Awoniyi scores against Markovic, and Flanagan makes a lively, cameo debut

The Loan Report

Taiwo Awoniyi – Royal Excel Mouscron / Lazar Markovic – Anderlecht

Taiwo Awoniyi continued his fine form when he picked up his third goal in as many matches on Sunday afternoon, but it was once again in a losing cause. Trailing 4-0 after 70 minutes, the striker produced a composed, first-time finish to bury the ball in the far corner and give his side what looked like nothing more than a consolation goal. However, it sparked a small comeback and 15 minutes later the scoreline read 4-3 and Mouscron were pushing for an equaliser. In the end, the amount they were pushing forward left them exposed at the back and Anderlecht scored in stoppage time to put the match out of reach, and it finished 5-3. Awoniyi now has seven league goals to his name this season.

Lazar Markovic made an appearance from the bench, which was the first time he has played in Anderlecht colours. After being submitted to extra fitness training, Markovic was unsurprisingly off the pace and made no real impact down the left-hand side.

Ryan Kent – Bristol City / Marko Grujic – Cardiff City

Ryan Kent had a quiet week at Bristol, despite featuring in two separate matches. In midweek, he played for 80 minutes, but it was obvious that Fulham had identified him as a key player and kept him under close watch for the whole outing. They couldn’t stop him at set pieces though and the Englishman produced a handful of dangerous deliveries which none of his teammates could capitalise on. The match finished 1-1.

He was used for just five minutes against Cardiff City on Sunday and was thrown on in desperation as his side were trailing 1-0. He couldn’t produce any magic though and that is how the tie ended. Marko Grujic watched the entirety of the tie from the bench, which followed on from his just 45 minutes of action in midweek. He was substituted at half-time in an attempt to rejig the tactics. The Serbian was quite wasteful in possession and the switch up worked as his side secured a 1-0 win away to Ipswich Town.

Jon Flanagan – Bolton Wanderers

Jon Flanagan finally made his first appearance for Bolton and was the latest in a long line of Liverpool loanees to pick up a booking on debut. Despite only being on the field for 20 minutes, Flanagan made the most of his rare opportunity, making three tackles during the 0-0 draw with Norwich. He also showed he was a threat going forward, producing a key pass late on. Maybe a few starts will be on the cards for the Liverpudlian.

Allan Rodrigues – Apollon Limassol

Having spent a few weeks out of the first team side, Allan Rodrigues was back for Apollon Limassol, playing the full 90 minutes of their 4-1 win over Ethnikos Achnas. Allan was solid and helped his side to control the midfield, winning most of the key battles. His performances suggest that he deserves a continued run of first-team action throughout the remainder of the season.

Pedro Chirivella – Willem II

Pedro Chirivella was once again deployed in the centre of Willem’s midfield and produced a quiet but comfortable performance. The Spaniard was controlled in possession and helped guide his side to a valuable 1-0 win without producing any major fireworks of his own, something he does on a regular basis.

Corey Whelan – Yeovil Town

Corey Whelan can be pleased with his fifth consecutive start for Yeovil but will be less pleased with the manner in which they lost 1-0 to Carlisle. Whelan, who was playing at right-back continued to back away from the opposition attacker and granted him too much space, without trying to put in a challenge. The result was a nicely taken finish from the edge of the box and The Glovers dropped three points at home.

Divock Origi – Wolfsburg

It was the same old story for Divock Origi this weekend as he made little to no impact on the game. Playing as the lead striker, the Belgian saw more of the ball than he has done in recent weeks and won a few aerial duels but was unable to turn it into anything more than two mediocre shots on goal. Wolfsburg ended up drawing 1-1 with Mainz, which was their 13th deadlock of the season and leaves them just a single point above the drop zone.

Sheyi Ojo – Fulham

After a combination of injury and just generally being left out of the side, Sheyi Ojo returned to the action for the first time since early January. He came on against Wolves with just over 25 minutes to go and didn’t see much of the ball. Although his performance was average, he’ll be pleased to be back on the pitch and with a 2-0 victory to boot.

Anderson Arroyo – Real Mallorca B

Starting his third match for the Spanish side, Anderson Arroyo guided his team to another clean sheet and another three points. The match finished against Alcudia finished with a 1-0 scoreline.

There is positive injury news for Daniel Sturridge (West Brom) and Ovie Ejaria (Sunderland), who were both unavailable this past week. The pair are hopeful to be available for selection, once again, this weekend. Elsewhere it’s not such good news for Harry Wilson (Hull City) as it is anticipated that he could be out for up to a month, after such a promising start to his time with The Tigers.

Matty Virtue (Notts County) was limited to just one injury time appearance this past week, while Connor Randall (Hearts) was an unused sub against Rangers, and Andy Firth (Chester) is still waiting to make his first appearance for his adoptive club.

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