The October nominations for the Sky Bet Championship Goal of the Month Award are:
Zian Flemming – Rotherham United v MILLWALL – 5th October
As Millwall moved the ball across the pitch, Flemming tiptoed backwards to receive it before striding into the space he had vacated and striking a wondrous left-footer into the top corner.
Imran Louza – Blackpool v WATFORD – 8th October
Free-kicks do not have to be struck with searing power. Louza’s lazy-looking delivery disguised cunning bend and dip as the ball looped effortlessly over Blackpool keeper Chris Maxwell.
Ben Brereton Diaz – BLACKBURN ROVERS v Sunderland – 18th October
Blackburn’s attack appeared to be fizzling out when the ball ran out of the Sunderland box. Not so. Brereton Diaz followed it and instantly drove it with pace and precision into the far corner.
Gustavo Hamer – Stoke City v COVENTRY CITY – 22nd October
The origins of Hamer’s goal were in Coventry’s pressing and a slick one-two with Kasey Palmer. The rest was all Hamer, skipping between two defenders and whipping a shot into the far corner.
The October nominations for the Sky Bet League One Goal of the Month Award are:
Kyle Edwards – IPSWICH TOWN v Cambridge United – 4th October
Did he? Didn’t he? How much intention to shoot was in Edwards’ mind when he cut inside, only he knows, but there can be no denying the sheer majesty of his strike as it found the far corner.
Barry Bannan – SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY v Cheltenham Town – 8th October
Even if Cheltenham keeper Luke Southwood felt he was well positioned as Bannan drew back his foot 25 yards from goal, the force, accuracy and late dip of the Scot’s shot left him helpless.
Aaron Collins – BRISTOL ROVERS v Plymouth Argyle – 22nd October
Underpinning a whirr of movement and flicks was the intelligence and understanding of the three players involved in this sumptuous flowing move– Jordan Rossiter, Ryan Loft and scorer Collins.
Bali Mumba – PLYMOUTH ARGYLE v Exeter City – 31st October
It is hard to overstate the technical difficulty of Mumba’s shot from 30 yards, controlling the trajectory so that it rose no more than a foot off the ground before nestling in the bottom corner.
The October nominations for the Sky Bet League Two Goal of the Month Award are:
Paul Smyth – Doncaster Rovers v LEYTON ORIENT – 8th October
There was gymnastic flair and flexibility in both Smyth’s acrobatic contortion of his body to volley home at head height with his back to goal and in the somersaulting celebration that followed.
Nathan Moriah-Welsh – Crawley Town v NEWPORT COUNTY – 15th October
Moriah-Welsh didn’t hesitate as the ball came to him 25 yards out from goal. One touch cushioned it perfectly in front of him and a swish of his right boot sent it thudding into the net.
Theo Archibald – Carlisle United v LEYTON ORIENT – 22nd October
It was almost as if Archibald was expecting Carlisle’s Jon Mellish to slip, so quick was the trigonometry with which he computed the exact angle and trajectory his perfect chip had to take.
Ethan Galbraith – Hartlepool United v SALFORD CITY – 25th October
It was not just the power that Galbraith imparted on his shot, but the angle of its flight into the inside of the far side netting, which beat the despairing dive of Hartlepool keeper Ben Killip.