- Two Hammers were in loan action over the international break
- Josh Cullen played as Bradford City thrashed Rochdale at home
- There was also game time for Lewis Page, though his Coventry side could not prevent Scunthorpe grabbing all three points
Though England’s top two divisions halted for the weekend due to the international break, there were still two Hammers in loan action in the third tier.
Firstly, Bradford City’s Josh Cullen, who after the weekend has made 14 appearances for the Bantams this campaign, was in winning action.
He played 90 minutes for the Yorkshire outfit in their resounding 4-0 victory at home against Rochdale on Saturday to keep his side in the automatic promotion spots in the division.
Only Scunthorpe United – who took on Lewis Page’s Coventry City at the weekend – have so far eclipsed Stuart McCall’s men this term.
The clash at Valley Parade, heading towards a goalless first half, sparked into life on 41 minutes as Billy Clarke bagged his sixth of the season via James Hanson’s assist.
And it was two three minutes later, Tim Dieng this time the City hero as he glanced home Clarke’s centre.
Things went from bad to worse for Rochdale in the second period, as minutes after going down to ten men following Niall Canavan’s second bookable offence, given for pulling back Hammer Cullen, they conceded a third.
Hanson, after seeing his initial effort block, rifled home the rebound to put the result beyond doubt with half an hour still to play.
Mark Marshall, four minutes later, put the cherry on the cake for the hosts as he scored direct from a free-kick to make it 4-0 and keep the side within touching distance of Scunthorpe at League One’s summit.
The Iron were in no mood to reduce the gap at the top of the table, however, as they were 1-0 winners at Coventry City’s Ricoh Arena.
Lewis Page played 90 minutes for the Sky Blues but could not prevent the defeat, as the division’s top scorer Josh Morris added his 15th of a prolific season to grab all three points.
Finally, George Dobson was an unused substitute for Walsall as they picked up a 1-1 draw at struggling MK Dons.
The Saddlers went ahead through Scott Laird in the 28th minute and thought they had done enough for all three points until Dean Bowditch pounced in the final minute to earn his side a share of the spoils.