It wasn’t a fantastic weekend by any means for the Yanks in the EFL, as none of the Americans in action completed a full 90 minutes. Haji Wright was substituted in the 72nd minute in Coventry City’s one-all draw with Norwich, whereas Duane Holmes started on the bench and was brought on after the interval in PNE’s third consecutive loss.
Coventry City 1 – 1 Norwich City
After scoring coming off the bench midweek in Coventry’s 1-0 win against Blackburn Rovers, the team’s record signing Haji Wright was given a chance to start against promotion favorite Norwich.
Unfortunately, it didn’t go as well as they hoped, although they did manage to secure an important point late in the match.
In the 41st minute, Norwich’s Jonathan Rowe skillfully guided the ball into the net from Jack Stacey’s pass, giving the Canaries the lead in a lively match with plenty of attacking efforts from both teams.
The Sky Blues dominated in goal attempts, with the American striker Wright notably active, but Norwich’s commitment to defending thwarted their advances.
Norwich keeper Angus Gunn made two crucial saves against Josh Eccles, but, as the clock ticked down, he was helpless when a cross from Milan van Ewijk deflected off his teammate Gibson’s head and into the net, resulting in an own goal and a point for each team.
Watch the highlights here:
Ipswich Town 4 – 2 Preston North End
After losing 3-0 to the league leaders Leicester City midweek, Duane Holmes’ PNE went up against second-place Ipswich in another tough battle. The match saw Preston drop a third straight match, while conceding 11 goals in that rough 270-minute span of time.
Conor Chaplin opened the scoring for the hosts with a spectacular first-time strike. Although Mads Frokjaer-Jensen leveled after the Tractor Boys failed to deal with a through ball, Brandon Williams’ solo effort and Nathan Broadhead’s easy tap-in put them 3-1 up at half-time.
Ben Whiteman narrowed the deficit with a deflected shot, but Marcus Harness, Jack Taylor, and Omari Hutchinson combined to set up fellow substitute Kayden Jackson for Ipswich’s fourth.
Preston pressed forward in an attempt to salvage the situation, but Town held on for their ninth win in 11 games this season, maintaining their second-place position in the table, just two points behind Leicester.
Ipswich are now eight points clear of third-placed Preston, who suffered their third defeat in eight days.
Watch the highlights here:
Notes
Kristian Fletcher began and played the full 90 minutes in the Premier League Cup for Swansea’s U21s, scoring another brace. This brings his tally to six goals since he joined on loan just last month from DC United.
Despite being in the squad for Bradford City’s midweek game against Tranmere Rovers and being an unused substitute, Jonathan Tomkinson was not included in his team’s squad for the 1-0 victory against Swindon Town.
Just like in midweek, Charlie Kelman was an unused substitute in the losses against Leeds United and, most recently, Blackburn Rovers.
Vaughn Covil started in Hull City’s U21s narrow 1-0 defeat against Aston Villa’s U21s in the Premier League Cup.
Lynden Gooch is set to miss the rest of month due to a hamstring injury he suffered against Bristol City.
Josh Sargent and Daryl Dike are still recovering from their injuries.
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