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Despite conceding twice to Derby County in the first match of the round on Monday night, Carlisle shot-stopper Mark Gillespie put in an heroic performance, and was dubbed ‘Hadrian’s Wall’ by Sky Sports pundit Simon Thomas.
During the match, the 22 year-old repeatedly frustrated the Rams and their travelling fans. Jamie Ward, Craig Forsyth, Simon Dawkins and Chris Martin all saw efforts heroically saved by the Carlisle number one.
Former England manager Steve McLaren, now boss of Derby, admitted that Gillespie was “excellent” Whilst United boss Graham Kavanaugh dubbed the performance magnificent.
Defence: Cyrus Christie – Derby County
The right-back continued his fine start to life at Derby County with another electric performance against League Two Carlisle United.
The 21-year-old right back made relentless attacking runs down the Rams’ right hand side which were a constant threat, whilst reserving a defensive solidity as County kept their second consecutive clean sheet.
Christie had some big boots to fill after the departure of the influential Andre Wisdom, but appears to be doing a great job.
Defence: Jonathan Woodgate – Middlesbrough
The veteran defender is not letting age be a barrier at the start of the 2014/15 season.
The 34-year-old produced Boro’s stand out defensive display so far with his domineering performance against League One side Oldham Athletic in their 3-0 victory.
Along side defensive partner Daniel Ayala, The Riverside looks set to become a hard place for the opposition to find the back of the net
Defence: Lawrie Wilson – Charlton Athletic
It is not often that defenders earn praise for their goal-scoring, but Charlton left-back Lawrie Wilson has earned a place in the team for that very reason.
On Tuesday night Charlton faced League One outfit Colchester United at the valley, with the 26-year-old left back netted twice. Both were deadly finishes that the best in the world would have been proud of.
But, despite scoring twice, Wilson’s focus did not waver from his defensive duties, helping the Addicks to their first clean sheet of the campaign
Midfield: Jacques Maghoma – Sheffield Wednesday
The former Burton Albion winger produced arguably his best performance in a Wednesday shirt on Tuesday night.
The tone of Maghoma’s evening was set after just two minutes, when the 26-year-old collected the ball on the edge of the Notts County area and bent an unstoppable effort into the top-right corner of the goal.
Throughout the rest of the contest, the Congolese winger gave his right-back a torrid time, before being withdrawn after 82 minutes.
Midfield: Lawson D’ath – Northampton Town
Northampton Town caused arguably the shock of the round by beating fancied Championship outfit Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-2 at Molineux.
This win was in no small part down to the influence of attacking midfielder Lawson D’ath, who signed for the club in the summer after being released by Reading. The 21-year-old cropped up with two crucial goals against the League One champions, including a headed winner in the 74th minute.
The performance particularly impressive bairing in mind the former Reading only joined the match in the 54th minute as a substitute for the injured Evan Horwood
Midfield: Ryan Donaldson – Cambridge United
The 23-year-old was Cambridge United’s stand-out player in their valiant defeat away to Birmingham City.
The former Newcastle United man got United’s only goal of the game when he tried his luck from the edge of the Birmingham penalty area, and found the bottom corner in the 38th minute to level the score at 1-1
Donaldson, who netted for Cambrudge United in the Conference Premier Final, continued to impress for the remainder of the 90 minutes and into extra time as well, until City put the game to bed with two goals form Paul Caddis and Mark Duffy in the opening half of extra time.
Midfield: Dean Cox – Leyton Orient
A ferocious strike and a sublime cross earn Leyton Orient’s Dean Cox a spot in the Team of the Round.
Coming on as an eleventh minute substitute, the 26-year-old opened the scoring against Plymouth two minutes later with one of the goals of the round. Collecting the ball on the right hand side of the Argyle half, Cox unleashed an exquisite shot across the goal and past the flailing McCormick, and into the top corner.
Cox then appeared to have put the game to bed just on the 38th minute when he produced a sumptious cross for Mathieu Baudry. It was a cross that was impossible not to convert, and Orient had a two goal cushion.
Plymouth, however, thought valiantly and forced the game to penalties after a 3-3 scoreline. Orient went on to win 6-5 from the spot.
Forward: Ben Williamson – Port Vale
Ten brilliant minutes earn Ben Williamson a place in the team of round one.
The 25-year-old netted a first half hat-trick within 600 seconds; one with his left foot, one with his right, and one with his head. Perfection.
The hat-trick helped Port Vale to a covincing 6-2 victory over League Two Hartlepool United, and will be a man to look out for, for the remainder of the campaign.
Forward: Souleymane Doukara – Leeds United
Souleymane Doukara netted both of United’s goals in a comfortable 2-1 victory over League Two Accrington Stanley.
The first showed the 22-year-olds awareness to collect Gaetano Berardi’s pass on the turn and stroke it into the far right hand corner. The second showed the Frenchman’s good footwork as he slipped the ball through the defender’s legs and finished calmly.
Forward: Nahki Wells – Huddersfield Town
The former Bradford man becomes the second player in the squad to have scored a hat-trick, in the Terriers’ 5-3 win against Chesterfield.
Whilst it may not have been as quick, it was still impressive, mainly due to the fact that the third came in extra-time after playing already playing the entire 90 minutes.
Wells’ first of three was the catalyst for a Huddersfield comeback, as flicked a header past the despairing Tommy Lee. Wells then netted from the spot, before completing his hat-trick at the start of extra-time, as he found himself in the right place at the right time to tap in Stead’s parried shot.
