Two Albion goalkeepers produced outstanding performances for their loan clubs over the weekend.
Josh Griffiths was Bristol Rovers’ hero in the Emirates FA Cup second round, making several impressive stops over the course of 120 minutes in their clash at Barnsley, before going on to save the hosts’ fifth and final penalty in the shoot-out.
The encounter finished 0-0 at Oakwell, with the Gas claiming a 4-3 win on penalties.
Our @EmiratesFACup hero! 🤩🧤 pic.twitter.com/fc9jkNwwV9
— Bristol Rovers (@Official_BRFC) November 30, 2024
In the Southern League Premier Central division, Ronnie Hollingshead kept his fourth clean sheet in-a-row as Alvechurch won 2-0 away at Bromsgrove Sporting.
The academy graduate made a number of crucial saves in a game which saw the Church take all three points thanks to efforts from Krystian Pearce and Charlie Wragg in the first 45.
Fellow Baggie Matt Richards also featured, completing 74 minutes before being replaced by Callum Sullivan.
The victory lifted Alvechurch up to 13th position in the table.
A real team performance this afternoon to fight, show the determination and resilience needed to come out with a win in the derby. 👏💛
Huge shout-outs to the defence and Ronnie Hollingshead as well for FOUR clean sheets on the bounce. ✊ pic.twitter.com/zQsaPmLsho— Alvechurch FC (@Alvechurch1st) November 30, 2024
Finally, in the same division, midfielder Souleyman Mandey came on with just over 20 minutes remaining during Saturday’s number 9 derby between Stourbridge and Halesowen Town.
Mandey’s Glassboys went 1-0 down in the first 45 when Kieren Donnelly scored for the Yeltz, but strikes inside the final ten minutes from Joel Kettle and Ethan McLeod looked to have secured three big points for the home side.
However, four minutes into added time, Donnelly popped up with an equaliser.
The draw leaves Stourbridge seventh and Halesowen second.
