Louie Barry and Rico Richards were among the goalscorers for their respective EFL loan clubs over the weekend.
Barry, spending a second-consecutive campaign with League One side Stockport County, notched his seventh goal of the season in just 11 matches for the Hatters, giving them the lead from the penalty spot at Charlton Athletic, who responded to take a point in a 1-1 draw at The Valley.
The 21-year-old’s strike sees him remain joint-top of the League One scoring charts this season, with six goals in 10 league appearances.
Meanwhile, in League Two, Rico Richards netted his first goal for leaders Port Vale, who secured a comfortable 3-1 victory at home to Fleetwood Town.
After forcing defender Kayden Hughes into a mistake, Richards was well positioned to receive a pass from Vale striker Jayden Stockley and steer an effort confidently past David Harrington in the Fleetwood goal.
Elsewhere, there were 90-minute appearances for a further five on-loan Villans.
Leander Dendoncker played the full game for Anderlecht in their 2-1 Belgian Pro League defeat at Beerschot.
In the Championship, Kaine Kesler-Hayden turned out for Preston North End in their 1-0 home win over Coventry City, the Lancashire outfit sitting 15th in the second tier.
Goalkeepers Filip Marschall and James Wright each played the full game for their respective clubs, in Crewe’s 1-1 draw at home to Salford City in League Two, and Real Unión’s 3-0 defeat away to Gimnástica Segoviana in Spain’s Primera División RFEF – Group 2.
On Saturday evening, Philippe Coutinho also played the full 90 in South America for Vasco da Gama. Rafael Paiva’s side bowed out of the Copa do Brasil at the semi-final stage, as a 1-1 with Atlético Mineiro could not overturn a 2-1 first-leg deficit.
Also in League One, there were minutes for Shrewsbury Town pair Josh Feeney and Tommi O’Reilly last Thursday. Feeney started and completed 82 minutes of a 2-0 defeat at home to play-off hopefuls Exeter City, while the latter came on for the final 22 minutes of the same encounter.
Lino Sousa played just over half an hour for Bristol Rovers as they went down 3-1 to Huddersfield Town at the John Smith’s Stadium in League One, while Lewis Dobbin was an unused substitute for West Bromwich Albion in their 1-1 Championship draw away at Oxford United.
Two more on-loan Lions are in action this evening, as Álex Moreno and Nottingham Forest take on Crystal Palace in the Premier League at The City Ground, while Enzo Barrenechea’s Valencia host Las Palmas in La Liga. There is also a full midweek fixture programme in the EFL.
