- Birmingham City earned their first point under Gianfranco Zola but had to fight back from two goals down – and with Barnsley down to 10 men for most of the second half, may feel disappointed not to emerge with all three points. Tom Bradshaw and Sam Winnall put the hosts ahead at Oakwell, before Jacques Maghoma reduced the deficit. Early in the second half, Marc Roberts was sent off after bringing down Che Adams in the area, and Lukas Jutkiewicz made it 2-2 from the penalty spot.
- Derby and Sheffield Wednesday both missed the opportunity to edge closer to the top of the table, with the Rams held to a goalless draw by Wigan, and Wednesday earning a 1-1 draw against Preston through Adam Reach’s last-gasp leveller at Deepdale.
- QPR ended their six-game losing streak in dramatic fashion, with Pawel Wszolek scoring an 87th-minute winner against Wolves at Molineux. Idrissa Sylla had given Rangers a second-half lead before Dave Edwards volleyed in an equaliser – but the Polish winger Wszolek tucked away a loose ball to grab the win.
- In the lunchtime kick-off, Blackburn Rovers almost pulled off a surprise win at Huddersfield, with Danny Graham putting Rovers ahead in the 81st minute. Nakhi Wells’ stoppage-time free kick earned the hosts a 1-1 draw, but the early pace-setters are now nine points behind leaders Newcastle.
- The Magpies sealed the year-end top spot with a 3-1 win over Nottingham Forest on Friday. Matt Ritchie gave the hosts an early lead, before Nicolao Dimitru equalised – but two more goals for Dwight Gayle in the second half sealed the year-end top spot. Gayle has 19 league goals this season – more than in his three Premier League campaigns combined.
- Friday night’s other result saw Ipswich gain revenge over Bristol City. The Robins’ only win in 10 league games was against Mick McCarthy earlier this month, but a late acrobatic strike from Brett Pitman secured a 2-1 win for Ipswich at Portman Road.
- Fog put a stop to Brighton’s Friday night game with Cardiff – bad news for the title chasing hosts, and the away fans. Reading’s game with Fulham also fell foul of the fog, abandoned while goalless at half-time.
- On Thursday night, Jonathan Kodjia’s ninth goal of the season earned Aston Villa a point against Garry Monk’s high-flying Leeds United. Kodjia struck from the spot in the 86th minute after Pontus Jansson had put the visitors ahead. Rotherham United’s survival hopes took a hefty blow in their six-pointer against Burton – despite dominating the second half, the Millers could not respond to two quickfire first half goals from Albion’s Chris O’Grady and Jackson Irvine.
League One
- Scunthorpe United’s New Year party will be a muted affair after the Iron fell from first to third in the table thanks to James Henry’s last-gasp winner for Bolton. Neal Bishop had cancelled out Josh Vela’s opener on the hour mark in the heavyweight clash at the Macron Stadium.
- Bolton go second, with Sheffield United the new leaders after lunchtime victory over Northampton – but Chris Wilder’s team left it late against his old club, Kieron Freeman scoring the only goal in the 89th minute. Charlton also got a late result in an early game, ending Southend’s run of three straight wins through Andrew Crofts’ last-minute equaliser.
- Bury continued their Christmas revival with an unlikely point at Bradford City. After ending a 12-game losing streak with a draw at Fleetwood on Boxing Day, Scott Burgess gave Bury the lead at half-time – but Nicky Law struck to spare the play-off chasing hosts’ blushes.
- It was a tough day for the league’s bottom two sides, as Oldham and Coventry City both conceded in stoppage time. Michael Bostwick denied the Sky Blues a rare win at Peterborough, while a Josh Law own goal gave Fleetwood Town victory over the Latics, who are now winless in nine league games.
- Matty Taylor took his goal tally for the season to 18 with a quickfire double for Bristol Rovers as they defeated Wimbledon. In Saturday’s other game, Oxford United and Walsall drew 0-0.
- On Friday night, Kieran Agard scored twice as MK Dons overcame Swindon 3-2, Lee Gregory opened the scoring as Millwall boosted their play-off push with victory over Gillingham at The Den, Rochdale beat Shrewsbury – and a late pitch inspection at Spotland – and Jerome Thomas got his first Port Vale goal in the 1-0 victory over Chesterfield.
League Two
- Six games ago, Colchester United were in the bottom two and facing a battle for Football League survival. Now, after five wins from six, John McGreal’s side are two points off the play-offs. Stevenage were their latest victims, with the U’s taking a 2-0 lead, getting pegged back to 2-2, then taking all three points through late Chris Porter and Tarique Fosu goals.
- Plymouth Argyle are back on top of the table after finding a way past mid-table Crawley, Oscar Threlkeld and Craig Tanner getting the goals. Previous leaders Doncaster Rovers drew 1-1 at Mansfield in the lunchtime kick-off, escaping with a point after Liam Mandeville equalised from the penalty spot.
- Carlisle United also leapfrogged Rovers, moving up to second with a 3-2 win over struggling Notts County. The Magpies have now lost eight in a row but made life difficult for Keith Curle’s team, taking a first-half lead before Jason Kennedy’s second-half goal sealed an away win.
- Newport County enjoyed a brief improvement under Graham Westley in November, but that run is very much over. The 4-1 home defeat by Exeter City leaves the Exiles five points adrift of safety, as the visitors edged into the top half thanks to an Ollie Watkins hat-trick.
- Luton Town held steady in the play-off places with a 3-1 home win over Barnet, with Cameron McGeehan scoring his 10th goal of the season, while Accrington eased their relegation worries with a win at Crewe and Grimsby drew 0-0 with Blackpool.
- In the early kick-off, Leyton Orient fans could have been forgiven for leaving early, with their team facing a 10th home defeat of the season – but Ollie Palmer earned a point against Cambridge in the 94th minute.
- Hartlepool enjoyed their Friday night against Morecambe, racing to a 3-0 lead inside 24 minutes, although second-half goals from Andrew Fleming and Ryan Edwards kept it interesting. Scott Kashket fired an early winner as Wycombe beat Cheltenham at Waddon Road, and there was not much to see at Huish Park – Yeovil drew with Portsmouth as fog descended in Somerset.
