By Charlie Elliott
The EFL saw goals galore and a few comprehensive scorelines this weekend with plenty of shocks along the way.
West Bromwich Albion truly got a new manager bounce with a 5-1 win at home to Portsmouth as Grady Diangana bagged himself a brace of both goals and assists.
Elsewhere, Cambridge United snatched a 3-2 win over surprise package Mansfield Town after a mega performance from experienced defender Michael Morrison.
Here is Charlie Elliott’s Team of the Week on a potentially season-defining weekend for a lot of teams.
Teddy Sharman-Lowe (Doncaster Rovers)
Doncaster Rovers were surprisingly under the cosh for most of their 1-0 win against Harrogate Town.
However, young Chelsea loanee Teddy Sharman-Lowe put in a huge performance to get the clean sheet and take Rovers to third in the table.
A great stop from an Anthony O’Connor header was the pick of the bunch, with the youngster also stopping an overhead kick with a diving save.
Sharman-Lowe is showing his true quality after a difficult journey on loan so far, after making only a handful of appearances at National League Bromley last campaign.
Cody Drameh (Hull City)
A clean sheet and 3-0 victory at Bramall Lane was arguably the shock of the week, with Hull City right-back Cody Drameh crucial to it.
Drameh assisted with a low cross that was bundled in and showed some outstanding defensive work against one of the best-attacking teams in the league.
Solid at both ends, the 23-year-old is a well-deserved inclusion.
Michael Morrison (Cambridge United)
It feels slightly strange to put a centre-back who conceded two goals in, but Morrison was a very strong performer.
The experienced defender scored after less than a minute to open Cambridge’s scoring in their 3-2 win against the Stags, but in truth, he could not have missed his close-range header.
The 36-year-old put in a lot of clearances and despite the goals conceded, he had a very good game.
Kyle Knoyle (Stockport County)
Stockport County defender Kyle Knoyle was present at both ends in the Hatters’ 2-0 home win against Crawley Town.
Starting on the right of a three in defence, Knoyle was almost playing like a fullback at times, even getting an assist for William Collar.
The 28-year-old completed four out of four dribbles, which are numbers that a winger would be proud of, but was also instrumental in keeping out a Crawley side known for scoring plenty of goals.
The whole defensive unit for County were outstanding but Knoyle’s attacking output puts him slightly higher than the others.
Trai Hume (Sunderland)
Primarily deployed as a right back, both Trai Hume and Drameh were too good to not get in so the Sunderland defender has been shifted over to the left.
Hume was involved in both goals in their 2-2 draw with Plymouth Argyle, contributing with a goal and an assist.
The Black Cats full-back put in a nice cross for the prolific Wilson Isidor to fire home, before firing home himself from the centre of the box with a nicely controlled volley.
Hume made amends for Chris Mepham’s dodgy defending of Argyle’s first goal – a loose touch from the Welshman was pounced on by Ryan Hardie as his effort rebounded off goalkeeper Anthony Patterson for an own goal.
Grady Diangana (West Bromwich Albion)
The Tony Mowbray era is well and truly underway for Albion after an emphatic 5-1 win over Portsmouth, four of the goals Diangana contributed to directly, with a brace of both goals and assists.
It was a slightly fortunate way that he got his two goals, but he took the second with great composure.
You can’t look past four goal involvements though and Diangana will have impressed his new gaffer hugely.
Emiliano Marcondes (Norwich City)
Norwich City were just as emphatic as the Baggies were after winning by the same scoreline against Swansea City – with Emiliano Marcondes running the show.
The Dane created a mammoth seven chances across the 90 minutes and got a goal and assist for his creative work.
Marcondes could not miss his goal if he tried but it capped off a very strong performance.
Viktor Torp (Coventry City)
An all-Danish centre midfield partnership makes up this team as Viktor Torp got a couple of goals in Coventry City’s 2-1 win at home to Watford.
Torp’s first came from a striker-esque finish in the box but the second was a moment of magic from a free-kick on the edge of the box after he hit it sweetly into the top corner.
Three chances created and four successful tackles show the rounded nature of his game.
Antoni Sarcevic (Bradford City)
Rivalling Hull for the shock of the week was Bradford City, who dominated League Two table toppers Walsall with a 3-0 win at Valley Parade.
Formerly of Bolton Wanderers, Antoni Sarcevic got two assists and a goal as the Bantams edged closer to the playoff places.
His goal was a brilliantly struck effort into the roof of the near post from the edge of the box, which opened the scoring after just over ten minutes.
Jon Dadi Bodvarsson (Burton Albion)
Everything clicked for Burton Albion in their 4-2 win at home to Rotherham United, during which Icelandic striker Jon Dadi Bodvarsson got a class brace.
His first looped over the keeper after a bundle around the six-yard box and his second was a proper finish after being in the right place at the right time to tuck home a rebound.
Bodvarsson led the line with plenty of movement and brought the Brewers up the pitch after spells of pressure.
Josh Sargent (Norwich City)
Another striker who got a brace was American forward Josh Sargent in the Canaries 5-1 win against Swansea.
Two finishes that were much harder than they looked helped his side get a 2-1 lead which they never looked back from.
A half-volley low and true into the near post and then a scruffy low finish across goal from a tight angle showed an instinct that only the best strikers possess.
