Championship
• Bournemouth got over their League Cup defeat to Liverpool with a comprehensive 6-1 victory over bottom side Blackpool. Matt Ritchie got two but the rest of the goals were shared by Callum Wilson, Brett Pitman (via the penalty spot), Marc Pugh and Harry Arter. That win means they remain top of the table but Ipswich are hot on their heels.
• Mick McCarthy’s side continued their push for a promotion place with an impressive 2-0 win over Middlesbrough, a win that sees them swap fourth for second. Daryl Murphy’s strike in the 25th minute – his 13th goal in his last 16 matches – opened the scoring before 5ft 5in Jay Tabb rose above the Boro defence to double his side’s lead with a well-placed header. Ipswich were unlucky not to make it three late on when Tommy Smith’s shot cannoned back off the post but they rarely looked like they were going to surrender their lead. The defeat, combined with Brentford’s win away to Cardiff, means Aitor Karanka’s side drop to fourth.
• Down at the bottom of the table, Rotherham picked up three vital points against fellow relegation candidates Wigan. Tom Lawrence gave them a first-half lead before Ben Watson got on the end of a James McClean cross 18 minutes into the second half. Wigan switched off almost immediately and from a free kick that he won, Alex Revell found the top left corner with a header.
• Brighton, meanwhile, looked set to take three points after Darren Bent had put them in the lead away to Wolves until Danny Batth’s late equaliser rescued a point for the home side. In an action-packed game, Wolves’ Nouha Dicko was booked for diving after the referee, Darren Bond, had originally signalled for a penalty (he changed his mind after consulting with his assistant referee) and Brighton’s Bruno was sent off for a hefty, two-footed challenge on Kevin MacDonald.
• Match report: Reading 0-1 Watford
• Match report: Blackpool 1-6 Bournemouth
League One
• The game of the day in League One was at Stadium MK when MK Dons thrashed Oldham 7-0. The victory means the Dons have now gone 11 league games unbeaten and moves them into second place and an automatic promotion spot. They are one point behind leaders, Bristol City, but crucially they have a game in hand. Elsewhere at the top of the table, a Theo Robinson goal was enough to give Doncaster victory over Swindon who drop to third.
• If MK Dons brought you the game of the day, then Crewe’s 1-0 win over Bristol City brought you the shock of the day. Jamie Ness was the hero for the home side when his second-half effort found the top corner of the City net after some neat work from George Cooper. Ness was not the only hero for Crewe, as keeper Ben Garratt pulled off a number of excellent saves to keep his side in the game. City’s cause was not helped by the dismissal of Derrick Williams or the profligacy of Aden Flint, who really should have scored with a late header. That win was Crewe’s first since the defeat of Peterborough in October but they remain on the bottom of the table on goal difference.
• There, they are joined by Leyton Orient, who lost 2-0 away to Barnsley. Orient had Ross Turnbull sent off late in the game but by then Conor Hourihane had his 10th league goal of the season and Devante Cole had added another to ensure that Danny Wilson’s 1,000th game as a manager would end in victory for him and defeat for Orient. Elsewhere, at the bottom of the table, a Craig Eastmond goal ensured that Colchester picked up an important win against their fellow relegation candidates Yeovil (though the win was not enough to remove them from the relegation zone).
League Two
• It is now five games without a win for Bury after they threw away a two-goal lead at home to York. Andrew Tutte and Daniel Nardiello had given the Shakers the lead but they failed to shake off City who clawed their way back into the game via goals from Jake Hyde and Luke Summerfield. The hard-earned point means York remain above the relegation zone but only by the slimmest of margins and they have been leapfrogged by Carlisle, who, thanks to a 61st minute goal from Brad Potts managed to overcome Northampton. Carlisle’s place in the relegation zone has thus been taken by Tranmere, who drew 1-1 with Cambridge on Friday evening.
• At the very bottom of the table and in Ronnie Moore’s first game in charge, Hartlepool let a one-goal lead and three points slip against Oxford as their delicate defence gave way to Danny Hylton’s 13th goal of the season. After the game, Moore claimed that a deal to bring convicted rapist Ched Evans to the club remained a possibility.
• At the top of the table, Wycombe increased their lead to two-points after they were held to a 1-1 draw away to Accrington Stanley. Paris-Cowan Hall had given his side an early lead and Aaron Pierre and Shay McCartan should have added to. In the second half, Sean Maguire made them pay for those missed chances when he headed in Kal Naismith’s free-kick.
• Elsewhere at the top, Luton moved into an automatic promotion spot with a 3-0 win over Newport. “I don’t think the scoreline was a fair reflection,” said the Newport County manager Justin Edinburgh, “but credit to Luton, they were ruthless when the chances came their way.”
