Here are the eleven top performers from last weekend, with a full card of action across the Championship, League One and League Two.
GK – Carl Rushworth – Coventry City
Kicking this week’s team of the week off with Coventry’s Carl Rushworth, who put on an immense goalkeeping display during their 12:30 kick-off Midland’s derby against Leicester City, holding The Foxes to a 0-0 bore draw. Rushworth’s efforts earned him an 8.7 match rating on Fotmob, also retaining Coventry’s playoff position in the Championship table.
A total of nine saves were recorded during the 90 minutes for the Brighton loanee, which included a few simple saves early in the first half, gradually increasing in difficulty as the game progressed, preventing a one-on-one with Stephy Mavididi with his feet to retain his clean sheet, retaining their unbeaten start. Rushworth earns his place in our team of the week.
LB – Luke Hannant – Oldham Athletic
Albeit not predominantly a left-back, it felt harsh to leave him out of the team of the week, hence why he’s this week’s left back pick! Oldham comfortably saw the back of a struggling Cheltenham side, dispatching them 3-0 in their third league win since promotion back to the fourth tier, in which Hannant scored from one of his whopping six shots!
His first league goal since his move from Gateshead came in the 76th minute from the penalty spot, after Donervan Daniels was fouled during a corner, ultimately leading to Hannant to send Cheltenham goalkeeper Joe Day the wrong way, to double Oldham’s advantage.
CB – Evan Weir – Walsall FC
Weir’s second appearance in a team of the week this season was fully deserved, for his star performance in front of goal on Saturday, bagging a brace against Tranmere Rovers to take his tally for the season to three. Albeit it wasn’t the greatest defensive performance, given The Saddlers conceding on two occasions, he still racked up an impressive 8.8 match rating on Fotmob.
The Irishman’s first came in the ninth minute, thanks to a sublime direct free-kick straight into the top-left corner, beyond Joe Murphy’s attempted dive, but he was forced to wait 35 minutes to double his total, just before the referee’s half-time whistle, when he capitalised on a clearance, slamming it into the bottom right corner on the half-volley.
CB – Ryan Johnson – AFC Wimbledon
AFC Wimbledon’s ever reliable centre-back Ryan Johnson continued his impressive run of form which earned him his first international call-up to the Northern Ireland squad earlier this month. Johnson was the key to The Dons picking up their fifth league win of the season, scoring the equaliser in the 70th minute, as well as being the highest rated player in this fixture with an 8.4 rating.
His goal came thanks to a pinpoint Jake Reeves corner, leading to Johnson to simply head past Timothee Lo-Tutala in goal to level the scoring, ultimately leading to Miles Hippolyte’s winner fifteen minutes later. Johnson has earnt his place in our team of the week.
RB – Alex Hartridge – Burton Albion
Hartridge has been flying since he joined The Brewers from Wycombe Wanderers, putting in two shifts at the back before Saturday, but went one step further, with a man of the match defensive display against Huddersfield Town, which saw him receive an 8.4 match rating on Fotmob.
His defensive contributions were superb, with one tackle, two blocks, four clearances and four interceptions, but his standout statistic was two goal line clearances! Firstly, he prevented Joe Taylor from breaking the deadline, clearing the ball off the line whilst slipping in the wet conditions, following up soon after with yet another, this time to prevent Bojan Radulovic at the death.
CM – Nnamdi Ofoborh – Barnet FC
Barnet stunned high-flying Grimsby Town, silencing the 1,200 strong away fans with a comfortable three-nil victory, providing The Bees their fourth win in the league following their promotion back to the EFL. Nnamdi Ofoborh was easily the man of the match, given his brace to open his account for the 25/26 campaign.
Ofobohr’s first goal of the game came in the 42nd minute, when Mark Shelton’s corner Ofobohr on the far edge of the box, before his arguably slightly scuffed shot bounced over the defence as well as Christy Pym to begin Barnet’s scoring antics. After Ndlovu doubled the advantage, Ofobohr went on to bag another, when a short corner reached him at the edge of the box, hitting an absolute thunderbolt past Pym, making it a long journey back for The Mariners.
CM – Brian De Keersmaecker – Oxford United
De Keersmaecker was Oxford’s creative genius in their fixture against Bristol City, creating five chances throughout the 90 minutes, two of those resulting in an assist to guide them to their first league win of the season. During the Sunday 2PM kickoff, De Keersmaecker was by far the man of the match, picking up a 9.0 Fotmob match rating.
In the 19th minute, he teed up new signing Nik Prelec to open his goal account in English football, as his freekick from out wide ended up straight on Prelec’s head to begin the scoring in what could be a turning point in the U’s season. De Keersmaecker was forced to wait until stoppage time for his second, sending in a freekick that was a carbon copy of the first, this time taking a faint deflection off left-back Greg Leigh. Brian has earnt his place in our team of the week.
LW – Jayden Luker – Notts County
Not many players can provide three assists in a full match, let alone 23 minutes. Well, Jayden Luker certainly can, as he set up goals number two, three and four in Notts County’s four-nil battering of struggling Crawley Town, firing County into seventh position despite their rocky start. These contributions earned Luker a 9.2 rating.
Assist one of the short cameo came following a quick break away following a set-piece, dribbling past his defender, before making a simple pass to Tyrese Hall to slot home, and just four minutes later, he provided yet again, finding Alasanne Jatta to open his account for the season.
CAM – Josh Windass – Wrexham AFC
Windass’s quick brace guided Wrexham to their first second Championship victory of the season over an underwhelming Norwich side who haven’t hit the ground running under Liam Manning, with this defeat being their third successive home loss. Windass narrowly missed out on making it a hattrick, being prevented by the woodwork, but still racked up a 9.2 Fotmob match rating.
He opened the scoring for Wrexham, when Issa Kabore’s low cross into the box found Windass in acres of space, who calmly fired past Vladan Kovacevic in the Canaries net, and just 12 minutes later, Windass was at it again, picking up a loose ball near the corner flag, before eventually curling it into the top right corner to wrap up an impressive day in front of goal for him.
RW – Ben House – Lincoln City
In one of League One’s early kick-offs, Lincoln saw the back of freshly relegated Luton Town, with Ben House turning into a bagsman in front of goal, bagging a brace to open his League one account for the campaign, as he aims to return to his form from a couple of seasons ago. This brace earned him an overall match rating of 9.0 on Fotmob, picking up the man of the match award, also helped by winning 10 duels throughout the game.
Goal one came in the 12th minute, latching onto Freddie draper’s pass into the box, setting House up into a one-on-one position, calmly slotting past Josh Keeley in goal, and goal two came in added time in the second half, coming in style, when he picked up a long ball forwards, taking it past defender Christ Makosso, following up with a fine strike into the bottom right corner. ‘Housey’ has more than earnt his place in our team of the week.
ST – Marcus Forss – Bolton Wanderers
Forss became Bolton’s derby day hero during their 12:30 kick-off against Wigan Athletic, scoring a brace and earning the man of the matcha ward with a match rating of 8.8 on Fotmob. The Finnish international is finally back scoring after a lengthy period of inconsistency in front of goal.
His first goal in white came in the 20th minute, following Thierry Gale’s rapid sprint down the wing, which ultimately found Forss unmarked around the penalty spot to fire straight past Sam Tickle in goal. Eventaully Forss topped it off for Bolton, scoring their fourth goal of the game in the 50th minute, when Luke Robinson’s scuffed clearance was headed equally as shambolically by Morgan Fox, which Forss pounced upon to double his tally. Marcus is more than derserving of a place in our team of the week.
