Lewis Koumas scores twice in 6-goal thriller & Stefan Bajcetic off injured on 1st start

February 10, 2025
Sam Millne

This weekend, Lewis Koumas had arguably his best game for Stoke, scoring twice but ultimately suffering penalty agony in a thrilling FA Cup fourth-round tie.

Six Liverpool loanees plus Giorgi Mamardashvili were in action over the weekend, with Koumas’ brace in a 3-3 draw against Cardiff the pick of the performances.

Koumas came back into Mark Robins’ starting XI after making an impact and assisting from the bench in their 2-1 win against Hull last weekend.

The Championship’s 18th and 19th-placed teams met in the FA Cup fourth-round, with the latter going 1-0 up thanks to a fantastic solo goal from Koumas’ fellow Welsh international, Cardiff’s Rubin Colwill.

Soon after, a mix-up at the back from the Bluebirds’ hosts led Yousef Salech to double the lead before 20 minutes had been played.

With his team 2-0 down, Koumas stepped up to score on either side of the break to get Stoke level.

His first was a composed finish into the far corner that came following a brilliantly weighted through ball by Wouter Burger.

The 19-year-old’s second came just a minute into the second half, as he latched onto a throw-in that was cleverly dummied by Burger, and powered the ball home through a crowd of bodies.

Unfortunately for the Potters, Colwill scored again before the game was out and also netted the winning penalty, with Koumas not involved having been taken off before extra time.

Stefan Bajectic comes off injured for Las Palmas

• READ HERE: Bajcetic injured in first start for Las Palmas – what Spanish reports say

On Friday night, Stefan Bajcetic made his first start in La Liga for Las Palmas, playing in the midfield two of a 4-2-3-1 formation.

The Gran Canaria club ultimately lost 2-1 to Villarreal and the evening ended in double disappointment for Bajcetic, who was forced off after 78 minutes through injury.

The 20-year-old fell to the ground clutching his right leg after a collision with Tajon Buchanan, and was soon replaced by Marvin Park following manager Diego Martinez being informed he could not continue.

Stefan Bajcetic off with a calf injury during his first start for Las Palmas tonight on loan from #LFC.

Asked to be substituted. Bit of a concern given longstanding issues, can’t rule out being linked with underuse at Salzburg. pic.twitter.com/hWIU8lTr2k

— Jack Lusby (@LusbyJack) February 8, 2025

Thankfully, Spanish outlet Relevo have deduced that “it seems that nothing will come of it” as “he was able to walk on his own feet and, afterwards, he was seen with a relatively calm expression on the bench.”

Nat Phillips returns from injury with new manager soon

Nat Phillips returned from a calf injury to make his first Championship start for Derby since January 4.

He played in a back three in a 1-1 draw at Norwich as first team coach Matt Hamshaw took interim charge of the Rams, following the departure of Paul Warne on Friday.

Derbyshire Live report that the club are hoping to take manager John Eustace from Blackburn – an ambitious prospect given Derby are in the relegation zone and Blackburn are going for the play-offs.

If Eustace were to make the move, that would leave Liverpool’s Owen Beck without the manager who brought him on loan to Blackburn.

The left-back was rested at the weekend, featuring only as an unused substitute in Rovers’ 2-0 FA Cup loss to Wolves on Sunday.

Meanwhile, goalkeepers Giorgi Mamardashvili and Fabian Mrozek both played, while Rhys Williams started for Morecambe and Kaide Gordon got his first eight minutes for Portsmouth.