Sunderland currently have ten players out on loan. Some with the view to a permanent move and some with a view to gaining valuable first team experience. Of the ten players out on loan, eight tasted victory during a weekend which saw a man of the match performance, a top class save and a 93rd minute winner.
The players currently out on loan are:
Jordan Pickford — Preston North End
Mikael Mandron — Hartlepool United
Martin Smith and George Honeyman — Gateshead
Emanuele Giaccherini — Bologna
Santiago Vergini — Getafe
Liam Bridcutt and Will Buckley — Leeds United
Jordan Blinco and Dylan McEvoy — Boston United
Although Winger Will Buckley did not feature, Liam Bridcutt put in a man of the match performance as Leeds United beat Hull City 2-1 at Elland Road. During this match, Bridcutt won more tackles than any Leeds player has in any other game this season. Yorkshire Evening Post states “Liam Bridcutt could be just what Leeds need”. Before the game Leeds head coach said, “Liam will be a top signing for this football club and I’ll bet my dollar on that for sure. I back my judgement on Liam Bridcutt. I think he will be a top player here until at least June next year.” The result leaves Leeds 17th in the Championship table with 22 points, six points clear of the relegation zone.
Jordan Pickford kept a clean sheet as Preston won 2-0 away at Burnley. The result leaves Preston in 18th position in the Championship, five points above the relegation zone. He produced the save of the match during the first half when he got his wrist to a close range strike which saw the ball loop onto the top of the bar.
Even though Preston are battling at the wrong end of the table, Pickford has now kept an impressive 11 clean sheets in all competitions this season. After the game Preston manager Simon Grayson said, “It is a big win for us, and winning a local derby match obviously adds extra significance to it. We had to defend and our goalkeeper had to make a really good save, but that defines matches”
George Honeyman played 89 minutes as Gateshead won 1-0 away at National League bottom club Kidderminster. They had to remain patient for their three points as it wasn’t until 3 minutes into added on time that they made the breakthrough. Patrick McLaughlin scoring from close range. The goal gets new Gateshead manager Neil Aspin off to a perfect start. Martin Smith was once again an unused substitute. The result moves Gateshead up to 10th in the National League
Mikael Mandron was substituted after a frustrating 55 minutes as Hartlepool United drew 1-1 away at Salford City in the 2nd round of the FA Cup. Hartlepool manager Ronnie Moore was not impressed by his sides’ performance “We’d had one shot in the first half and I said to them at half time that we were lucky to still be in the tie. At least in the second half we’ve had a little bit of a response, not fantastic – I’m not trying to kid anyone. We are lucky to be in the hat for the next round”.
Boston United won 1-0 away at Solihull Moors to end the home sides 17 game unbeaten run in the National League North. Dylan McEvoy played the full 90 minutes and Jordan Blinco played 75 minutes before being substituted. McEvoy is currently enjoying his time at the Jakemans Stadium, home of Boston, stating that life may be different to that in the North East with Sunderland but he is happy about extending his loan spell. He added, “It is different to being at Boston, but they are two different sides of the game and it’s my job to learn from them both.”
Emanuele Giaccherini started on the bench for Bologna. Unfortunately for him, he stayed there as his team went on to beat Napoli 3-2 at home. Bologna were leading 3-0 until two late Gonzalo Higuain goals made the score line look a little more respectable for Napoli. The victory for Bologna takes them out of the Serie A relegation zone. The defeat for Napoli is their first since the opening day of the season.
Santiago Vergini was an unused substitute as Getafe lost 4-1 away at Real Madrid. All four Madrid goals came in the first half. Karim Benzema scored two with Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo scoring the others, Getafe scored a consolation goal in the second half.
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