Loan Watch: Amad sparkles once more

Amad scored the winner as Sunderland defeated Birmingham City at the Stadium of Light on Saturday, with the Black Cats coming from a goal down to win 2-1.

The visitors had taken the lead after 29 minutes through George Hall, but Trai Hume levelled things up on the stroke of half-time.

As the match wore on, and Sunderland were desperately looking for inspiration to come away with three points, Amad once again stepped up and made the difference.

The Ivory Coast international picked the ball up on the right and jinked past a couple of defenders before arrowing the ball into the bottom corner, ultimately sealing the win for Tony Mowbray’s side, despite Dennis Cirkin's dismissal just three minutes later.

Fellow loanee Hannibal also featured in the match, coming on in the 72nd minute for the Blues.

Another of our on-loan players, Maximilian Oyedele, was on the scoresheet over the weekend too, notching in Altrincham’s 3-2 away loss at Dorking Wanderers. Joe Hugill also started for the Robins and lasted 66 minutes before being substituted.

Fellow young Red, Charlie McNeill, played 74 minutes as Newport County recorded a 2-0 home triumph over Hartlepool in League Two.

In the Championship, Ethan Laird came on as a second-half substitute for QPR, as they lost 3-0 at home to Coventry.

Alvaro Fernandez was also on the receiving end of a defeat, coming on after 67 minutes as PNE were beaten 2-0 away at Millwall. Axel Tuanzebe was not involved this weekend, as Stoke City succumbed to a 2-1 loss at home to West Brom.

In League One, Shola Shoretire was a 79^th-minute introduction as Bolton Wanderers edged Oxford United 1-0, while Charlie Savage played 58 minutes of Forest Green Rovers’ 5-1 home loss to Barnsley. This defeat also means Duncan Ferguson’s side have been relegated to League Two and will play their football in tier four next term.

Di'shon Bernard was a 90th-minute introduction for Portsmouth as they drew 1-1 at Shrewsbury, while Ethan Galbraith was an unused substitute as Salford City lost 1-0 at home to Colchester in League Two.

Matej Kovar and Sparta Prague played out a thrilling 3-3 draw at the summit of the Czech First League against Slavia Prague, with the two sides going head-to-head for the title.

The tie means that Kovar’s side remain top of the league by only two points, with three games to go.

What a derby! #acsparta https://t.co/jfoVj9yC8L

— AC Sparta Prague (@ACSparta_EN) April 15, 2023

In Scotland, Will Fish played the full 90 minutes as Hibernian recorded a 1-0 triumph at home to Hearts.

Rounding off our loan watch on the continent, Eric Bailly came on as a 76th-minute substitute in Marseille’s 3-1 win over Troyes at home, while Alex Telles was suspended for Sevilla's vital 2-0 away victory at Valencia.