Scott Parker said he was “immensely proud” after watching his Burnley side go top of the Championship with a hard-fought 2-1 win at Coventry on a day when their title rivals slipped up.
Haji Wright put the hosts in front after five minutes before Jaidon Anthony scored either side of half-time to make it 27 games unbeaten.
“We knew it’s a tough place to come,” said Parker. “The stadium was bouncing as well, pretty alive for large parts of the game. We went a goal down early on – albeit a clear offside goal – but reacted superbly well to get ourselves back into it.”
Burnley took full advantage of Sheffield United’s surprise 1-0 defeat at Oxford, where Siriki Dembélé’s first-half goal gave the hosts victory and ruined Chris Wilder’s return to his former club. In a scrappy encounter, Dembélé struck in the 38th minute, rolling the ball past goalkeeper Michael Cooper from close range after Michal Helik then Ciaron Brown helped on Will Vaulks’ long throw.
Daniel Farke, meanwhile, put a positive spin on Leeds’s 1-1 draw with struggling Luton at Kenilworth Road, calling it a “hard-fought point” in their bid to reach the Premier League. The Hatters took the lead when Izzy Jones volleyed home in the 15th minute before Daniel James curled in an equaliser just before the half hour.
Manor Solomon missed a glorious late chance to win it for Leeds, but Farke called it “a hard-fought point – Luton were playing in the Premier League last season”.
Sunderland are in fourth, seven points behind Leeds, after an error by West Brom goalkeeper Joe Wildsmith gifted them a 1-0 win at the Hawthorns, denting the hosts’ top-six ambitions. Wildsmith got a hand to Trai Hume’s 36th-minute free-kick but should have prevented the left-back scoring the winner. It was Wildsmith’s second major recent error after his mistake cost a goal at Burnley.
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Alfie May’s double helped maintain Birmingham’s League One title charge in a 6-2 demolition of 10-man Barnsley.
The visitors had Maël de Gevigney sent off after three minutes and although Davis Keillor-Dunn cancelled out Jay Stansfield’s 33rd-minute penalty, May put the leaders in the driving seat with two goals in eight second-half minutes.
Stephen Humphrys pulled a second back for the visitors, before Luke Harris, Kieran Dowell and Lukas Jutkiewicz made the game safe.
Goals from Steven Fletcher, Sam Smith and Jack Marriott helped second-placed Wrexham maintain their bid for a second straight promotion as they beat 10-man Burton, who had Charlie Webster sent off, 3-0.
However, Wycombe’s hopes were dealt a blow when they lost 1-0 at Reading, Harvey Knibbs’s 77th-minute penalty leaving them six points behind the Welshmen.
The Charlton skipper Greg Docherty completed a concerted comeback as he and Macaulay Gillesphey replied to James Collins’ double to snatch a 2-2 home draw with Lincoln.
Stockport’s Kyle Wootton also scored twice to secure a 2-0 win at Exeter, while Aaron Collins scored the only goal as Bolton left it late to beat Bristol Rovers 1-0.
Ruben Roosken and Ben Wiles fired Huddersfield to a 2-1 home win over Mansfield in which Dominic Dwyer reduced the deficit late on, while Blackpool’s three-game winning streak came to an end as they were beaten 2-1 at Rotherham.
Two goals from Sam Hoskins and one each from Dara Costelloe and Tom Eaves eased Northampton’s relegation fears with a 4-0 win at Peterborough, while Harvey White, Jamie Reid and Dan Kemp helped Stevenage to a 3-1 win over Crawley.
Dom Ballard fired Cambridge to a 1-0 win at Shrewsbury, and it finished goalless between Leyton Orient and Wigan. (PA Media)
“He should have saved it,” said West Brom’s coach Tony Mowbray. “He apologised to me after the game – he came to find me in my office and said it’s on him. We’ve been here before but I’ll see what he’s like in training and see how he reacts.”
First-half goals from Ross McCrorie and Nahki Wells paved the way for Bristol City to climb back into the playoff places with a 2-1 victory over Watford at Ashton Gate. The home side went in front in the 24th minute when a mistake by Watford defender James Abankwah led to a low cross from the right and, although Wells was crowded out, the ball broke for McCrorie to net with a left-foot volley.
Five minutes later Mark Sykes broke clear down the right, with Watford appealing that the ball had gone out of play. His pass found Wells, who drilled a low shot past Egil Selvik from 10 yards. Substitute Mamadou Doumbia reduced the deficit 10 minutes from time but it was not enough to deny Liam Manning’s team three deserved points.
Lewis Baker’s second-half penalty ensured a share of the spoils at Deepdale as Stoke, in 20th, battled back to draw 1-1 with Preston. Kaine Kesler-Hayden scored his first goal for the Lilywhites in the 10th minute before Baker levelled with a 75th-minute spot-kick. It was no more than the visitors deserved after mounting up a great deal of pressure, particularly in the second half, but Preston would have been disappointed to lose the lead after holding out for so long.
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QPR and Cardiff played out a goalless draw in a forgettable match between two struggling teams. The Welsh side remain third from bottom, while Rangers are now without a win in seven matches – a run which has included five defeats. Losing this game would have dragged Martí Cifuentes’ side into real trouble, but the draw maintains a five-point gap to the relegation zone. Cardiff are now unbeaten in three matches, having previously lost four in a row.
Charlie Hughes scored the only goal deep into stoppage time to give Hull a 1-0 victory at Sheffield Wednesday and ease their relegation fears. The result leaves the Tigers three points above the drop zone with six matches remaining, while Wednesday are without a home victory since New Year’s Day.
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Bradford sit proudly top of League Two after goals from Bobby Pointon and Calum Kavanagh secured a 2-0 victory against Crewe.
Walsall started the day top, but finished it in thirdbafter a 3-2 home defeat by Port Vale, who leapfrogged them as a result.
The Saddlers fought back to lead 2-1 after Taylor Allen’s penalty and a Levi Amantchi strike cancelled out Lorent Tolaj’s opener, but Ben Garrity and Tolaj, from the spot, ensured the visitors took the points.
Notts County lost ground as they lost 1-0 at Colchester with Doncaster replacing them in fourth after a 2-0 win at Cheltenham.
Alistair Smith fired Wimbledon to a 1-0 victory over Harrogate, while Grimsby saw off lowly Morecambe 3-1 and Barrow won 3-0 at MK Dons.
There were 4-0 wins for Bromley at home to Accrington and Swindon at Fleetwood, while Salford and Gillingham drew 2-2.
But perhaps the performance of the day came at Carlisle, where the relegation-haunted hosts fought back from 2-0 down against Newport to win 3-2, with Aaron Hayden getting the decisive goal six minutes from time.
Derby’s fight for survival under new manager John Eustace hit the buffers as their four-match winning streak was ended by a 80th-minute goal from Swansea’s Eom Ji-sung to earn the home side a 1-0 win. Eom struck at the far post as he bundled home a cross from the right by Josh Key that was missed by the Derby defenders. The defeat means the Rams remain on 41 points and are ahead of Cardiff in the final relegation place only on goal difference.
Bottom side Plymouth gave themselves hope of survival by holding on to secure a vital 2-1 win over Norwich, thanks to Ryan Hardie’s double. It moved them to within four points of a safe position, as the relegation battle intensified.
And Mihailo Ivanovic struck another late winner as Millwall defeated Portsmouth 2-1 at the Den to move into the top half. The Serbian striker’s header with three minutes to go was his second of the afternoon, moving Millwall up to ninth, while Pompey continue to look nervously over their shoulder as the gap between them and the relegation zone closed to four points.