Spurs loan watch: EFL round up
By Tom Vinall
On Tuesday evening, there was plenty of midweek action for Tottenham Hotspur loanees, with there being a full slate of action in both the Championship and in League One.
In the second tier, there was action for Dane Scarlett’s Oxford United on the road to Sheffield United, and for Ashley Phillips’ Stoke City at home to Preston North End.
Into League One, where Matthew Craig’s Barnsley side hosted Reading, whilst Josh Keeley and Jamie Donley’s Leyton Orient welcomed Huddersfield Town to Brisbane Road.
How everything went down in the EFL during the midweek slate
We’ll start off with a tough one, as Scarlett’s Oxford side took a 3-0 thumping up to Sheffield United up in South Yorkshire, in a game that could have really even been five or six to the hosts.
Owing to the dominance of Sheffield United, Scarlett struggled to get into the game at all, and was taken off for Mark Harris after 74 minutes of the game, with the score already 3-0 by that point. Oxford were penned in so much that the striker did not record a shot of any kind in his time on the pitch.
This defeat leaves Des Buckingham’s side in 18th place in the Championship, with 17 points from their 17 games so far.
As for Phillips and Stoke, they drew 0-0 at home to Preston North End, in an extremely dull affair. The Spurs teenager started for the seventh game in a row, and despite the disappointing result, will be happy to have helped the team to a clean sheet, as he played the 90 minutes.
This point leaves Narcis Pelach’s side in 13th place in the Championship, with 21 points from 17 games. They would have gone up to 9th with all three points.
In League One, once again – Craig was named amongst the substitutes for Barnsley, as they had to make do with a 2-2 draw at home to Reading. The young midfielder did not get off the bench at any point.
This result leaves Barnsley in sixth place in League One, with 27 points from 17 games.
There were more familiar stories down at Orient, with Keeley named in the XI and Donley not in the match day squad. Huddersfield took the lead after 26 minutes, the first time the keeper had conceded in 231 minutes of play.
They would go onto score again, and win the game 2-0. Unfortunately, Keeley made an error leading to one of the goals, though did make four saves, including a penalty in the second half.
This result leaves Orient in 21st place, the relegation zone, with 15 points from 16 games.
Next up for Scarlett and Oxford is a home game against Millwall on Saturday, with an earlier kick off time of 12:30 GMT. On the same day, Stoke host Burnley at 15:00 GMT.
For Keeley, Donley, and Orient, they face national league side Oldham Athletic in the FA Cup. The cup competitions have been an opportunity for Donley this season, so this could serve as his route back into the side. 15:00 GMT kick off on Saturday for that one.
Finally, Craig’s Barnsley side host Bristol Rovers in the FA Cup, with another 15:00 GMT kick off for that one.