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 »

Promotion-chasing Mansfield had to be content with a point as visiting strugglers Doncaster hit back for a 1-1 draw.But Wrexham’s loss at Walsall meant the Stags still edged up into second place.Mansfield dominated the opening stages and were rewarded with the opener on 21 minutes. Stephen Quinn floated over a great cross from the left and Callum Johnson buried it with a powerful diving he...Full Story »

Striker Ben Whitfield came off the bench to score a brilliant goal but Barrow had to settle for a 1-1 draw against Accrington in Sky Bet League Two.The Cumbrians were heading for three points until Joe Pritchard netted a 71st minute point-saver.Stanley’s Shaun Whalley went closest to scoring in a poor first half before AFC boss Pete Wild introduced top-scorer Whitfield.The change had an al...Full Story »

Scott Malone’s superb second-half winner earned out-of-form Gillingham a hard-fought 1-0 victory against 10-man Sutton.After U’s striker Harry Smith was dismissed midway through the first half, Gills substitute Malone finally broke the visitors’ resistance 18 minutes from time as the home side claimed a first win in four.Sutton goalkeeper Dean Bouzanis produced a brilliant fing...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 »

Walsall halted Wrexham’s promotion charge as goals from Jack Earing, Isaac Hutchinson and Taylor Allen earned a 3-1 victory at the Bescot Stadium.The Saddlers opened the scoring after 16 minutes with a high-quality goal.Freddie Draper’s backheel sent Earing behind the defence and the midfielder, making his first start after a year out with an ACL injury, slotted past Arthur Okonkwo.T...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 »

Portsmouth boss John Mousinho cut a frustrated figure as his Sky Bet League One leaders were held to a goalless draw at struggling Exeter to make it three games without a win.Pompey enjoyed more possession and territory, but it was Exeter that created the better chances.Their troubles in front of goal – four goals in 15 games now – were all too evident, though, while Pompey rarely tr...Full Story »

Promotion-chasing Ipswich lost the chance to pull away from the pack in the Championship as they were held to a 0-0 draw by struggling QPR.The match saw both sides have a number of chances to win it, with the visitors coming closest when Steve Cook’s header hit the post and ran across the goal line.The result saw Ipswich fall eight points behind leaders Leicester, with the gap to third-pla...Full Story »