Tommy Setford made a fantastic save for Stevenage against MK Dons on Saturday, but the Arsenal loanee couldn’t stop his team slipping to a 1-0 defeat.
Arsenal loanee Tommy Setford has made a strong start to his loan spell with Stevenage, making the lineup for all seven of their League One fixtures since his debut, and keeping a clean sheet in two of his four games since the October international break.
Setford was away with the England u21s over the break, and Stevenage had to play an EFL Trophy fixture without him. But he’s slotted straight back into the lineup, and produced some of his best performances of the season so far.
First there was the clean sheet in a 1-0 win over Wigan Athletic, then another in a 3-0 victory over Plymouth Argyle. But perhaps Setford’s best save was against MK Dons over the weekend, despite his team ultimately losing the match.
With the scores still level in the second half, MK Dons striker Sam Nombe won the ball high up the pitch, finding himself with a two-on-one against the last defender.
Nombe threaded a pass through to Aaron Collins, beating the defence and leaving Setford as Stevenage’s only hope. The goalkeeper charged out to close down the shot, and he made a fantastic diving save to deny his opponent.
The highlights are available below, with the save at the timestamp 1:12.
As mentioned, the away side went on to win the match anyway. Nombe got on the end of a cross in the 81st minute after another cheap concession of possession by Stevenage, and a scrambling Setford couldn’t get across his line quickly enough that time.
But Setford is playing regularly, keeping clean sheets every other game, and making some great saves. This is largely what he would have hoped for from his loan spell, and long may it continue.
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