AFC Bournemouth had 14 players in loan action over the weekend, playing in seven different leagues and competitions across the globe.
Tyler Cordner played in the National League on Saturday, with his Ebbsfleet team defeating Sutton United 3-2 away from home.
But it wasn’t quite the afternoon that the youngster had planned. After ‘keeper and former Cherries academy player Jordan Holmes came off with concussion late in the second half, he had to don the gloves for the remaining nine minutes of the game.
It was testing times for Ebbsfleet and Cordner, who punched one clear and tipped one over the bar in the dying stages.
With Sutton pushing for the winner and firing shots goalwards, they left themselves open at the back and Jamie Grimes was pulled down by Omar Bugiel in the 90th minute, with the referee given no choice but to point to the spot.
Up stepped Gozie Ugwu to precisely place his penalty in the left-hand corner and give Ebbsfleet all three points to lift them off the foot of the National League table.
Despite the late drama, unsurprisingly it’s Cordner leading the man-of-the-match poll with 31% of the vote.
National League
Elsewhere in the National League, Frank Vincent’s Torquay moved up to seventh in the National League after a 4-2 win over ten-man Barrow at Plainmoor.
The midfielder played 79 minutes of the victory and was involved in the sending off of John Rooney, who seemingly blocked Vincent’s shot with his hand to prevent what would’ve been a certain goal.
Braces from both Armani Little and Jamie Reid helped secure the three points for Gary Johnson’s side.
Charlie Seaman featured for Eastleigh in their 1-1 draw at Woking and was twice close to grabbing himself an assist from right-back.
Just after the interval, his cross was inches away from reaching former Cherries midfielder Danny Hollands in the six-yard box, who almost added to his already impressive goal tally for the Spitfires.
In the 82nd minute, Seaman was also the provider for Tyrone Barnett’s effort, his diving header from the defender’s cross going narrowly wide.
But all the drama was to come late on as Jamar Loza thought he’d won it for the hosts in the 94th minute, before Scott Rendall haunted his former club and secured a point for Eastleigh in the 96th minute with a powerful header.
MLS
It was a superb week for our two loanees playing in the MLS, with Brad Smith and Emerson Hyndman both making their retrospective conference finals.
Smith featured for Seattle Sounders on Thursday, as they defeated Real Salt Lake 2-0 to make it to the Western Conference Final.
The left-back played 90 minutes and helped his side keep a clean sheet, with Gustav Svensson and Nicolas Lodeiro getting the goals up the other end to set up a tie with LA FC on Wednesday.
Hyndman, on the other hand, played on Friday as Atlanta United also won 2-0 to make it into the Eastern Conference Final with Toronto FC.
Julian Gressel and Josef Martinez got the two goals, as Hyndman played the final 17 minutes of the win.
Should Seattle and Atlanta both win this week, they’ll face each other in the MLS Cup final, which is due to take place on Sunday 10th November.
EFL
It was a successful weekend for Sam Surridge and Swansea, who defeated Cardiff 1-0 in the south Wales derby.
Ben Wilmot got the only goal of the game 24 minutes in as Steve Cooper’s side moved into fourth on 25 points, just two off top-of-the-table West Brom on 27.
Surridge played 16 minutes and featured on the wing for the Swans, with Andre Ayew playing down the middle.
As for Nnamdi Ofoborh, he came on in the 83rd minute for Wycombe, who beat Rotherham by a single goal to move into second in League One.
Scott Kasket captialised on a mix-up at the back from the Millers, thumping home the only goal of the game past the out-of-position Daniel Iversen just five minutes in.
Staying in League One, Mikael Ndjoli came on in the 92nd minute for Gillingham, as they beat Accrington Stanley 1-0 away from home.
Regan Charles-Cook scored with 59 minutes on the clock, curling the ball home to move the Gills up to 15th in the table.
Elsewhere, fellow youngster Kyle Taylor ended up having the weekend off, as Forest Green’s clash with Crewe Alexandra was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch at The New Lawn.
SPL
Jermain Defoe’s Rangers kept the pressure on Celtic and ended the weekend level on points with Neil Lennon’s side at the top of the SPL.
Three points after a 2-1 win at home to high-flying Motherwell did the trick, with the on-loan Cherries striker getting the first of his side’s goals just before half-time.
Defoe reacted quickest after Mark Gillespie could only parry Steven Davis’ shot 45 minutes in, the striker consequently finishing well from an acute angle.
The former England international almost had his second immediately after the restart, heading a deflected Joe Aribo cross wide of Gillespie’s post.
Azerbaijan Premier League
Asmir Begovic will play for Qarabag later today, as they entertain Sebail in the Azerbaijan Premier League. The side will be looking to continue their unbeaten start to the season at 3pm.
The ‘keeper did, however, feature for his side in the Europa League against Apoel Nicosia on Thursday, with the two teams playing out a 2-2 draw in Group A.
National League South
Calum Ward, Shaun Hobson and Brennan Camp all played a full 90 minutes as Weymouth cruised to a 3-0 win over Braintree Town at the Bob Lucas Stadium on Saturday.
Jake McCarthy struck from range twice for the Terras, before Ben Thomson’s late goal sealed the three points and ensured that the unbeaten league run for Mark Molesley’s side stretched to seven games.
Ward was influential between the sticks, getting in the way of a Cameron Green shot early on, before holding Femi Akinwande’s 30-yard free-kick well with minutes remaining.
As for centre-back pairing Hobson and Camp, the clean sheet was a reward for their solidarity in defence, playing at the back together for the first time in the National League South.
FA Trophy
Cameron Plain and Wimborne will have to wait until Wednesday night to see if they can make it into the next round of the FA Trophy after drawing 2-2 with Taunton over the weekend.
The Magpies raced into a 2-0 lead, before being pegged back thanks to strikes from Andrew Neal and Harry Kite.
Plain did play his part, however, with a finger-tip save early on to tip a Taunton shot onto the post, keeping the scores level at the time.
