Championship
Aleksandar Mitrovic’s second-half winner kept Fulham in the hunt for automatic promotion as Scott Parker’s side edged to a narrow 1-0 win at Blackburn. The Serb pounced to convert Joe Bryan’s cross midway through the second half, before Fulham rode out a nervy final half-hour – including a late Darragh Lenihan goal being disallowed for offside – to secure a vital win that took them level on points with Leeds and one point behind leaders West Brom.
Two points behind Fulham are in-form Brentford, who came away winners from a five-goal thriller against Middlesbrough. Thomas Frank’s men twice saw their leads cancelled out by the visitors before Ollie Watkins rifled home his 20th goal of the season three minutes from time to clinch the points. Nottingham Forest’s 2-0 win over Leeds in the evening kick-off means just three points separate the top five.
Five more goals were scored at Swansea, where the hosts lost ground in the race for the playoff positions thanks to Tom Lawrence’s superb 80th-minute winner for Derby County, while Preston leapfrogged Bristol City into sixth, Daniel Johnson scoring one and laying on the other in a 2-1 victory at Wigan, who occupy the third relegation place.
Elsewhere at the bottom, Luton remain marooned at the foot of the table after Lee Tomlin’s curler saw Cardiff run out 1-0 winners at Kenilworth Road, while Stoke and Huddersfield both picked up crucial wins against Charlton and QPR respectively to put daylight between themselves and the relegation zone. Making up the bottom three are Barnsley, who salvaged a point 1-1 at home to Sheffield Wednesday after Cauley Woodrow capitalised on a goalkeeping error to score from 35 yards.
League One
Wycombe kept themselves within three points of leaders Rotherham as an early poacher’s goal from Adebayo Akinfenwa set them on their way to a 3-1 defeat of Bristol Rovers. Peterborough’s 4-0 demolition of Oxford United means they stay a point behind Wycombe in third, Ivan Toney scoring a double for the hosts who won at a canter despite playing the final half-hour with 10 men.
Maxime Biamou’s stoppage-time winner for Coventry sealed a 2-1 win over Bolton that took his side up to fourth, while Portsmouth and Sunderland round off the playoff spots after their respective triumphs against Tranmere and Ipswich, whose alarming recent form has left them in seventh.
AFC Wimbledon remain six points above the drop zone despite losing 2-1 at home to Fleetwood, while Southend’s hopes of survival are dwindling rapidly after a goal in each half from Blackpool’s Armand Gnanduillet saw his side run out 2-1 winners.
League Two
Crewe threw open the title race in dramatic style, coming from a goal down to clinch a 2-1 win against Oldham with a goal from Charlie Kirk in the 97th minute. They move to within two points of top spot and have a game in hand over leaders Swindon, who could only draw 1-1 at Carlisle, Rarmani Edmonds-Green giving the visitors an early lead before for Aaron Hayden levelled on the hour mark.
Exeter move up to third after Matt Jay’s late goal delivered a 2-1 win over rock-bottom Stevenage, while Plymouth and Northampton each suffered blows to their promotions bid with defeats against Colchester and Port Vale respectively. Cheltenham sit in the final playoff spot despite a meek 1-0 loss at Scunthorpe, but only goal difference separates them from John Askey’s Valiants and Bradford, where Stuart McCall was denied a winning start to his third spell as manager by a 92nd-minute effort from Grimsby’s Luke Hendrie.
Another late equaliser, from Alex Kenyon, rescued a 1-1 draw for Morecambe against Mansfield that keeps the Shrimps six points above the sole relegation spot, while Macclesfield stay two points above them after Jacob Blyth’s powerful stoppage-time strike ensured the same scoreline at Leyton Orient.