Jordan James headed home a dramatic injury-time winner as Leicester came from behind to secure a 2-1 win at Norwich, piling more pressure on manager Liam Manning.
The struggling Canaries gave themselves a great chance of ending a gruelling run of form when Mathias Kvistgaarden scored for the second game in a row to give his side the lead after 62 minutes. But substitute Bobby Decordova-Reid equalised for the Foxes 13 minutes later, with the visitors then going on to secure only their second win in 11 matches when James got on the end of an Abdul Fatawu cross. It was Norwich’s eighth successive defeat at home, extending their winless run to 11 matches in the Championship.
While Coventry stretched their lead at the top of the table by beating third-placed Stoke, Middlesbrough moved second by beating Birmingham 2-1 at the Riverside Stadium, despite the distraction of manager Rob Edwards having been stood down pre-match so he could hold talks with Wolves.
Teessider Dael Fry’s 17th-minute volley was cancelled out by Demarai Gray’s close-range strike 12 minutes later, but Middlesbrough found a way to respond with a winner. Hayden Hackney cleverly flicked Aidan Morris’ long-range effort into the net in the fifth minute of first-half stoppage time as Boro’s stand-in management team of Adi Viveash, Harry Watling and Craig Liddle oversaw an important victory.
Edwards’ apparent decision to leave less than six months into his three-year deal at the Riverside provoked an angry reaction from fans, with chants and banners displaying the message “fans deserve to see people who really want to be here”.
Paul Heckingbottom praised Preston goalkeeper Daniel Iversen for how he bounced back from his calamitous error in the first half of their 1-1 draw at Millwall. The Lilywhites had the chance to go second with victory at The Den where they struck first through Michael Smith, but were pegged back after Iversen’s clanger gifted Mihailo Ivanovic an equaliser.
Heckingbottom said: “It was a beauty, wasn’t it? I’ve seen a few of them before from goalkeepers – it’s never nice when it happens to your team or for the keeper involved. But I’m really pleased he made a good save in the second half because other than that he was pretty quiet. He’s a great character, he’s played a lot of games and he knows how valuable he is to us. It’s just frustrating when it does cost you points in a game.”
Quick GuideLeague One roundup: Wilshere’s Luton win again
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The top three in League One were all beaten as Jack Wilshere’s positive start to life as Luton’s manager continued with a 3-0 victory over table-toppers Stockport. The Hatters have now won four games in a row. Two quick-fire goals in the latter stages of the first half from Jake Richards and Cohen Bramall and one from Isaiah Jones in the second half settled it, with Nathan Lowe missing a penalty for the hosts before Owen Dodgson was sent off.
Second-placed Bradford also lost at home, Jake Beesley and Charlie Webster netting for Burton in a 2-1 victory, while two goals from Ashley Fletcher and one from Tom Bloxham gave improving Blackpool a 3-1 victory over Cardiff. Bolton are now only two points off top spot after beating Port Vale 4-0, Amario Cozier-Duberry scoring twice and Xavier Simons and Kyle Dempsey once each.
Peterborough climbed off the bottom of the table with a remarkable 5-0 victory over high-flying AFC Wimbledon, Harry Leonard and Gustav Lindgren scoring twice each, while Huddersfield were 3-1 victors against struggling Plymouth. Victory for Lincoln would have seen them draw level on points with Stockport but they were beaten 3-0 by Rotherham: Reece James, Ar’jany Martha and Denzel Hall on the scoresheet.
Wycombe’s resurgence under Michael Duff continued with a 4-1 win over Leyton Orient. An eventful first half saw Fred Onyedinma score twice either side of an Aaron Connolly penalty before Dan Casey extended the Chairboys’ lead, and Sam Bell added a fourth with 15 minutes left.
Northampton returned to winning ways with a 2-1 victory over Mansfield. Rhys Oates crashed in the opener but the Cobblers turned things around in the second half as Jack Perkins levelled before Tom Eaves won it from the penalty spot. Davis Keilor-Dunn scored the winner as Barnsley defeated Doncaster 2-1 while Exeter and Wigan drew 1-1. PA Media
Joe Gelhardt scored his fifth goal in six games as Hull beat struggling Portsmouth 3-2 at the MKM Stadium. The Leeds loan signing showed supreme calmness to dink the ball over goalkeeper Josef Bursik from inside the area after he latched on to Charlie Hughes’ long ball in the 77th minute. Hull had looked up against it after Terry Devlin opened the scoring during a breathless first half. Enis Destan and Kyle Joseph cancelled out Devlin’s deflected goal, but Portsmouth showed laudable grit to restore parity when Devlin headed in Josh Murphy’s brilliant cross just before the break. Yet Pompey, who have not won since 4 October, left East Yorkshire with nothing following Gelhardt’s moment of quality.
Head coach Sergej Jakirovic praised Gelhardt, who was also on loan at Hull last season, saying: “When I watched him in last season’s games, I begged Mr Chairman [Acun Ilicali] to bring him back here. He likes playing here and he wanted to come back here. He has a completely different profile to the players we have. He’s 23 years old and maybe he can reach the Premier League. But, right now, he’s made the difference for us.”
Cameron Burgess made the unwitting difference for his old club Ipswich as he conceded two second-half own goals, condemning Swansea to a 4-1 defeat. The defender helped a Lief Davis shot into the back of his net in the 56th minute as Ipswich restored their lead and then lunged at a cross from Jens Cajuste in the 81st minute to again send the ball past Lawrence Vigouroux in the home goal. It meant Ipswich picked up their second 4-1 win on the road in the space of eight days, extending their unbeaten run to four matches.
Quick GuideLeague Two roundup: Leaders Walsall seal victory at Newport
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There was a goal glut at Newport as League Two leaders Walsall claimed a 4-2 victory. Five of the goals came in the first half, including two for Ryan Finnigan, and Rico Browne made sure of the points for the Saddlers early in the second half. Second-placed Swindon looked set to lose ground after Tranmere’s Kristian Dennis levelled with two minutes to go but Finley Munroe made it 2-1 in injury time.
Third-placed Salford were held to a 0-0 draw by Cambridge and MK Dons had to fight back from two down to earn a 2-2 draw against Barnet. Owen Lunt’s first senior goal for Crewe, a strike from Tommi O’Reilly and a late effort from Omar Bogle earned the Railwaymen a 3-1 win over Shrewsbury.
Barrow recovered from two down to hold high-flying Grimsby 2-2 while Max Clark’s goal earned Gillingham, still without Gareth Ainsworth on the touchline, a 1-0 win at Bristol Rovers. A topsy-turvy clash at Chesterfield ended in a 3-3 draw with Accrington, Fleetwood had Zech Medley sent off for two yellow cards inside 10 minutes and lost 2-1 at Crawley while Bromley beat Colchester 2-0 and 10-man Oldham held on for a 1-0 victory at Harrogate. PA Media
Substitute Josh Windass’ spot-kick sent Wrexham into the international break on the back of 1-0 win against last season’s promotion rivals Charlton. Windass’s strike from the spot after Onel Hernandez was adjudged to have handled ended Charlton’s five-match unbeaten run. Wrexham’s victory means they have now won three straight home league matches in the second tier for the first time since 1982.
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John Eustace hailed “leader” Carlton Morris after his 10th goal of the season set Derby on their way to a gritty 2-1 win at Blackburn. It was a happy return to Ewood Park for Eustace, who swapped clubs in February. Morris skilfully glanced the Rams into a 19th-minute lead, Patrick Agyemang doubled their advantage with a header just before the break and though Yuki Ohashi’s penalty gave Blackburn hope, Derby dug in to weather the pressure.
“We speak about Carlton every game now, and all I’d say is he’s a top professional,” said Eustace. “He’s a real leader and most importantly, he’s a top human being. He drives the standards every day in training and helps the lads around him in Patrick, Rhian [Brewster] and Lars-Jorgen [Salvesen]. His job is to develop the others and he’s doing it.”
Caspar Jander and Finn Azaz struck their first Southampton goals as caretaker Tonda Eckert’s hopes of becoming full-time manager were boosted with a 3-1 win over Sheffield Wednesday. Eckert, the club’s under-21 manager, stepped up when Will Still was sacked last weekend and has since won back-to-back matches to change the mood at St Mary’s.
Summer signings Jander and Azaz rushed Saints into a two-goal lead before Harry Amass pulled one back before half-time, but Adam Armstrong made sure of the points shortly after the restart. Eckert, who has previous assistant manager experience at Barnsley and Genoa, is now the most likely candidate to take over from Still permanently.
Struggling Sheffield United had a frustrating afternoon in front of goal as they were held to a 0-0 draw by QPR at Bramall Lane. Visiting keeper Ben Hamer pulled off a number of good saves as the Blades dominated the majority of the game but could not find a way through. It was United’s first draw of the season as they became the last team in the EFL to do so this season.
Substitute Aune Heggebo’s winner ensured West Brom ended their recent poor run as they came from behind to beat Oxford 2-1 at The Hawthorns. The Norway striker glanced home in the 70th minute after Greg Leigh’s own goal ended the Baggies’ 382-minute goal drought and cancelled out Will Lankshear’s opener. Victory was Albion’s first in five league games and eased the supporters’ growing frustrations at the indifferent form after they booed their side off at half-time. Oxford have now gone three games without a win and have suffered back-to-back defeats.
On Friday, Scott Twine’s free-kick earned Bristol City a 1-1 draw at Watford. Marc Bola’s first Watford goal put the hosts ahead after six minutes but Twine ensured injury-hit City avoided losing for a third time in six days by denying Watford a fifth straight home win.
