NORTH-EAST midfielders Hayden Hackney and Chris Rigg are involved in a head-to-head battle for the Championship Goal of the Month award for September.

Middlesbrough’s Hackney has been nominated for his strike in his side’s 2-0 home win over Stoke City.

Accelerating onto a ball that his team’s pressing had won back high up the field, Hackney drove forward, stepped inside a challenge and found the top corner with a precise long-range finish.

Sunderland’s Rigg has also made the four-man award shortlist for his match-winning strike in the Black Cats’ 1-0 Wear-Tees derby win over Boro.

The teenager looked to have taken the ball too wide as he attempted to round Seny Dieng in the Boro goal, but he found the net with a remarkable back-heeled strike to claim the only goal of the game at the Stadium of Light.

Sheffield Wednesday’s Barry Bannan and Sheffield United’s Gustavo Hamer are the other two players to be shortlisted, with the former selected for a swivelled strike against QPR and the latter nominated for a direct free-kick against Derby County.

Fans can vote for their favourite goal on EFL.com before 5pm on Monday, October 14, with supporters’ votes being combined with the choices of a panel comprised of Sky Sports EFL experts Don Goodman and David Prutton to determine the winner.