Joey Barton praised his Bristol Rovers players for the character they showed in coming from behind to win 3-1 at promotion rivals Port Vale.The Pirates conceded a second-minute goal, but efforts from Elliot Anderson and James Connolly put them 2-1 up at the break, with Ryan Loft securing a vital win with a third in stoppage time.Barton, whose side stay fifth in League Two but are now only two po...Full Story »

Matt Gray was relieved after Sutton managed to hang on for a narrow 1-0 League Two victory over play-off rivals Newport.The U’s returned to the play-off spots after Rob Milsom’s first-half penalty proved enough at Gander Green Lane.Sutton did not blow away County, but the run-in is purely about getting results, no matter how they come.After a pleasing third-straight win, Gray said: &...Full Story »

Forest Green manager Rob Edwards has demanded his team finish the job before the celebrations can begin after victory over Oldham all but confirmed their promotion.Rovers need only a point to secure League One football after first-half goals from Regan Hendry and Jamille Matt pushed Oldham deeper into the relegation mire.Saturday’s game at Bristol Rovers provides the first opportunity, but...Full Story »

Bournemouth boss Scott Parker admitted his team had to be ruthless to overcome a “very good” Coventry side.The Cherries converted their only chances of the afternoon to run out 3-0 winners thanks to Jamal Lowe’s opener and a Dominic Solanke brace that took his season’s tally to 27.Coventry could feel particularly aggrieved to be trailing 2-0 at the break when Parker made ...Full Story »

Bolton boss Ian Evatt hailed two-goal substitute Jon Dadi Bodvarsson after his clinical finishing secured a 3-1 win over Accrington.Bodvarsson struck in the 69th and 89th minutes as Bolton won at the University of Bolton Stadium for the first time in five attempts.“He’s on fire,” said Evatt of his seven-goal Icelandic international striker made the difference.Dapo Afolayan&rsqu...Full Story »

Reading interim manager Paul Ince admitted that he got his tactics wrong in the opening stages of the dramatic 4-4 Sky Bet Championship draw at home to Swansea.Although Reading grabbed an early advantage through a Lucas Joao penalty, Swansea hit back to lead 3-1 at the interval.Goals from Hannes Wolf and Joel Piroe – plus a further Piroe spot-kick – left Reading struggling.Michael Ob...Full Story »

Northampton boss Jon Brady is keeping a level head after his side hauled themselves back into contention for automatic promotion with a 3-0 victory over Harrogate on Easter Monday.The Cobblers had looked to be falling away from the top three after a patchy run of form in February and March but successive wins over Easter have put them back in the picture, two points behind third-placed Port Vale...Full Story »

Crawley boss John Yems admitted the 1-0 home victory over Walsall was not the best of spectacles.Isaac Hutchinson’s second-half goal was enough to give Crawley their fifth win in six games.Crawley are now only one point behind last season’s tally of 61 points with four games left, and are aiming to finish higher than the  twelfth place of last term- which was their best placing ...Full Story »

Gobsmacked Gillingham boss Neil Harris could not understand why striker Charlie Kelman was sent off in the goalless draw at home to Fleetwood.Referee James Linington showed both Kelman and Fleetwood winger Paddy Lane straight red cards for the same challenge – something Harris insisted he had never seen before – in the 78th minute.The hard-hitting collision left Lane needing treatmen...Full Story »

Under-fire Lee Bowyer branded Birmingham’s dismal 6-1 defeat at Blackpool his “worst  day in football” but insisted he would not stand down unless pushed by the club’s hierarchy.Blues suffered an Easter Monday mauling at Bloomfield Road as Jake Beesley’s double helped fire the Tangerines to their first win in six Sky Bet Championship matches.A furious stand of ...Full Story »

Luton boss Nathan Jones hailed match-winner Harry Cornick after he came off the bench to score the crucial goal in the 1-0 victory at Cardiff.Jones revealed post-match he had given Cornick a breather after the 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest on Good Friday “because he had been working so hard for so little reward”.But he was full of praise for his efforts after taking over from the in...Full Story »

Wayne Rooney is “excited” by the challenge of leading Derby back to the Championship but insists both his and the club’s future rests on the completion of a takeover.The Rams, deducted 21 points this season after going into administration, were relegated to League One with three games remaining after losing 1-0 to QPR.Defeat left them 10 points behind Reading, who came from 4-1...Full Story »

Ben Garner felt Swindon had enough chances to beat 10-man Leyton Orient but admitted their lacklustre defending at set-pieces let the visitors off the hook in Monday’s 2-1 League Two defeat.Omar Beckles scored either side of the break, while Hector Kyprianou hampered Orient’s bright start as he was shown a second yellow card midway through the first half.Josh Davison netted a late co...Full Story »

Wayne Brown has challenged his Colchester players to finish the season on a high after they swept aside Bradford 3-0 to secure their League Two status for another season.Colchester took a 16th-minute lead through Myles Kenlock, who fired in off the far post from Noah Chilvers’ pass.Brendan Wiredu then doubled the U’s advantage in the 33rd minute when he nodded in at the far post, aft...Full Story »

Peterborough manager Grant McCann hailed a strong defensive display from his side after Jack Marriott and Frankie Kent secured a vital 2-0 win against fellow strugglers Barnsley.Marriott put the visitors ahead in the 25th minute with a clinical finish into the roof of the net after receiving a through ball from Sammie Szmodics and Kent made the points safe in the 75th minute when he headed home ...Full Story »

Barrow boss Phil Brown was left disgruntled by the award of a late Salford equaliser after the sides battled out a 2-2 draw on Monday.Play-off hopefuls Salford opened the scoring in the 23rd minute against the run of play when Ryan Watson picked up the ball on the edge of the 18-yard box and saw his strike deflect past a diving Paul Farman.Relegation-threatened Barrow drew level in the 66th minu...Full Story »

AFC Wimbledon manager Mark Bowen accepts his team have to win both their remaining fixtures to stay up, after their long run without a victory was extended by a 1-1 draw against Wycombe.The Dons led for an hour at Plough Lane, but just when a first win since December 7 was coming into sight, Adebayo Akinfenwa, who turns 40 next month, denied his old club with a late equaliser.His goal kept the C...Full Story »

Gary McSheffrey was downbeat after a six-goal thriller against Shrewsbury with Doncaster still set to drop into League Two.Rovers produced a great comeback from three goals down but they are six points off 20th-placed Gillingham with two games to go – with a -17 worse goal difference.On the reality of survival, McSheffrey said: “We need a big difference in goals and we need teams to ...Full Story »

Michael Appleton hailed an “outstanding” performance from Lincoln in their 3-0 victory over Cheltenham.Morgan Whittaker’s brace, either side of Anthony Scully’s 15th goal of the season, saw the Imps seal their Sky Bet League One status in style.All three goals came inside the opening 20 minutes. Whittaker opened the scoring after four minutes, Scully forced home the secon...Full Story »

Rochdale manager Robbie Stockdale hailed his side’s response to a “shocking” first half as Eoghan O’Connell’s superb 94th-minute strike snatched a 2-1 win over Hartlepool that secured their Football League status.O’Connell’s last-gasp winner completed a second-half comeback for Dale, who had trailed to an early Bryn Morris strike.“They say that no ...Full Story »