Chirivella assists & Markovic impresses on busy week for loanees – Liverpool FC Loan Watch

Pedro Chirivella grabbed an assist and Lazar Markovic continued his bright start to life at Hull as eight of Liverpool’s loanees enjoyed match action this week.

Chirivella’s Go Ahead Eagles met Taiwo Awoniyi’s NEC Nijmegen in a battle of loanees on Saturday, and it was the Spaniard who took the bragging rights as he claimed an assist in a 2-1 win.

Retaining his central midfield place, Chirivella impressed with an influential performance to help the Eagles to a first league win since November, playing a key role providing the second goal.

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Collecting the ball deep in his own half, Chirivella showed superb vision and execution as he slid a perfectly-weighted ball to release teammate Jarchinio Antonia, who raced through and finished.

The set up continued an excellent start in the Eredivisie for Chirivella, who already has a goal and assist to his name from just three appearances.

Meanwhile, Awoniyi didn’t make it onto the pitch for Nijmegen, watching from the bench as an unused substitute.

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With Jon Flanagan an unused substitute twice for Burnley, and Mamadou Sakho left to wait for his Crystal Palace bow, Markovic was the only Premier League loanee to feature this week.

After a forgettable full debut, the Serbian produced the most promising display of his early time at Hull in Wednesday’s goalless draw with Man United.

Completing the full 90 minutes on his first Premier League start, Markovic – playing from a right-side midfield role – impressed with a lively and hard-working outing as Marco Silva’s men battled to a point.

Markovic carried Hull’s biggest threat, showing pace and determination to drive at United’s defence throughout – and it was from this that he almost notched a dramatic late winner, but his cleverly disguised strike rebounded off the post with David De Gea beaten.

Frustratingly, the 22-year-old was unable to build on the tidy performance on Saturday due to his ineligibility to face the Reds.

 

It was a week of contrasting fortunes for the Reds’ Championship loanees.

Danny Ward enjoyed the positive side of that, the Welshman helping Huddersfield to two big victories over promotion chasing rivals.

CARDIFF, WALES - Thursday, March 24, 2016: Wales Danny Ward in action against Northern Ireland during an International Friendly match at the Cardiff City Stadium. (Pic by Ian Cook/Propaganda)

The first saw a vital 3-1 win over Brighton on Thursday, but though the result was fantastic, the young keeper’s below-par performance was less impressive.

Ward lacked his usual composure and decisiveness – perhaps with the occasion getting to him slightly – and his night was summed up by his error that gifted Brighton an equaliser.

Though not entirely at fault – the chance ultimately came from a sloppy back-header – Ward still made a poor decision to rush from goal, allowing Brighton’s striker to round him and score into an empty net.

His teammates’ fire-power ensured the rare mistake counted for nothing however, and Ward bounced back with a much improved display in Sunday’s Yorkshire derby 2-1 win over Leeds.

Ward was rarely called into genuine action, but he pulled off some smart stops and provided a calming influence in defence as Huddersfield claimed a huge three points to leap over their opponents in the table.

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Meanwhile, Ryan Kent’s impressive form at Barnsley was halted in a frustrating week at Oakwell.

Buoyed after a match-winning assist last weekend, Kent was denied the chance to continue his strong run as he was substituted at half-time of a 3-1 loss to Wolves on Tuesday.

WIGAN, ENGLAND - Sunday, July 17, 2016: Liverpool's Ryan Kent in action against Wigan Athletic during a pre-season friendly match at the DW Stadium. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

This was down to Barnsley going down to 10-men on the stroke of half-time rather than his performance, with manager Paul Heckingbottom forced into a reshuffle which saw Kent make way.

However, the Reds’ loanee enjoyed a longer run-out on Saturday, playing 83 minutes of a goalless draw with Preston.

Operating from the left-wing, Kent produced a bright performance, delivering several dangerous crosses into the box which so nearly led to an opener in the second-half.

And he almost produced a moment of inspiration to break the deadlock himself, going close to scoring directly from a corner that was pushed out just as it seemed to be curling in.

There was no winning feeling for Liverpool’s lower league loanees, but Cameron Brannagan made his debut for Fleetwood as second-half substitute in a 1-1 draw with Charlton.

Entering at 1-0 down for the last 20 minutes, the midfielder posted a positive cameo – in which he nearly grabbed a debut goal – helping the Cod Army grab a stoppage time equaliser to extend their unbeaten run to 13 games.

Lloyd Jones suffered a second derby defeat of the season as his 10-man Swindon side went down 2-1 to local rivals, Oxford United

Jones played all of a fiercely contested grudge match, and though the score-line would suggest otherwise, he delivered an impressively composed performance in the heat of an intense battle.

 

Elsewhere, Ryan Fulton has retained the No.1 spot under Chesterfield’s new manager, Gary Caldwell, but he endured another unrewarding outing as his team lost 1-0 to Oldham in a relegation six-pointer.

Fulton’s own performance display was positive, as he made some important saves and showed good alertness to deal with several crosses, but he couldn’t do anything about the goal, beaten by a well-placed header from close range.

After sealing a transfer deadline day move to Tranmere Rovers, Jack Dunn made his debut for Liverpool’s non-league neighbours in a 1-1 FA Trophy draw with Chelmsford.

The 21-year-old started on the bench but entered into a left wing position at half-time at 1-0 down, and he enjoyed a lively half as his new team fought their way back into the game.

Dunn almost capped off a bright first outing by netting a winner, but his powerful low drive fizzed just wide of the post as denying him the perfect debut impact.

 

Liverpool’s Loanees This Week

  • Markovic – Hull – Played 90mins vs. Man United
  • SakhoCrystal Palace – Unused sub vs. Sunderland
  • FlanaganBurnley – Unused sub vs. Leicester & Watford
  • Ward – Huddersfield – Played 90mins vs. Brighton & Leeds
  • Kent – Barnsley – Played 45mins vs. Wolves & 83mins vs. Preston
  • Chirivella – Go Ahead Eagles – Played 90mins, posting an assist vs. NEC Nijmegen
  • Brannagan – Fleetwood – Played 20mins vs. Charlton
  • Fulton – Chesterfield – Played 90mins vs. Oldham
  • Jones – Swindon – Played 90mins vs. Oxford
  • Dunn – Tranmere – Played 45mins vs. Chelmsford
  • Awoniyi – NEC Nijmegen – Unused sub vs. Go Ahead Eagles
  • Wisdom – Red Bull Salzburg – Still on winter break
  • Allan – Hertha Berlin – Away on international duty with Brazil U20s

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