Loan Watch: Amad bags a brace in thrilling draw
It was an action-packed Easter weekend for Manchester United’s loanees, with plenty of Reds in action for their respective clubs and three of them getting on the scoresheet.
It was Amad who stole the headlines, though, by grabbing two goals in Sunderland’s thrilling 4-4 draw at home to Hull City on Good Friday.
The Championship sides met at the Stadium of Light where Ozan Tufan's last-gasp penalty for the visitors ultimately caused the Wearsiders to drop two points.
Tufan had given Hull the lead after 11 minutes, but a goal from Leeds loanee Joe Gelhardt, and Amad’s first strike of the match moments later, put the hosts ahead.
Allahyar Sayyadmanesh drew the Tigers level once more, and they took the lead through Regan Slater with 66 minutes on the clock. The advantage was short-lived, however, with Amad making no mistake from the penalty spot after Jack Clarke was fouled in the box.
With nine minutes to play, the Black Cats surely thought they had won it when Clarke made it 4-3, but Tufan’s late penalty-kick ensured the spoils were shared.
Amad at the double ✨
— Sunderland AFC (@SunderlandAFC) April 9, 2023
🇨🇮 @Amaddiallo_19 #SAFC pic.twitter.com/S2uvoWlnrD
Charlie McNeill also found the back of the net, as he scored the final goal for Newport County in injury time as they defeated Northampton Town 3-0 in League Two.
The goalscoring exploits of our loanees doesn’t stop there, as Maximilian Oyedele helped Altrincham to come back against the odds and earn a National League point away to Oldham Athletic.
Joe Nuttall and Bassala Sambou had given the hosts a two-goal cushion with 16 minutes to go and when the visitors were reduced to 10 men by a straight red card for James Jones, it made Altrincham’s task even more challenging.
Oyedele - who came on in the 58th minute along with fellow United loanee Joe Hugill - halved the deficit with 81 minutes on the clock, setting up a tense finale. The visitors’ pressure told with just one minute left to play, with Tyrese Sinclair finding the back of the net to clinch an unlikely late point for the Robins.
Two of our loanees came up against one another in the Championship, as Ethan Laird’s QPR lost 2-0 at home to Alvaro Fernandez’s Preston North End.
Laird started the match at Loftus Road, while Fernandez was among the substitutes for PNE, coming on in the 80th minute for United Academy graduate Robbie Brady. Two second-half goals from Thomas Cannon sealed the three points for the Lilywhites, as they moved up to eighth in the table, just two points below the play-offs.
Staying in the second tier, Hannibal was a 70th-minute substitute in Birmingham City’s 1-1 draw away to Reading but Axel Tuanzebe was not involved in the matchday squad for Stoke City, as the Potters were defeated 2-1 at home by Bristol City.
Shola Shoretire wasn’t involved in Bolton Wanderers' 1-0 win at Exeter City in League One, but Ethan Galbraith played 58 minutes of Salford City’s 2-0 home loss to League Two leaders Leyton Orient. Charlie Savage featured for 82 minutes of Forest Green Rovers' 2-0 loss at home to Derby County.
Will Fish played the entirety of Hibernian’s narrow 2-1 defeat away to Dundee United in the Scottish Premiership, with a last-minute penalty clinching all three points for the hosts.
Overseas, Matej Kovar’s sparkling form for Sparta Prague continued, with the goalkeeper keeping yet another clean sheet in a 2-0 away win at FK Pardubice, helping his side move to the summit of the Czech First League.
1️⃣1️⃣th win in a row and we are at the first place! 👏 #acsparta https://t.co/OgGupm8Xn5
— AC Sparta Prague (@ACSparta_EN) April 9, 2023
Eric Bailly also helped his side see out a clean sheet, as the Ivorian came on in the dying moments of Marseille’s 0-0 stalemate away at Lorient in France's Ligue 1.
Concluding our round-up, Alex Telles – who could play against United in the Europa League on Thursday – came on in the 78th minute as Sevilla were pegged back by a quick-fire double to draw 2-2 at home to Celta Vigo in La Liga.