Two West Ham United youngsters were in action for their respective loan clubs on Wednesday night...
In the EFL Championship, Kaelan Casey made back-to-back starts for the first time, lining up at the heart of Swansea City’s back five.
The Swans kept faith in the shape that had served them well in recent matches - their hard-fought Carabao Cup fourth-round defeat to Manchester City and their weekend 1-1 draw away at Charlton Athletic.
This time, however, despite dominating play with 18 shots and nearly two-thirds of the possession, Swansea were undone by a smash-and-grab Preston North End performance at Deepdale. The hosts’ third straight win lifted them into fourth place.
A Goal of the Season contender from Thierry Small and a counter-attack move finished by Montenegro international Milutin Osmajić put Preston firmly in control early in the second half.
Casey featured for 69 minutes before being replaced as head coach Alan Sheehan introduced additional attacking options. Substitute Ji-sung Eom pulled a goal back late on, but it proved only a consolation as Swansea fell to a 2-1 defeat, leaving them 17th in the second-tier standings ahead of a home clash against Ipswich Town on Saturday.
In the Enterprise National League, Regan Clayton returned to the starting line-up for Braintree Town, playing on the left side of midfield in their home encounter against Brackley Town.
The Iron’s difficult run continued as Shane Byrne's 76th-minute penalty consigned them to a 1-0 defeat, their fifth in six games, though they remain level on points with 20th-place Aldershot Town, the team immediately above them on goal difference. Aldershot also slipped to defeat, losing 1-0 to second-place Boreham Wood, their eighth loss in nine matches across all competitions.
Goalkeeper Mason Terry, also on loan at Braintree, remains sidelined as he recovers from a wrist fracture.
Finally, in EFL League One, Lewis Orford’s Stevenage travel to Reading on Thursday evening knowing victory would lift them to the top of the table, still with a game in hand over promotion rivals Bradford City and Stockport County. Orford featured at the weekend as a second-half substitute in the Boro’s 1-0 FA Cup defeat at home to Chesterfield.
