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Ipswich climbed into the automatic promotion places in the Championship following a 2-1 victory over struggling Oxford.
Their success came via first-half goals from leading scorer Jaden Philogene and Chuba Akpom, while Will Lankshear replied for the visitors. Ipswich moved a point above Middlesbrough after they fell to a 1-0 defeat at Derby, while Oxford remain three points from safety.
“We’re happy to get the win,” said the Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna. “It’s coming in a really busy week for everyone and you have to appreciate it even more. I thought we certainly did enough to win the game but without doing everything that we probably wanted to do to be honest.”
At Pride Park, Boro were punished for failing to take their chances as Bobby Clark fired the Rams to victory. The visitors dominated the game but lacked a ruthless edge inside the box and Clark took advantage with a second-half winner. The midfielder showed the composure with his finish that Boro craved to earn Derby a first home win since 4 November and condemn the visitors to a third defeat in four matches.
“For the moment, football is very, very cruel to us and we have to sort it out and turn it around,” said Boro’s head coach Kim Hellberg. “I am very happy with how we performed, the first 60 minutes we were very good and created a lot of opportunities and we should have killed that game off. But we didn’t and then you know that in this league you cannot keep a very good team from not creating anything at home.”
Joe Rankin-Costello opened his goal account for Charlton as they drew 1-1 with leaders Coventry at The Valley. The Sky Blues had the perfect start to the match with just over two minutes on the clock when Ellis Simms, who scored twice in the reverse fixture between the two clubs at the end of November, produced a clinical finish.
Jo Rankin-Costello wheels away after grabbing Charlton’s equaliser against Coventry. Photograph: Sally Rawlins/Getty ImagesCharlton increased the pressure in the second half and deservedly levelled in the 69th minute through Rankin-Costello. The midfielder, hugely impressive in only his second league start of the season, tapped in from close range after Carl Rushworth parried Charlie Kelman’s attempt.
Stoke won at the MKM Stadium for a fifth consecutive season as Hull’s fine run of form ended with a 1-0 defeat in a game blighted by a bad shoulder injury to goalscorer Robert Bozenik.
Quick GuideEFL roundupShowCaolan Boyd-Munce scored direct from a corner to earn Wycombe a 1-1 home draw against Cardiff, who remain top of League One.
Chris Willock gave the Bluebirds an early lead and Boyd-Munce struck before the break, but Cardiff stay three points clear as none of their closest rivals were able to take advantage.
Adam Reach’s second-half equaliser rescued a point for Lincoln in their 1-1 home draw against Huddersfield, who had led through on-loan Chelsea midfielder Leo Castledine’s 10th league goal of the season.
Bradford lost ground on the top two after slipping to a 3-0 defeat at Mansfield, with Rhys Oates’ double sandwiching Lucas Akins’ header, while Stockport were held 0-0 at Northampton.
Kyle Dempsey’s late equaliser rescued Bolton a 1-1 draw at Doncaster, who had led through Glenn Middleton’s first goal for the club, and Stevenage were held 1-1 at home by Plymouth.
Pierce Sweeney’s second-half effort earned Exeter a 1-0 home win against Luton and Barnsley held on for a 1-1 draw at Wigan after the late dismissal of Luca Connell.
AFC Wimbledon hit back to win 3-1 at Leyton Orient, with Demetri Mitchell’s own goal and further efforts from Myles Hippolyte and Marcus Browne coming after Dom Ballard’s early opener for the hosts.
Jack Marriott’s header and Daniel Kyerewaa secured Reading a 2-0 home win against Burton and Peterborough won by the same score at Rotherham thanks to Joe Rafferty’s first-half own goal and Brandon Khela’s strike.
Port Vale secured a first win in five matches in style, with Jayden Stockley, George Byers, Jaheim Headley, Devante Cole and Ronan Curtis all on target in a 5-1 home win against Blackpool, who had James Husband sent off at the end of the first half.
In League Two, Bromley made it six straight wins by beating struggling Newport 2-1 at the Copperjax Community Stadium to stay top of the table.
Courtney Baker-Richardson’s own goal and a Nicke Kabamba effort put Andy Woodman’s side in control before Nathaniel Opoku’s late consolation for Newport as Bromley extended their unbeaten home league run to 12 matches this season.
Swindon leapfrogged Walsall into second place after a 2-0 home win against Gilingham, with Ryan Tafazolli and Aaron Drinan on target.
Walsall lost 2-0 at Cambridge, for whom Ben Knight struck twice either side of half-time and later hit the crossbar with a stunning overhead kick. Aaron Pressley’s late penalty for the visitors was saved by Jake Eastwood.
Steve Evans won his first game in charge of Bristol Rovers thanks to Fabrizio Cavegn’s hat-trick in a 3-0 victory at Shrewsbury.
Kelly N’Mai’s late strike clinched Salford a 2-1 win at Barrow and Jack Payne’s stoppage-time penalty snatched Colchester a 1-0 home win against his former club MK Dons.
Shaun Whalley’s second-half goal earned Accrington a 1-0 win at Notts County, Chesterfield’s Kyle McFadzean was sent off in added time in his side’s 1-1 draw at Oldham and Joe Kizzi’s brace secured Barnet a 2-1 home win against Crawley.
Josh March fired a double in Crewe’s 4-1 win against Cheltenham, Jaze Kabia’s late header snatched Grimsby a 1-0 win at Fleetwood and bottom club Harrogate’s winless league run was extended to 14 matches as they lost 2-0 at home to Tranmere.
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Despite having claimed one victory from six previous games, Mark Robins’s side never looked back after Bozenik volleyed home at the far post on 39 minutes. Bozenik’s day did, however, end on a sombre note as he was inconsolably taken off in the second half with a worrying shoulder injury that led to the addition of 17 minutes of stoppage time.
A stunning 11th-minute strike from Adam Randell set Bristol City on course for a thumping 5-0 victory over Portsmouth at Ashton Gate. The former Plymouth midfielder shocked the massed ranks of Pompey fans behind the goal with the sweetest of right-footed shots into the top corner from 25 yards after a cross into the area had been cleared into his path.
The quality of that effort was almost matched by Anis Mehmeti after 24 minutes, his precise strike from outside the area skidding low past Portsmouth goalkeeper Nicolas Schmid following a defensive mix-up. It was 3-0 five minutes after the break, thanks to Scott Twine’s first-time, left-footed shot from 10 yards from a Neto Borges cross. More calamitous defending saw Sinclair Armstrong slot home the fourth from close range nine minutes later and an unstoppable Armstrong drive, rifled home in stoppage time, completed the rout.
Tom Ince’s first league hat-trick in a decade gave Watford an emphatic 3-0 victory over a dismal Birmingham side at Vicarage Road and continued his side’s surge towards the Championship automatic promotion places. Ince should even have added a fourth goal when he fired over an open net inside the six-yard box with 20 minutes remaining. He still collected a deserved match ball for his first Championship hat-trick for 10 years and 17 days, since he netted a treble for Derby against Bristol City in December 2015.
Tom Ince and Watford celebrate his hat-trick goal against Birmingham. Photograph: Leila Coker/Getty ImagesJay Fulton scored his first goal for over a year just 60 seconds after coming on as a substitute to give Swansea 1-0 win and pile more pressure on West Brom manager Ryan Mason. Fulton – who had not scored since December 2024 – struck a superb shot from 25 yards in the 74th minute for the only goal of the game. It proved enough to give Swansea their fourth successive home victory, but away-day troubles are piling up for Mason.
Ollie Rathbone marked his first league start of the campaign with a goal-of-the-season contender as Wrexham brushed aside Blackburn 2-0 to rack up their third straight league win.
Phil Parkinson’s side were without an away win in eight outings and made the trip to Ewood Park without the injured duo Kieffer Moore and Josh Windass. But Sam Smith and Rathbone deputised to devastating effect as Wrexham flew out of the traps and Smith finished clinically in the 11th minute for his second goal of the season. Rathbone doubled the advantage with a sublime volley, catching the ball perfectly as it dropped over his shoulder to score for the second successive game.
Milutin Osmajic marked his return to the team with a goal as Preston beat Sheffield Wednesday 3-0 at Deepdale. The 26-year-old had been missing since 5 November due to a nine-game suspension and a minor hamstring injury, but he showed no signs of rustiness with a clinical 61st-minute finish to double Preston’s lead. Ali McCann had put the Lilywhites ahead with a composed opener after 28 minutes and Lewis Dobbin slammed in a late third.
Struggling Norwich claimed a precious 2-1 victory over QPR at Loftus Road. The Canaries, who began the day second from bottom, moved up a place courtesy of Josh Sargent’s close-range header in the first minute of the second half and a deflected Jovon Makama strike in stoppage time. Amadou Mbengue scored for the hosts in the final moments but they have now suffered back-to-back defeats.
Millwall dropped out of the playoff places after labouring to a drab goalless draw at Southampton. Thierno Ballo spurned a glorious late chance to hand the Lions a priceless victory as the stuttering Saints saw their winless run extend to five games.
Sheffield United continued their strong run of form at home as they beat Leicester 3-1 in the later game at Bramall Lane. Goals from Japhet Tanganga, Tom Cannon and Callum O’Hare were enough to give the Blades a very comfortable win following a strong performance. Leicester had very little going forward and are now 19 games without a clean sheet in the Championship.