Abdul Fatawu scored from inside his own half as Leicester cruised to a 3-1 win against Ipswich at the King Power Stadium. Fatawu’s remarkable lob from about 65 yards doubled Leicester’s lead two minutes before half-time, after Bobby De Cordova-Reid lashed home from distance on eight minutes.
Leicester sealed the points on 52 minutes when Jordan Ayew converted Ricardo Pereira’s cutback before substitute Jens Cajuste scored for the visitors after an error from goalkeeper Jakub Stolarczyk.
Marti Cifuentes, the Leicester manager, said of Fatawu: “The second goal is a brilliant moment from Abdul. He tries it a lot in training. He likes to look for those situations. It’s a brilliant goal, he pushes himself to be better and it was a very nice moment.”
Coventry got back to winning ways as a 1-0 victory against Bristol City kept them five points clear at the top of the table, Ephron Mason-Clark scoring the only goal in the second half. It was Coventry’s seventh successive home victory but owed a lot to Carl Rushworth, especially for an outstanding late stop to deny Fally Mayulu from point-blank range.
Frank Lampard said of Rushworth: “The save at the end was fantastic – he is showing himself to be a really high-level goalkeeper for us. He’s a top keeper, he trains brilliantly, he’s low maintenance and I think he’s enjoying it here and I enjoyed him today.”
Kim Hellberg’s perfect start to life as Middlesbrough head coach continued as his high-flying side earned a 3-1 victory over QPR at the Riverside. Hellberg has won his first four matches since replacing Rob Edwards on Teesside, becoming only the secondto achieve the feat at Middlesbrough after Bryan Robson. The latest success came courtesy of first-half goals from David Strelec and Morgan Whittaker and a second-half penalty from Tommy Conway.
Hellberg was especially impressed by the opening 45 minutes. The Swede said: “Sometimes, I just looked at the players in the first half and thought: ‘Wow, there is so much quality there.’ There were so many situations where we showed so much quality.”
Kyle Joseph scored twice in the early stages as Hull cruised to a 3-1 victory over 10-man Millwall at the Den. It was a frustrating afternoon for Millwall, as they lost for the first time in five games to drop to fourth, while they also lost their top scorer, Femi Azeez, to a straight red card in the second half.
Jordan Storey and Daniel Jebbison struck in each half to give Preston a 2-1 victory at Oxford. Storey headed in Thierry Small’s cross from close range in the 26th minute.
Jebbison then notched his fifth goal of the season as he converted Alfie Devine’s cutback four minutes into the second half. Oxford halved the deficit four minutes later when Brian De Keersmaecker hammered home a left-foot drive, but Preston held on.
“The result was better than the performance,” said the Preston assistant manager, Stuart McCall. “We were a bit patchy, but you have to look at Oxford’s record against the big boys here, it’s a difficult place to come.”
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Joel Bagan scored a stoppage-time winner for League One leaders Cardiff to give them a 4-3 win over Doncaster.
Owen Bailey’s opener for Doncaster was cancelled out by Omari Kellyman and Cian Ashford put Cardiff ahead, but Brandon Hanlan equalised before Yousef Salech restored the hosts’ lead after the break.
Harry Clifton looked to have salvaged a point for Rovers, but Bagan’s late effort keeps Cardiff four points clear of second-placed Bradford after the Bantams earned a 2-0 win over Reading.
Third-placed Lincoln were frustrated by a late Ashley Fletcher equaliser as Blackpool claimed a 2-2 draw and Thierry Gale’s late effort ensured Bolton remain seven games unbeaten in the league with a 2-1 win over Exeter, which lifts them into fourth.
Stevenage claimed a 3-1 win against top-six rivals Stockport, where goals from Chem Campbell and Jamie Reid sent Boro in front and although Kyle Wootton pulled one back, Louis Thompson restored their two-goal cushion.
Mads Andersen salvaged a point for Luton to draw 2-2 with bottom side Port Vale and Raphael Borges Rodrigues cancelled out Murray Wallace’s opener as Wigan snatched a 1-1 draw with Huddersfield.
Davis Keillor-Dunn struck late for Barnsley to secure a 3-2 victory over Leyton Orient. Reyes Cleary had sent Barnsley into the lead, but a Dom Ballard penalty and Ollie O’Neill’s goal put Orient in front and with five minutes to go Keillor-Dunn settled matters.
Harry Leonard scored a brace as Peterborough beat 10-man Northampton 2-1, where Jack Perkins was sent off after 10 minutes.
Joe Ralls’s goal ensured Plymouth earned back-to-back wins with a 1-0 victory against Rotherham, while there were goalless draws in Wimbledon‘s meeting with Mansfield and Burton‘s clash with Wycombe. PA Media
Jovon Makama scored twice in the second half as Norwich battled to a 2-1 victory over Southampton at Carrow Road. Leading the line in the absence of Josh Sargent, who was missing due to concussion protocols, Makama struck in the 48th and 61st minutes to sink a Southampton side who had won five out of six going into the lunchtime kick-off.
Ryan Manning had swiftly equalised for the visitors with a fine long-range effort but summer signing Makama had the final say with his sixth goal of the season. It might have been a different story had Southampton converted a first-half penalty, but Vladan Kovacevic made a superb stop to deny Adam Armstrong.
“Jovon has got a lot of qualities and I am pleased with what he did today – but this is only the start for him,” said the Norwich manager, Philippe Clement. “He can still improve as a player and there is a lot of hard work ahead, but he has shown what he can do.”
Portsmouth fought back from a goal down to record a much-needed 2-1 victory over fellow strugglers Blackburn to climb out of the relegation zone. Blackburn led nine minutes before half-time though a fine goal from Yuki Ohashi but Callum Lang levelled in the 62nd minute before Ibane Bowat headed home Conor Chaplin’s corner 11 minutes from time to claim maximum points.
Wrexham rescued a 2-2 draw at home to Watford as Oliver Rathbone struck a stoppage-time equaliser in front of their actor owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McIlhenney (now known as Rob Mac). Watford brushed aside Josh Windass’s opener as first-half goals from Mamadou Doumbia and Othmane Maamma put the visitors on course for all three points. But Rathbone’s late intervention meant Wrexham avoided a second successive defeat.
Phil Parkinson, the Wrexham manager, said of the Hollywood pair’s presence: “I’m so pleased for the owners, who lift the whole place when they are here and I spoke to them briefly before the game. There is a lot of positivity in the area with the new investment being announced and we’ve got to keep building on that and the spirit of the team was there for all to see today.”
Charlton ended a run of five straight league defeats as Tyreece Campbell earned them a 1-1 draw at Birmingham. The substitute struck midway through the second half to peg back the home side.
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Walsall, the League Two leaders, were held to a 1-1 draw by Shrewsbury after Tom Anderson equalised to cancel out Daniel Kanu’s third-minute effort.
Notts County and Swindon now sit two points behind the table-toppers, with the former beating Grimsby 2-0 thanks to goals from Matthew Dennis and Alassana Jatta.
Swindon handed Bristol Rovers a 10th straight league defeat with Joe Snowdon, Ollie Clarke and Aaron Drinan all on the scoresheet in a 3-0 win. Both teams finished with 10 men as Rovers’ Kacper Lopata and Drinan were dismissed.
MK Dons were held to a 1-1 draw by Cambridge and Deji Elerewe’s 89th-minute header snatched a 1-0 win for Bromley against Accrington, while Salford came from 3-1 down to beat Colchester 4-3 thanks to Luke Garbutt’s stoppage-time strike.
Josh Gordon’s second-half brace earned Barrow a 2-2 draw with Gillingham and Lee Bonis scored a double for Chesterfield in a 3-1 win against Barnet.
Crewe ended a four-game winless league run with a 4-1 victory over Tranmere, where Max Sanders scored a first-half brace. Meanwhile, goals from Finley Potter and Ryan Graydon helped Fleetwood beat Newport 2-0 while Harrogate drew 1-1 with Cheltenham and Crawley secured a 2-2 draw with Oldham. PA Media
Birmingham had taken a deserved lead through Christoph Klarer as they looked to bounce back from consecutive defeats at Southampton and QPR. But Campbell, along with a dogged defensive display in the closing stages, earned Nathan Jones’s side a share of the spoils.
Ben Pearson and Sorba Thomas were on target as Stoke ended a three-game winless run with a 2-1 victory at home to Swansea. Defender Pearson hit a sweetly struck opener late in the first half and Thomas got the second after an hour.
On Friday night, second-half goals from Aune Heggebø and Karlan Grant set up a 2-0 win for West Brom at home to Sheffield United. Heggebø broke the deadlock in the 50th minute, with his seventh goal in seven games, and teed up Grant to seal it 11 minutes later.
