Conor Coventry and Mipo Odubeko both made their EFL Championship debuts on Saturday afternoon, with a total of five West Ham United loanees in action.
Republic of Ireland U21s captain Coventry, who had previously seen Football League action in League One with Lincoln City in 2019/20, started for the Posh in a heavy defeat at Sheffield United’s Bramall Lane.
In his first appearance of a season-long loan deal, the 21-year-old played the full 90 minutes of the 6-2 defeat, as Darren Ferguson’s side struggled to cope with their dominant hosts.
Despite the two teams going in level at 1-1 half-time, the Blades ran away with proceedings in the second period, leaving Peterborough 23rd in the table with four points from their opening six games. A trip to Reading’s Madejski Stadium awaits on Tuesday night.
Elsewhere in the same division, 18-year-old striker Odubeko – also on a season-long loan – made his first appearance for Huddersfield Town as a late second-half substitute in their 2-1 loss at Stoke City.
The teenage striker was summoned to the pitch by manager Carlos Corberan with 12 minutes remaining, after his side had seen Harry Toffolo’s opening goal moments after half-time overturned by Jacob Brown and a Matty Pearson own-goal.
Sadly no further chances were forthcoming for the Terriers at the Britannia Stadium as Stoke held firm, but Odubeko will look to make his mark when his team visit struggling Blackpool on Tuesday night.
Also enjoying a milestone was goalkeeper Nathan Trott, who recorded his first clean sheet of the season for AS Nancy in their 0-0 draw at Dunkerque in France’s Ligue 2.
The young shot-stopper put in an excellent display at the Stade Marcel-Tribut on Saturday, with his side reduced to ten men for the majority of the game after defender Giovanni Haag received his marching orders in the 34th minute for a professional foul outside the box.
The pick of Trott’s saves saw him at full stretch to turn Kevin Rocheteau’s curling close-range effort around the post, while the 22-year-old also sprung acrobatically to his right late on to deny a half-volley from Dunkerque’s Billy Ketkeophomphone.
Nancy might even have won the game on the break were it not for some errant finishing from Vinni Triboulet, but a first point in four matches at least breaks their run of defeats, with the team still bottom of the table and without a win in Ligue 2 this season.
Back in England, in EFL’s League One, Nathan Holland was a late substitute for Oxford United against Wycombe Wanderers as the two play-off chasing teams cancelled one another out in a 0-0 stalemate at the Kassam Stadium.
Coming on with only the eight minutes of added time to play, the tricky winger was not afforded enough space to impact the game as both defences held firm in a stale encounter.
And in League Two, goalkeeper Joseph Anang could not prevent ten-man Stevenage FC from slipping to a 2-1 defeat at Sutton United.
An evenly-matched game at the VBS Community Stadium sprang into life when Elliott List ran clear ten minutes into the second half and blasted in to put Stevenage head.
Just moments later, however, and the game turned on its head; Sutton forward Richie Bennett headed past Anang from close range, and then five minutes later converted a penalty kick after Stevenage defender Terence Vancooten had handled a goalbound shot on the line.
Defeat sees Stevenage drop down to 18th in the table, with a home game against top-of-the-table Forest Green up next on Saturday.
Defender Frederik Alves, meanwhile, was an unused substitute in Sunderland’s 2-1 win over Accrington Stanley in England’s third tier.
