Frank Lampard praised his “outstanding” side’s resilience after Championship leaders Coventry came back from two goals down at home to beat 10-man West Brom 3-2. Aune Heggebø’s double put the visitors into what looked like a commanding lead, but Josh Eccles halved the deficit before the break. Jayson Molumby was then sent off four minutes into the second half, after which Ellis Simms and Victor Torp were on target to make it nine wins in 10 for the hosts.
“The reaction to keep playing in the first half was very positive, even with the feeling of 2-0 which can sometimes take the wind out of yourselves. The goal before half-time, which we deserved, helped because that gave the players belief. I think the red card helped too … but even with 11 men on I would have fancied us in the second half.”
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League One roundup: Cardiff go top with win at Northampton
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Cardiff went top of League One after returning to form with a 3-1 win at Northampton. The Bluebirds had lost their last two league games but went ahead through Joel Colwill’s early strike. Ethan Wheatley had the Cobblers level but put through his own goal to put Cardiff back in front, with Chris Willock making sure of the points in stoppage-time.
Lincoln had started the afternoon top but lost ground after slipping to a 3-2 defeat at Wycombe. Sam Bell scored twice in the first half before Justin Obikwu and Freddie Draper had the Imps level, only for Jack Grimmer snatch victory for the home side with just two minutes left.
Bradford also dropped points after being held to a goalless draw at Boltonextending their winless run in the league to six games. Harrison Bettoni scored twice in the final 15 minutes as Wigan came from behind to win 2-1 at Wimbledon. Barnsley beat Luton 5-0, with goals from Reyes Cleary, Patrick Kelly and Luca Connell setting up a comfortable win over Jack Wilshere’s side.
Ashley Fletcher scored a stoppage-time equaliser as relegation-battlers Blackpool fought back to draw 1-1 at 10-man Leyton Orientwho had Tayo Adaramola sent off early in the second half. Huddersfield closed on the play-off places with a 3-1 win at Mansfield where Bojan Radulovic, Dion Charles and Lasse Sorensen all scored inside the opening 16 minutes.
Lorent Tolaj scored against his former club as Plymouth moved off the bottom of the table with a 1-0 win at fellow strugglers Port Vale. Charlie Savage’s late goal gave Reading a 1-1 draw with Rotherhamwhile it finished goalless between Stevenage and Doncaster. Exeter’s game with Burton had been postponed after a fire at St James Park earlier in the week. PA Media
Patson Daka scored for the first time in almost a year as Leicester frustrated Stoke’s push for automatic promotion with a 2-1 home victory. Daka last found the net on 3 December 2024 in the Foxes’ Premier League win over West Ham but broke the drought by scoring his side’s second on the stroke of half-time.
That added to Stephy Mavididi’s opener as Stoke, who began the afternoon only two points off second, found themselves trailing at the break despite being superior for long periods. Bae Jun-ho pulled one back at the beginning of the second half but Leicester held on to ease the pressure on manager Martí Cifuentes.
Swansea’s interim manager, Darren O’Dea, insisted his club has a bright future despite their 3-0 defeat at Bristol Citywhich was watched from the stands by incoming manager Vitor Matos. Captain Rob Dickie headed City in front from a fourth-minute corner and Emil Riis Jakobsen doubled the advantage with a far-post volley on 31 minutes. Substitute Yu Hirakawa broke clear to complete the scoring with a low right-footed shot on 82 minutes.
Hours before kick-off Portuguese club Maritimo announced that their head coach Matos was leaving them to take charge of the Swans after the departure of Alan Sheehan, but O’Dea was unaware of his presence at the game.
“I have just left the dressing room and my only thoughts are with the players, who gave everything today,” he said. “There is a lot of talent in that dressing room and I am sure that whoever takes charge the future is bright. It needs new leadership and it seems that is pretty imminent. I know there is enough in the squad to set the club back in the right direction.”
Rumarn Burrell scored the winner as QPR beat Hull 3-2 at Loftus Road after twice coming from behind. Joe Gelhardt put the visitors ahead, Ilias Chair equalised before the break and Enis Destan put Hull back in front early in the second half, leaving Rangers on course for a fourth consecutive home defeat. But they turned the game around, with Jimmy Dunne scoring before Burrell’s sixth goal of the season clinched a first win in five matches for Julien Stéphan’s side.
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League Two: Walsall top after beating Harrogate
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Walsall finished the afternoon top of League Two following a 2-0 win at strugglers Harrogate through second-half goals from Daniel Kanu and Priestley Farquharson. Swindon dropped a point behind in second after Grimsby fought back to draw 2-2. Early goals from Ollie Palmer and Billy Bodin seemed to have the home side in control, but Kieran Green’s strike and then a penalty by Danny Rose levelled things up before half-time.
Bromley saw off Salford 2-0 to make it four straight league wins and leave the Ravens just two points off the top. MK Dons fought back from 2-0 down and overcame a late red card for Jonathan Leko to draw 2-2 at Tranmere with goals from Jon Mellish and Kane Thompson-Sommers in the closing stages after Charlie Whitaker had struck a first-half brace.
Former Leicester defender Christian Fuchs saw his first game as manager of bottom side Newport end in a 3-0 defeat at Oldhamwith Josh Hawkes scoring twice. Notts County took an early lead but were beaten 3-1 by Colchester while it finished 3-3 between Crewe and Chesterfieldwhich leaves both clubs still in the play-off mix.
Gillingham came from behind to draw 1-1 with Barnet at Priestfield and Cheltenham beat Bristol Rovers 1-0 with a second-half goal from Jonathan Tomkinson. Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu scored twice to give Cambridge a 2-0 win at Barrow, Crawley and Accrington drew 1-1 while strugglers Shrewsbury slumped to a 3-1 defeat at Fleetwoodwho finished with 10 men. PA Media
Watford staged a stunning late comeback to beat Derby 3-2 at Pride Park and celebrate a first away win since February. Derby lost striker Carlton Morris to injury early in the first half but were in control through Dion Sanderson’s first goal in more than two years and Sondre Langås’s first for the club. Luca Kjerrumgaard reduced the arrears before Edo Kayembe levelled from the spot and then clinched a dramatic win by heading in a corner.
Morgan Whittaker earned managerless Middlesbrough a point with a second-half equaliser in their 1-1 draw at struggling Oxford. Luke Harris marked his first league start for the U’s by firing them ahead in the 28th minute, but Boro levelled nine minutes into the second half when Whittaker diverted Callum Brittain’s cross-shot with a smart, low left-foot strike from eight yards.
Ipswich were frustrated by Wrexham’s stubborn defending as they played out a goalless draw at Portman Road, while Zak Swanson’s impressive strike set Portsmouth on their way to end their six-match winless run with a 3-1 victory over Millwall. Full-back Swanson lashed home an unstoppable 20-yard piledriver before Adrian Segecic clipped in a second after half-time. Mihailo Ivanovic pulled a goal back, after Joe Bryan had been dismissed for the visitors, but Jordan Williams secured the three points for the hosts late on.
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Birmingham celebrated the unveiling of their new stadium plan with a 4-1 win over Norwichwho were led for the first time by their new manager, Philippe Clement. The Belgian might have been looking for a reaction after his appointment as Liam Manning’s replacement but Chris Davies’s side instead ran up their third successive four-goal home haul. Marvin Ducksch and Jay Stansfield shared the goals as the positivity that swept St Andrew’s since the announcement of the £1.2bn venue showed no sign of evaporating.
Birmingham’s manager, Chris Davies, said the result rounded off “a special week … This was the 150th anniversary match and what with everything that was going on about the new stadium, my job was to make sure the players were prepared for it and they played as well as they could. So I was really pleased.”
Tonda Eckert declined to declare his interest in the Southampton manager’s job on a full-time basis despite a thumping 5-1 victory at Charlton. The Saints scored all the goals in the first half at The Valley as they made it three straights wins since Eckert stepped up from under-21 duty after Will Still’s sacking at the start of this month.
Finn Azaz netted twice for the visitors with Ryan Manning, Caspar Jander and Adam Armstrong also finding a way through a Charlton side that came into the match with the second best defensive record in the Championship.
Asked if he was more ready to go public with whether he wanted to be Still’s permanent successor, Eckert said he was just focused on the midweek home game against Leicester. “I would like to prepare the team for Tuesday night. I don’t know if it takes us anywhere if I make big statements. We need to confirm our performance game after game. It is a big one coming up and that is the challenge.”
On Friday, Andri Gudjohnsen’s fourth goal in five games earned Blackburn a 2-1 win at Preston and denied their Lancashire rivals a chance of going second. Although Alfie Devine cancelled out Lewis Miller’s opener within seconds in a frantic finish to the first half, Blackburn were the better side after the break and Gudjohnsen’s 62nd-minute header extended Rovers’ unbeaten run at Deepdale that dates back to 2019.
