Burton interim manager Gary Mills was “proud” of his side after claiming back-to-back wins at the Pirelli Stadium with a hard-fought 1-0 success over Shrewsbury.The home side took the lead with their first chance of the game, Joe Powell’s corner whipped perfectly onto the head of striker Beryly Lubala, who guided his effort into the back of the net on 16 minutes.Mills said: &ld...Full Story »

Watford held out for a 1-1 draw at home to Stoke despite losing Vakoun Bayo early in the second half to a straight red card for lashing out at Luke McNally.Jake Livermore’s first Watford goal was cancelled out by an equaliser from Ryan Mmaee before the break.Bayo saw red in the 52nd minute but Stoke could not find a winner.Watford head coach Valerian Ismael handed a first start to Giorgi C...Full Story »

Watford head coach Valerien Ismael hailed his players for holding on for a point from a 1-1 draw with Stoke despite Vakoun Bayo’s 52nd-minute dismissal.Striker Bayo was shown a straight red card for an off-the-ball clash with Potters defender Luke McNally.The pair initially tussled for the ball and both ended up on the turf – but when they picked themselves up referee Scott Oldham wa...Full Story »

Leeds manager Daniel Farke insisted his side should have had a penalty after losing more ground in the battle for automatic promotion from the Championship with a 1-0 defeat at West Brom.Farke was frustrated at referee Graham Scott’s refusal to award a spot-kick for a challenge by Baggies defender Cedric Kipre on Wilfried Gnonto in the 30th minute as Leeds suffered a second successive loss...Full Story »

Tranmere boss Nigel Adkins hailed his team’s “fantastic” first-half performance in a 2-0 triumph at Harrogate even though they failed to register a single shot in the opening 45 minutes.The visitors secured a third successive win thanks to second-half goals from Charlie Jolley and Tom Davies but Adkins was just as impressed by the resilience his players showed before the break ...Full Story »

Derby head coach Paul Warne hailed his team’s 3-2 comeback win at League One promotion rivals Oxford as “magical”.The U’s led 2-0 after 13 minutes when Cameron Brannagan converted a penalty then hammered in a 25-yard free-kick.But the Rams fought back brilliantly.Craig Forsyth gave them a lifeline by turning in a flick-on corner at the far post in stoppage time at the end...Full Story »

Leyton Orient boss Richie Wellens was satisfied with his side’s 0-0 draw against Wycombe.Although the O’s recorded back-to-back clean sheets in the league for the first time since August, they were unable to find a way past Chairboys keeper Max Stryjek even with the seven minutes of added time caused when a linesman sustained an injury in the first-half and swapped roles with the fou...Full Story »

Crewe manager Lee Bell saw his depleted side slip out of the League Two play-off places after a 1-1 draw at Newport but he was full of praise for their character and resilience at Rodney Parade.Bell’s men drop to eighth in the table after a sixth game without a win in the league, but he was pleased to hang on for a draw after defender Zac Williams hobbled off with an ankle injury late on a...Full Story »

Jon Dahl Tomasson felt lacklustre defending was the key factor behind the 3-2 defeat at Hull as Blackburn slipped to a fourth consecutive defeat in the Sky Bet Championship.Rovers were twice sloppy early in the game when Liam Delap and Aaron Connolly gave the hosts a commanding lead.Sammie Szmodics and Harry Pickering thrust the visitors back into the match by half-time but Alfie Jones scrambled...Full Story »

Cheltenham boss Darrell Clarke said he would have “snapped your hand off” to be on 20 points at the halfway stage of the League One campaign after their 2-2 home draw with Reading.The Robins led 2-0 before a quickfire double from the Royals just before half-time levelled things up and Cheltenham had to settle for a point against the team directly above them in the table.But when Clar...Full Story »

Lincoln boss Michael Skubala believes Paudie O’Connor’s game-changing red card in his side’s 2-1 defeat to Northampton was harsh.Jon Guthrie and Kieron Bowie put the visiting Cobblers 2-0 up with goals either side of the break at Sincil Bank.Timothy Eyoma halved the deficit on the hour mark, before O’Connor was sent off for a stray elbow with 15 minutes to go.Skubala said...Full Story »

Stockport boss Dave Challinor admitted his league leaders deserved no more than a point in their goalless draw at Bradford.It was a competitive contest on a difficult Valley Parade pitch that had only passed referee Lewis Smith’s inspection 90 minutes before kick-off following the recent wet weather.Challinor said: “You always want to win a game but I can’t stand here and say w...Full Story »

Wayne Rooney was pleased to see Birmingham keep a clean sheet after his side drew 0-0 with Bristol City at St Andrew’s.Rooney, who has had only two wins from his first 14 games as Blues boss, unashamedly admitted that after shipping nine goals in the previous three matches, he wanted to end that defensive rot.“I am really pleased with the clean sheet, from the last three games and th...Full Story »

Sunderland head coach Michael Beale is calling for his players to show more of a cutting edge after his side drew 1-1 at Championship strugglers Rotherham.Jack Clarke’s deflected effort earned a point for the visitors and cancelled out Sam Clucas’ thunderbolt volley.The result against the division’s bottom side saw Sunderland slip out of the play-off places.Beale said: “W...Full Story »

Leicester manager Enzo Maresca says his Sky Bet Championship leaders have surprised him after passing the 60-point mark before the turn of the year with victory at Cardiff.The Foxes strolled to a 2-0 win in the Welsh capital with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Justin James producing brilliant efforts.Leicester now have 62 points from 25 games – eight clear of second-placed Ipswich – and a...Full Story »

Barrow boss Pete Wild was unhappy with the officials after seeing his team held to a 1-1 draw by Accrington.Stanley’s Joe Pritchard cancelled out Ben Whitfield’s opener to earn a battling draw but Wild was convinced his team was denied a late penalty for a challenge on Emile Acquah.“Acquah was brought down in the box for a clear penalty,” said Wild. “It is not subje...Full Story »

Grimsby head coach David Artell described his side’s 3-0 win at Salford as a “professional performance”.Harry Clifton put the Mariners in front after 39 minutes before Toby Mullarkey and Danny Rose sealed the points with second-half strikes.It was Grimsby’s first away win since April.Artell said: “We controlled it from start to finish, scored three really good goals...Full Story »

Swansea interim head coach Alan Sheehan was proud of his side after Liam Cullen’s last-gasp free-kick earned a 2-2 draw at Coventry.Liam Walsh had put Swansea ahead in the seventh minute before they were pegged back by Haji Wright.Ellis Simms then fired the Sky Blues in front before Cullen’s superb free-kick in the third minute of added time.The point came after the Swans had been ha...Full Story »

Danny Rohl hailed his Sheffield Wednesday side’s defensive discipline as they held on for a vital 1-0 win over Preston.The Owls picked up their fourth victory in seven games thanks to Marvin Johnson’s first-half strike but were forced to hang on for their win after George Byers was sent off late on.Preston had nine shots, but only two on target, as they desperately searched for an eq...Full Story »

Mansfield manager Nigel Clough was delighted with his side’s festive points haul despite being held 1-1 at home by Doncaster.Callum Johnson’s 21st-minute header was levelled by Joe Ironside’s fine 59th-minute equaliser but the Stags still moved up a place to second thanks to Wrexham dropping points.“It was a good point on the back of the three wins to get 10 points out of...Full Story »