It’s been an odd seven days for our players who are out on loan this week, with many of their games being called off due to recent stormy weather – here’s an update on how they all got on.
Chris Conn-Clarke (Altrincham – National League)
The Northern-Ireland Under-21s international has returned to the Fylde Coast after his injury in Alty’s league clash against King’s Lynn Town, which happened 15 minutes into the game. He will stay with Fleetwood until further notice so the side can keep an eye on the knock. Everyone at Fleetwood Town wishes Cricky all the best during his recovery.
Connor Teale (Curzon Ashton – National League North)
It’s been an odd week for Connor and the team from Tameside Stadium, as they have only been able to play one of their two games this week, with the second one which was supposed to be against Brackley Town being postponed due to standing water on the pitch.
In the game that did go ahead, they made their way over to the Pure Stadium to take on Southport last Tuesday and Teale was named in the starting line-up for the game. The hosts applied a lot of pressure during the first-half of this game, but Teale and the rest of the back line were able to stand firm and keep the game goalless going into the break. More defending was needed in the second half, and it was a valiant performance from the young Cod, who played the full 90 and kept a clean sheet.
Akiel Raffie (Nantwich Town - Northern Premier League Premier Division)
Much like Curzon Ashton, Nantwich had their game at the weekend postponed due to an unplayable surface, which was unfortunate as they would have wanted to build on their 5-1 win over Stalybridge Celtic from midweek, where Akiel Raffie bagged a hat-trick of assists in the game.
On his 18th birthday, Raffie started the league clash at Bower Fold and quickly made his mark on the game by causing problems down the right-wing from the first whistle. It was the connection between Raffie and forward Joe Robbins that sunk Celtic as the midfielder, who was playing off the right on the night, fed the ball to his partner in crime all three times for his hat-trick on the night and was pipped to the man of the match award by Robbins.
Sam Bird (Hyde United – Northern Premier League Premier Division)
Hyde have had some changes since the last loan watch report as they have hired a new management team that consists of Nick Spooner being the new manager, with Martin Coyne and Gavin McCann named assistant manager and first-team coach respectively – and they had their first game in charge on Saturday when they travelled to Craik Park to face Morpeth Town.
Bird started this game on the bench but was brought on at the half-time break for Ciaran Summers whilst the side were a goal up, thanks to a strike from Liam Tongue. Two goals in three minutes just after the hour mark set the side back, with the now looking to get back into the game, which they did with seconds to go as Tom Pratt fired past Dan Lowson.
Max McMillan (Radcliffe – Northern Premier League Premier Division)
On Thursday afternoon last week, we announced that young forward McMillan would be joining Bobby Grant’s Radcliffe on an initial month-long loan deal ahead of their league fixture against Matlock Town, but that game didn’t go ahead due a waterlogged pitch at the Proctor Cars Stadium. Instead, his eyes will be set on their next clash, against Ashton United at the Neuven Stadium on Saturday.
Danny Edwards (Colne – Northern Premier League Division One West)
Edwards has seemingly found his feet at Colne in the last few games, with the last loan watch report showing that he was close to scoring in the side’s games against Warrington Rylands and Leek Town, but unfortunately, there’s no more updates on his time at the club as their game against City of Liverpool had to be called off due to a waterlogged pitch at the weekend.
Billy Batch (Kendal Town – Northern Premier League Division One West)
In a similar story to the one of Edwards and Colne, Batch has been a constant figure in the Mintcakes side since joining the club initially on loan back in December and played all 90 minutes in their last game against Kidsgrove Athletic. Their game at the weekend was supposed to be a home clash against Warrington Ryland, but the club posted that their pitch was waterlogged, and the game couldn’t go ahead.
Connor Eastham & Harry Clarke (AFC Blackpool – North West Counties Division One North)
With AFC Blackpool wanting to build on their brilliant 5-1 win over Campion AFC last time out, in which Eastham played all 90 minutes between the sticks and Clarke came off the bench for the last 17 minutes of the game, they were set to host Ashton Town at the weekend but, due to Storm Eunice, the game was postponed as the pitch fell foul to the recent weather.