Northern Ireland midfielder Ethan Galbraith produced another man-of-the-match performance at the weekend as Doncaster Rovers ran out 3-2 winners against Cheltenham Town to record just their third league success of the campaign.
The 20-year-old, who is on a season-long loan at the Keepmoat Stadium from Manchester United, had to fill in at right-back for the South Yorkshire outfit, but he admitted he was more than happy to play anywhere to help out the team.
“I was with the United first-team in pre-season and played at right back so I don’t mind doing a job there,” he told the club website. “We’ve had a bit of a shortage there at the minute and the gaffer asked me if I could fill in.
“I’ll do anything for the team and we all worked together to earn the three points.”
Commenting on Galbraith’s performance against Cheltenham, manager Richie Wellens said: “Class, class footballer. Ethan was head and shoulders above everyone else on the pitch.
“When he stepped into the midfield, his rotations were brilliant especially for the first goal.”
Meanwhile, in the Premier League, Craig Cathcart provided an assist for Watford’s first goal as the Hornets won 5-2 at Everton in what was Claudio Ranieri’s first game in charge.
Defender Jonny Evans got another important ninety minutes under his belt as Leicester City won at Brentford and Stuart Dallas started Leeds United 1-1 draw at home to Wolves.
In the Championship, Ciaron Brown was part of the Cardiff City side which slumped to an eighth straight defeat following a 2-0 loss to Middlesbrough who had Paddy McNair in a central defensive role.
Millwall had Daniel Ballard in the starting line-up for their home win against Michael O’Neill’s Stoke City though George Saville missed the game through suspension.
Struggling Hull City fell to yet another defeat as they went down 1-0 at Luton Town and to compound matters for manager Grant McCann striker Josh Magennis went off injured with 20 minutes remaining.
League One saw Conor McLaughlin make a welcome first start of the season for Fleetwood Town who lost 2-1 at Ipswich Town while there was a return from injury for Corry Evans who came on as a late substitute in Sunderland’s surprise 1-0 defeat at home to Charlton Athletic.
In Scotland, Steven Davis helped Rangers stay top of the Premiership table with a win at St. Mirren, while Dundee drew 1-1 at second-placed Hearts for whom Liam Boyce picked up a calf injury.
“We will see how he is tomorrow,” said Hearts boss Robbie Nielsen. “He had a tightness in his calf and he is such a key player that we took him straight off to try to make sure he is all right. We will see how he is for Wednesday.”
Finally, on the goalscoring front, Caolan Lavery found the net for the first time this season as Bradford City claimed their first win in four with an impressive 3-1 victory at Swindon Town.
There were goals too for three Northern Ireland U19 internationals; Michael Forbes was on target as West Ham United’s U18 side put five past Aston Villa; Euan Williams opened the scoring for Charlton Athletic’s U23 team in a 2-1 win over Millwall, while Ross McCausland scored his fourth of the season for Rangers ‘B’ who defeated Caledonian Braves 3-1 on Sunday.
