A host of Albion’s loanees were in action on home soil and abroad over the weekend as promotion races and relegation battles begin to hot up.
Jeremy Sarmiento and Ipswich took a huge step towards automatic promotion on Saturday with a crucial 2-0 victory against Plymouth Argyle.
Sarmiento started for the Tractor Boys and played just over an hour as Kieran McKenna’s side leapfrogged Leeds and moved within three points of leaders Leicester, after the Foxes lost 2-1 to struggling QPR.
James Beadle also tasted victory on the road in the second tier, keeping a clean sheet for Sheffield Wednesday as the Owls claimed South Yorkshire bragging rights with a hard-fought 1-0 win against Rotherham, but Andrew Moran and Yasin Ayari were on the losing side away from home.
They played 45 minutes each, with Ayari replacing the Irishman at half-time, as Blackburn lost 2-1 to Swansea City who had Carl Rushworth between the sticks. The Albion goalkeeper was involved in the Welsh side’s opening goal, freeing Przemyslaw Placheta on the left with a perfect pass, and made great saves to deny Callum Brittain and Tyrhys Dolan.
In League One, Marc Leonard’s sensational scoring run came to an end after four goals in six games for the midfielder, but he still helped Northampton to a point at home as they drew 1-1 with Charlton, who are now managed by Nathan Jones.
Jensen Weir’s wait for a first league win this year with Port Vale continued in disappointing fashion as they lost 3-0 to second-placed Derby, while Jack Hinchy was also on the wrong end of a defeat as Shrewsbury Town lost 2-0 at home to play-off chasing Blackpool.
There was victory in the third tier for one Albion loanee however, as Imari Samuels and Fleetwood beat Wigan Athletic 4-2, but the full-back had to watch on from the bench as The Cod Army gave their survival hopes a real boost.
In League Two, many games fell foul to the wet weather, but not Crewe’s… although they might have wished it had after they blew a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2 at home to Morecambe. Ed Turns played the full 90 minutes at the heart of the Alex defence, but it was a disappointing afternoon for the 21-year-old and his team whose promotion hunt took a big hit.
Over in mainland Europe, Mo Dahoud and Deniz Undav both came off the bench in Germany as Stuttgart fought off a battling Wolfsburg to win 3-2, while in the Netherlands, Kacper Kozlowski was substituted midway through the second half as Vitesse Arnhem lost 2-1 at home to FC Twente. Adrian Mazilu was an unused substitute for the Eredivisie strugglers.
Meanwhile in the Women’s Championship, Chelsea Ferguson came off the bench for Lewes as they sealed a vital 2-1 win against Sheffield United and Lulu Jarvis was an unused substitute in Reading’s 2-1 defeat to London City Lionesses.