Managerless Hibernian restored some much-needed positivity by ensuring a winning Easter Road send-off for long-serving duo Paul Hanlon and Lewis Stevenson as Martin Boyle’s double helped them defeat Motherwell 3-0.The Edinburgh club went into their penultimate match of a dispiriting campaign on the back of a tumultuous few days in which they lost 4-0 at home to Aberdeen, sacked boss Nick M...Full Story »

Russell Martin feels Southampton have another gear to find at St Mary’s after his side drew 0-0 at West Brom in a cagey Championship play-off semi-final first leg.Both teams were indebted to their goalkeepers for keeping the game level as Alex Palmer made an excellent reaction save with his feet to keep out Saints substitute Ross Stewart’s deflected effort and Alex McCarthy also made...Full Story »

David Martindale is a football pragmatist but hopes to get the chance to bring relegated Livingston back to the cinch Premiership next season.After six years in the top flight, the Lions will play Championship football when they return after the summer, with a 4-1 defeat at Motherwell leaving them 10 points behind second-bottom St Johnstone with only three fixtures remaining.The Livi boss admits...Full Story »

David Martindale refused to entertain talk of cinch Premiership survival after spirited Livingston secured a rare win to stave off the threat of relegation for at least another week.The Lions would have been officially demoted to the Championship if they had lost to second-bottom Ross County on Saturday, but an early goal from Bruce Anderson and a Sean Kelly penalty gave them a 2-0 victory.It wa...Full Story »

Southampton manager Russell Martin fears three consecutive defeats will cause negativity to seep into supporters ahead of the play-offs as his side lost 1-0 to Stoke.Saints have been beaten by Cardiff, Leicester and Stoke in eight days, having hoped to mount an automatic promotion charge, and must now rely on the Championship play-offs.Tyrese Campbell netted the only goal for the Potters at St M...Full Story »

Burton boss Martin Paterson hailed a “massive achievement” as his team avoided relegation on the final day despite losing 3-0 at Fleetwood.Cheltenham’s failure to beat Stevenage meant the Brewers stayed up and will now look forward to contesting a seventh season in League One next term.Paterson said: “I’m delighted because everything was stacked against this club, b...Full Story »

Martin Devaney does not know if he will be asked to lead Barnsley in the play-offs.The Tykes parted company with Neill Collins this week with a game of the season to go, asking club stalwart Devaney to deliver the result they needed to make the top six against Northampton.A 1-1 draw means they will face Bolton over two legs, but Devaney is unsure as to who will prepare the side.“I don&rsqu...Full Story »

The midfielder was in imperious form as his Gunners side demolished their London neighbours 5-0 at the Emirates. Martin Odegaard's Wag danced in the stands after Arsenal's 5-0 win over Chelsea Credit: TikTok Leandro Trossard opened the scoring before Kai Havertz and Ben White each bagged a brace. The result sent Arsenal three points clear at the top of the table. And it also their biggest Pr...Full Story »

Cardiff’s second smash and grab raid at home against a top four team in the Championship in the space of six weeks sent Southampton’s hopes of automatic promotion into a tailspin.It was a goal from Callum O’Dowda in the 100th minute that sank Ipswich Town 2-1 on March 9 and a first league goal for teenager Cian Ashford in the 96th minute of his first full appearance sent Saints...Full Story »

Martin Paterson felt the nerves during the end of Burton’s 3-2 win over Reading which kept their League One survival hopes alive.Mason Bennett and Mustapha Carayol put Albion 2-0 ahead inside 11 minutes before Lewis Wing halved the deficit for Reading.Bobby Kamwa ensured Burton entered half-time 3-1 up, with Sam Smith’s penalty on the hour mark setting up a nervy finish that the host...Full Story »

King of the dark arts Emiliano Martinez said it was his destiny to be the penalty shootout hero as Aston Villa booked their spot in the semi-final of the Europa Conference LeagueThe Argentina goalkeeper, who helped his country win the World Cup 18 months ago in similar circumstances, produced more heroics against Lille, saving spot-kicks from Nabil Bentaleb and Benjamin Andre to earn a 4-3 shoot...Full Story »

Emiliano Martinez was the unsurprising star of a dramatic penalty shootout as Aston Villa edged past Lille and into the semi-final of the Europa Conference League.The Argentina goalkeeper, who helped his country win the World Cup 18 months ago, produced some similar heroics in France, saving spot-kicks from Nabil Bentaleb and Benjamin Andre to earn a 4-3 shootout win after the quarter-final had ...Full Story »

Russell Martin said the Sky Bet Championship automatic promotion race “dynamic” has changed after Southampton’s 3-0 domination of Preston.Saints had looked destined for a play-off place after three defeats in four games during February, but three home wins in seven days has them just four points off the top two.A Che Adams brace and Stuart Armstrong’s fourth goal of the s...Full Story »

Chris Martin scored his 16th League One goal of the season as Bristol Rovers claimed a late 1-0 victory over Cambridge at the Memorial Stadium.The Rovers striker fired low into the goal after 87 minutes as he converted Luke Thomas’ cross, with the Pirates scoring at home for the first time in five games.That goal made up for Martin’s earlier gilt-edged miss – the 35-year-old fo...Full Story »

Head coach Martin Paterson praised Burton’s character after a 2-1 victory against Stevenage moved his team three points clear of the League One relegation zone.Mark Helm and Tom Hamer scored either side of the break while Stevenage were forced to play with 10 men for 30 minutes after Dan Butler lashed out at Helm.Kane Hemmings scored with two minutes left but ultimately the Brewers managed...Full Story »

Southampton boss Russell Martin was left frustrated about his side’s “nonsense” performance despite a dramatic last-gasp 3-2 victory over Watford.Leicester and Leeds lost this weekend, while Ipswich dropped points to give Saints renewed hope of an automatic promotion spot and an immediate return to the Premier League.They needed a stoppage-time winner from Flynn Downes to beat ...Full Story »

Russell Martin was glad Southampton “released the tension” by beating Coventry 2-1 to end a three-game winless run.Saints’ automatic promotion dreams all but went up in smoke after draws against Middlesbrough and Blackburn sandwiched a last-gasp defeat to rivals Ipswich – leaving them nine points adrift of the top two.Che Adams netted twice to see them past Coventry and r...Full Story »

Russell Martin acknowledged automatic promotion is now likely beyond Southampton after his side’s toothless display at Blackburn saw them stumble to a scoreless draw.Having fought for a top-two finish in the Championship for much of the season, Saints’ profligacy in front of goal proved costly in the last-gasp Good Friday draw with Middlesbrough and even later loss to Ipswich on East...Full Story »

Burton manager Martin Paterson has confidence his side can avoid relegation from League One after taking encouragement from their performance in a 1-1 draw at Wigan.The Brewers responded well to falling behind to a bizarre Sam Hughes own goal just before half-time and they levelled nine minutes into the second half through John Brayford.Both sides hit the woodwork – Burton through Joe Hugi...Full Story »

Michael O’Neill praised the attitude of his young Northern Ireland players after watching them take the game to Romania in an encouraging 1-1 draw in Bucharest.Having spoken this week about a “rebirth” for Northern Ireland, putting a disappointing Euro 2024 qualifying campaign behind them and looking to the future with a new generation of players, O’Neill picked a startin...Full Story »