Leyton Orient boss Richie Wellens praised veteran Darren Pratley after he returned to form in the 2-0 win at Salford.The 37-year-old was hooked at half-time against Carlisle last weekend but responded with a key role in a victory that extended Orient’s unbeaten run to 11 games and left them 10 points clear at the top of League Two.Pratley was involved in Orient’s second goal, knockin...Full Story »

Darren Moore insisted Sheffield Wednesday should have killed the game off before the Oxford penalty that left him frustrated.League One promotion-chasers Wednesday are now six games without a win after the 1-1 draw. Barry Bannan scored a superb opener before Akin Famewo’s foul on Marcus Browne led to Cameron Brannagan’s equaliser.“I didn’t think it was a penalty from wher...Full Story »

Hartlepool manager John Askey revelled in the performance of hat-trick hero Daniel Kemp after his side’s resounding 4-1 away victory over Grimsby.The Mariners fell apart defensively after drawing level early in the second half, after Kemp had scored the opener before the break, with the man of the moment scoring twice in four minutes with 15 to go to push his side back ahead.Josh Umerah ad...Full Story »

Burton boss Dino Maamria hailed a “huge win” for his side as they boosted their League One survival bid with a 2-1 victory over promotion-chasing Barnsley.Conor Shaughnessy and Dale Taylor scored for Burton as they remained seven points clear of the relegation places with an impressive win over an in-form Tykes side that were chasing a 12th win in 15 games.“It was a big win for...Full Story »

Harrogate manager Simon Weaver admitted his players might fall way short of being Manchester City standard but insisted they are showing the Wetherby Road faithful that they care after drawing with AFC Wimbledon.Relegation-threatened Harrogate fought back from 2-0 down following an Ethan Chislett brace for the visitors to snatch an unlikely draw courtesy of Luke Armstrong’s 89th-minute rep...Full Story »

Bradford boss Mark Hughes was critical of the performance of referee Robert Lewis as his promotion- chasing side extended their unbeaten run to nine games with a goalless draw at relegation- threatened Crawley.Hughes felt Lewis should have sent off two Crawley players for bad fouls on Brad Halliday and Jamie Walker late in the first half.Crawley midfielder Rafiq Khaleel and defender Harry Ransom...Full Story »

Manager Nigel Clough was full of praise for goalscorer Hiram Boateng after Mansfield came from behind to beat Swindon 4-2.Rushian Hepburn-Murphy put Swindon ahead early on but Stephen Quinn levelled with Mansfield’s first goal at this ground since 2002.Lucas Akins gave Mansfield the lead just past the half-hour mark and then turned provider by finding Rhys Oates, whose deflected shot found...Full Story »

Bristol Rovers boss Joey Barton heaped praise on his young side and an improving defence as the Pirates finally won at the Memorial Stadium after eight games.The hosts edged to a 1-0 win against Charlton to record a first league double over the Addicks since 1957/58, with a victory built on restricting the opposition’s chances.Dean Holden’s men had scored six goals in their previous ...Full Story »

QPR boss Gareth Ainsworth admitted his side’s fragility was evident in a 2-0 defeat at home to Preston which continued their awful slump towards the drop zone.Rangers, who were top in October, have lost nine of their past 10 matches, all but one of their seven since Ainsworth was appointed, and are now only above the relegation places because of Reading’s six-point deduction.They wer...Full Story »

Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna insisted his side’s 4-0 win over Wycombe was not as comfortable as the scoreline suggests.First-half goals from George Hirst and Conor Chaplin and second-half strikes from Wes Burns and Freddie Ladapo with a penalty earned Town their eighth league win on the trot as they moved above Sheffield Wednesday into second place.McKenna said: “It was a good day&...Full Story »

Peterborough boss Darren Ferguson hailed his side’s “confident” performance after beating Shrewsbury 3-0.Dominant Posh secured a convincing victory against a Shrews side who had won five in a row at New Meadow before being turned over by the play-off contenders.It is 16 points from a possible 18 for the resurgent visitors, who firmly have their play-off fate in their own hands ...Full Story »

Lincoln boss Mark Kennedy hailed Ben House as one of the “top strikers” in League One after his double did for Cheltenham.House struck in each half to end the Imps’ five-game winless run with a comfortable victory at Sincil Bank.“I am really pleased for Ben, who I think is one of the top strikers in the league,” Kennedy said.“His goals-to-games ratio is really...Full Story »

David Wagner believes Norwich’s 2-0 victory at play-off rivals Blackburn was their “biggest win of the season”.Norwich were four points and a place behind sixth-place Rovers ahead of the match, but were on their way to reducing the gap in the 11th minute when Liam Gibbs’ first senior goal capped off a superb team move.Max Aarons then struck a post before the break and Nor...Full Story »

Carlisle boss Paul Simpson hailed the club’s superb support and urged the fans to keep coming after their 2-0 win over Tranmere.The biggest Cumbrian crowd since hosting Leeds back in 2007 – 13,410 – were treated to a Kristian Dennis brace as the hosts returned to the automatic promotion places in League Two with their first win in five.Dennis bagged his 19th and 20th goals of t...Full Story »

Jim McNulty praised the bravery of his Rochdale side after they came from behind to beat Walsall 4-2 at the Crown Oil Arena.Bottom-of-the-table Dale fell behind to a Jamille Matt strike but goals in quick succession before half-time from Ian Henderson and Danny Lloyd turned the game around.Walsall equalised seven minutes into the second period through Tom Knowles but Max Taylor and Ethan Brierle...Full Story »

Neil Warnock believes Huddersfield are in a good place after boosting their survival hopes with a 3-2 win at Watford.Victory takes the Yorkshire side out of the Sky Bet Championship drop zone for the first time since August.With a home game on Easter Monday against Blackburn up next, Warnock feels his side are moving in the right direction.He said: “It looks a lot better than it did four w...Full Story »

Reading manager Paul Ince urged his players to become “heroes” after they followed their six-point Championship deduction by the EFL in midweek with a scrappy 1-1 home draw with Birmingham.Andy Carroll gave the hosts a seventh-minute lead after a slick team move but Birmingham levelled just before the half-hour when Lukas Jutkiewicz powered home a header.Neither side impressed in a t...Full Story »

Plymouth boss Steven Schumacher praised his side’s character and depth as they battled back from a goal down to pick up three points to take them to the top of League One.Second-half goals from substitutes Danny Mayor, Ben Waine and Jay Matete gave the Greens the points after Jensen Weir had given struggling Morecambe a shock third-minute lead.A delighted Schumacher said: “I’m ...Full Story »

Both goalkeepers received pats on the back at the end of the goalless draw between Swansea and Coventry at the Swansea.Com Stadium.Home goalkeeper Andy Fisher made it two clean sheets in his last three games with four top-class saves, two of which were one-on-ones.Meanwhile, Sky Blues keeper Ben Wilson cracked a 64-year-old record as he notched his 18th clean sheet of the season – one more...Full Story »

Angry boss Pete Wild wrote off Barrow’s play-off chances after a comprehensive 3-0 defeat at Crewe.His side were the architects of their own downfall as they handed their hosts two first-half penalties, both converted by Dan Agyei, as their top-seven aspirations took a big dent.Wild was fuming with referee Sam Purkiss’ first award, against George Ray, who was penalised for tussling w...Full Story »

Cardiff boss Sabri Lamouchi refused to dwell on the recent controversy surrounding Connor Wickham after the striker’s starring role in a 3-1 win over Sky Bet Championship relegation rivals Blackpool.Wickham opened the scoring for Cardiff in the 21st minute and proved a handful for Blackpool’s defenders throughout, with Sory Kaba and Joe Rolls striking before half-time for the Blues.B...Full Story »

Sheffield United boss Paul Heckingbottom will not worry about the results of their promotion rivals after a 1-0 win against Wigan moved his side closer to the Premier League.A first-half goal from Iliman Ndiaye was enough to give the Blades a victory which sees them go eight points clear of third-placed Luton ahead of fourth-placed Middlesbrough’s late clash with leaders Burnley.But Heckin...Full Story »

Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson admitted his players were “stunned” after a 3-1 defeat at Halifax knocked them off top spot and dented their National League title chances.Elliot Lee gave Wrexham an interval lead but their 28-game unbeaten league run was halted as Halifax hit back in the second half through Milli Alli’s brilliant double before Mani Dieseruvwe added a late third.Wrex...Full Story »

Portsmouth boss John Mousinho was mystified by the decision to send off Joe Morrell in their 1-1 draw away to MK Dons.Connor Ogilvie’s well-struck volley gaven a dominant Pompey an early lead, but a red card for Morrell in the 39th minute drastically altered the complexion of the game.A brief scuffle inside the Portsmouth six-yard box saw the midfielder receive his marching orders and hand...Full Story »

Notts County took over top spot from Wrexham as Macaulay Langstaff set a new National League goalscoring record in their 3-0 victory over Wealdstone.Langstaff scored his 41st goal of season – the most in a single campaign since the league was rebranded in 2015 – as County reached 100 points for the campaign with four games remaining.Things got even better for the Magpies as news filt...Full Story »

Gateshead continued their revival with a 2-0 win over National League strugglers Scunthorpe, who finished with 10 men.Greg Olley fired the home side into a 17th-minute lead after latching on to Stephen Wearne’s chipped pass.Olley then turned provider to set up Wearne, who slotted the ball into the bottom corner from 12 yards.Scunthorpe, who are second bottom, had midfielder Tom Pugh dismis...Full Story »

Dave Challinor was proud of his players after his first win at Sutton as a manager kept Stockport’s promotion charge on track.Jack Stretton’s second-half effort earned a 1-0 victory to make it seven games without defeat for County.The on-song Hatters have lost just once in their last 14 matches to leave them just two points off third-placed Carlisle.“I spoke all week about atti...Full Story »

Altrincham fought back from 2-0 down and having a player sent off to draw 2-2 with Oldham in their Vanarama National League match at Boundary Park.Joe Nuttall put the hosts in front midway through the first half, before a header from substitute Bassala Sambou with 16 minutes left looked to have wrapped up the points.Defender James Jones was shown a red card in the 79th minute following a foul on...Full Story »

Jon Brady insists his injury-hit Northampton side will “keep fighting” after they suffered a dent to their automatic promotion hopes with a 3-0 defeat at lowly Newport.The Cobblers were already down to the bare bones before their trip to south Wales and they lost both Aaron McGowan and Jack Sowerby to injury at Rodney Parade.To add insult to injury, the visitors were well beaten in t...Full Story »

Accrington manager John Coleman said he will not be celebrating despite seeing his relegation-battling side claim a vital 3-0 win over Port Vale.Stanley took the lead through a 31st-minute own goal from Vale keeper Jack Stevens and Harvey Rodgers made it 2-0 before the break following good work by Ethan Hamilton.The Reds wrapped up the points in the 68th minute when on-loan Brentford striker Aar...Full Story »

Derby boss Paul Warne hailed Nathaniel Mendez-Laing after he helped his side to a 2-0 win over League One’s bottom side Forest Green to keep the Rams play-off bid on track.Mendez-Laing provided the cross for James Collins’ effort that cannoned off Brandon Cooper’s hand in the first minute leading to the penalty that set County off and running.Goals from Collins from the spot an...Full Story »

Kane Ferdinand’s controversial late goal gave Maidenhead a 1-1 draw against Solihull in their Vanarama National League match at the ARMCO Arena.Justin Donawa had put the Moors ahead after being played through on goal in the 10th minute before defender Callum Howe saw his header cleared off the line.The Magpies pressed for an equaliser in the second half as Ashley Nathaniel-George’s s...Full Story »

Steve Evans was forced to select his seventh goalkeeper of the season in Stevenage’s 1-1 draw with Colchester but admitted he was thrilled with Thimothee Lo-Tutala’s performance.Jon McCracken returned to his parent club Norwich after suffering an ankle injury in the 1-1 draw against Northampton, paving the way for Lo-Tutala’s emergency loan from Hull.The 20-year-old Frenchman c...Full Story »