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Football League your thoughts: Norwich are floored by Rotherham revival
The pressure on Alex Neil grows, Newcastle go top as Brighton slip up, Callum Connolly makes an instant impact and League One gets turned upside down
Championship
When Kenny Jackett walked away from Rotherham United at the end of November, the Millers had one win in 18 games. Caretaker manager Paul Warne quickly ruled himself out of the permanent job, but his side now have three wins in seven, and Warne is staying until the end of the season. They beat Norwich City to pile more pressure on Alex Neil, the visitors going a goal and a man down inside 20 minutes. Cameron Jerome equalised, but Norwich academy product Tom Adeyemi struck a winner. Rotherham are still nine points from safety, but their task no longer looks impossible.
Newcastle United returned to the top after a hard-fought win at Brentford, Dwight Gayle’s 20th goal of the season and Daryl Murphy’s late winner earning a 2-1 win. Brighton drop to second after a 2-0 defeat at Deepdale, Paul Huntington and Callum Robinson on target for Preston North End as the Seagulls lost for the first time in the league since September.
Sheffield Wednesday closed on Huddersfield in the top six after beating their local rivals 2-0 at Hillsborough, a 30-yard screamer from Ross Wallace setting up victory before Huddersfield’s Jack Payne was sent off. Fulham kept pace in the battle for the play-offs, Chris Martin coming back into the side and scoring a penalty, before teeing up Scott Malone’s volley in the win over Barnsley.
Callum Connolly made quite an impact on his Wigan Athletic debut, scoring twice at Burton to bring his side to within three points of their opponents. They sit either side of Blackburn, who lost 3-2 to the reliably inconsistent Ipswich Town; Tom Lawrence, another loanee making his mark, scored twice for the hosts, who face a tricky Cup trip to Lincoln next week.
A lead is never safe with Bristol City, who have now lost seven league games in a row after a 3-2 defeat to Cardiff at lunchtime. For the third time in four matches, they threw away a 2-1 lead late on, losing to Anthony Pilkington’s 85th-minute goal and slipping closer to the bottom three. Also sliding into danger are Nottingham Forest, who drew 0-0 at Birmingham after a planned takeover collapsed on Friday, to make it eight games without a win.
Leeds United made it seven games unbeaten in all competitions with a 1-0 win over Derby on Friday. Chris Wood’s header lifted Garry Monk’s side into third above Reading, who suffered a surprise home loss to QPR on Thursday. In Saturday’s late kick-off, Joe Mason’s early goal proved enough for Wolves to see off Aston Villa at Molineux.
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League One
It was a strange day in the third tier, with four of the top five suffering defeat. Most surprising of all were Sheffield United, the league leaders getting hammered 4-1 at Walsall. Chris Wilder’s team were forced to play in last season’s neon green away kit after clashing with their hosts, and were shown up further by a third defeat of the season to the Saddlers.
Bolton were shocked at home by Swindon, Yaser Kasim’s last-gasp volley silencing the Macron Stadium, while on-loan Freddie Ladapo stroked in a winner for Shrewsbury against Bradford City. Fifth-placed Rochdale couldn’t take advantage, losing at Southend through Simon Cox’s stoppage time goal.
The chief beneficiaries were Scunthorpe, who prevailed at Northampton thanks to Josh Morris’ long-range strike, and closed to within a point of Sheffield United. Sixth-placed Fleetwood also won, David Ball’s solo effort sealing a 3-1 win over Bristol Rovers.
Performance of the day in this or any other division came at Gigg Lane, where James Vaughan scored four goals in 20 minutes to guide Bury to a 5-1 win over Peterborough – their first league win since September, moving them out of the bottom four on goal difference, ahead of the unfortunate Shrewsbury.
To take further shine off Shrewsbury’s win, two other teams below them registered victories. Josh Law’s fine free kick earned John Sheridan an opening win as Oldham boss against Gillingham, while Chesterfield sent Coventry to the foot of the table after Dan Gardner’s goal settled their contest.
Charlton and Millwall played out a goalless South London derby as both sets of fans were given little to take their mind away from off-field issues. Sean Kelly scored an early winner as Wimbledon beat Oxford, while Port Vale’s game with Milton Keynes was called off due to a frozen pitch.
League Two
Newport County had not picked up a point for eight matches, while Colchester had taken 22 in the same period – so there was a sense of inevitability about Josh Sheehan’s opener for Newport. Colchester rallied, but the Exiles picked up a useful point.
Cheltenham saw off Accrington in their six-pointer, captain Danny Wright kick-starting a 3-0 win. That leaves Notts County in the bottom two in Kevin Nolan’s first week in charge, despite a battling point at home to Mansfield.
Plymouth kept Liverpool out for 90 minutes, but it took Stevenage barely 90 seconds to breach their defence at Home Park. The hosts fought back for a 4-2 win to keep pace with Doncaster, who also came from a goal down. James Coppinger scored twice as they won at Barnet. Carlisle complete the top three, but needed Charlie Wyke to rescue a point at home to Morecambe.
Conor Chaplin had a mixed afternoon, scoring two but missing a penalty, as Portsmouth closed on the leading trio with a home win over Leyton Orient. Luton Town spoiled David Artell’s debut in the Crewe dugout with a comeback victory at Gresty Road, but Wycombe Wanderers had to settle for a point at home to Yeovil.
Exeter City fans were rewarded for their 700-mile round trip with a 3-0 win at Grimsby Town, but there was no such luck for Hartlepool fans who made the trip to Crawley. James Collins scored the only goal of the game for the hosts, while the day’s other game finished Cambridge 0-0 Blackpool.
