Loan Report: McNulty Off The Marc

An unbeaten few days for Sunderland saw the Black Cats pick up a 1-1 draw away to Ipswich Town in League One, followed by an impressive 3-1 win away at Accrington Stanley in the Carabao Cup first round. Against the Tractor Boys, Everton loanee Luke Garbutt put the hosts 1-0 up after quarter of an hour, but Lynden Gooch rescued a point for Sunderland in a game that they were lucky not to get thumped in.

They were much improved against Accrington though to gain a first win of the season. Royals loanee Marc McNulty opened the scoring in this one after 17 mins. A penalty on the hour, converted by Colby Bishop, brought the home side back to level pegging, but two goals in the last ten minutes from Aiden McGeady and Charlie Wyke ensured Sunderland booked their place in the second round, which will see them travel to Premier League Burnley.

All good things must come to an end, and for Vito Mannone and Minnesota United this was the case last weekend in MLS against FC Dallas as they suffered a crushing 5-3 defeat. After what was a breath taking first half, the two sides headed into the break with the score 3-2 to FC Dallas. With just less than 20 minutes to go, Minnesota drew level but a disastrous end to the game for the Loons saw them concede twice and have a man sent off, bringing their impressive seven game unbeaten run to an end. They bounced back well though, returning to winning ways on Wednesday - Mannone keeping a clean sheet in a 1-0 victory over Colorado Rapids.

Cambridge United fans will be enjoying themselves this week after not only picking up another point in League Two but also claiming a big scalp in the Carabao Cup, knocking out Brentford - two divisions higher than them - at Griffin Park.

Sam Smith got his first start for The U’s in that draw, which came against Newport County and was ultimately a fair result. He was withdrawn on 70 minutes though, and was then rested for the cup victory after picking up a slight groin strain. In his absence, Cambridge held their Championship counterparts to a 1-1 draw after 90 mins, before winning 5-4 on penalties.

After a heavy defeat on the opening day of the Scottish Premiership season, that did not seem to dampen spirits at Hamilton as they bounced back quickly, defeating Kilmarnock 2-0 at home despite being reduced to ten men. A goal in each half settled this one for the home side, as the visitors could not produce a comeback despite playing against ten men for the final 35 minutes of this game. Royals keeper Luke Southwood was once again an unused sub in this game.

Yeovil Town faced newly promoted Stockport County in the National League last Saturday in a game that ended 1-1. The Glovers took the lead just after 20 mins through Courtney Duffus, but the visitors snatched an 87th minute equaliser to take a point back to Manchester. Young stopper Liam Driscoll was an unused sub in this game, but has since returned to Reading after his loan spell was cut short due to injury.