Preston North End's Tom Barkhuizen, Sheffield United's Daniel Lafferty and Plymouth Argyle's Graham Carey are the Sky Bet EFL Goal of the Month winners for March 2017.
Watch: Click here to see the three Sky Bet EFL Goals of the Month!
Tom Barkhuizen – (Preston North End) v Reading – 11th March
Preston North End striker Tom Barkhuizen is the Sky Bet Championship Goal of the Month winner for March, receiving 51% of the public vote.
Barkhuizen scored his first Preston goal in style. Finishing off a fluent move, his sweeping shot from the edge of the area traced a beautiful arc on its way to goal.
Lead Sky Bet EFL Goal of the Month judge and Sky Sports Pundit Don Goodman said: “At first glances, this goal is taken with such confidence, you feel it must be a player in the middle of a rich goal-scoring run. There’s a lot to be admired, the precision and accuracy as well as the control that Barkhuizen achieves on the strike is exceptional.
“So it comes as a surprise to learn that it was his first goal for his new club after a pretty turbulent period in his career. What’s less surprising is the subsequent run of goals that has followed this strike and the plaudits he’s deservedly picking up.”
Barkhuizen said: "It's always nice to get personal accolades, I mentioned before that it would have been nice if we had picked up a few more points along the way but from a personal point of view it was a really good month and I think it showed a different side to my game that I can score different types of goals.
"It was an important goal in the context of that game, they were on top and we broke and thankfully it went in the top corner and that set us on our way.
"It was a really nice way to introduce myself to the home fans and get off the mark at home because I think it's really important as a forward player to get a few early goals and show people what you can do."
Barkuizen beat off competition from Blackburn Rovers' Marvin Emnes and Rotherham United’s Joe Newell.
Daniel Lafferty – (Sheffield United) v Rochdale – 4th March
Sheffield United left back Daniel Lafferty is the Sky Bet League One Goal of the Month winner for March, receiving 70% of the public vote.
Lafferty watched the ball drop to him 35 yards out following a corner and struck it unerringly into the bottom corner with the outside of his left boot.
Lead Sky Bet EFL Goal of the Month judge and Sky Sports Pundit Don Goodman said: “Rochdale actually did a good job of clearing their lines from the free kick to a reasonable distance from goal, but nobody could have expected a Lafferty to rifle an unstoppable strike home from more than 30 yards out.
“It’s the kind of strike that all pros at all levels all over the world would love to hit but not many achieve a strike like that!”
Lafferty said: “I’m delighted to win the award, I’ve never won a personal accolade, so it’s very nice. I don’t score many so it’s a good one to get.
“The pitch that day wasn’t great so I thought I’d just take it first time as it came out from the free-kick and fortunately I caught it well and it found its way into the back of the net.”
Lafferty beat off competition from Oxford United’s Chris Maguire and Rochdale’s Nathaniel Mendez-Laing.
Graham Carey – (Plymouth Argyle) v Morecambe – 18th March
Plymouth Argyle midfielder Graham Carey is the Sky Bet League Two Goal of the Month winner for March, receiving 41% of the public vote.
As the ball was tapped sideways to him, Carey already knew that he wanted to stop it, then curl it effortlessly over Morecambe goalkeeper Barry Roche into the far corner.
Lead Sky Bet EFL Goal of the Month judge and Sky Sports Pundit Don Goodman said: “Carey’s second Goal of the Month award this season was an example of someone who is playing with a huge amount of confidence.
“He knows what he is going to do as soon as he receives the ball, and he executes it to perfection, rolling the ball out of his feet and sweeping it into the far post to absolute perfection.”
Carey said: “It’s a nice award to get but as long as my goals contribute the points then that counts more to me.
“I had a few shots early on and fancied myself scoring in the game and Matty dribbled up the line and passed it inside. I just knew if I got a good first touch I could catch the ‘keeper out and that’s what happened.”
Carey beat off competition from Barnet’s Simeon Akinola and Yeovil Town’s Matt Butcher.
About the Sky Bet EFL Goal of the Month
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 Senior Media Manager Rob Meaden.
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.