Championship
- So farewell Bolton Wanderers. The 4-1 defeat at Derby County confirmed their relegation to League One four seasons after their demotion from the Premier League. It’s been a sorry season for Bolton, on and off the pitch. The club’s new chief executive, Dean Holdsworth, has a huge job on his hands as he looks to stabilise a club in freefall. It’s hard to imagine them returning quickly. Neil Warnock’s Rotherham secured a vital away win over relegation rivals MK Dons, beating them 4-0 and pulling nine points clear of the drop zone and leaving Milton Keynes and Charlton staring at League One. The Addicks were beaten 2-1 by QPR.
- Burnley beat Leeds 1-0 to pull five points clear of Brighton, in third, who play Nottingham Forest on Monday. Middlesbrough won their fourth game in a row, beating Preston 1-0, to put firmly behind them the rocky period when Aitor Karanka appeared on the verge of leaving while also pulling away from Brighton in the second automatic promotion place. Hull came from behind twice against Huddersfield to draw 2-2 and remain in the playoff places after a patchy period of form. Brentford beat 10-man Ipswich 3-1 but the game was marred by a serious leg injury suffered by Bees midfielder Alan Judge.
- Cardiff’s outside hopes of securing a playoff place were dented as Emerson Hyndman fired home a stoppage-time winner as Fulham won 2-1. But Sheffield Wednesday, who occupy sixth place, one above Cardiff, also suffered defeat, a bad one too, losing 4-1 at 19th-placed Bristol City. Elsewhere Birmingham beat Reading 2-0 and Wolves and Blackburn drew 0-0.
League One
- Crewe finally lost their grip on third-tier status, losing 3-0 away at Port Vale. It’s been steadily coming over the past few seasons. Elsewhere at the bottom, Conor McLaughlin’s late header rescued a valuable point for Fleetwood , who drew 2-2 at Southend. But their local rivals, Blackpool fell to a 1-0 home defeat to Colchester that left them in the relegation zone and gave Colchester the slimmest of outside chances that they won’t follow Crewe into League Two . Shrewsbury’s 3-1 defeat at Millwall left them just a point above Blackpool, while Doncaster’s defeat at Bury left them with little hope of staying up.
- At the top, Wigan look set to bounce straight back into the Championship as they beat Coventry 1-0 and moved 10 points clear of third-placed Bradford, who won 1-0 at Swindon. Second-placed Burton left the door open (just a tad) to automatic promotion for Bradford, as they were beaten 1-0 at ninth-placed Scunthorpe. Burton are winless in four games. They could do with rectifying that. And quick. Barnsley’s 2-1 defeat at Chesterfield means Millwall, Gillingham and Walsall look comfortable bets to secure playoff places.
League Two
- There was a giddy pitch invasion at the final whistle as runaway league leaders, Northampton, secured promotion after a 2-2 draw against Bristol Rovers. The club faced a petition for administration before Kelvin Thomas’s takeover in November. Since then they have lost only once. The crowd of 7,579 was the largest ever at Sixfields and the club’s biggest for a league game since 1987. The result was also important for Bristol Rovers, who lost ground on third-placed Accrington (they won 2-0 at Luton), but who, having trailed 2-0 at one point, will be delighted to have earned a point. Exeter and Wimbledon both won to keep their playoff hopes alive, in what is turning out to be a right old rumble that goes down as far as 11th place. Wycombe’s 1-1 draw at York meant Wimbledon stole into the playoffs on goal difference in seventh place.
- The draw meant York were left nine points away from safety, while bottom-of-the-table Dagenham’s 4-1 home defeat against Portsmouth meant it is only a matter of time before their relegation fate is sealed.
- The game of the day was at Morecambe, were Hartlepool won 5-2 in a game that meant little to two mid-table sides but crackled with intensity and involved a sending off among the many goals.
