to the compounding win. He almost bagged his first goal in Cyprus, but his powerful strike from 30 yards, hit the top of the crossbar, not of the back of the net.

Divock Origi – Wolfsburg

The struggles of Divock Origi have continued this week, but this time they found their way to the mainstream internet. In midweek, Origi had a chance to secure three points for his side against Red Bull Leipzig. The ball fell to him with 78 minutes remaining and an open net at his mercy. The Belgian’s half volley from three yards out went over the top of the bar and BT Sport’s Twitter page called it “one of the misses of the season”. The match finished 1-1.

His week didn’t get any better at the weekend as Wolfsburg played FC Koln, who are propping up the Bundesliga. Origi struggled on the right win once again and going into the referee’s book for a foul, was his only influence on the match. FC Koln ran out 1-0 winners, their first three points of the campaign.

Toni Gomes – Forest Green Rovers

Toni Gomes had a marathon in midweek, as he played for 101 minutes in the FA Cup against Exeter City. Forest Green were unfortunately knocked out in extra-time of reply, but Gomes can be happy with his contributions. It looked as though the tie was going in the favour of Rovers, when Gomes burst down the right wing only to be inexcusably hacked down by Exeter player, Jordan Tillson, who was ejected for a second bookable offence. The Devon side rallied though and overcame the deficit to advance 2-1, after extra time.

On Saturday, Forest Green lost 2-0 at home to Luton, in which Gomes had a 20-minute cameo. He tested the Luton ‘keeper with a low shot, but was unable to overturn the deficit. The away side had a man sent off as well, meaning there have been six red cards in Forest Green’s last four matches, in all competitions.

Sheyi Ojo – Fulham

Sheyi Ojo had an uncharacteristically quiet weekend when his side lost 1-0 away to Sunderland. Fulham’s front three were kept very quiet back the Black Cats’ back line and as a result, Ojo’s only shot of the game was a mistimed header which was gathered easily by the ‘keeper. The 20-year-old also picked up a yellow card for his troubles after preventing a free-kick from being taken quickly. The loss leaves Fulham in 12th position, eight points off a playoff spot.

Pedro Chirivella – Willem II

Pedro Chirivella was disappointing on Saturday during the exciting 3-2 loss to PEC Zwolle. The Spaniard lined up, once again, in his CDM position but wasn’t very careful when in possession of the ball. Six of his 20 passes were off target and he was dispossessed three times before being substituted late on. Most of the compliments to Chirivella are regarding his ball security and level-headedness, two things that were definitely missing from his game at the weekend.

Taiwo Awoniyi – Royal Excel Mouscron

It was another uneventful week for Taiwo Awoniyi who made very little contribution to the 1-0 victory over KV Oostende. The positive result ended Royal Excel Mouscron’s 10 match streak without a league win. They’ll be hoping this is a spark that ignites a few more wins over the coming weeks, and Awoniyi will be desperate to provide some boosts of his own.

Jordan Williams (Rochdale) was out, once again, with a knee injury. Considering his loan deal was only for six months, it’s hard to see how many more times he’ll feature for his adoptive side before returning to Liverpool.

Neither Ryan Kent (SC Freiburg) nor Shamal George (Carlisle United) were in action at the weekend, as they were both left out of their respective matchday squads.

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