Football
Sky Bet Championship pacesetters Burnley and Sheffield United both won to continue their march towards the Premier League. League One leaders Plymouth held Ipswich; League Two leaders Leyton Orient held.
Saturday 14 January 2023 18:19, UK
Burnley ensured they remained five points clear of Sheffield United at the top of the Championship with a 1-0 victory over Coventry at Turf Moor.
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Ian Maatsen made a brilliant block to prevent Kasey Palmer from pulling the visitors ahead just before half-time and the Clarets could not find a breakthrough until the 82nd minute, when Jordan Beyer nodded the eventual winner past keeper Ben Wilson.
Second-placed United kept pace with the Clarets as they picked up all three points with a 3-1 win over Stoke.
Iliman Ndiaye netted his 10th goal of the season to give the Blades a ninth-minute lead and Jayden Bogle made it two when his deflected effort found the back of the net.
Nick Powell cut the deficit on the stroke of half-time before Bogle bagged his second on 90 minutes.
Watford moved into third after Tobi Adeyemo’s second-half strike and Ismaila Sarr’s penalty at Vicarage Road made the difference in their 2-0 victory over Blackpool, who dropped to second-from-bottom with the result.
Marcus Forss’ second-half winner ensured Middlesbrough’s promotion charge under Michael Carrick continued with a 1-0 win over Millwall as they jumped to fourth place in the table.
Championship highlights
Championship table
After a tight first half at the Riverside, the Finnish forward scored the crucial opener in the 54th minute to put Boro in the driving seat in this battle between two play-off contenders.
Blackburn dropped to fifth after a stunning 4-0 defeat to Rotherham in the early kick-off. Hakeem Odoffin scored in the first minute and second-half strikes from Ollie Rathbone, Shane Ferguson – direct from a corner – and Conor Washington made the points safe.
Swansea made their numerical advantage count as they beat 10-man Sunderland 3-1 at the Stadium of Light.
Luke O’Nien’s early dismissal meant the Black Cats had to play more than 70 minutes with a player less, and while Dan Neil denied the visitors a clean sheet after Joel Piroe’s 50th-minute opener, Liam Cullen and Ollie Cooper made sure Swansea walked away with all three points.
The Swans gained four places with the victory, finishing the afternoon in 11th, while Sunderland tumbled two to 10th.
Luton let an early 2-0 lead slip as they went down 3-2 to West Brom at Kenilworth Road. Carlton Morris and Elijah Adebayo put the hosts ahead but Daryl Dike hit back before half-time and Jayson Molumby and Conor Townsend netted after the restart to seal victory.
Mark Sykes scored his first two goals for Bristol City in a 4-2 win over Birmingham at Ashton Gate. Antoine Semenyo and Nahki Wells had put the Robins 2-0 up early on and Sykes ensured Troy Deeney’s penalty and Reda Khadra’s strike were mere consolation.
Tyler Roberts’ brace saw QPR battle back from a two-goal deficit to earn a deserved 2-2 draw at Reading, whose goals both came from Jeff Hendrick.
Kieran Dowell and Teemu Pukki both bagged braces as Norwich beat Preston 4-0 at Deepdale to move into seventh.
Cardiff and Wigan split the points 1-1 after goals in the final 10 minutes from Callum O’Dowda and Will Keane, while Huddersfield’s trip to Hull ended with the same score as Oscar Estupinan’s last-gasp equaliser cancelled out Michal Helik’s goal.
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Bali Mumba struck a stoppage-time equaliser to earn Sky Bet League One leaders Plymouth a 1-1 draw at promotion rivals Ipswich.
Wes Burns had given the Tractor Boys the lead with an angled volley just after the hour, which looked to be enough for all three points.
However, as the clock ticked over into added time, Mumba, on loan from Town’s rivals Norwich, fired in an equaliser which leaves Plymouth three points clear at the summit.
Sheffield Wednesday sit second, but with a match in hand, after Will Vaulks’ early goal secured a 1-0 win at Wycombe.
Derby came from behind to win 3-2 at Cheltenham. The home side had taken an early lead through Caleb Taylor’s header, but Conor Hourihane soon nodded in an equaliser.
The Rams completed the turnaround in the 11th minute through a superb long-range strike from Max Bird and Tom Barkhuizen made it 3-1 just before the hour.
Alfie May’s close-range effort set up a tense finish but the Rams closed out the match for a third straight win to extend their unbeaten run to 12 league games.
Bolton kept up their own play-off push with a 3-0 win over managerless Portsmouth. Dion Charles set the hosts on their way after 15 minutes, with Kieran Lee doubling the lead early in the second half and Eoin Toal wrapping things up with a late third.
Barnsley saw their hopes dented with a 2-0 defeat at Charlton, where goals in each half from wingers Tyreece Campbell and Jesurun Rak-Sakyi secured the points for the home side, who chalked up a third straight league win.
At the other end of the table, bottom club Forest Green battled to a 1-1 draw at Exeter.
Rovers went in front in the 54th minute through Jordon Garrick, who was making his debut after arriving from Swansea.
Exeter fought back to equalise with 15 minutes left through a fine strike from substitute Jevani Brown and then twice struck the woodwork late on.
Shrewsbury returned to winning ways with a 4-0 victory at struggling Burton. Christian Saydee set the Shrews on their way after just 20 seconds and added another with a curling finish shortly before the break.
Luke Leahy slotted in from the penalty spot on the hour, and Chey Dunkley headed home a fourth in stoppage time.
Accrington moved out of the bottom four with a 2-0 win over promotion-chasing Bristol Rovers, with substitute Tommy Leigh and defender Ryan Astley on target in the second half.
Elsewhere, Ciaron Brown’s late goal helped Oxford come from behind to beat Fleetwood 2-1.
Brendan Wiredu had given the hosts the lead at the end of the first half, before Kyle Joseph equalised shortly after coming on in the 62nd minute and Brown snatched all three points on the stroke of full-time following a goalmouth scramble.
MK Dons and Lincoln played out a goalless draw, while Cambridge’s match again
st Morecambe was postponed on safety grounds after overnight winds caused damage to the main stand roof at Abbey Stadium.
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Charlie Austin scored on his second debut for Swindon as the Robins climbed back into the Sky Bet League Two play-off places with a 5-0 win over Grimsby at the County Ground.
Austin headed home a fine Remeao Hutton cross in the first half before the floodgates opened after the break.
Marcel Lavinier rifled home a superb second before further goals from Jonny Williams, Ronan Darcy and Saidou Khan ensured a comfortable win for managerless Swindon, who also hit the post three times.
Carlisle also took the opportunity to close the gap on the leaders on a day when none of the top-three teams won.
Kristian Dennis and John-Kymani Gordon guided them to a comfortable 2-0 win over Newport and the Cumbrians sit in fourth, four points adrift of third-place Northampton with a game in hand.
Salford sit a point below Carlisle in fifth following a 2-0 win over Sutton.
Conor McAleny’s brace won it for the Ammies with Robert Milsom missing a second-half penalty for the visitors.
The Cobblers went down 2-0 at Stockport following a goal from Antoni Sarcevic and an own goal from Jack Sowerby.
Leyton Orient were held to a 0-0 draw by Barrow, while second-place Stevenage drew 1-1 at Harrogate after Town’s Luke Armstrong cancelled out Carl Piergianni’s opener.
Gillingham scored two goals in a game for the first time since April as they beat Hartlepool 2-0 at Priestfield.
Tom Nichols scored on his debut after moving from Crawley and Dom Jefferies made sure of victory.
Mansfield slipped out of the play-off places after a 1-1 draw with Crewe, with fellow play-off hopefuls Bradford failing to find a breakthrough in a 0-0 draw with AFC Wimbledon.
Colchester eased their relegation fears with a 2-1 win at fellow strugglers Rochdale.
Junior Tchamadeu opened the scoring before Devante Rodney levelled and Cole Skuse then bagged a winner two minutes from time.
Josh Hawkes’ 78th-minute effort secured Tranmere a 1-1 draw at home to Walsall.
Danny Johnson put the Saddlers ahead in the 72nd minute but the lead lasted just six minutes before Hawkes ensured the points were shared.
Crawley’s home clash with Doncaster was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.
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EFL goals and round-up: Burnley, Sheffield United continue promotion charge – Sky Sports
