Championship
- Derby County scored more than one goal for the only the second time in a league match this season, beating Sheffield Wednesday, who drop to seventh, 2-0 at home. Defenders Cyrus Christie and Alex Pearce scored the Rams’ eighth and ninth goals of the season against Wednesday for Steve McClaren’s side. McClaren has won two of his first three home games as Derby manager, after a winless home run that lasted six months. The Rams edge above local rivals Nottingham Forest, who lost at Reading. The Royals moved into fifth after Garath McCleary and Chris Gunter scored goals against their former club without reply.
- Fulham recorded their first league win at Craven Cottage since the opening day of the season, after a whopping 5-0 victory over Huddersfield Town. Three loanees got the ball rolling for Slavisa Jokanovic’s men, with Chris Martin, Tomas Kalas and Lucas Piazon – the latter two are on loan from Chelsea – putting the hosts three goals to the good before half-time. After the break, Martin doubled his tally before Kevin McDonald completed the rout. David Wagner’s sideare third after their blistering start, but have now lost three of their last four matches away from home. Brighton thrashed Norwich City by the same scoreline to remain second, with Glenn Murray bagging a hat-trick.
- Bristol City are sixth after throwing away their lead at Oakwell, as Lee Johnson returned to Barnsley for the first time since leaving the club in February. Marley Watkins, the former Hereford and Bath City forward signed by Johnson last year, opened the scoring before Lee Tomlin’s penalty levelled things up. Tammy Abraham then scored his first goal in five matches – and 12th of the season – to give the Robins the lead, before Barnsley winger Adam Hammill netted an injury-time equaliser.
- Newcastle United hit Preston for six at St James’ Park in midweek, and Aleksandar Mitrovic carried on where they left off at Deepdale on Saturday. The striker, who scored twice on Tuesday, hit another double for his third and fourth goals against Simon Grayson’s side this week. Leeds United are on the up, too. Garry Monk’s side maintained their good form at Elland Road, with Chris Wood and Souleymane Doukara striking late to down visitors Burton Albion, and extend their unbeaten home run to seven matches.
- Neil Warnock’s unbeaten run as Cardiff City manager came to an abrupt end, after managerless Wigan Athletic took a 1-0 win away from south Wales, thanks to Jordi Gómez’s late goal. And it was a case of so close but so far for Kenny Jackett, whose Rotherham United side squandered their lead late on at Portman Road. Ipswich Town equalised through David McGoldrick’s 95th-minute effort, Danny Ward’s double giving the Millers an unlikely lead after going behind to Freddie Sears’s early strike.
- Finally, Blackburn Rovers missed the chance to climb out of the relegation zone after a 1-1 draw with Wolves. Sam Gallagher’s volley gave Rovers an early lead, but Dave Edwards struck for managerless Wolves, on a night where home fans arrived late and left early in an ownership protest. Birmingham City host Aston Villa in the Second City derby on Sunday, while in another local affair on Friday, Brentford beat QPR to end a 52-year wait for a win at Loftus Road.
League One
- Scunthorpe United blew Swindon Town away at Glanford Park to remain top of the tree, with striker Paddy Madden scoring twice. Kevin van Veen and Duane Holmes did the rest as Graham Alexander’s side racked up their tenth league win this term. Town defender Nathan Thompson scored a consolation goal for the visitors who suffered back-to-back defeats. Bolton Wanderers’ fifth straight win was done and dusted after just 16 minutes. Phil Parkinson’s side cruised into a 3-0 lead over Port Vale – courtesy of goals from academy graduates Zach Clough and Josh Vela, before Lawrie Wilson struck a third. Around the corner, sort of, Rochdale beat local rivals Oldham, courtesy of Matty Lund’s goal five minutes before the break.
- Third-placed Bradford City left it very late to down AFC Wimbledon, with James Hanson scoring the winner in injury-time at Kingsmeadow. Jordy Hiwula, the former Manchester City striker, opened the scoring after three minutes before the hosts turned things around, taking the lead through Lyle Taylor from the spot after 68 minutes. It was then Hanson’s turn to slot home from 12 yards before sending a bullet header past the goalkeeper James Shea. Sheffield United beat MK Dons at Bramall Lane thanks to Billy Sharp’s late winner, after Darren Potter, formerly of neighbours Sheffield Wednesday, had pulled the visitors level.
- The Blades sit fourth, while Northampton Town moved into fifth after a 3-2 win over Bury. Veteran striker Marc Richards found the net twice before Matt Taylor’s goal put the Cobblers into a seemingly unassailable lead. But George Miller replied three minutes later before Zeli Ismail’s goal ensured a frantic finish. Bristol Rovers slipped out of the play-off picture, after surrendering their slender lead at home to Peterborough. Matty Taylor’s penalty put Darrell Clarke’s side in the driving seat but Shaquile Coulthirst and Tom Nichols completed the Posh turnaround at the Memorial Stadium.
- Elsewhere, Millwall came from behind to leapfrog Oxford United in the early kickoff, with Steve Morison and Aiden O’Brien grabbing the goals for Neil Harris’s side. Ashley Hunter secured Fleetwood victory over Gillingham at the Highbury Stadium, Charlton beat Chesterfield 1-0 at the Valley thanks to Lee Novak’s late goal and Southend United played out a 1-1 draw at home to Shrewsbury Town.
League Two
- Everything’s going right for Plymouth Argyle at the moment. Ryan Donaldson scored the winner for Derek Adams’ table-toppers side three minutes from time against Colchester, to ensure Plymouth’s best start to a season since 1930. Donaldson’s second goal of the season ensured victory after Craig Tanneropened the scoring at Home Park. Plymouth had to hold out for 16 minutes of stoppage time after an injury to referee Kevin Johnson, who collided with the hosts’ Jimmy Spencer.
- Things are still going to plan for Carlisle United, too. Keith Curle’s side extended their unbeaten start to 15 matches with a comprehensive 3-1 win over Crawley. Jabo Ibehre, Jason Kennedy and Luke Joyce ensured Carlisle remain four points adrift of the league leaders. Doncaster Rovers are third after a 2-2 draw at home to Wycombe, in which John Marquis – labelled Marcreeps in Rovers’ Halloween-themed match-day programme – scored his seventh of the season. Honourable mentions for James Coffinger and Harry Middletombstone, too.
- Portsmouth hung on at Cambridge United to take a 1-0 win back to the south coast. Conor Chaplin, the teenage striker, nodded home his second goal in as many games to keep Paul Cook’s side firmly in the mix towards the top. Meanwhile, Jamal Lowe, who will join Pompey in January, plundered his 19th goal of the season for Hampton and Richmond at Weston-super-Mare in the National League South. Elsewhere, Notts County played out a stalemate with Luton Town, while Crewe took a 2-0 win away from Leyton Orient.
- There was another impressive away haul for Exeter City at Morecambe. David Wheeler, Joel Grant and Lee Holmes all struck inside 35 minutes to claw Paul Tisdale’s side away from the bottom two. Yeovil Town kept their fifth consecutive clean sheet after shutting out Grimbsy Town at Huish Park, who could badly do with the goals of Padraig Amond. That point moved the Glovers into the top half. Amond, who scored 33 goals for Grimsby last year, put Hartlepool United ahead at Barnet, but the visitors ultimately lost 3-2 at the Hive. John Akinde bagged his 12th goal of the season, but it was Shaun Batt who notched the winning goal.
- And – just listen to this – Jazzi Barnum-Bobb’s first professional goal sent Graham Westley on his way to his first win as Newport County manager. Josh Sheehan sealed the bottom club’s 3-1 victory at Accrington. “The players were terrific in their defensive resilience and credit to them for a fantastic win,” said Westley after the match. Finally, Cheltenham drew 2-2 at home to Blackpool, who twice levelled through Kyle Vassell, and Stevenage won 2-1 at Mansfield.
