Championship
• Away from St James’ Park it took until 3.40pm for a Championship net to ripple, when a flurry of goals landed just before half-time. Among them was yet another cracker by Ipswich’s 23-year-old Tom Lawrence, his strike crashing in off the underside of the bar, and he added a second on the hour – his eighth in eight games – to put a dent in Reading’s promotion push despite Jordan Obita’s fine late strike levelling the game at 2-2.
• Cameron Jerome was another to pounce just before the break, clambering above his man to power Wes Hoolahan’s cross home and set Norwich on course for a 1-0 win at Cardiff. The victory, coupled with Derby’s defeat at Newcastle, left Norwich in pole position among the clubs outside the play-off places.
• Fulham travelled to Birmingham where Lukas Jutkiewicz eventually broke the deadlock to seal a relieved Gianfranco Zola’s first win as Birmingham manager – taking 12th-placed City to 40 points with 10 wins, 10 draws and 10 defeats. Just above them in the table, Barnsley and Preston played out a 0-0 draw at Oakwell.
• At the foot of the Championship, Rotherham spurned several first-half chances against Bristol City and were eventually punished by Milan Djuric’s winner. Third-bottom Blackburn turned a point into three in the dying moments through Sam Gallagher’s 91st-minute strike against QPR – although the Fulham loanee Cauley Woodrow’s 94th-minute goal for fellow strugglers Burton Albion ensured a 2-1 win against Wolves and maintained Blackburn’s three-point gap from safety.
League One
• It was a fine day for Sheffield United, who were the only top-six side to win and now find themselves nine points clear of the play-offs and moving ever closer to automatic promotion. Scunthorpe started the day top but their three-game winning run came to an end in a 3-1 defeat at Southend in which Neal Bishop was sent off. That result opened the door for the Blades to take back top spot with an emphatic 4-0 thrashing of Wimbledon, Billy Sharp setting the tone on four minutes with his 18th league goal of the season.
• The chasing pack in the play-off positions all slipped up: Bradford drew 2-2 at home to Gillingham; Bolton could only manage a 1-1 draw at MK Dons; only a late Amari’i Bell equaliser salvaged a point for Fleetwood at Charlton; while Rochdale were held to a goalless home draw by Bristol Rovers. Results elsewhere helped Peterborough climb to eighth following a 3-0 win at Port Vale, the substitute Junior Morias scoring twice in added time.
• Millwall’s turbulent few weeks off the pitch have been conversely sedate in the league with four successive draws, so a trip to struggling Coventry’s Ricoh Arena was a welcome relief. Millwall took full advantage, Jake Cooper and Steve Morrison scoring the goals to leave the hosts eight points from safety at the bottom of the table.
• The day’s critical relegation battle was heading for stalemate between Chesterfield and Oldham at the Proact Stadium despite the Derbyshire club’s dominance, but Peter Clarke’s added-time header at the back post pinched a 1-0 win and a crucial three points for 10-man Athletic.
League Two
• Plymouth Argyle kept up the pressure on the league leaders, Doncaster Rovers, with a 1-0 victory over Cambridge United thanks to Antoni Sarcevic’s strike, while Rovers could only manage a 1-1 draw at home to Morcambe. Third-placed Carlisle United went behind at Leyton Orient but goals from Gary Liddle and Jamie Proctor ensured a turnaround, despite the latter’s sending off for two yellow-card offences. The victory ended Carlisle’s disappointing run of five games without a win and kept them four points clear of fourth-placed Exeter City, who thrashed Crewe 4-0 to complete a seventh league win on the trot.
• Matt Gooden scored twice, including a dramatic stoppage-time winner, to clinch a comeback win for Stevenage at Crawley Town. Newport County’s Jaanai Gordon also left it late in his side’s 1-1 at Cheltenham Town to extend the bottom club’s unbeaten league run to five games.
