Steve Cooper stood by Brice Samba following the “huge error” which saw the goalkeeper receive a late red card and also praised the character of his players after 10-man Nottingham Forest salvaged a 2-2 draw with Stoke.Stoke had looked to be on course for three points after Samba conceded a penalty and earned himself a red card in the 88th minute for swatting Stoke defender Phil Jagie...Full Story »

Danny Cowley felt his Portsmouth players were rewarded for showing more bravery after scoring four second-half goals to beat lowly Doncaster 4-0 in League One.The home side ran riot after half-time having been frustrated in the opening 45 minutes, with debutant Aiden O’Brien adding his name to the scoresheet a minute after coming off the bench.Head coach Cowley said: “It was a hard-f...Full Story »

St Mirren manager Jim Goodwin hailed his side’s professional performance as they defeated Kelty Hearts 4-0 to book their place in the Scottish Cup quarter-finals.Goals from Alex Greive, Jordan Jones and a double from Greg Kiltie saw the home side ease past the cinch League Two league leaders.Goodwin said: “It was a really good afternoon for us. Everything about it was just perfect to...Full Story »

Bristol Rovers boss Joey Barton insisted his side were denied a ‘stonewall’ penalty during their goalless draw with in-form Mansfield.John-Joe O’Toole’s 64th-minute challenge on Aaron Collins inside the box provided the only major talking point at the Memorial Stadium as Nigel Clough’s Mansfield stretched their unbeaten League Two run to 11 games.Collins was convinc...Full Story »

Frank Lampard declared himself “absolutely delighted” while also stressing that “it’s only a start” after Everton recorded their first Premier League win under him by beating Leeds 3-0 at Goodison Park.The Toffees went 2-0 up in the first half thanks to headers from Seamus Coleman and fellow defender Michael Keane in the 10th and 23rd minutes respectively.Rodrigo st...Full Story »

Peterborough boss Darren Ferguson admitted his side can’t catch a break after their latest loss against Preston was inflicted by a player he tried to sign.The Championship strugglers were unable to land Cameron Archer on loan from Aston Villa in January.But the highly-rated hotshot was then allowed to move to Preston and he struck his third goal in four North End starts to sink Ferguson&rs...Full Story »

Millwall manager Gary Rowett brushed off Cardiff’s calls for a second-half penalty after his side edged the Welsh club 2-1.The Lions took a while to get going at The Den – they were booed off at the end of a poor first half – and hearts would have been in mouths when Tommy Doyle’s shot appeared to hit Jake Cooper’s arm soon after the restart.Nothing was given, howev...Full Story »

Walsall caretaker boss Neil McDonald admitted the Saddlers were relieved to “stop the rot” after a 1-0 victory over Tranmere halted a run of seven successive League Two defeats.That run had cost rookie head coach Matt Taylor his job in midweek but Conor Wilkinson’s late penalty settled a drab affair to earn Walsall a first win in two months.Victory also gives them some breathin...Full Story »

Manager Marco Silva felt Championship leaders Fulham showed another side to their game in the 1-0 win at Hull.Silva’s team were not at their free-flowing best but they had the strength of character when it mattered to claim three points against determined opponents.Aleksander Mitrovic’s 57th-minute header – his 31st goal of the season – was enough to keep Fulham six point...Full Story »

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink was left frustrated after seeing his side twice throw away the lead and have to settle for a 2-2 draw with Cambridge.Albion got off to an ideal start when Gassan Ahadme won and converted a penalty from the first attack of the game, but Cambridge equalised through Harvey Knibbs’ hooked finish.William Kokolo restored Albion’s lead in the second half, only for Sa...Full Story »

Swindon head coach Ben Garner lavished praise on two-goal Josh Davison after the Robins thrashed struggling Scunthorpe 3-0.Harry McKirdy was also on the scoresheet as Swindon ran riot in the second half at the County Ground.Garner said: “I am delighted for JD to get his two goals today – he was immense up there.“We were very good. We were really positive, created lots of opport...Full Story »

Middlesbrough manager Chris Wilder felt their comprehensive 4-1 win over Derby capped off a great week for the football club.Boro moved into the Championship play-off places at the end of a nine-day spell in which they knocked Manchester United out of the FA Cup and drew at promotion rivals QPR.Isaiah Jones produced three first-half assists at the Riverside Stadium on Saturday as a Lee Buchanan ...Full Story »

Bolton boss Ian Evatt saluted a “quality winning goal” after Amadou Bakayoko earned the Trotters a 3-2 win at League One play-off chasers Oxford.Billy Bodin had scored twice for Oxford, but Declan John and Marlon Fossey responded quickly with equalisers before Bakayoko turned in Fossey’s cross to finish off a pacy break five minutes from time.Evatt said: “I must say I tho...Full Story »

Dundee United head coach Tam Courts praised Ian Harkes’ brilliant finish as ‘a goal worthy of winning the game’ as his side advanced to the Scottish Cup quarter-finals after a 1-0 win over Partick Thistle.Harkes’ first-time hit from just outside the box settled the contest in a match the hosts dominated for large periods at Firhill.Courts said: “The last couple of g...Full Story »

Plymouth boss Steven Schumacher praised his players after they edged past stubborn Shrewsbury 1-0 to move into the League One play-off places.One moment of magic unlocked the resolute visiting defence with Luke Jephcott’s cross from the right fired home first time by Conor Grant after 62 minutes.Victory was Argyle’s third in a row in the league and leaves them six points off an autom...Full Story »

Rochdale manager Robbie Stockdale was delighted with his struggling side’s grit and determination as they wiped out a two-goal deficit to pick up what could be a priceless point in their battle to avoid relegation in a 3-3 draw with Harrogate.The hosts, with only one league win since the end of October and just five points clear of the relegation places, looked down and out when Harrogate ...Full Story »

Forest Green boss Rob Edwards praised his League Two leaders for battling the conditions to get a 1-1 draw at Sutton.Edwards’ Rovers stretched their phenomenal league unbeaten run to 19 games after coming from behind to get a point at Gander Green Lane.And they went 11 points clear at the summit as none of the top three picked up a victory.Veteran Kenny Davis opened the scoring for the hos...Full Story »

Alex Neil insists Sunderland cannot afford to drop more points in the League One promotion race after his first game in charge ended in a 1-1 draw at AFC Wimbledon.Alex Pritchard rescued a point for the Black Cats with a second-half free-kick and cancelled out Luke McCormick’s first-half penalty.Neil was only appointed as head coach on Friday but saw Sunderland’s winless run extend t...Full Story »

Barrow overcame striker Aaron Amadi-Holloway’s red card to secure a 0-0 draw in their delayed Sky Bet League Two clash with Stevenage at Holker Street.The on-loan Burton man was dismissed for a 55th-minute foul on Chris Lines before Stevenage’s Luke Prosser was sent off in stoppage time for his second yellow card.But the visitors could not take advantage of Amadi-Holloway’s abs...Full Story »

Colchester interim boss Wayne Brown was disappointed they did not see out victory following their 2-2 draw with Carlisle.Goals from Tommy Smith and substitute Tyreik Wright had given the U’s the advantage after Omari Patrick had put the Cumbrians in front, only for Tobi Sho-Silva to equalise late on for the visitors.Brown said: “Having found ourselves 1-0 down, we’ve done great...Full Story »