EFL: Nile Ranger celebration among five things you may have missed

Published on: 24 September 2017

Nile Ranger also took his boot off to celebrate his goal at AFC Wimbledon last season

There was no change at the top of the Championship on Saturday, as the top three all ended the day where they started it after narrow wins.

However, for some, Saturday brought with it a far more crushing sense of familiarity.

BBC Sport looks at five things you may have missed in the EFL.

Ranger returns to controversy

Southend striker Nile Ranger was only able to play in Saturday's 4-2 win at Fleetwood after having his electronic tag removed on Friday.

The 26-year-old was released from prison last month after serving 10 weeks for online banking fraud.

He had to miss the trip to Shrewsbury earlier this month because of the 19:00 BST curfew imposed on him while he was wearing the tag.

On Saturday, Ranger got off the mark for the season with a penalty to put the League One Shrimpers 3-1 up at the break against the Cod Army.

However, the former Newcastle man's choice of celebration, taking off his boot and pretending it was a gun, did not go down well with the home support.

He sought to clarify his actions afterwards, tweeting:

PSG's Edinson Cavani was shown a second yellow card for his trademark gun celebration in October 2014Black Cats cursed? A Sunderland fan is left to reflect on another dismal day for his side

It is not easy to be a Sunderland fan right now.

The Black Cats, dismally relegated from the Premier League last season, fell to a 2-1 home defeat by Cardiff to slip into the bottom three in the second tier.

Worse still, they are now without a victory at the Stadium of Light since 16 December 2016 and have failed to win a single match in the month of September since 2012.

"We shot ourselves in the foot. Players have to take responsibility for what they do on the pitch," boss Simon Grayson told BBC Newcastle.

"An hour before kick off we showed the lads a presentation on what they would do from goal kicks and we didn't do what we should and were a goal down six minutes in."

Grayson's side have just one league win in nine matches - a 3-1 victory at Norwich on 13 August.

"I'm not using excuses that players are out injured but we will be stronger in the next few weeks when everyone comes back," he added.

"We have got to stick together, be harder to play against and make sure we grind a result out.

"At this moment in time we can not play our way out of this like Barcelona or Real Madrid because of where we are in the league and the confidence levels."

First time in a long time Nathan Tyson celebrates his first Wycombe goal in almost 12 years

Sunderland's wait for a win in September is nothing compared to Nathan Tyson's wait for a Wycombe goal.

The veteran forward returned to the League Two Chairboys in the summer, almost 12 years after ending a prolific spell at Adams Park to join Nottingham Forest.

He failed to score in his first four games this season but grabbed his first goal for the club since 27 September 2005 with his side's first in their 2-1 win at Colchester.

In fact, Tyson's goal was his first for anyone since scoring for Doncaster against Bradford in March 2016.

Boss Gareth Ainsworth will have been grateful that the 35-year-old re-found his goalscoring touch, as Sunday marks his five-year anniversary in the Wycombe dugout.

"He needed a goal and I'm told it's rare for him to get one with his head," he told BBC Three Counties Radio.

Also off the mark for his new old club is Fraizer Campbell. The former Manchester United forward scored his first goal for Hull City since April 2008 in their 1-1 draw with Reading.

'Sexy' Carlisle claim beautiful win Keith Curle was appointed Carlisle boss in September 2014

Carlisle boss Keith Curle was left feeling the strain earlier this month after back-to-back defeats by Coventry and Accrington.

Curle guided the Cumbrians to a play-off place last season but the defeat by the Sky Blues left them with just seven points from their opening seven League Two games.

The former England defender was in a philosophical mood after the game, comparing his situation with the club's fans to that of a man having to defend the honour of his girlfriend against a group of men questioning her appearance.

He then concluded it was his job to make his team "feel a little bit sexy". Yeah, I'm confused as well.

The Brunton Park side drew 1-1 with Barnet last week before claiming a thumping 5-0 win at Crewe on Saturday to get their season firmly back on track.

"This is what we needed. This is the tonic we needed as a football club," he told BBC Radio Cumbria.

"The supporters have gone home happy today and I have to say they were a lift for all the players and the coaching staff.

"It was nice to reward their positivity. 5-0 eh? That does not sound bad does it?"

Back in the Saddle

It might not be as impressive as Carlisle's 5-0 win but Walsall fans will certainly take their 2-1 success at Oxford.

Prior to Saturday's League One victory, the travelling Saddlers fans had not seen their team claim a win away from the Banks's Stadium since Boxing Day.

Their away struggles were compounded by a 5-1 defeat at Rotherham earlier this month, a game that boss Jon Whitney said left him "sick in the stomach".

Suffice to say he was in a better mood after the result at the Kassam Stadium.

"I thought we were outstanding in the first half and we could have been 4-0 up. We passed them off the park," he told BBC Radio WM.

"I thought it was a comfortable away win and I'm pleased for the lads."

Source: bbc.com

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