Aston Villa, Newcastle United, Blackburn Rovers, Sheffield United and Birmingham City standout performers all starred in the EFL’s ‘Team of the Midweek’.
Aston Villa’s Jonathan Kodjia celebrates with Gary Gardner
It was an eventful round of midweek fixtures in the EFL this week, as Aston Villa recorded their first away win in 437 days, Newcastle United returned to the summit of the Championship table and MK Dons drew with Bristol Rovers in a six-goal thriller in League One.
Players from all three of those fixtures were included in the EFL’s ‘Team of the Midweek’, with Swindon Town, Blackburn Rovers, Preston North End, Peterborough United, Bolton Wanderers, Birmingham City and Ipswich Town players all also being represented in the final XI.
Between them, the EFL’s Midweek XI scored 12 goals, with every player barring the two central midfielders and the goalkeeper bagging at least once. Whilst that is an impressive goal scoring haul, some might suggest an element of laziness in the selection process, given that there is a little more to the game, and certainly to defending at least, than simply scoring goals.
Newcastle’s Dwight Gayle made the EFL Team of the Midweek
The full EFL ‘Team of the Midweek’ is below:
Lawrence Vigouroux (Swindon Town)
The former Tottenham and Liverpool prospect kept a clean sheet as Swindon Town brought Rochdale’s seven game winning streak to an abrupt halt with a 3-0 win at the County Ground. It was a mightily impressive win for the Robins, although Vigouroux himself only had 2 saves to make all game.
Daniel Lafferty (Sheffield United)
Sheffield United loanee Daniel Lafferty kept a clean sheet and bagged a goal as the Blades dismantled bottom-of-the-league Shrewsbury Town away from home 3-0. Most Sheffield United fans will feel Billy Sharp was unfortunate not to make the EFL’s XI given that he bagged a brace in the game.
David Wheater (Bolton Wanderers)
Experienced former Middlesbrough defender David Wheater also scored and kept a clean sheet midweek in Bolton’s 2-0 win away at Millwall. It was the towering centre-back’s 7th league goal since becoming a Bolton Wanderers player back in 2011.
Luke Chambers (Ipswich Town)
Nottingham Forest’s 2010/11 Player of the Year Luke Chambers also met the Team of the Week double criteria for a defender of shutting the opposition out at one end and bagging a goal at the other. Despite this, Chambers inclusion was criticised by some supporters, who pointed out his poor distribution from the back in Ipswich’s 2-0 win over Burton.
Michael Bostwick (Peterborough United)
Peterborough United stalwart Michael Bostwick rarely lets his team down, and he was in fine form once again this week. The 28-year-old put in a dominant midfield display as the Posh secured a 3-0 win over Northampton Town.
Gary Gardner (Aston Villa)
After 14 months without an away win, it was inevitable an Aston Villa player would make the Team of the Week/Midweek once they finally got that win. Having been on the fringes at Villa Park for so long now, new boss Steve Bruce handed Gary Gardner a start against Reading, and the midfielder made the most of it, the star man as Villa secured a late 2-1 win.
Paul Gallagher (Preston North End)
Seasoned central midfielder Paul Gallagher has been a pivotal figure at Preston for the last three years, and he is still arguably the clubs most important player, now aged 32. The former Leicester man scored one and assisted two more as Preston beat high-flying Huddersfield Town 3-1.
David Cotterill (Birmingham City)
Birmingham City winger David Cotterill
A 2013 League One champion with Doncaster Rovers, David Cotterill has spent the last two years as a regular out on the wing for Birmingham. The Welsh international made one assist and scored once from the spot as Birmingham City put the final nail in the coffin for Alan Stubbs’ reign as Rotherham United manager.
Dwight Gayle (Newcastle United)
Former non-league star Dwight Gayle has been in inspired form since joining Newcastle United from Crystal Palace for £10 million. The 26-year-old has struck 11 times in just 12 games wearing the famous Newcastle number 9 shirt, making him the first player in the Championship to hit double figures and a major reason why the Magpies top the table after 13 games.
Matt Taylor (Bristol Rovers)
Prolific Bristol Rovers striker Matt Taylor scored a hat-trick midweek as the Gasheads drew 3-3 away at MK Dons. The 26-year-old has now scored 10 goals in 15 games this season, having bagged 28 goals last season, and one suspects Rovers could face an uphill task hanging onto their top marksman in the next few transfer windows.
Sam Gallagher (Blackburn Rovers)
Adding a bit of youth to an experienced midweek XI, Sam Gallagher is a product of the excellent youth setup at Southampton, and made 18 Premier League appearances for the Saints first team in the 2013/14 season. Currently in the second loan spell of his career, Gallagher scored a brace in Blackburn’s 2-1 win over Nottingham Forest at Ewood Park on Tuesday night.
Do you agree with the EFL Team of the Midweek?
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