Brighton & Hove Albion’s Steve Sidwell, Bolton Wanderers’ Josh Vela and Grimsby Town’s Omar Bogle are Sky Bet EFL Goal of the Month winners for November 2016.
Steve Sidwell – (Brighton & Hove Albion) v Bristol City
Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder Steve Sidwell is the Sky Bet Championship Goal of the Month winner for November, after receiving 43% of the public vote.
Sidwell showed incredible vision and faultless technique to hit a moving ball nearly 50 yards over the scrambling Richard O’Donnell in the Bristol goal.
GOAL OF THE MONTH: 5️⃣0️⃣ yards out. 1️⃣-0️⃣ @OfficialBHAFC. 🎯@sjsidwell's stunning strike is the @SkyBetChamp Goal of the Month... pic.twitter.com/gs7zBEQLwP
— EFL (@EFL) December 16, 2016
Lead Sky Bet EFL Goal of the Month judge and Sky Sports Pundit Don Goodman said: “It was an incredibly strong month for goals in the Championship in November, but Sidwell’s effort rightly takes the crown.
“These are the type of goals that a player will score once or twice (if they're lucky!) in their career and Steve is bound to look back on this effort fondly when he hangs up his boots.”
Sidwell said: “I had spotted the keeper off his line earlier in the game, and thought I would try my luck the next chance I got.
“This was a very special goal for the whole team, in what had been a very tough week for the squad.
“We were all thinking about Anthony [Knockaert] in the build-up to the game, and wanted to make him and his family proud by bringing home the three points.
“Fortunately we managed to do that and I am honoured that we could pay tribute to him with the celebration after my goal.”
Sidwell beat off competition from Derby County’s Darren Bent and Sheffield Wednesday’s Fernando Forestieri.
Josh Vela – (Bolton Wanderers) v Millwall
Bolton Wanderers midfielder Josh Vela is the Sky Bet League One Goal of the Month winner for November, after receiving 55% of the public vote.
A poor Millwall clearance was punished in clinical fashion by Vela, whose improvised strike was accurate enough to sneak into the far post.
GOAL OF THE MONTH: Don't leave @OfficialBWFC's @velajosh25 free on the edge of the box! ⚽️
— EFL (@EFL) December 16, 2016
November's @SkyBetLeagueOne Goal of the Month... pic.twitter.com/q98oiNk3sM
Lead Sky Bet EFL Goal of the Month judge and Sky Sports Pundit Don Goodman said: “This was a really tidy finish from Josh after some messy play in the box, and highlights the quality that he has in front of goal.
“To have a midfielder in your team that can hit the target from range can be invaluable for a team who will spend an awful lot of time trying to break down sides that are ‘sat in’ trying to frustrate them."
Vela said: “I must admit I didn’t expect to hit it so sweetly but it was a good goal! All of the fans voted for me too so it's a massive thanks to them really.
“With the goal itself, I just remember the ball dropping to me on the edge of the box and I thought I’m going to have a strike here and luckily it went in.
“It's about time I started adding few goals to my game too - I’ve been playing further forward so that’s what I’ve got to do as well as assisting them.
“I’m really enjoying my football at the minute though. I’m getting a lot of chances and creating a lot of goals which is brilliant.”
Vela beat off competition from Southend United’s Stephen McLaughlin and Swindon Town’s Anton Rodgers.
Omar Bogle – (Grimsby Town) v Crawley Town
Grimsby Town striker Omar Bogle is the Sky Bet League Two Goal of the Month winner for October, after receiving 54% of the public vote.
A stunning strike by Bogle that gets better on every viewing, he tore forward and lashed a dipping shot straight into the top corner.
GOAL OF THE MONTH: What a hit! 💥@officialgtfc's @OmarBogle9 with the @SkyBetLeagueTwo Goal of the Month... pic.twitter.com/QbMkrnlbUd
— EFL (@EFL) December 16, 2016
Lead Sky Bet EFL Goal of the Month judge and Sky Sports Pundit Don Goodman said: “It was a clean sweep of awards for Omar after he also picked up the Sky Bet League Two Player of the Month award.
“The goal itself was as near to unstoppable as a strike from this range is possible to be. The power, dip and accuracy meant that the ball hit the back of the net before the keeper had a chance to react.”
Bogle said: “It was a decent bit of play by Tom [Bolarinwa] to set me up. It was a good strike, but the gloss was taken off it because we lost the game. It's definitely the best goal I've scored this season.”
Bogle beat off competition from Newport County’s Josh Sheehan and Leyton Orient’s Callum Kennedy.
The winners of the Sky Bet EFL Goals of the Month were chosen after a fan poll on skysports.com.
The shortlist for the poll was decided by a judging panel following suggestions from supporters via Twitter.
The judging panel comprises Sky Sports’ EFL expert Don Goodman, Sky Bet Sponsorship Manager David Tweed and EFL Head of Marketing Communications Andy Dodd.
To suggest a goal to be considered for future Sky Bet Goal of the Month awards, fans can tweet details of their nominated goal to @SkyBet using #SkyBetGotM.