Championship round-up: Coventry City came from two goals down to beat Birmingham City and keep their faint play-offs alive, while Reading all but secured safety with a late, late winner at Sheffield United.
Match report: Luton Town 1-0 Nottingham Forest
Championship: Luton surivived the second half dismissal of their captain Sonny Bradley to prevail courtesy of Kel Naismith’s first half spot-kick.
League Two: Forest Green are two points clear at the top of the table despite being hammered away at Barrow today. Exeter and Port Vale are also looking reasonably comfortable in the automatic promotion places.
Northampton, Bristol Rovers, Mansfield and uitton are in the play-off place, with Newport, Tranmere, Swindon and Salford all still well in in the hunt for a place in the top six.
Scunthorpe are relegated from the Football League and Oldham could join them. A Premier League side in 1993, they’re three points behind Stevenage and Barrow, who both won today, having played one game more than each team.
League One: Wigan had a day off but lead MK Dons by four points at the top of the table. Rotherham, Plymnouth, Wycombe and Sunderland are in the play-off places, with Sheffield Wednesday, Oxford United still in with a shout.
Down at the bottom, Crewe are already relegated. Doncaster Rovers look doomed, as do AFC Wimbledon albeit to a lesser extent. Fleetwood are the highest placed of the teams in the relegation zone, sitting one point behind Gillingham and three behind Morecambe.
Championship: Top of the table Fulham will be promoted to the Premier League if they win at Derby County tonight. In second place, Bournemouth had to settle for a point at Middlesbrough but are five points clear of Huddersfield, whose home game against QPR kicks off in 20 minutes. Luton, Forest and Sheffield United are in the play-off places, with Middlesbrough, Blackburn, Coventry and Millwall all still knocking on the door.
Reading’s win against Sheffield United leaves them nine points clear of the relegation zone, with Peterborough, Barnsley and Derby County all in the drop zone and needing varying sizes of miracles to survive.
Championship results
- Luton Town 1-0 Nottingham Forest
- Bournemouth 0-0 Middlesbrough
- Birmingham City 2-4 Coventry City
- Hull City 2-1 Cardiff City
- Peterborough United 2-1 Blackburn Rovers
- Preston 1-1 Millwall
- Sheffield United 1-2 Reading
- Stoke City 0-1 Bristol City
- Swansea City 1-1 Barnsley
- West Brom 2-1 Blackpool
- Huddersfield Town v QPR (5.30pm)
- Derby County v Fulham (8pm)
- View the Championship table
League One results
- Accrington Stanley 0-0 Burton Albion
- Charlton Athletic 2-3 Morecambe
- Cheltenham Town 2-2 Gillingham
- Crewe Alexandra 3-1 AFC Wimbledon
- Doncaster Rovers 1-2 Bolton Wanderers
- Fleetwood Town 2-3 Oxford United
- Portsmouth 3-2 Lincoln City
- Sunderland 3-2 Shrewsbury Town
- Wycombe Wanderers 2-0 Plymouth Argyle (L)
- View the League One table
League Two results
- Exeter City 2-0 Colchester United
- Barrow 4-0 Forest Green
- Bradford City 1-1 Tranmere Rovers
- Bristol Rovers 1-0 Salford City
- Harrogate 1-4 Swindon Town
- Hartlepool United 0-1 Port Vale
- Leyton Orient 3-0 Scunthorpe United
- Mansfield Town 2-3 Sutton United
- Newport County 1-2 Crawley Town
- Oldham Athletic 0-2 Northampton Town
- Stevenage 1-0 Rochdale
- Walsall 1-0 Carlisle United
- View the League Two table
Championship: Karlan Grant scores what looks like an injury time winner for West Brom, who lead Blackpool 2-1 at the Hawthorns.
League One: Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal! NATHAN BROADHEAD GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAALLLL! Sunderland go 3-2 up against Shrewsbury Town at the Stadium of Light.
Championship: Callum O’Hare has scored Coventry’s fourth goal against Birmingham, who had enjoyed a two-goal lead earlier in the game. Their slim play-off hopes are still alive. O’Hare borrows a pair of sunglasses from a fan in the crowd for his celebration.
Championship: In extremely bad news for fans of Barnsley, Peterborough and Derby County, Reading haver retaken the lead late doors in their match against Sheffield United. It’s 2-1 at Bramall Lane, where Tom McIntyre has surely won it for the Royals in the second minute of added time.
Championship: Jay Dasilva puts Bristol City 1-0 up against Stoke City, while Sheffield United have equalised against Reading through Iliman Ndiaye. It’s 1-1 at Bramall Lane.
Championship: Jack Marriott arrows one in from distance against Blackburn to give Peterborough a 2-1 lead and keep his side’s extremely slim hopes of staying up alive.
League One: No longer in contention for a play-off place, Portsmouth have rertaken the lead against Lincoln, who they lead 3-2. At the Valley, Morecambe lead Charlton by the odd goal of five.
Championship: Aden Flent scores for Cardiff, who trail Hull City 2-1. Meanwhile at the Weston Homes Stadium, Peterborough have equalised against Blackburn through Sammie Szmodics.
League One: Ben House equalises for Lincoln against Portsmouth at Fratton Park, where it’s 2-2. Meanwhile in Gloucestershire, Cheltenham have equalised against Gillingham with Kion Etete, on loan from Spurs, making it 2-2 there.
Championship: Ben Brereton-Diaz has fired 10-man Blackburn in front against Peterborough with the first goal of their game at the Weston Homes Stadium.
Championship: On an Easter weekend that celebrates comebacks from the dead, Coventry City lead Birmingham City by the odd goal of five at St Andrew’s having been 2-0 down. Michael Rose has put them ahead.
League One: It’s Portsmouth 2-1 Lincoln City. Michael Jacobs put Portsmouth 2-0 up, only for Teddy Bishop to pull one back for the Imps two minutes later.
Championship: Olivier Ntcham equalises for Swansea City against Barnsley. I had no idea whatsoever that he played for Swansea.
League Two latest
Things are looking bleak for Oldham Athletic, who trail 2-0 at home to Northampton. With Stevenage and Barrow both winning, they’re in the relegation zone and three points clear of safety as things stand.
- Exeter City 2-0 Colchester United (result)
- Barrow 3-0 Forest Green
- Bradford City 1-0 Tranmere Rovers
- Bristol Rovers 0-0 Salford City
- Harrogate 0-4 Swindon Town
- Hartlepool United 0-0 Port Vale
- Leyton Orient 3-0 Scunthorpe United
- Mansfield Town 0-2 Sutton United
- Newport County 1-2 Crawley Town
- Oldham Athletic 0-2 Northampton Town
- Stevenage 1-0 Rochdale
- Walsall 1-0 Carlisle United
Updated
League One: Gah! It’s all square at the Stadium of Light, where Tom Flanagan has equalised for Shrewsbury against Sunderland. He took advantage of a poor clearance to volley past Anthony Patterson, who got a strong hand to the ball but couldn’t keep the piledriver out.
Championship: To the Liberty Stadium, where Swansea City have conceded the opening goal of their game against Barnsley. Claudio Gomes gets his name on the scoresheet.
League One latest
- Accrington Stanley 0-0 Burton Albion
- Charlton Athletic 1-2 Morecambe
- Cheltenham Town 1-1 Gillingham
- Crewe Alexandra 0-1 AFC Wimbledon
- Doncaster Rovers 0-1 Bolton Wanderers
- Fleetwood Town 2-3 Oxford United
- Portsmouth 1-0 Lincoln City
- Sunderland 2-1 Shrewsbury Town
- Wycombe Wanderers 2-0 Plymouth Argyle
Championship: Marvin Ekpiteta equalises for Blackpool against West Brom at the Hawthorns, where it’s one goal apiece.
League Two: Forest Green are struggling to get over the line and secure promotion - they now trail Phil Brown’s Barrow 3-0.
League One: It’s Fleetwood 2-3 Oxford United, with Cian Hayes pulling another goal back for the hosts.
League One: Josh Vela stabs the ball home from just inside the penalty area to pull a goal back for Shrewsbury at the Stadium of Light. It’s Sunderland 2-1 Shrewsbury.
League One: George Hirst scores from the spot to give Portsmouth a 1-0 lead against Lincoln City in the managerial merry-go-round derby. Former Lincoln manager Danny Cowley is in charge of Portsmnouth, while former Portsmouth manager Michael Appleton is the Lincoln City boss.
League One: Amadou Bakayoko slides the ball home from close range to give Bolton a 1-0 lead at Doncaster Rovers and leave their hosts’ already slim hopes of League One survival hanging by a thread.
Championship half-times
- Luton Town 1-0 Nottingham Forest (result)
- Bournemouth 0-0 Middlesbrough
- Birmingham City 2-2 Coventry City
- Hull City 2-0 Cardiff City
- Peterborough United 0-0 Blackburn Rovers
- Preston 1-1 Millwall
- Sheffield United 0-1 Reading
- Stoke City 0-0 Bristol City
- Swansea City 0-0 Barnsley
- West Brom 1-0 Blackpool
- Huddersfield Town v QPR (5.30pm)
- Derby County v Fulham (8pm)
Championship: Having gone 66 games without a goal for Coventry City, Ben Sheaf scores his second in the first half of his 67th appearance for the club. It’s Birmingham City 2-2 Coventry City at half-time.
League One half-times
- Accrington Stanley 0-0 Burton Albion
- Charlton Athletic 0-2 Morecambe
- Cheltenham Town 1-1 Gillingham
- Crewe Alexandra 0-1 AFC Wimbledon
- Doncaster Rovers 0-0 Bolton Wanderers
- Fleetwood Town 1-3 Oxford United
- Portsmouth 0-0 Lincoln City
- Sunderland 2-0 Shrewsbury Town
- Wycombe Wanderers 2-0 Plymouth Argyle
League Two half-times
- Exeter City 2-0 Colchester United (result)
- Barrow 2-0 Forest Green
- Bradford City 1-0 Tranmere Rovers
- Bristol Rovers 0-0 Salford City
- Harrogate 0-2 Swindon Town
- Hartlepool United 0-0 Port Vale
- Leyton Orient 3-0 Scunthorpe United
- Mansfield Town 0-1 Sutton United
- Newport County 0-2 Crawley Town
- Oldham Athletic 0-1 Northampton Town
- Stevenage 0-0 Rochdale
- Walsall 1-0 Carlisle United
Championship: It’s scoreless in the game between Peterborough and Blackburn but Tony Mowbray’s side are down to 10 men at the Weston Homes Stadium. Tayo Edun has got his marching orders for a second bookable offence.
Championship: West Brom lead Blackpool 1-0 courtesy of an Andy Carroll goal.
Championship: Birmingham defender Marc Roberts takes a long throw, Delapping the ball to the far post where a completely unmarked Gary Gardner heads past Coventry goalkeeper Simon Moore. It’s 2-0 at St Andrews ... but not for long – almost immediately, Ben Sheaf has pulled a goal back for Coventry City.
League Two: John Rooney fires Barrow two goals up against League leaders Forest Green, making an untracked run into the opposition penalty area and blasting home from about 10 yards.
League Two: Scunthorpe’s already faint hopes of League Two survival are evaporating. They need to win but are now 3-0 down against Leyton Orient at the Breyer Group Stadium.
Updated
Match report: Luton Town 1-0 Nottingham Forest
Championship: Kal Naismith’s first-half penalty proved enough to earn Luton a 1-0 win over Championship playoff rivals Forest at Kenilworth Road.
League Two: Scunthorpe will be relegated from the Football League if they fail to beat Leyton Orient. It’s not looking good for them at the moment as they trail 2-0.
Championship: Millwall keep their play-off hopes alive by equalising against Preston at Deepdale. Murray Wallace gets on the end of a Jed Wallace (no relation) cross to head home and cancel out the own goal he scored at the other end earlier.
League Two latest
- Exeter City 2-0 Colchester United (result)
- Barrow 1-0 Forest Green
- Bradford City 1-0 Tranmere Rovers
- Bristol Rovers 0-0 Salford City
- Harrogate 0-0 Swindon Town
- Hartlepool United 0-0 Port Vale
- Leyton Orient 1-0 Scunthorpe United
- Mansfield Town 0-1 Sutton United
- Newport County 0-2 Crawley Town
- Oldham Athletic 0-0 Northampton Town
- Stevenage 0-0 Rochdale
- Walsall 0-0 Carlisle United
League One latest
- Accrington Stanley 0-0 Burton Albion
- Charlton Athletic 0-0 Morecambe
- Cheltenham Town 0-1 Gillingham
- Crewe Alexandra 0-1 AFC Wimbledon
- Doncaster Rovers 0-0 Bolton Wanderers
- Fleetwood Town 0-3 Oxford United
- Portsmouth 0-0 Lincoln City
- Sunderland 2-0 Shrewsbury Town
- Wycombe Wanderers 1-0 Plymouth Argyle
Championship: Reading’s great escape under the unlikely saviour Paul Injce continues apace. They lead Sheffield United 1-0 at Bramall Lane.
League One: Nathan Broadhead doubles Sunderland’s lead against Shrewsbury Town.
Championship: Birmingham City’s Kristian Pedersen rises highest to head a Juninho Bacuna corner past Coventry City’s Simon Moore.
League One: Cameron Brannigan has made it Fleetwood Town 0-2 Oxford United at Highbury Stadium.
Championship: Lewie Coyle doubles Hull’s lead against Cardiff City with a fine strike from outside the penalty area into the bottom left-hand corner.
Championship: Allahayar Sayyadmanesh gives Hull City a 1-0 lead against Cardiff City at the MKM Stadium.
Championship: Murray Wallace tries to cut out a Daniel Johnson cross but succeeds only in poking the ball into his own net. It’s Preston 1-0 Millwall at Deepdale.
League One: Elliot Embleton has fired Sunderland ahead against Shrewsbury at the Stadium of Light with a powerful strike from outside the area. Meanwhile in Fleetwood, Oxford United lead their hosts by a Nathan Holland goal.
League Two: From a John “Brother of Wayne” Rooney corner, Joe “Son of Simon” Grayson contorts himself to hook the ball in at the far post to put Barrow ahead at the aforementioned Forest Green.
Our 3pm kick-offs are under way. Meanwhile in League Two, second placed Exeter City have beaten Colchester United 2-0 at St James Park to keep the pressure on table-toppers Forest Green.
Full time: Luton Town 1-0 Nottingham Forest
Championship: The 10 men of Luton Town have held on to take all three points against Forest courtesy of a first-half Kal Naismith penalty in a great game of football.
They move fourth in the table, one point clear of their visitors and harbouring slim hopes of securing automatic promotion ahead of Bournemouth, who have five points more after three games fewer.
Luton Town 1-0 Nottingham Forest: Oof! Brennan Johnson brings a smart save out of Luton goalkeeper James Shea in a crowded penalty area moments after Philip Zinckernagel had thumped a curled effort from outside the penalty area off the right post.
Luton Town 1-0 Nottingham Forest: Luton lead in the 81st minute but have just lost their captain Sonny Bradley to a red card. He clattered into Sam Surridge as the Forest substitute tried to cut inside towards the Luton penalty area and is adjudged to have prevented a clear goalscoring opportunity. Luton’s protestations that Surridge was in an offside position when the pass was played towards him from deep have fallen on deaf ears.
Another email: “Not wishing to be a pedant (which always means I am about to be one),” writes John Tumbridge, in response to Philip Rebbick (1.23pm). “But in the 1985 FA Cup final, Man United won the cup with 10 men having had Kevin Moran sent off.”
Crystal Palace: Patrick Vieira will make a late call on Tyrick Mitchell and Michael Olise ahead of Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea.
Olise sustained an injury during international duty with France’s Under-21s last month while left-back Mitchell was forced off in the weekend loss at Leicester with a minor calf issue.
Both took part in training today and Palace’s medical staff will wait to see how they react before a decision is made. “We had Tyrick and Michael, who had some training on the field individually yesterday and a little more today,” said Vieira. “Of course then we have to wait until tomorrow to see any reaction but they will only get involved in the game if they are 100 per cent fit.”
Palace are already without midfielder Conor Gallagher, arguably their player of the season so far, who cannot play in the fixture as he is on loan from Chelsea. Unsportingly but unsurprisingly, his parent club declined a request from Palace to let him line up against them at Wembley.
Updated
Luton Town 1-0 Nottingham Forest: Djed Spence has just rifled home past James Shea from a tight angle for Nottingham Forest but his effort is correctly ruled out for offside.
Luton Town 1-0 Nottingham, Forest: It’s half-time at Kenilworth Road, where Luton lead courtesy of Kal Naismith’s penalty. As things stand, they would leapfrog both Sheffield United and Forest to go fourth in the table, a point ahead of their visitors.
A reader email: “As it is Luton vs Nottingham Forest, I just thought I would remind you that it is obligatory to mention the 1959 FA Cup final between these two teams, which Forest won 2-1,” writes Philip Rebbeck.
“The game is best known today because the first goal for Forest was scored by Roy Dwight, a cousin of Reg Dwight aka Elton John. Unfortunately he also broke his leg and had to be carried off, which also means that Forest are the only team to win the FA Cup final with ten men.”
I must say all that has come as news to me. Was Roy’s goal a screamer from distance? A rocket, man?
GOAL! Luton Town 1-0 Nottingham Forest (Naismith 36pen)
Championship: Luton Town have been in the ascendency and now take a first-half lead. Kal Naismith scores from the spot after Jack Colback was penalised for handball in the Luton penalty area.
Updated
Luton Town v Nottingham Forest: After 14 minutes, it’s scoreless between the sides at Kenilworth Road, where Luton have had a decent penalty shout for handball turned down and Forest striker Lewis Grabban has just brought a fine save out of James Shea.
Big news: Liam Gallagher has apologised for a now-deleted death threat he issued to Atletico Madrid defender Stefan Savic on Twitter. The former Manchester City defender will almost certainly have been quaking in his boots after the former Oasis frontman and City fan insinuated he would kill the “goofy looking [c-word]” if their paths crossed in the wake of Wednesday’s night’s match between Atletico and City.
“I’m really upset and annoyed at myself,” tweeted the contrite wild man of rock. “I feel I’ve let all my fans down by my outlandish behaviour I’m a role model to GROWN UPS hope you can forgive me.” Savic has yet to comment on the matter but may do so once he has stopped laughing.
Championship: Kick-off in the match between Luton Town and Nottingham Forest has been slightly delayed but the teams are in the tunnel and the game should start soon.
Not football: Joe Root has stepped down as England Test cricket captain after accepting that five years in the job – and a recent 12-month period of flatlining results and off-field change – had come at a personal cost. Ali Martin makes a rare but always welcome appearance in our Friday football blog to bring you more details ...
Chelsea takeover – this just in ...
Premier League: The battle to buy Chelsea is down to three candidates after the consortium led by the Ricketts family withdrew from the running this morning. Read on ...
League Two fixtures and permutations
- Exeter City v Colchester United (1pm)
- Barrow v Forest Green
- Bradford City v Tranmere Rovers
- Bristol Rovers v Salford City
- Harrogate v Swindon Town
- Hartlepool United v Port Vale
- Leyton Orient v Scunthorpe United
- Mansfield Town v Sutton United
- Newport County v Crawley Town
- Oldham Athletic v Northampton Town
- Stevenage v Rochdale
- Walsall v Carlisle United
- View the League Two table
Scunthorpe will be relegated from the Football League if they lose to Leyton Orient, or if their result is matched by any two of Barrow, Oldham and Stevenage.
Three of the top four in League Two still have six games to play, a state of affairs that means nobody will be promoted today. Leaders Forest Green would be assured at least a play-off place if they beat Barrow and any one of Northampton, Bristol Rovers and Sutton drop points. (Staff and PA Sport)
League One fixtures and permutations
- Accrington Stanley v Burton Albion
- Charlton Athletic v Morecambe
- Cheltenham Town v Gillingham
- Crewe Alexandra v AFC Wimbledon
- Doncaster Rovers v Bolton Wanderers
- Fleetwood Town v Oxford United
- Portsmouth v Lincoln City
- Sunderland v Shrewsbury Town
- Wycombe Wanderers v Plymouth Argyle
-
View the League One table
Mathematically, seven teams remain in the hunt for automatic promotion and with nine points covering the top four of Wigan, MK Dons, Rotherham and Plymouth, nothing will be decided on Friday.
Wigan are already guaranteed a play-off place at least, and MK Dons would join them if they beat Sheffield Wednesday or match Wycombe’s result against AFC Wimbledon. Rotherham’s top-six place could also be confirmed with victory over Ipswich and a defeat for Wycombe.
At the bottom, Doncaster’s win over Crewe last week sent them down and ensures the remainder of the relegation battle will run at least until Monday. (Staff and PA Sport)
Championship fixtures and permutaions
- Luton Town v Nottingham Forest (12.30pm)
- Bournemouth v Middlesbrough
- Birmingham City v Coventry City
- Hull City v Cardiff City
- Peterborough United v Blackburn Rovers
- Preston v Millwall
- Sheffield United v Reading
- Stoke City v Bristol City
- Swansea City v Barnsley
- West Brom v Blackpool
- Huddersfield Town v QPR
- Derby County v Fulham (8pm)
- View the Championship table
Victory for Fulham over Derby tonight would be enough to secure promotion for Marco Silva’s side should Forest lose at Luton in the lunchtime kick-off.
Back-to-back wins today and on Tuesday against Preston could seal the title should Bournemouth lose against both Middlesbrough and Coventry. Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic remains just two away from the first 40-goal league season in almost 30 years.
No relegations can be confirmed today. However, if Hull better Barnsley’s result three from Reading, the Tykes, Derby and Peterborough will go down this season. (Staff and PA Sport)
Updated
Good Friday clockwatch ...
Good Friday? It’s a great Friday for Football League fans with plenty of action scheduled for the Championship and the two divisions below. Luton Town host Nottingham Forest in the afternoon’s earliest kick-off at Kenilworth Road and a win for the home side would mean Fulham will secure promotion to the Premier League with a win over Derby County at Pride Park tonight.
We’ll bring you all the major talking points and news of the goals as they go on a busy day in which Burnley have done their bit to steal the headlines by sacking Sean Dyche with just eight games of the season left to save their Premier League status.