Loan pair Undav and Leonard hit the target

Deniz Undav was amongst the goals again at the weekend as Albion’s host of loanees were in action across Europe.

Undav scored his fifth goal of the season in the German Bundesliga on Saturday as the 27-year-old helped Stuttgart beat Borussia Dortmund 2-1 to move up to third in the league.

It was an impressive win for Die Roten, and across the border in Austria, Kjell Scherpen also tasted victory as he kept a clean sheet in Sturm Graz’s 3-0 win at Klagenfurt, but in the Belgian Pro League, Steven Alzate suffered defeat as his Standard Liege side lost 6-0 at Antwerp.

Elsewhere in Europe, Kacper Kozlowski was on the bench for Vitesse Arnhem alongside former Albion midfielder Davy Propper as their side lost 3-1 to Herenveen in Eredivisie, while slightly closer to home, Abdallah Sima helped Rangers tighten their grip on second place in the Scottish Premiership by playing 89 minutes of their 2-0 win against Livingston.

Back on English soil, Andrew Moran impressed again for Blackburn in the Championship and registered an assist after finding Sammy Szmodics with an inch-perfect through ball, but Rovers lost 2-1 against fourth-placed Preston.

Staying in the second tier, Jeremy Sarmiento and Yasin Ayari watched on from the bench as West Brom narrowly lost 2-1 at Southampton and Coventry drew 0-0 with Stoke, while Carl Rushworth’s Swansea, who were reduced to ten men, were beaten 3-2 by promotion-chasing Ipswich.

In League One, James Beadle and Oxford United bounced back from losing manager Liam Manning to Bristol City in the week by beating Leyton Orient 3-2 at Brisbane Road. The O’s had Ed Turns on the left of a back three.

Jensen Weir didn’t get a taste of the action in a Lancashire derby as Blackpool lost 1-0 at Bolton, but Marc Leonard scored in Northampton’s 2-0 win over Burton Albion to ease their early relegation fears.

Leonard’s terrific strike into the top corner from long range was his first goal in over a year, and helped lift the Cobblers out of the drop zone and eight points clear of Cheltenham, who had Cameron Peupion on the bench as they drew 1-1 with Wigan.

And while Albion were enjoying a historic afternoon in the Women’s Super League as Melissa Phillips’ team beat Manchester City, Chelsea Ferguson also enjoyed a winning weekend as she scored the only goal of the game in Blackburn’s 1-0 win at Sunderland in the Women’s Championship.

Lulu Jarvis is also on loan in England’s second tier, but had to watch on from the bench as Reading drew 0-0 with Watford, while Libby Bance was a second-half substitute for Rangers as they thumped Boroughmuir Thistle 7-0 in the SWPL Cup.