Loan Watch: Vela Scores | Joel Campbell Denied | Freeman Impresses

Samuel Galindo sat on the bench once more as Gimnastic de Tarragona drew 0-0 at CD Alcoyano and Bartley did the same as Rangers lost 1-0 away to Kilmarnock. James Shea also watched from the side for both Dagenham and Redbridge’s victory in the FA cup against Bath and loss in the league to Accrington. Wellington Silva was left out completely as a return to Arsenal grows ever more likely and Sanchez Watt has joined Sheffield Wednesday on loan, but his involvement is unlikely to start until at least next week.

Carlos Vela:

The Mexican was on target as his side halted their dreadful run to win 3-2 away at Real Betis. After a goalless first half,including a Griezmann missed penalty, Betis took the lead when Agirretxe scored a thumping header from a corner. Carlos Vela then doubled their lead with his first goal of the season, latching on to Agirretxe’s chip and slotting the ball past Casto. With less than 10 minutes to go the points seemed in the bag, but two late goals from Jonathan Pereira pulled Betis level. The game now appeared destined for a draw, but the drama had not finished yet; in the 2nd of 3 minutes of injury time, Sociedad defender Inigo Martinez shot from the halfway line, catching out Casto in goal as the ball squeezed in under the bar.

Denilson:

The midfielder played the full game but couldn’t prevent his side losing 1-0 away to Palmeiras. Denilson picked up a yellow card in an otherwise fairly quiet first half, although there were four others who also picked up cards. The only goal of the game came after 55 minutes, when a long range Assuncao free kick was missed by everyone and found its way past the keeper into the net. Brazilian legend Rivaldo was sent off in the 90th minute after a tussle with Gerley.

Nicklas Bendtner:

The Dane played 90 minutes once again as his side went down 2-1 at home to Wigan. The Dane fired in a powerful shot from the left after 8 minutes and Al Habsi spilled it, with the ball eventually falling to Seb Larsson to smash it home. However, Sunderland squandered numerous chances and eventually were made to pay; Victor Moses went down easily in the box under Larsson’s challenge and the referee pointed to the spot. Jordi Gomez calmly stepped up to convert the spot kick and bring Wigan back into the game. The second half followed much the same pattern, with only poor finishing and excellent work from Al Habsi keeping the scores tied. However, in the 90th minute Wes Brown lost the ball on the edge of his own box, and McArthur squared it to Di Santo who tapped into an empty net. The full time whistle was met with boos from the home crowd as the pressure cranked up on Steve Bruce and Sunderland.

Pedro Botelho:

Botelho started on the bench as his side Rayo Vallecano welcomed Valencia. After seeing his side go 2-0 down to goals from Jonas and Tina Costa, the Brazilian was brought on and helped to inspire a fightback from his team. In the 84th minute Tamudo eventually brought the ball down and poked past Alvez in the Valencia goal. Despite this boost, Rayo were unable to pull back another and suffered their 5th defeat of the season.

Joel Campbell:

Lorient won 1-0 at home to Nice, but although the Costa Rican started he was unable to get on the scoresheet himself. The striker did have chances; the first coming on the half hour as he failed to convert Monnet-Pacquet’s cross, before his second half volley was excellently saved by Fernandez. Mvuemba scored the only goal from the penalty spot after Sunu was upended in the box. Campbell was then booked and substituted with 13 minutes to go as Lorient looked to sure up their defence.

Luke Freeman and Chuks Aneke

With Aneke having joined Freeman at Stevenage in the week, the duo were hoping to impress in their short loan spell in Hertfordshire – Freeman did just that and was Stevenage’s best player in their 0-0 draw against Walsall. The striker was twice denied by a fantastic Walker in the Walsall goal and also laid on chances for Aneke and Laird as Aneke also saw a volley fly just over the bar. Aneke was replaced after 57 minutes, but had performed reasonably well on his debut. Walsall could have stolen the points right at the end, but Macken skied a fantastic chance from deep inside the penalty area.