Yahoo News Football League: Leeds slip to third as Swansea leave Pulis on the brink
Championship
Sheffield United seized on Leeds United’s slip-up to regain second with six games to play. Leeds slid to third, a point behind Chris Wilder’s side, after coming unstuck at Birmingham City, who ended a five-match losing streak, with Che Adams’s 22nd goal of the season the only goal of the game. David McGoldrick, a free transfer last summer, came up with the goods to inflict back-to-back defeats on Preston.
In the chasing pack, it was another fruitful day for Aston Villa, who left it late to snatch victory at Sheffield Wednesday, with stoppage-time goals by Albert Adomah and Tammy Abraham ensuring a sixth consecutive victory. Derby scored three goals at Griffin Park – Harry Wilson striking twice – but Said Benrahma earned Brentford a point in a thrilling 3-3 draw. After the game the Metropolitan police said a male seated in the home end was arrested for a racially aggravated offence against a Derby player, confirmed by Frank Lampard to be Duane Holmes.
Related: Aston Villa’s Tammy Abraham rubs salt in Sheffield Wednesday’s wounds
Middlesbrough succumbed to a sixth straight defeat to pile the pressure on manager Tony Pulis. Stewart Downing made his 400th appearance for the club but it proved an unhappy milestone as Swansea won 3-1 to leave Boro four points off sixth-placed Bristol City, who were denied victory at the death by Wigan. “You’ve got to get the players believing, and I think they believe they can do it [get into play-offs],” Pulis said. “They’ll have a day off tomorrow, clear their heads. At this time of the season, they’re fit, it’s just mental. It’s just mental more than anything.”
At the summit, Norwich eased to a 4-0 win over managerless QPR at Carrow Road to cement top spot. Daniel Farke’s side cruised into a three-goal lead inside 40 minutes before Teemu Pukki registered his 26th goal of the season to complete the rout and secure an eighth consecutive league win.
Rotherham earned a priceless 2-1 win over Nottingham Forest to hoist them within a point of safety and leave Reading, who surrendered their lead at Hull City, teetering above the relegation zone. Millwall remain close to the drop but picked up a home win over high-flying West Brom. Elsewhere, bottom club Ipswich celebrated just their fourth success this season after downing troubled Bolton.
Norwich 4-0 QPR, Birmingham 1-0 Leeds, Blackburn 0-1 Stoke, Bolton 1-2 Ipswich, Brentford 3-3 Derby, Bristol City 2-2 Wigan, Hull City 3-1 Reading, Millwall 2-0 West Brom, Preston 0-1 Sheffield United, Rotherham 2-1 Nottingham Forest, Sheffield Wednesday 1-3 Aston Villa, Swansea 3-1 Middlesbrough
League One
Less than a week after lifting the Checkatrade Trophy in front of a record 85,000-plus crowd, Portsmouth captain Brett Pitman scored a double as his side won on the road at a Wycombe team in freefall. Sunderland bounced back from their Wembley defeat by earning two wins in four days, following up victory at Accrington with a win at Rochdale, where they were supported by 4,000 fans. A satisfying afternoon was enhanced by Barnsley’s20-match unbeaten run coming to an abrupt end at Burton. Meanwhile league leaders Luton were reduced to 10 men and had to grab a late equaliser at home to Blackpool.
Peterborough kept their hopes of securing a play-off berth alive with a 2-0 win over Gillingham, with Marcus Maddison and Matt Godden striking for Darren Ferguson’s side. Mallik Wilks, the Leeds loanee, scored his third goal in as many games to help promotion-chasing Doncaster to victory at Bradford, while Fleetwood’s Ched Evans scored twice to deny Kevin Bond a winning start at Southend, with Harry Redknapp watching on in the stands. Elsewhere, Lyle Taylor’s 19th goal of the season helped Charlton to a 2-0 win at Plymouth.
Harry Redknapp looks on at Fleetwood.Photograph: Richard Martin-Roberts - CameraSport/CameraSport via Getty Images
Walsall announced the sacking of manager Dean Keates after Oxford’s 3-1 win inflicted a fifth consecutive defeat on his team. With five games to play, Walsall are a point from safety in the relegation zone.
Bradford City 0-1 Doncaster, Burton Albion 3-1 Barnsley, Fleetwood 2-2 Southend, Luton 2-2 Blackpool, Peterborough 2-0 Gillingham, Plymouth 0-2 Charlton, Rochdale 1-2 Sunderland, Shrewsbury 1-1 Scunthorpe, Walsall 1-3 Oxford United, Wimbledon 1-1 Accrington, Wycombe 2-3 Portsmouth
League Two
Lincoln City edged closer to the title with a 2-0 win at fellow promotion chasers MK Dons, with John Akinde and Bruno Andrade striking. Second-placed Mansfield eked out a win over Cambridge, courtesy of Tyler Walker. At the other end, Adel Gaifati’s stoppage-time equaliser – and his first professional goal – was enough to prevent Yeovil from slipping into the relegation zone, with struggling Macclesfield and Notts County both failing to win on home soil.
Ten-man Carlisle took the lead against Bury inside 60 seconds and snatched victory a minute from time to move to within touching distance of the top six. Forest Green maintained their own play-off push with Christian Doidge scoring twice at lowly Crawley, while Exeter were held at Cheltenham.
Christian Doidge celebrates at Crawley.Photograph: Neil Hood/TGS Photo/Rex/Shutterstock
Carlisle 3-2 Bury, Cheltenham 1-1 Exeter, Colchester 0-2 Oldham, Crawley 1-2 Forest Green, Grimsby 0-2 Stevenage, Macclesfield 1-1 Morecambe, Mansfield 1-0 Cambridge, MK Dons 0-2 Lincoln, Newport 0-0 Tranmere, Notts Co 2-2 Northampton, Port Vale 1-0 Crewe, Swindon 1-1 Yeovil
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