Ojo debuts for Fulham, Lennon has an eventful week, and Chirivella booked…again!

The Loan Report

Sheyi Ojo – Fulham

Ojo appeared for the first time in a Fulham shirt during midweek, when he played in their disappointing 1-0 home defeat to Bristol Rovers in the Carabao Cup. Ojo was on the pitch for 90 minutes, created several chances and showed he wasn’t afraid to shoot when he had a sight of goal, but in the end, couldn’t do anything to stop Fulham from getting knocked out by the League One side.

Ojo made his league debut for Fulham on Saturday, when they travelled to Ipswich in the Championship. Ojo played the full allocation during the 2-0 and overall, he can be pleased with his efforts. The winger was a constant threat going down the right-hand side and ended up having five shots, more than any other player on the pitch that afternoon. He’ll be disappointed with an effort he blazed over the bar from just ten-yards out, but a strike from outside the area that forced the keeper to parry away, was a more positive sign of what Ojo can contribute. The 20-year-old also showed his defensive capabilities as he made four tackles and was constantly tracking back to help in his own half.

Connor Randall – Hearts

Hearts continued their disappointing start to the season with a 2-1 away loss to Motherwell, which leaves them at eighth in the SPFL. Randall had a chance to get on the scoresheet just two minutes into the game when the ball fell to him after it was cleared from a corner, but the resulting shot was saved comfortably by the Motherwell ‘keeper. Randall then went on to pick up his second booking of the season, around the hour mark, when he produced a foul in midfield. The Englishman was then taken off with just eleven minutes left, but his side could do nothing to overturn the score line.

Taiwo Awoniyi – Royal Excel Mouscron

Following last week’s thrilling comeback, Mouscron rescued a point in a slightly more regulation fashion on Friday night. After going 1-0 down at halftime to Kortrijk, Mouscron equalised in the 62nd minute, thanks to an assist from Awoniyi. A sloppy pass gave Mouscron possession deep into their opponent’s territory. Selim Amallah tried to play a through ball but it took a deflection and luckily fell to the feet of Awoniyi, who calmly laid the ball back to Amallah who struck home from 20-yards. It was fairly poor by the Kortrijk goalkeeper who let the ball slip through his hands and into the back of the net. Although it is still early stages, Mouscron sit in fifth position in the league, heading into the international break.

Brooks Lennon – Real Salt Lake City

Real Salt Lake have had an excellent past week, as they picked up six points from their two fixtures and scoring eight goals in the process. Brooks Lennon had a very decent week as well, despite only featuring as a late substitute in both games. On Wednesday night, RSL defeated the San Jose Earthquakes 4-0, and Lennon entered the fray in the 71st minute with the score at 2-0. He played well on the right side of midfield and, after 80 minutes, whipped a decent ball into the box which just evaded the head of Luis Silva, but the scraps were cleaned up by Joao Plata who squared the ball back to Albert Rusnak for the third goal. Lennon had a chance of a goal for himself a few minutes later when he was played round the back of the Earthquakes defence and found himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper. Lennon struck the ball from a tight angle, only to see the ball rebound off the inside of the far post.

RSL were in action again on Saturday when they defeated the Colorado Rapids 4-1, in a game which ended with both sides reduced to ten men. Brooks Lennon was again a second-half substitute when he was brought on in the 73rd minute. He made a real impact in stoppage time though when he assisted the third goal. Lennon made a tackle deep into his own half and played a long pass over the top, just a few yards from his own goal-line. The ball carried over Colorado’s high defensive line for Luis Silva to run on to and calmly slide into the back of the net. Lennon then got on the scoresheet himself in the sixth minute of added time, when Sebastian Saucedo drew Tim Howard out and squared the ball to Lennon who comfortably finished into the empty goal. This rounded off an emphatic week for RSL which still leaves them with a slim chance of making the playoffs.

Pedro Chirivella – Willem II

Last week I commented on the fact that Chirivella might be getting a reputation for himself as an ill-disciplined player and it appears that speculation might be true. He managed to get himself booked for the third game in a row against Feyenoord yesterday, this time the yellow card came just 50 seconds after the match kicked-off. An early Willem II attack broke down and Chirivella tried to rectify things by unnecessarily lunging into a challenge, even though there appeared to be no danger of a counter attack. Feyenoord is an unhappy hunting ground for the Spaniard as this weekend’s 5-0 defeat must’ve brought back memories of last season when he lost 8-0 while playing for Go Ahead Eagles. Chiriviella’s new side sit rock-bottom of the Eredivisie, just three games into the new season.

Shamal George – Carlisle United

Carlisle United played two games this week and Shamal George was again an unused substitute for both. First up was a 2-1 home loss to Sunderland in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday, followed by a 4-1 thrashing at the hands of Lincoln City in the league on Saturday.

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