Sam Johnstone- doing well at Scunthorpe
Our star performer this weekend was young goalkeeper Sam Johnstone down at Scunthorpe in League One who has been an ever-present since making his senior debut for the Iron against Sheffield United.
The 18-year-old put in a man-of-the-match performance as ten-man Scunthorpe held Brentford to a scrappy goalless draw. Brentford’s best chance came when Celtic loanee Niall McGinn saw his low drive tipped wide by Johnstone.
He told BBC Radio Humberside: “I’m enjoying it. The more games I play I feel more confident.
“I feel like I’m improving and it’s the best thing for me as I’m getting experience,” he added.
The England Under-19 international has made seven appearances for the League One side so far this season.
Joshua King must be doing something right as he finally managed to get himself on the bench for German high-flyers Borussia M’gladbach during their 2-2 draw with Bayer Leverkusen. Regular readers of ‘Loan Watch’ will know how frustrated we are growing over King’s lack of opportunity on the Dutch border. The Norweigan didn’t manage to make it onto the pitch for this tense encounter but considering he hasn’t been in a match-day squad for a couple of months, this is a start.
Robbie Brady started for Hull in an entertaining 0-0 draw at Brighton. Goalkeepers Casper Ankergren and Adriano Basso were the men in form in this match and an entertaining game. Ankergren saved well from Brady in the first half as the Tigers pushed to break the deadlock but to no avail. The Irishman had another chance in the second half but scuffed a rushed shot wide. Nigel Pearson’s side, who have now gone seven games without defeat, remain in the play-off places.
Ryan Tunnicliffe was on the bench as his Peterborough side won 2-1 against Bristol City. The midfielder did manage a late run-out and looked lively for his five-minute cameo. Scott Wooton didn’t manage to make the 18-man squad for the trip to Bristol or Cardiff’s visit last night but should get his chance in this busy period of the season. Tunnicliffe didn’t start against Cardiff but did come on for the last 15 minutes in a seven-goal thriller in which his side edged 4-3.
Danny Drinkwater was pretty anonymous for Barnsley in a 2-0 loss at Fratton Park against Portsmouth. The Tykes started off well with Jacob Butterfield hitting the inside of the post in the first half but Pompey grabbed control of the game and scored twice in the second half to leapfrog their opponents to 17th in the table. He played the entire game last night too as well to push his side up two places to 15th in a comfortable 2-0 triumph over Burnley in which Vaz Te and Gray took all the plaudits but Drinkwater looked confident and calm in possession and his delivery from wide positions were praised by his manager afterwards.
After four games on the bench it appears Belgian defender Ritchie De Laet has lost his place in the Norwich team to full-back Russell Martin. The Canaries have been in good form of late and sit in the top half of the table after winning three of their last four in the league. They travel to Anfield next week and a good pounding by the Scousers could see De Laet get another chance to show his worth.
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