Middlesbrough boss Michael Carrick hailed the “unbelievable” spirit of his players after the 2-1 victory over Huddersfield at the John Smith’s Stadium.Both sides missed easy chances in the first period, with Boro’s Isaiah Jones miskicking the ball two yards in front of an open net before Town’s Josh Koroma crashed off the crossbar after rounding the goalkeeper.Secon...Full Story »

Matty Etherington insists his Colchester players “let themselves down” after suffering a chaotic 5-3 League Two defeat at AFC Wimbledon.Josh Davison and Joe Lewis both grabbed doubles for the hosts at Plough Lane as Asian Cup-bound Iraqi international Ali Al Hamadi also netted.Cameron McGeehan, Joe Taylor and Tom Dallison all scored for the Us, though McGeehan was sent off in the clo...Full Story »

Gillingham boss Stephen Clemence hailed his team’s mentality shift after League Two’s lowest scorers carved out a 1-0 win over struggling 10-man Sutton.Substitute Scott Malone’s screamer with 18 minutes remaining proved the difference after Sutton’s Harry Smith was sent off midway through the first half at Priestfield Stadium.It is the first time the Gills have found the ...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 »

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 »

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 »

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 »

Northampton made it two wins from their last three League One games with a 2-1 victory over Lincoln at Sincil Bank.Goals either side of half-time from Jon Guthrie and Kieron Bowie were the difference as Jon Brady’s side inflicted a third straight defeat on Michael Skubala’s Imps.The visitors opened the scoring after half an hour when Guthrie out jumped Imps goalkeeper Lukas Jensen to...Full Story »

League Two top scorer Macaulay Langstaff netted his first ever EFL hat-trick in the first half as Notts County concluded their memorable 2023 with a 5-0 triumph over Morecambe.County dictated the tempo of the game early on and took the lead in the 10th minute courtesy of Langstaff’s penalty.The Magpies number nine did what he does best again in the 13th minute to give the hosts a deserved ...Full Story »

Leeds’ hopes of automatic promotion from the Championship suffered another blow as they were beaten 1-0 by West Brom at the Hawthorns.Grady Diangana’s 37th-minute goal was enough to give former Leeds coach Carlos Corberan back-to-back home wins and inflict a second consecutive loss on Daniel Farke’s side, who have won one of their last five games and trail second-placed Ipswich...Full Story »

MK Dons manager Mike Williamson is encouraged by how his players found a way to defeat Crawley 2-0 despite not being at their best for long periods of the game.The Dons’ superb turnaround in fortunes since Williamson’s appointment in October continued as they recorded their fourth win in a row to move up to sixth in League Two.They are also unbeaten in nine league games, although the...Full Story »

Walsall manager Mat Sadler saluted his “brave and bold” side after they sunk high-flying Wrexham 3-1 with goals from Jack Earing, Isaac Hutchinson and Taylor Allen at the Bescot Stadium.Earing, starting his first game for a year after an ACL injury, put the Saddlers in front early on.Paul Mullin soon equalised from the penalty spot but second-half strikes from Isaac Hutchinson and su...Full Story »

Port Vale boss Andy Crosby felt it was about time his side beat one of the bigger sides in League One after their 3-0 victory over Blackpool.Ben Garrity’s opener was added to after half-time by James Wilson and Nathan Smith for a first win in three matches as Vale ended 2023 on a high.And Crosby reserved particular praise for the likes of youngsters Ben Lomax and Jack Shorrock, who made th...Full Story »