Goalkeeper: Jason Pickford – Bradford City
A string of top-class saves in the opening half kept his side in the game as Bradford came away from Essex with a well earned point.
Pickford had to be alert, and agile to first keep out Sanchez Watt’s free-kick, and then showed tremendous strength to keep out George Moncur’s thunderous volley which seemed destined for the top corner of the Bantam’s goal.
All in all, the keeper faced nine shots from Colchester United, all of which were dealt with admirably.
Defence: Mark Little – Bristol City
It is not surprising that, in a game of six goals, and no shortage of attacking play, that Mark Little stood out.
The former Peterborough United man caused the Fleetwood defence all sorts of problems with his rapid acceleration. Although he did not directly contribute with a goal or an assist, Little’s attacking play was without doubt a contributing factor to Bristol’s goal threat.
The 26-year-old also drew countless fouls from the Fleetwood players, again, rubber-stamping his attacking prowess.
Defence: Christopher Routis – Bradford City
The statistics and fans will tell you that chances were very much at a premium in this game, which is testament to both defences.
But Routis was the man who shone through the most. Winning every header, and timing every tackle perfectly, Colchester were left frustrated and in the end limited to taking pop-shots at Jason Pickford’s goal.
Routis’ performance earned the Bantam’s their first clean sheet for three games, and their third of the season.
Defence: Kortney Hause – Gillingham
Hause by name and by nature. Nothing got past this brick construction on Saturday.
In a game that Walsall would have been determined to win after their 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Rochdale in mid-week, The Gills were going to need a defence who would not fear the attack that The Sadlers were going to try and launch at them. But Hause, on loan from Wolves, kept a level head throughout the match, and was incredibly consistent both in the air and on the ground. Consistently good, I might add.
An impressive performance was made all the more so, when I discovered the 6′ 2″ centre-back was only 19!
Defence: Scott Cuthbert – Leyton Orient
In a match that could prove pivotal in Russel Slade keeping his job, it was important that the players gave there all, and no one did more so than Cuthbert.
The 27-year-old proved vital as Orient came away from Scunthorpe with a 2-1 win to their names. Cuthbert himself opened the scoring with a pin-point headed finish, right into the “postage stamp” in the top corner.
The Scot’s attention then turned to defending, which he did resolutely, and with commitment.
Midfield: Josh Morris – Fleetwood Town
The midfielder proved to be The Cod Army’s key man in a thrilling 3-3 draw at home to league leaders Bristol City.
Morris helped himself to a goal and an assist in an impressive display. The winger opened the scoring in the 22nd minute with a low shot that nestled into the Robins’ bottom corner. With the game at 1-3, the home side needed a bit of inspiration to bring them back into the game, and Morris provided it, just after the hour mark, a perfect cross was met by the head of Jamie Proctor who made no mistake with the header.
Midfield: Louis Thompson – Swindon Town
A 5-2 thrashing saw Swindon Town embarrass Sheffield United at The County Ground.
It was a game bossed by the Town midfield, as well. Thompson, along with Yaser Kasim, controlled the game for 90-minutes. Not a pass went astray from one half of Town’s Thompson twins, who managed to rack up an impressive brace of assists. He also did an admirable job on a defensive front, giving the back three of Swindon fantastic levels of protection.
Thompson topped off his performance with a brilliant goal in the 86th minute. Crashing a thunderous strike into the top corner of Howard’s net.
Midfield: Dele Alli – Milton Keynes Dons
Without a shadow of a doubt,the stand-out performance of the weekend in League One. With MK scoring six, Alli was directly involved in four of them. Scoring three and providing a brilliant assist.
The 18-year-old, no you didn’t misread that, he is still 18, started the rout in the third minute with a tidy left-footed finish. The midfielder then showed his versatilty early in the second half, rising to head home and make it 3-1. Alli then showed outstanding vision to send Benik Afobe through on goal for MK’s 4th.
Alli then rounded off his hat-trick in the 84th minute with another tidy, and composed finish. There is no doubt the big clubs will circling for this man soon.
Midfield: Yaser Kasim – Swindon Town
A sublime performance, topped off with one of the most outrageous bits of skill you are likely to see, has earned Yaser Kasim a spot in Week seven’s Team of the Week.
The Swindon midfield were the main talking point at the final whistle. 62% of possession points to a confident and controlling midfield, that had Kasim right at the heart of it. Despite only being credited with one assist, the Iraq borm midfielder was an influence in everything good for Town, which was a lot.
The one assist the 23-year-old did get, will no doubt be a talking point in the County Ground dressing room for weeks to come. On the left hand side of the pitch, deep in United’s half near the corner flag, Kasim picked the ball up confronted by a United defender.
At the late stage of the game (86th minute) you wouldn’t have blamed him for trying to win a throw or a corner. Instead, Kasim thought he would poke it through the legs of the nearby defender. Impressive? What if I told you the same pass also nut-megged a second United team member, before laying off Louis Thompson for an unstoppable shot.
Forward: Michael Smith – Swindon Town
Michael Smith is back on the scoreboard after not netting a league goal since the opening day of the season.
This was a performance typical of Smith who had two real chances, and took them both. The first arrived in the 12th minute, when he collected a Louis Thompson pass before finishing coolly to give Town the lead.
The second arrived from the penalty spot after Massimo Luongo was brought down in the area. Smith stepped up and took his tally to four for the League One season. With a midfield bursting with talent, Town will be looking to Smith to convert the numerous chances that will inevitably be created by them.
Forward: Kieran Agard – Bristol City
After his big money move from Rotherham United, City fans will be expecting goals from their new signing.
On the basis of this performance, Agard appears more than capable of doing just that. The striker netted 26 times for The Millers in League One last season, and increased his Bristol City tally by two on Saturday, with a brace in a thrilling 3-3 draw at Fleetwood.
Both goals were real goalscorer’s goals, with the first being tapped in from a superb Joel Bryan cross, and the second was poked home after a rebound of Chris Maxwell’s leg. With Baldock gone, The Robins will need someone to fill his scoring boots, and if Agard can continue to be “in the right place at the right time”, he may well fill them.
