Wrexham boosted their promotion hopes with a 5-3 victory over fellow high-flyers Ipswich in a crazy game at the Stok Cae Ras.
Eight days after Josh Windass’s goal had decided the FA Cup fourth-round tie between the sides in Wrexham’s favour, the goals flowed in north Wales.
Ipswich twice fought back to level in the first half, Anis Mehmeti and Iván Azón cancelling out efforts from Kieffer Moore and Windass, and Cédric Kipré scored a stunner to put the visitors in front just after the break.
But George Thomason equalised with his first goal for Wrexham in the 66th minute and they produced a grandstand finish thanks to Callum Doyle and Nathan Broadhead. The victory leaves Wrexham in sixth place in the Championship table, three points behind Ipswich in fourth.
Coventrythe leaders, won away for the first time since 25 November and their 2-0 victory at the Hawthorns left West Bromwho have not won in nine league games and not scored a league goal in 360 minutes, deeper in relegation trouble. Frank Lampard said Coventry were back to their best.
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League One roundup: Cardiff’s first defeat of 2026 lets in Lincoln
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Plymouth inflicted a first defeat of 2026 on League One leaders Cardiff with a 5-2 victory to open the door for Lincoln to close the gap to a point at the top of the table.
Argyle’s third successive win was forged in six first-half minutes when Bim Pepple, with a brace, and Lorent Tolaj scored, while Omari Kellyman reduced the deficit by also notching in that chaotic spell. Kellyman’s second gave the visitors hope but Tolaj doubled his tally with a penalty and Mathias Ross confirmed the end of Cardiff’s 12-match unbeaten run.
Lincoln‘s 2-0 win at Mansfieldtheir sixth in seven matches and 12th in a 16-game stretch without defeat, was achieved with goals from Rob Street and Tom Bayliss.
Bolton lost ground on the top two as they needed an 85th-minute equaliser from Mason Burstow after Hayden Coulson and George Honeyman had turned things around for Blackpool following Eoin Toal’s opener for the hosts just after the hour.
Stockport moved within two points of third-placed Wanderers, overtaking Bradford who lost 3-1 at AFC Wimbledonafter a 4-2 win over nine-man Wigan but needed two stoppage-time goals from Kyle Wootton for victory after Steven Sessegnon and Maleace Asamoah were sent off in the final half-hour.
Huddersfield came from behind with second-half goals from Ryan Ledson and Ryan Hardie to beat Barnsley 2-1, Reading drew 1-1 with Port Valewhile Wycombe edged themselves closer to the playoffs with a 3-1 win at home to Stevenage.
Fabio Tavares snatched a stoppage-time equaliser as Burton drew 1-1 at Luton and Harry Leonard scored twice for Peterborough as they came from 3-1 down to draw at home to Exeter for whom Jayden Wareham scored a hat-trick.
Doncaster moved themselves five points clear of the relegation zone with a 2-1 win at fellow strugglers Rotherham and Leyton Orient beat Northampton by the same scoreline.
First-half goals from Ephron Mason-Clark and Jack Rudoni made it successive victories for Lampard’s side after a three-match winless run threatened their bid to reach the Premier League.
The Sky Blues’ win came after a run of eight games without a victory on the road in all competitions. Lampard was encouraged by the way Coventry followed up a vital win over promotion rivals Middlesbrough with another mature display.
“I think it’s the first time a lot of our lads have been in this situation,” the manager said. “I’ve been through it a lot in my playing career and I understand the difficulties that come with it. You become hardened to that feeling when you get there again and again. It doesn’t mean you win the league but you understand the intense scrutiny that comes with it.”
Second-place Middlesbrough dropped points in a 0-0 draw with relegation-threatened Oxford at the Riverside Stadium.
Despite boasting almost 75% of the possession, Boro struggled to break down a resilient Oxford side doing everything they could to earn a point in the battle to stay up. And while the visitors will take great pride from their performance, Middlesbrough will rue an opportunity to put more pressure on Coventry at the top.
Gustavo Caballero struck his first goal for Portsmouth as they picked up another valuable away win with a 3-1 victory at third-placed Millwall.
It comes after Pompey won by the same score at Charlton on Tuesday and it moves them six points clear of the relegation zone.
They also completed a double over Millwall this season and dented their hosts’ promotion hopes, although teams dropping points around them means not too much damage has been done.
Watford’s manager, Ed Still, was thrilled to start his reign at Vicarage Road with a victory after a 2-0 success against Derby.
Luca Kjerrumgaard steered home a loose ball in the area after five minutes before Mamadou Doumbia flicked in a 90th-minute cross to move the Hornets level on points with Derby in a packed playoff race. Still knows more difficult tasks await his new team, not least with the visit of Ipswich on Tuesday evening, but he welcomed victory on his home bow.
“It is all about the players. I’m just there like a wally on the side of the pitch jumping up and down,” Still said. “It was special to be able to give the fans something to cheer about. And to be able to start the game the way we did, to get an early goal and not to step back too much after that.”
Birmingham withstood a brave second-half fightback from Norwich to come away from Carrow Road with a 2-1 win.
The Blues scored twice early on but were hanging on at the end as the in-form Canaries made a real game of it. Carlos Vicente and Marvin Ducksch were on target to put put the hosts on the back foot but Kenny McLean’s well-taken goal midway through the second period gave Norwich hope. However, the Blues held on to make it eight league games without defeat and add further momentum to a late push for the playoffs.
Southampton missed the chance to close the gap on the playoffs as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Charlton at St Mary’s.
Ross Stewart had given Saints a second-half lead but Sonny Carey cancelled it out with the equaliser in the 67th minute. Charlton’s manager, Nathan Jones, lasted only eight games and 95 days as Southampton manager in the 2022-23 season before being replaced by Rubén Sellés. The Welshman was taunted throughout by the home support, who certainly have not forgotten his ill-fated spell in charge.
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League Two roundup: Cambridge pounce on Bromley slip up
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In League TwoCambridge closed to within two points of Bromley after they beat Newport 2-0 with goals from Liam Bennett and Sullay Kaikai and the leaders were held to a goalless draw at Harrogate.
Swindon dropped to fourth after losing 2-1 at home to Crewewho moved up to sixth, with Notts County overtaking them after hammering Tranmere 5-0.
Jay Williams’ stoppage-time goal enabled Crawley to snatch a 1-1 draw at home to Chesterfieldwhile 10-man Salfordwho had Luke Garbutt sent off when leading 1-0, conceded twice in the final 12 minutes of normal and stoppage time to lose 3-2 to Cheltenham.
Jack Payne scored a hat-trick in the final 19 minutes as Colchester beat Barnet 4-1, Bristol Rovers were 3-1 winners over Grimsby and Iwan Morgan scored within the first 30 seconds as Shrewsbury won 2-0 at Accrington.
Oldham won 3-0 at Gillingham while Fleetwood came from two goals down to beat struggling Barrow 3-2, Crispin McLean equalising in the 89th minute before goalkeeper Wyll Stanway fumbled the ball into his own net in stoppage time.
QPR consigned Hull to back-to-back league defeats with a 3-1 win at the MKM Stadium. Daniel Bennie did the damage after 84 minutes when the Hong Kong-born winger let rip from the edge of the penalty area not long after he came on as a substitute.
QPR then put the game to bed in stoppage time after Richard Kone cut in from the left before directing the ball past Ivor Pandur.
Hull deserved nothing against well-drilled opponents and fell behind after 21 minutes when Harvey Vale’s corner caused carnage, with the ball hitting Paddy McNair’s left thigh for an own goal. The hosts equalised after 39 minutes when Joe Gelhardt cashed in from close range after a Ronnie Edwards error.
QPR’s manager, Julien Stéphan, played down talk of a playoff shot. “Let’s see how the table looks with three or four games remaining. This is not the main thing right now. The main thing is how we reacted after a bad performance at home to Blackburn. It’s a crazy league – everybody can beat everybody – but it’s about adapting to circumstances.”
Gary Rowett’s first match in charge of Leicester ended as a 2-2 draw after the Stoke captain, Ben Wilmot, struck in the last minute of normal time. The hosts came flying out of the traps and took the lead in the third minute, with Wilmot heading home from Aaron Cresswell’s brilliant cross from the left.
Five minutes later, Wilmot went close to doubling the lead but he headed wide from Sorba Thomas’s delivery. An equaliser arrived seven minutes into the second half as Divine Mukasa’s left-footed cross beat everyone and left Tommy Simkin with no chance of keeping the ball out of the net.
Harry Winks pounced on Mukasa’s lovely lay-off and bent the ball into the bottom corner to make it 2-1 and Leicester came close to adding a third goal with 10 minutes of normal time remaining, Stephy Mavididi shooting just wide. It proved to be a costly miss as Wilmot was on hand to make his way into the area and tap home Thomas’s cross to make it 2-2.
Zan Vipotnik’s first-half goal fired Swansea to a 1-0 home victory over Bristol City. The Slovene lashed home from close range after 26 minutes for his 16th goal of the season, his 12th goal in 16 home league appearances and his sixth goal in his past four home games.
The strike secured Swansea their seventh win from their past eight fixtures at home – the other was a draw. Bristol City will count themselves unfortunate having had the better of the chances and they were twice denied by the woodwork.
In Friday’s Lancashire derby, Blackburn beat Preston 1-0 to ease their relegation worries. Blackburn looked to be heading to a creditable draw but upped the ante in the second half and got their rewards in the fifth minute of stoppage time through Yuki Ohashi’s brilliantly placed header.
