Championship
• Middlesbrough missed the chance to capitalise on Derby’s shock 2-0 defeat at Fulham and go top of the table when they went down by the same scoreline at Sheffield Wednesday. Atdhe Nuhiu, who scored twice at the Riverside earlier in the season and the winner in the home game against Boro last year, converted a 52nd-minute penalty to open the scoring. The on-loan Manchester United striker Will Keane headed in the second three minutes later to seal the points and inflict a second defeat in three games on Wednesday’s high-flying opponents. Bournemouth were thwarted in their search for a late winner as they played out a 0-0 draw with Blackburn. The Cherries were looking to regain some momentum but instead stretched their winless run to five games.
• Watford proved their promotion credentials as they came from 2-0 down to beat Leeds 3-2 in an Elland Road thriller. United had led through Billy Sharp and a Rodolph Austin wonder goal but were unable to maintain their frenetic pace and were duly unpicked by Slavisa Jokanovic’s dangerous side. The automatic promotion hopefuls pulled one back before half-time thanks to a clinical Troy Deeney finish and then a double from Matej Vydra sealed the turnaround to put them a point off the top. Birmingham returned to winning ways with a crucial 1-0 home victory over promotion-chasing Brentford to ease their fears of dropping back into the relegation zone. It was a welcome win only hours after the midlands club reassured the Football League they are not in financial difficulty and that they have the cash to complete the season. Following eight games without a win Birmingham carved out this victory as a result of an unfortunate 40th-minute own goal from the Brentford centre-back James Tarkowski. But they had to hang on to their slender lead after Stephen Gleeson was sent off in the 87th minute for stamping on Alex Pritchard.
• Jermaine Pennant starred for Wigan on his return to English football, tormenting the Blackpool defenders as Malky Mackay’s side won 3-1 at their fellow strugglers. The former Arsenal and Liverpool winger signed with the Latics this week after training with the club as a free agent. Most recently, he had appeared for Pune City in the Indian Premier League, but he was quickly into his stride against the bottom club. Kim Bo-kyung and Harry Maguire scored their first goals for Wigan, before James McClean sealed the visitors’ victory late on. Blackpool – who scored a late consolation through Gary Madine – are now 15 points from safety. Rotherham staged an impressive second-half comeback to boost their survival hopes with a 2-1 win over Millwall. The Millers, who trailed to Martyn Woolford’s early opener, hit back through goals from Danny Ward and Kari Arnason to leave Steve Evans’ side six points clear of Millwall, who occupy the final spot in the relegation zone. The result led to ugly scenes in the away end at the New York Stadium as irate visiting supporters tried to invade the home areas, with riot police forced to intervene.
• Nottingham Forest’s revival under Dougie Freedman continued to gather pace with a 3-0 win at Reading. After dominating much of the first half, the FA Cup quarter-finalists Reading were sunk by three second-half goals. Ben Osborn lashed in the opener from long distance and Matty Fryatt added a second from close range. Forest reserved their best for last when, 10 minutes from time, the substitute Gary Gardner scored with a fierce 30-yard drive. Forest are undefeated in six games – winning five of them – since Freedman took over from Stuart Pearce as manager at the start of February. They have scored 19 goals during that period. Zach Clough ensured Bolton returned to winning ways with his sixth goal of the season as they defeated Brighton 1-0. The 19-year-old striker only made his senior debut against Wigan in the FA Cup at the start of January and in those two months Clough has become Wanderers’ leading scorer, overshadowing the exploits of the big-name signings Emile Heskey and Eidur Gudjohnsen. Bolton’s win and Brighton’s first defeat in five games lifted the Lancastrians up to 17th in the table and above their Sussex visitors.
• Tony Watt ensured the Huddersfield manager Chris Powell suffered a nightmare return to his former club Charlton as he netted twice in his side’s 3-0 win. Powell received a rapturous reception on his first time back to The Valley – and then watched man-of-the-match Watt tear his side apart. Watt capped a fine display by netting two second-half goals to add to Johan Gudmundsson’s first-half free-kick. Bakary Sako struck his 12th goal of the season and the only goal of the game as Wolves maintained their play-off chase with a 1-0 win at Cardiff.
• Match report: Fulham 2-0 Derby County
• Match report: Leeds United 2-3 Watford
League One
• Bristol City extended their lead at the top of the table to eight points with a 1-0 home victory over Rochdale. Aaron Wilbraham powerfully headed the only goal of the game, his 15th of the season, after losing his marker at a Luke Freeman corner. From then on City had to defend solidly against impressive opponents, who would have taken at least a point with better finishing, which perhaps explains their mid-table position.
• Coventry City eased their relegation fears in their first match since Steven Pressley was sacked as manager by beating second-placed MK Dons 2-1. Goals from Chris Stokes and Dominic Samuel in the opening 12 minutes gave Neil MacFarlane a flying start as interim manager. Daniel Powell pulled a goal back in the second half but the Sky Blues held on for victory, which pulls them out of the relegation zone.
• Preston are level on points with the Dons after winning 4-0 at managerless Oldham. Paul Huntington and Daniel Johnson struck in the first half before Joe Garner and the substitute Jermaine Beckford netted after the break to ensure a miserable start to life after Lee Johnson for the Latics. Johnson left to take over at Barnsley and he enjoyed vastly contrasting fortunes as a George Waring goal gave him a 1-0 win at Gillingham in his first game as Tykes boss. Doncaster climbed back into the play-off places with a 2-0 home win over Colchester thanks to an Enda Stevens goal and a Nathan Tyson penalty. The defeat saw the U’s slip back into the relegation zone.
• Quickfire goals from Ryan Hedges and Chris Dagnall boosted Leyton Orient’s survival chances as they won 2-0 at Walsall. Yeovil remained bottom of the table after drawing 1-1 at Scunthorpe. Joel Grant put the Glovers ahead but substitute Hakeeb Adelakun equalised for the hosts, after Paddy Madden had missed a penalty against his former club. Crawley came close to a crucial victory in their battle for survival after Richard Wood headed them in front against Sheffield United, but the promotion chasing Blades levelled through Marc McNulty’s penalty with nine minutes remaining.
• Notts County continue to slide worryingly towards the drop zone after another defeat. Mark Marshall scored early on for Port Vale but it was enough to beat the Magpies, who have lost six of the last seven matches – including the past three. Chesterfield halted a four-game losing run with a 3-0 win against fellow play-off hopefuls Fleetwood, who had Antoni Sarcevic sent off. Caolan Lavery, Sam Hird and Sammy Morsy were on target for the Spireites. A Gaby Zakuani goal and a Michael Bostwick penalty saw Dave Robertson make a winning start as Peterborough caretaker manager as top-seven rivals Bradford were defeated 2-0 at the ABAX Stadium. Crewe and Swindon drew 0-0 and both teams finished with 10 men following late red cards for Jack Stephens and Alan Tate.
League Two
• Second-placed Shrewsbury Town lost the last unbeaten home record in the Football League when they went down ___ to mid-table Northampton Town. Chelsea were the only away side to have won at the at the New Meadow this season before this weekend, with all 16 League Two opponents having left Shropshire winless. But the Cobblers ended the record with goals from Chris Hackett and Joel Byrom. Mickey Demetriou pulled one back with six minutes left but it proved too little too late for Shrews who remain second in the table.
• Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink’s table-topping Burton Albion failed to stretch their lead at the top as they suffered a shock 1-0 defeat at home to play-off chasing Newport. Miles Storey scored the only goal of the game to secure a 1-0 win for Newport, who move into the top seven in manager Jimmy Dack’s first game as permanent boss.
• Wycombe were the only member of the top three to pick up a point but they had goalkeeper Matt Ingram to thank after he saved Dean Parrett’s penalty eight minutes into added time to earn a 2-2 draw with Stevenage. The Chairboys took the lead through Fred Onyedinma after 10 minutes but Tom Pett and Parrett put Boro ahead at the interval. Onyedinma, an 18-year-old Nigerian striker on loan from Millwall, bagged his second with 19 minutes left before Chris Beardsley received a second yellow card to leave the visitors with 10 men. Despite the disadvantage Stevenage almost snatched all three points when Alfie Mawson fouled Ben Kennedy in the area but Ingram ensured his side moved to within a point of the second-placed Shrews.
• Luton are two points back in fourth after Jayden Stockley and Luke Guttridge were on target in a 2-0 win over Accrington. Southend are a point adrift of the Hatters after second-half goals from Michael Timlin and Barry Corr earned a 2-0 win over Carlisle, who slip into the bottom two following their fourth successive defeat. Bury strengthened their play-off hopes with a 2-0 win at Plymouth, who slip out of the top seven.
• At the bottom Hartlepool earned a 1-0 win over AFC Wimbledon to move within six points of safety thanks to Ryan Bird’s debut goal. The bottom side had to endure an agonising 12 minutes of added time before claiming the win. Cheltenham move out of the relegation zone after beating Tranmere 2-0, while Cambridge ended their nine-match winless run in all competitions by beating Morecambe 2-0. Mansfield edged Dagenham 2-1 thanks to Junior Brown’s late goal while Portsmouth against Oxford and York versus Exeter both finished goalless.
