S
SEARCH
M
SW
Monday, July 6
Collect News Data
/esi/1339/6_A_1_404607_0/index.html?art_id=404607&ESI

Five players to look out for as the League One playoffs get underway

:Headline: Five players to look out for as the League One playoffs get underway:
James Henry and Simon Eastwood could be key to Oxford's hopes.
>The Sky Bet League One play-offs take centre stage on Friday evening as Portsmouth face Oxford and Fleetwood host Wycombe.

Here, the PA news agency picks out five players who could be key to their side's success.

Adebayo Akinfenwa – Wycombe

Cult hero Akinfenwa has been involved in two play-off finals but has yet to start, coming on as a substitute for Northampton in their 3-0 defeat to Bradford in 2013 and scoring a penalty in his last act as an AFC Wimbledon player in the dying moments of their 2-0 win over Plymouth in 2016. Akinfenwa used his post-match interview in that game to tout himself for a move, saying: "I think I'm technically unemployed, so any managers hit me up on Whatsapp and get me a job!" Wycombe swooped that summer, and 'The Beast' has gone on to score 54 goals in all competitions for the Chairboys, including 10 this season.

James Henry – Oxford

Henry had been in scintillating form for the U's pre-lockdown, scoring three goals in five League One matches. The former Millwall and Wolves winger, 31, has scored 14 times for Oxford in all competitions this term – five of those penalties – and is at the Kassam Stadium for the long term after signing a new two-year deal in October. Henry's only experience of the play-offs came in 2009 when he featured in Millwall's semi-final double-header against Leeds.

Christian Burgess – Portsmouth

Christian Burgess has been a rock at the back for Portsmouth (Simon Cooper/PA)

Christian Burgess may be readying himself for a new life in Belgium, but the central defender hopes to help Portsmouth to the Sky Bet Championship before he goes. The 28-year-old has been a stand-out performer for Pompey this season, keeping 15 clean sheets and scoring three goals. He extended his expiring deal to cover the play-offs but will then depart for Belgian second division side Royale Union Saint-Gilloise – owned by Brighton chairman Tony Bloom – after agreeing a three-year contract. Burgess has already tasted victory at Wembley with Portsmouth when they lifted the EFL Trophy following a penalty shootout win over Sunderland last season.

Paddy Madden – Fleetwood

When it comes to Football League play-offs, Paddy Madden has been there, done it, and for all we know still wears the commemorative t-shirt. The Irishman, now 30, scored the opening goal at Wembley to help Yeovil seal a place in the Championship for the first time in their history in 2013 and also started for Scunthorpe as they lost 3-2 to Millwall four years later. This season, Madden has 19 goals to his name – including 10 from his first 13 League One matches – and few would back against him breaking the 20-goal barrier.

Simon Eastwood – Oxford

Simon Eastwood joined Oxford for a second time in 2016 (Richard Sellers/PA)

Eastwood has been a safe pair of hands for the U's since rejoining the club in the summer of 2016 and is closing in on 200 appearances in all competitions. He has kept 17 clean sheets this term to help Oxford to a fourth-place finish in the adjusted League One table. Eastwood will come up against his former club in the semi-finals, having spent just under a year at Fratton Park between 2012 and 2013 before leaving for Blackburn.

body check tags ::

amp_article_404607 : Collect and Make Data not in DataBase  : 
last updated article - 2020-07-01 09:07:35:
html db last update - 2020-07-05 10:06:15 :

ex - 7200 : read : write cache and make html
Share this article now:
Show comments

Subscribe to our Newsletter


Transfer Talk Daily
Match previews - twice weekly
Morning Briefing (7am UTC)
UC
Get the latest transfer news, match previews and news direct to your inbox!
Recommended Next on SM
Barca put £363m release clause in Pjanic contract
Chelsea 'to sell six players to fund Kai Havertz pursuit'
Bryn Morris claims Portsmouth have the edge in playoff semi-final against Oxford
League One Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
CCoventry CityCoventry341813348301867
3Oxford UnitedOxford Utd35179961372460
4Portsmouth35179953361760
5Fleetwood TownFleetwood351612751381360
6Peterborough UnitedPeterborough351781068402859
7Sunderland361611948321659
8Wycombe WanderersWycombe3417894540559
9Doncaster RoversDoncaster341591051331854
10Ipswich TownIpswich3614101246361052
11Gillingham35121584234851
12Burton Albion351212115050048
13Blackpool351112124443145
14Bristol Rovers35129143849-1145
15Lincoln CityLincoln35126174446-242
16Shrewsbury TownShrewsbury341011133142-1141
17Accrington StanleyAccrington351010154753-640
18MK Dons35107183647-1137
19Rochdale34106183957-1836
20AFC Wimbledon35811163952-1335
RTranmere RoversTranmere3488183660-2432
RSouthend UnitedSouthend3547243985-4619
RBolton WanderersBolton34511182766-3914
Scroll for more - Tap for full version

Subscribe to our Newsletter


Transfer Talk Daily
Match previews - twice weekly
Morning Briefing (7am UTC)
UC
Get the latest transfer news, match previews and news direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.

La Liga Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Real Madrid34238362214177
2Barcelona34227578364273
3Atletico MadridAtletico341614446252162
4Sevilla331512648331557
5Villarreal341661254441054
6Getafe341411942311153
7Real Sociedad33155135042850
8Athletic Bilbao341212103829948
9Valencia341211114350-747
10Granada34138134240247
11Osasuna341112114047-745
12Levante33126154146-542
13Real Valladolid34815112837-939
14Real Betis34911144455-1138
15AlavesAlaves3498173251-1935
16Celta Vigo34714133343-1035
17EibarEibar3398163450-1635
18Mallorca3485213559-2429
19Leganes34610182549-2428
20Espanyol3459202754-2724
Scroll for more - Tap for full version
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
X

We value your privacy

A part of our GDPR compliance we need to ask for your consent. We and our partners use technology such as cookies on Sports Mole to personalise content and ads, provide social media features, and analyse our traffic. Click below to consent to the use of this technology on Sports Mole.