Three Crystal Palace Academy products were on the scoresheet for their respective loanee clubs this weekend, while a number of others starred.
On domestic shores, 19-year-old John-Kymani Gordon scored 57 minutes into his senior professional debut on Saturday (14th January).
Gordon only completed his loan move Carlisle United on Friday, but was named in the starting eleven the following day and wasted little time in making his mark.
With Carlisle already a goal to the good early in the second half, the teenager collected a square ball from Kris Dennis, took on a Newport defender, beat him with quick feet and coolly slotted past the goalkeeper; his first professional goal in his first professional game.
To cap the weekend off, Gordon’s star turn at Brunton Park – in an eventual 2-0 win – saw him named in the EFL League Two Team of the Week.
Carlisle boss Paul Simpson later said: “I was a little bit concerned that I was asking a bit too much of him by putting him in [from the start] today, but to get that goal was brilliant. It’ll make him feel on top of the world and hopefully it’s the first of many from him.”
Also hitting the back of the net on Saturday was fellow Academy graduate Jesurun Rak-Sakyi, who scored Charlton Athletic’s second in a 2-0 home win over Barnsley.
The strike – Rak-Sakyi’s seventh of the season for the Addicks, and fifth in his last 11 league games – was a simple finish from close range after Macauley Bonne struck the post.
And over in Belgium, forward Luke Plange scored twice for RWD Molenbeek in their eventual 4-3 friendly defeat to Luxembourg’s FC Swift Hesperange – a match in which defender Jake O’Brien also featured.
Plange’s two goals – one being a penalty – both arrived in the first half, with Molenbeek stepping up preparations for their Belgian First Division B promotion push.
Defender Dan Quick, who joined Isthmian League Premier Division side Billericay Town on loan on Friday, was another debutant. The 20-year-old played the full 90 minutes against Folkestone Invicta as Billericay held out for a 1-1 draw.
And also in action were midfielder Killian Phillips and forward Rob Street, who impressed in Shrewsbury Town’s 4-0 win away at Burton in League One; and midfielder Malachi Boateng, who helped Queen’s Park to remain top of the Scottish Championship with a 0-0 draw at Inverness Caledonian Thistle.
Next up on Palace TV+ is the Under-21s’ clash with Fulham U21s in Premier League 2. A win could take Palace up to second in the table, and you can see how they fare LIVE on Palace TV+ from 19:00 GMT on Monday, 16th January.
