Middlesbrough boss Michael Carrick demanded more from his side after they returned to the Championship play-off spots.Matt Crooks’ brace and Chuba Akpom’s late strike earned a deserved 3-1 win at Birmingham.Tahith Chong pulled a goal back for the mid-table hosts to give them hope before Akpom rubber-stamped Boro’s sixth win in their last seven games.Carrick has lifted Boro from...Full Story »

Ryan Lowe praised his Preston side’s character after Ched Evans secured a last-gasp win at Stoke.The 34-year-old forward nodded home a 93rd-minute winner to get the visitors’ year off to a winning start in dramatic fashion.The Lilywhites, who had suffered three successive losses going into the game, edged a fixture low on quality to condemn former boss Alex Neil to defeat.Only Burnle...Full Story »

St Johnstone manager Callum Davidson expressed frustration with his club’s decision to hand Rangers three stands for the upcoming Scottish Cup clash after fans staged a silent protest during a 1-0 home defeat by Dundee United.Saints announced last week that their supporters would be restricted to the main stand at McDiarmid Park for the January 21 contest and increased prices to £30 ...Full Story »

Pete Wild saw his Barrow side again firing blanks despite collecting only their second point in five games with a 0-0 draw against struggling Rochdale.And the Barrow boss predicts a busy transfer window for the Cumbrians who are 10th in Sky Bet League Two but only two points from the play-offs.A lack of goals has contributed to just two points from a possible 15, though EFL debutant goalkeeper S...Full Story »

Stevenage manager Steve Evans was keen to play down a fracas in the tunnel between the two teams during half-time of his side’s 1-0 victory over Gillingham.Referee Carl Boyeson’s whistle could be heard being blown inside the tunnel after backroom staff from both sides squared up for what Evans’ counterpart at Gillingham, Neil Harris, described as a ‘frank exchange of view...Full Story »

Livingston manager David Martindale believes his side were “spooked” by their double penalty miss as they were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Motherwell.Nicky Devlin saw his early penalty saved by Liam Kelly before bundling in the rebound.With the ball having apparently struck Devlin’s hand on the way over the line, the goal was ruled out, but following a lengthy VAR check Livi ...Full Story »

Boss Jim Goodwin says now is not the time to panic after Aberdeen ended a four-game losing run in the cinch Premiership but could only draw against bottom side Ross County despite a dominant performance.Dons winger Matty Kennedy came closest to breaking the deadlock when his first-half effort was cleared off the line by Alex Iacovitti.But it was a toothless performance from Aberdeen who find the...Full Story »

Bolton boss Ian Evatt praised his side’s flying start to the game after they cruised to a 3-0 victory over 10-man Barnsley.Dion Charles opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 12th minute after Barnsley captain Mads Andersen saw red for bringing down the Bolton striker.Jon Dadi Bodvarsson made it 2-0 just before half-time and Kyle Dempsey wrapped up the win late on as Bolton moved ...Full Story »

Billy Mckay helped himself to a hat-trick as Inverness came from behind to rout Scottish Championship rivals Cove Rangers 6-1.Eighth-placed Rangers got off to an encouraging start when Jack Sanders headed them into a 22nd-minute lead, but Mckay levelled before Danny Devine’s strike put the seventh-spotted hosts in front.It was 3-1 at the break after Mckay converted a 44th-minute penalty, a...Full Story »

Ched Evans’ last-gasp header earned Preston a 1-0 victory at Stoke as they ended their three-match losing streak.A fixture which was delayed by 15 minutes due to nearby traffic was low on quality and looked destined to finish goalless until Evans struck.Stoke boss Alex Neil, hosting his former employers, fell to a second successive defeat, his side having recorded only one win from their l...Full Story »

Jamie Gullan’s early goal handed Raith a hard-fought 1-0 Scottish Championship victory at bottom-of-the-table Hamilton.Rovers took a ninth-minute lead when Gullan converted Ross Millen’s pass from close range for his third league goal of the campaign.Scott Brown and Gullan might both have doubled their advantage, but Scott Martin and Lewis Smith threatened to level as a tight first h...Full Story »

Rock-bottom Wigan suffered their third 4-1 defeat in the space of seven days as Hull moved up to 16th place in the Sky Bet Championship with victory at the DW Stadium.The visitors started well and only a great block from Joe Bennett diverted Alfie Jones’ shot behind for a corner. From the resulting set-piece, Sean McLoughlin sent the ball just wide of the far post.Another corner from Jean ...Full Story »

Free-scoring Lawrence Shankland hit a first-half double as Hearts made it eight Edinburgh derbies in a row unbeaten with a 3-0 home win over Hibernian.The striker, recently appointed captain following serious injury to Craig Gordon, made it six goals in his four games since the World Cup break and took his tally for the season to 18 with a clinical finish and a penalty before half-time.Hibs impr...Full Story »

Newport fought back from 2-0 down to claim a 2-2 draw with Crawley as a stunning late rally denied Dom Telford the perfect return to Rodney Parade.Telford, who scored 26 goals for the Welsh side last season, looked to have come back to haunt the Exiles with a goal in each half.He showed his poacher’s instincts to put the visitors ahead nine minutes before the interval as he tapped in from ...Full Story »

In-form West Brom made it eight wins in their last nine Sky Bet Championship games with a 1-0 triumph over Reading to move within a point of the play-off zone.Daryl Dike’s goal on the hour mark was the difference between the sides at The Hawthorns but the Baggies could have been out of sight by half-time if they had converted their chances.The result, on an afternoon which saw home fans co...Full Story »

Wrexham closed the gap to Notts County at the top of the National League to two points with a 2-1 victory at Solihull Moors.The Welsh side arrived in the West Midlands unbeaten in 11 matches and off the back of a 5-0 win over the same opponents on Boxing Day, and stormed out of the blocks as Jordan Tunnicliffe put them in front after 10 minutes with his first goal for the club.The visitors doubl...Full Story »

A late goal from substitute Vakoun Bayo earned Watford a hard-fought 1-0 win at Norwich which got their Championship promotion bid back on track.The Hornets went into the clash at Carrow Road with successive defeats behind them but turned in an improved display which was rewarded four minutes from the end of normal time when the young frontman slotted home after a swift breakaway.For Norwich it ...Full Story »

Kilmarnock failed to capitalise on Ethan Erhahon’s early red card as they were held to a 0-0 draw by St Mirren at Rugby Park.The Saints midfielder was given his marching orders in the seventh minute by referee Grant Irvine after catching Rory McKenzie in the face with a forearm.The home side failed to take advantage of their numerical advantage though, with Christian Doidge coming closest ...Full Story »

Dagenham moved to the edge of the National League play-off places as Josh Walker’s late goal secured a 1-0 win at struggling Maidstone.The Daggers won by the same scoreline against the Stones on Boxing Day but had to wait until six minutes from time to make the breakthrough when Walker headed in Myles Weston’s cross.Walker thought he had put the visitors in front in the 28th minute, ...Full Story »

Red-hot Matt Crooks inspired Middlesbrough to victory at Birmingham as they charged back into the Championship’s top six.The midfielder bagged a quickfire second-half double and set up Chuba Akpom’s late clincher as Boro sealed a 3-1 win.Crooks now has four goals in his last five games with Boro up to fifth in a congested and competitive Championship – having reached the play-o...Full Story »