Midfielder Ethan Galbraith had an impressive debut for Doncaster Rovers on Saturday despite the League One outfit suffering a 2-0 defeat to fellow south-Yorkshire side Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough.
The 20-year-old, who only joined Rovers on a season-long loan from Manchester United on Friday, was given an instant start by Dons boss Richie Wellens, who praised the youngsters contribution after the game.
“I think he’s got the potential to be a top player,” Wellens told the club website. “He seemed to take the big crowd and atmosphere in his stride.
“It didn’t phase him and he took the ball in all areas of the pitch, he probably only gave the ball away once in the whole game.”
The Carnmoney man also earned plaudits for his performance from team-mate, and ex-Spurs player, John Bostock.
“He came in yesterday and was really quiet,” said Bostock, “then he goes and puts in such a good performance on his professional debut.
“It’s nice to have him here because he’s got a massive future in the game, I enjoyed playing alongside him and hopefully we can develop that relationship.”
The League One contest also saw Wednesday goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell keep his third consecutive clean sheet since his arrival on loan from Premier League outfit Burnley.
The opening weekend of the Premier League saw Craig Cathcart start Watford’s 3-2 home success over Aston Villa though, despite weighing in with an assist, there was disappointment for Stuart Dallas as Leeds United were beaten 5-1 by a scintillating Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Defender Jonny Evans was again missing from the Leicester City side because of a foot injury while left-back Jamal Lewis remained on the substitute’s bench as Newcastle United were roundly defeated 4-2 at home by West Ham.
On the goalscoring front, Liam Boyce scored his fifth goal of the campaign when he converted from the penalty spot as Hearts were knocked out of the Scottish League Cup following their 3-2 reverse to Celtic at Parkhead.
Elsewhere in the competition, winger Niall McGinn popped up with an assist as Aberdeen were surprisingly beaten 2-1 by Raith Rovers, while Ali McCann scored the decisive penalty in St Johnstone’s shoot-out victory over Arbroath.
Meanwhile, Conor Washington got his first of the season when he scored a first-half penalty in Charlton Athletic’s 2-1 defeat at Oxford United for whom Gavin Whyte played the full 90 minutes.
In the U18 Premier League, which also got underway over the weekend, there was a goal and an assist for Northern Ireland U17 striker Jamie Donley in Spurs 4-2 loss at Fulham, while there were also assists for Burnley’s Dane McCullough and Caolan McBride of Aston Villa.
There were competitive U18 debuts for former Dungannon player Darren Robinson (Derby County) and ex Linfield midfielder Josh Roney (Stoke City).
Finally, 19-year-old striker Chris McKee hit a first-half hat-trick inside 10 minutes as Rangers ‘B’ team thumped Gretna 9-1 in the Scottish Lowland League.
