Championship
• When Neil Warnock took charge of Cardiff City in early October, it was never going to be dull. Last week there was Sol Bamba’s bizarre behaviour and subsequent red card, and this week another entirely different escapade, as Barnsley snatched victory with a 95th-minute winner in south Wales. There were six other goals, Sean Morrison’s opener inside three minutes before Ryan Williams dug deep down the back of the sofa for a winner after Cardiff had pulled level at 3-3. “It was an exciting game for the neutral – on how not to defend,” Warnock said. Cardiff have now kept just one clean sheet in their last 22 matches.
• Newcastle United will be top of the tree at Christmas after seeing off Burton Albion, in the first-ever meeting between the two teams. Dwight Gayle’s 17th goal of the season sent Rafael Benítez’s side on their way to victory but Lloyd Dyer equalised for the hosts five minutes later. But when Gayle strikes, Newcastle usually win (winning eight out of nine matches) and Mohamed Diamé’s first-half goal was enough to clinch three points. Brighton kept pace with the Magpies after a dramatic comeback win at Birmingham. Lukas Jutkiewicz gave the hosts the lead in Gianfranco Zola’s first game in charge before Anthony Knockaert’s equaliser eight minutes from time, and Glenn Murray’s dramatic injury-time winner, extended Brighton’s unbeaten run to 16 games.
• Reading, meanwhile, continued their unlikely assault on the automatic promotion places, after George Evans’s injury-time winner at Blackburn Rovers ensured they remain third. Blackburn twice levelled through Danny Graham and then Wes Brown, a former Manchester United team-mate of the Reading manager Jaap Stam. But Evans found a 92nd-minute winner from Garath McCleary’s cross. Huddersfield Town stay fourth after Elias Kachunga’s double secured victory over out of sorts Norwich City at Carrow Road on Friday night.
• The rest of teams in the play-off pack left it agonisingly late, too, with Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds United both securing narrow victories with little time remaining. Steven Fletcher struck in the fourth minute of added time at Hillsborough as Wednesday beat Rotherham United while Kyle Bartley headed past Dan Bentley with only 60 seconds left of normal time as Leeds eked past Brentford.
• Finally a bump in the road, of sorts at least, for Derby County at Fulham. Steve McClaren’s side travelled to Craven Cottage on the back of seven straight wins and without conceding in 458 minutes. Thomas Ince opened the scoring for Derby before their watertight defence was eventually broken by Floyd Ayité, bagging his fourth goal in three games on the brink of half-time. Stefan Johansen then put Fulham in front before Alex Pearce salvaged a draw for Derby, who now sit just a point outside the top six.
• It was a bad day for Bristol City, who were condemned to a third straight defeat by Preston North End at Ashton Gate by Preston North End. Simon Makienok and Daniel Johnson scored the goals either side of 37-year-old Aaron Wilbraham’s equaliser. Nottingham Forest lost 2-0 at home to Wolves, who scored through Hélder Costa and club-record signing Ivan Cavaleiro. Elsewhere, Ipswich Town manager Mick McCarthy made five changes after admitting it would be “bonkers” not to change his team for the trip to Wigan Athletic. David McGoldrick, who kept his place on the teamsheet, netted a 88th-minute winner to seal a first win in four matches as Wigan lost a fifth straight home match.
League One
• Bolton Wanderers missed the chance to regain second spot from Sheffield United after slipping up at lowly Chesterfield. Liam O’Neil scored the only goal of the game as Bolton’s five-match unbeaten run came to an abrupt end. Also at the top, Scunthorpe United, the league leaders, coasted past Millwall 3-0, largely thanks to Paddy Madden’s sixth and seventh goals of the season. Fourth-placed Bradford City continue to stutter towards the top but earned a 1-1 draw at Walsall.
• On the up are Rochdale and Peterborough United, with both nestled inside the play-off positions. Matty Lund, who had previously scored just once last season, bagged a hat-trick as Rochdale won 3-2 at Northampton Town, who twice led. Lund’s first career hat-trick ensured Dale stay fifth, narrowly ahead of Grant McCann’s Peterborough, who won 2-0 at Charlton Athletic thanks to goals from Ryan Tafazolli and Gwion Edwards. Peterborough have now won their last four away matches.
• Nile Ranger, who was in court in London on Wednesday, charged with fraud and money laundering offences, opened the scoring as Southend United recorded a 2-0 win at Oldham Athletic. Ranger’s third goal of the season helped to lift Phil Brown’s side to seventh in the table while Oldham remain rock-bottom. Shrewsbury Town earned a 2-0 win over Bristol Rovers but still remain in the relegation zone. For Rovers, there was another goalkeeper error for manager Darrell Clarke to fret about, with Will Puddy handing Louis Dodds the opportunity to tap-in before Ian Black sealed the win. Clarke dropped on-loan Derby goalkeeper Kelle Roos earlier this month. “It’s another stupid goal we’ve conceded,” Clarke said. “Our fans booed us and rightly. It was not acceptable for this football club. I’ve got a big job on my hands for the second half of this season.”
• Chris Brass could be forgiven for thinking he had cracked it at Bury when James Vaughan opened the scoring inside five minutes against Oxford United. But then Brass, who was named Bury manager until the end of the season on Thursday, watched his side unravel as Chris Maguire’s double and a Greg Leigh own goal completed the turnaround for the U’s to go 10th. Elsewhere, AFC Wimbledon moved into ninth after trouncing Port Vale 4-0 to clinch their first win in four matches, Swindon Town drew 1-1 with Fleetwood Town and Gillingham beat MK Dons 1-0.
League Two
• Derek Adams looked to his substitutes bench for inspiration as Plymouth Argyle won 1-0 at Accrington Stanley. On-loan Reading winger Craig Tanner replaced Jake Jervis on the hour mark before finding the net as Plymouth claimed their 14th win of the season. Only two points separate the division’s top three, and both Carlisle United and Doncaster Rovers could have trumped Plymouth if the league leaders had slipped up.
• Doncaster had briefly gone top, for an hour or two at least, after beating Grimsby Town in the lunchtime kick-off. Teenage striker Liam Mandeville scored his ninth of the season while the Mariners were without top-scorer Omar Bogle who missed the trip with a thigh injury. Yeovil Town supporters who made the 660-mile round trip to Carlisle were rewarded on arrival at Brunton Park by Darren Way and his squad, who left £300 behind the bar as a thank you for their efforts. “It’s important we give something back,” Way said. On the pitch, it wasn’t quite so rewarding, with Shaun Brisley putting Carlisle ahead inside 10 minutes with a fine 35-yard volley. Charlie Wyke doubled their lead before Nathan Smith’s consolation strike. Keith Curle’s side have still only lost once in 21 league matches.
• Portsmouth’s Jeykll and Hyde performances continue to damage their hopes of breaking into the automatic promotion places, after playing out a 0-0 draw against Hartlepool United at Fratton Park. Before kick-off, Portsmouth’s Supporters Trust (PST) unveiled a wall of fame, detailing the name of every shareholder who helped to save the club from extinction in April 2013. The PST also had a warm welcome for hardy visiting supporters, offering them free hot drinks and mince pies upon arrival.
• A few managers in the fourth tier have increasingly burgeoning reputations, none more so than Cambridge United’s Shaun Derry, Luton Town’s Nathan Jones and Wycombe’s Gareth Ainsworth. All three consolidated their position in the play-offs, earning respective wins over Crewe, Blackpool and Leyton Orient.
• Ollie Watkins’s fourth and fifth league goals of the season earned Exeter City a 2-0 win over Mansfield. Elsewhere, John Akinde scored his 16th goal of the season but Barnet lost 2-1 at home to Stevenage, 10-man Morecambe lost 2-1 at home to Cheltenham and Colchester won by the same scoreline against Notts County, who have now lost six league games in a row. And it might be an unhappy festive period for Newport County, who will be bottom of the Football League over Christmas after a 3-1 defeat at Crawley Town.
