Championship
- Leaders Wolves kept ahead of the chasing pack with a comfortable 3-1 defeat of Burton. Two goals from Benik Afobe after Helder Costa’s 15th minute opener were enough for victory, after a 44th minute goal from Lloyd Dyer had pegged back the frontrunners to 2-1. With Cardiff playing away at Derby on Sunday, Nuno Espirito Santo’s team ended the day six points clear at the top.
- After Fulham were held 2-2 by QPR in the earlier game, those chasing a play-off place faltered. Sheffield United could only draw 0-0 with Nottingham Forest while Middlesbrough drew 1-1 at Brentford. Adama Traoré opened the scoring for Boro, who stayed sixth after Lewis Macleod’s equaliser. Romaine Sawyer received a red card for the home team in added time.
- Millwall made it six successive away wins after a 2-0 victory at Barnsley to keep their play-off hopes alive. Lee Gregory from close range and Ben Marshall from long range grabbed the goals for Neil Harris’s rampant Lions, in 10th but just four points behind Middlesbrough.
- Defeat left Barnsley level on points with Birmingham who ended Hull’s decent recent run. A 3-0 scoreline gave Garry Monk a first win in charge of Blues and a fighting chance of avoiding the drop.
- Sheffield Wednesday allayed their relegation fears after an injury-time goal from Atdhe Nuhiu, his second of the match, gave them a 2-1 win at Leeds, who had equalised in the 86th minute through Jay-Roy Grot.
- Norwich held off Reading to win 3-2 at Carrow Road. Having been 3-1 up at half-time through goals from Mario Vrancic, Grant Hanley and a James Maddison penalty, a Sam Smith volley had the home team on the back foot for much of a second half where nine minutes of added time were played. Norwich ended Saturday in 13th, while Jaap Stam’s Royals are just three points above the relegation zone.
- Sunderland’s season of abject misery continued as a sparse home crowd watched the division’s bottom club lose 2-0 to Preston, and reduced to ten men after a red card for Jake Clarke-Salter for a second bookable offence.
League One
- With Wigan playing in Sunday’s FA Cup quarter-final and Blackburn’s match at Gillingham called off after snow, third-placed Shrewsbury had a chance to steal a march on the top two but fell behind to an early goal from Scunthorpe’s Josh Morris. It took a goal from Jon Nolan and a Stefan Payne penalty to haul them above Wigan, who have two games in hand on Paul Hurst’s team.
- Snowy conditions halted play in the second half at Oldham, who were 2-0 down to Portsmouth at the time officials asked for groundsmen to clear the lines to make them visible. Despite home fans’ calls for abandonment, the game resumed with the sun coming out but a strong wind still blowing. Pompey were eventually able to celebrate victory through two goals from Brett Pitman and climb to eighth in the table.
- At the bottom, MK Dons put distance between them and last-placed Bury with a 2-1 home win, thanks to two goals from Chuks Aneke.
Jon Nolan of Shrewsbury Town celebrates after scoring a goal to make it 1-1 against Scunthorpe. Photograph: James Williamson – AMA/Getty Images
League Two
- Accrington were able to open a gap of three points at the top after a 3-1 home victory over Forest Green, after goals from Callum Johnson, Jordan Clark and Kayden Jackson.
- Luton slipped up by drawing 1-1 at Newport. Dan Potts cancelled out a second-minute goal from Josh Sheehan but a winner could not be found. Phil Brown celebrated victory in his first match in charge of Swindon with a 3-1 at Cambridge, as Marc Richards scored twice.
- Mansfield Town’s Kane Hemmings showed nerves of steel in slotting an equalising penalty in the tenth minute of added time in the local derby at Notts County, who had taken the lead through Terry Hawkridge. The 1-1 scoreline meant County failed to register their first home win over Mansfield since 1997.
- Grimsby’s winless run extended to 17 matches after they lost 3-1 in a local derby at Lincoln that kicked off at 1pm due to police advice. Lee Frecklington, Matt Green and Scott Wharton scored for Lincoln in eight first-half minutes. Ben Davies’ penalty proved a mere consolation for Grimsby, dropping into severe danger of relegation.