Boro make it five wins in a row, QPR stun Coventry, Rotherham hit four, Crawley strike back and Gracia leaves Watford
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It’s deadline day today
Write-ups and ratings from the weekend’s movers are on the way, ahead of our live blog at 11:00 and live stream at 18:00. Keep an eye on your inbox. But first…
Championship
Matt Watts
Happy Birthday, Kim Hellberg. The Swede turned 38 on Sunday, but you could argue that he had three presents on Saturday. The first was Hayden Hackney’s stunning strike after 17 minutes to give Middlesbrough all three points against Philippe Clement’s in-form Norwich. It’s now five league wins in a row for Boro, who didn’t let the Canaries have a single shot on target after they took the lead.
Hellberg’s men are now level on points with leaders Coventry, who fell to a 2-1 defeat against QPR. Josh Eccles gave the Sky Blues the lead after the break, but a delightful backheel from Richard Kone and an emphatic finish from Nicolas Madsen completed the turnaround (and delivered present No.2 to Herr Hellberg). There was more than a hint of revenge for the Rs, who lost 7-1 at the CBS Arena back in August. This defeat means Coventry are now winless in their last seven away league games – eight in all competitions.
Present No.3 came in the form of Ipswich dropping points at home for the first time since 22nd November. Jack Clarke’s penalty cancelled out Lewis Gibson’s opener for Preston, but Kieran McKenna’s side are now seven points behind Coventry and Boro (albeit with a game in hand).
Four presents for Sweden’s finest export since Abba? Not on Hull’s watch. The Tigers racked up their fourth win in a row, beating strugglers Blackburn 1-0 at Ewood Park. Four minutes after coming off the bench, new signing Lewis Koumas combined with fellow sub Kyle Joseph to score the winner and send the away end into raptures. Like Ipswich, Hull have a game in hand over the top two – at home to Watford on Tuesday night – but, unlike Ipswich, they’re now only five points off the autos.
In the race for the play-offs, Wrexham reclaimed 6th spot after beating Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 at Hillsborough. Derby held the final play-off spot from 10pm on Friday night ‘til 2:30pm on Saturday after they put in a five-star performance against Bristol City at Ashton Gate.
It was a disastrous evening for the hosts, with Zak Vyner about to leave for Wrexham, Neto Borges and Sinclair Armstrong being benched after arriving late, and then an absolute horror show on the pitch. The Robins failed to defend balls into their box, couldn’t live with Derby’s third-man runs, and mustered a solitary shot on target despite trailing since the 13th minute. John Eustace’s rampant Rams have taken 10 points from the last 12 available and they have their best away record in the Championship this season (owing to their slightly better goal difference than Hull!).
Javi Gracia’s second spell in charge of Watford came to an end with their 2-0 defeat at home to Swansea. Gracia resigned (that’s right, resigned - he wasn’t sacked!) after a meeting with the board on Sunday. Gracia leaves the Hornets four points off the play-offs after a run of four league games without a win.
Andy King’s first game in interim charge of Leicester didn’t go according to plan, as Caleb Okoli was sent off after 15 minutes for pulling back Miles Leaburn. The Charlton striker was a long way from goal, but Okoli was the last man and he held on to Leaburn like a feline bringing down a bird. Clinical finishes from Sonny Carey and Lyndon Dykes put the Addicks 2-0 up, before Jordan Ayew spurned the Foxes’ best chance to get back into the game, firing his penalty against the post.
It’s now one point in four games for Leicester, who continue to look over their collective shoulder, but this was the perfect response to a derby-day drubbing at Millwall for Nathan Jones’ side. Granted, Charlton’s only two wins since Christmas have come against teams reduced to nine men and ten men – both before half-time – but they are now six points clear of the bottom three.
One team who’d love to have that kind of cushion is West Brom, who fell 3-0 to Portsmouth. Two recent arrivals stepped up for Pompey, with Millenic Alli contributing an assist and then a goal, before Ebou Adams scored once again at Fratton Park. Cries of “You’re not fit to wear the shirt!” met the Baggies players at full-time, with Isaac Price having to be held back by Daryl Dike. When you’ve picked up one lousy point on the road since 1st October, you’d be well-advised to hold your hands up, take your medicine and walk off. It’s now one point (and 12 goals conceded) in four games at the helm for Eric Ramsay.
League One
Huw Davies
Seeing as nobody in the top six moved a place, let’s race to the bottom instead.
Rotherham went to St James Park on the back of four consecutive away defeats (five in all competitions). Exeter hosted them on the back of four consecutive home wins to nil (five in all competitions). Rotherham won 4-0.
Switching to a back four for once, Matt Hamshaw’s Millers had to revert to a back three anyway as Dan Gore went off at 1-0 with a shoulder injury. No matter. Three goals in five second-half minutes secured the win and proved helpful for their goal difference; 17-year-old Harry Gray scored his second in two games and Sam Nombe turned provider with two fine assists.
They climb from 23rd to 20th, above the dotted line on goal difference (I told you it was helpful). Burton Albion join Doncaster, Northampton and Port Vale in the bottom four, despite earning a 2-2 draw with Cardiff. Not many teams restrict the league leaders to two shots from inside the box… sadly for Burton, they both went in.
Rotherham weren’t the only victorious strugglers. There are signs of life at Jon Brady’s Port Vale. Kyle John headed home from a corner inside two minutes and that was all they needed to beat Leyton Orient 1-0. Outside of a tame effort from the O’s Ollie O’Neill, the hosts didn’t really come close until Dom Ballard hit the outside of the post with the last shot of the game.
Orient were booed off at half-time, and afterwards Richie Wellens declared himself “very worried because players are drifting”, adding that transfers in progress will bring “fresh blood and new determination to fight”. For Vale, hosting Wimbledon and Burton Albion next week provides a great chance to make up some more of their 10-point gap to safety with two games in hand.
Stockport came from behind to beat Plymouth 2-1. Argyle hit the bar and forced defenders into last-ditch interventions before taking a deserved lead, but Dave Challinor’s triple substitution on the hour changed everything. On came Lewis Bate, who brought control to the midfield. On came Malik Mothersille, whose dribbling created the equaliser. On came Jack Diamond, who crossed for the winner. And staying on to score both goals was Kyle Wootton, who is having quite the season, going joint-top of the goalscoring charts.
Twice in a week, Argyle have scored first and failed to win. Performances have improved immeasurably but an 11-point gap to the top six might be too much, now.
Finally, Peterborough 2-3 Huddersfield was League One’s match of the day. Under Liam Manning, the Terriers have won three from three with possession shares of 47%, 35% and now 31%. That’s how you do it.
Huddersfield led 2-0 through a combination of Lasse Sorensen, Radinio Balker and Peterborough goalkeeper Alex Bass, but Posh dragged it back to 2-2. Kyrell Lisbie scored at the third attempt, after Harry Leonard’s beautiful flicked effort had hit the post, then James Dornelly got on the end of a late set piece. Could they…? Nah. Later still, in the 89th minute, the Posh defence let Cameron Humphreys have too much space and he called their bluff, shooting into the corner that the attendant Archie Collins had all but pointed him towards.
Protect a point, protect the goal… or if you’re George Nevett, stood behind Collins, protect what really matters.
League Two
Ali Maxwell
The bottom two, Harrogate Town and Newport County, travelled to teams in 20th (Crawley) and 22nd (Bristol Rovers) with a chance to close the gap. They both lost to nil, further raising the difficulty level of survival.
At the Mem, Newport had the game’s first presentable chance through Ciaran Brennan, but it was missed. After that, this was the Yusuf Akhamrich show. Bristol Rovers’ 20-year-old Spurs loanee made his first league start and put in one of the season’s most exciting individual performances. His first goal was a left-footed rocket from 25 yards following a dribble inside, and his second came after a sensual first touch to control a ball over the top.
Upon his signing, based on what we knew about Akhamrich, we wrote that, “there may not be a player with higher upside involved in the League Two relegation battle.” These goals brought to mind Elliot Anderson’s sparkling performances for Gas in 2021/22.
Harrogate lost at Crawley, who have finally got serious. A third straight clean sheet (W2 D1) has them six points above Newport and eight above Harrogate, winning via goals from Max Anderson and Josh Flint. Scott Lindsey seems to have finally hit on something with a back three of Charlie Barker, Theo Vassell and Flint, with Jacob Chapman behind them and Jay Williams screening in front of them.
At the top, it was a weekend of away wins that ranged from gutsy to dominant. Bromley blitzed Gillingham in the first half, 3-0 up at the break. Ben Thompson celebrated a hat-trick just after half-time, in his first start in over three months – 4-1, the final score. Notts County’s depth in the striker position was reflected in their 2-1 win at Fleetwood: Alassana Jatta opened the scoring and Matthew Dennis came off the bench on the hour mark alongside new singing Lee Ndlovu, who promptly laid one on a plate for Dennis to score the winner. Four wins in a row for Notts.
It’s six (SIX) straight for Cambridge United following a 3-0 win at Oldham. A tight game was cracked open when an error at the back by Manny Monthé was compounded by a clumsy tackle from Ryan Woods – penalty, scored by Ben Knight on 55’, and by 67’ it was 3-0 after a Double Appérétif.
Salford recovered from midweek defeat to win 2-0 at Tranmere. Goalkeeper Matty Young made some sharp first-half saves, before Jorge Grant and Kelly N’Mai won the game in the second half. And Swindon’s 3-1 against Barrow put an end to their three-game losing streak but was somewhat overshadowed by Ian Holloway’s remarkable, viral post-match interview.
We also had 8th vs 6th and 9th vs 2nd, and both served up topsy-turvy games. Chesterfield and MK Dons relinquished 2-0 leads to draw 2-2 against Walsall and Grimsby respectively. When 12th and 10th did battle, Crewe jumped back above Colchester with a 1-0 win. It was a simple case of execution: Calum Agius calmly finished Adrien Thibaut’s low cross, while Colchester’s goal threat was all quantity (18 shots to 3 in the match) and no quality.
Accrington scored a few crackers to beat an out-of-sorts Cheltenham Town 3-1, while Gavin Cowan’s first match as Shrewsbury Town manager was a match that happened at home to Barnet: 0-0.
🎦 Our Top 5 clips from the EFL weekend
Brace on debut for Yusuf Akhamrich and both are beauties for Gas.
Alternative angle of Ben Thompson’s hat-trick goal for Bromley.
Tricks and flicks from Richard Kone sparks limbs and scenes at Loftus Road.
Hayden Thwackney with the rocket of the docket.
That’s scary: a sumptuous first touch by Sonny Carey to put Addicks ahead.
Bonus: Man yells at Cloud.
📊 Your Monday morning cheat sheet
🐝 Javi Gra-see-ya — Javi Gracia’s second spell at Watford ended despite an improved return of 31 points from 20 games; over the season, the Hornets have failed to keep a clean sheet in 13 of 16 home matches and conceded the opening goal in 20 of 29 games.
🌟 Golden oldies — Walsall’s Albert Adomah (38) marked his goal this weekend with a walking-stick celebration, but wasn’t to be outdone by Shaun Whalley of Accrington Stanley, who posted one goal and two assists and now has 10 goal contributions in 15 appearances this season.
🧳 Whither Wycombe’s wanderlust? — Wycombe Wanderers have scored just 28% of their goals away from home, collecting 13 points from 14 away games.
💣 Gas explosion — Bristol Rovers have recorded two 3-0 wins in their last five league matches, as many 3+ goal victories as in their previous 128 Football League games combined.
🚍 Ram raid — Derby County’s 5–0 win at Bristol City was their biggest away league victory since September 1959.
📈 Half-century Mill — Millwall have reached 50+ points after 30 games of a second-tier season for the first time since 2001–02 (53), when they finished fourth.
🍾 Pompey pop — Portsmouth have won three of their last six Championship games (D2 L1), recording their first league win by 3+ goals in over a year, since beating Swansea City 4–0 on New Year’s Day 2025.
🔥 Boro blaze — Middlesbrough have won five consecutive league games for the first time since October 2023; no side in England’s top four tiers has won more league matches so far in 2026.
🚫 Home blanks — AFC Wimbledon have failed to score in five straight Football League home games for the first time in their history.
⚽ Wootton you just know it — Kyle Wootton scored twice for Stockport County against Plymouth Argyle, taking him to 15 goals this season – it’s his best-ever return in a Football League campaign and he is joint-top of the Golden Boot rankings now.
📊 Stanley surge — Since the start of November, only Bromley (38) and Cambridge United (32) have won more League Two points than Accrington Stanley (27), who’ve won five of their last seven matches (D1 L1).
⚖️ Cool, Cambs and collected — Cambridge United are unbeaten in 14 league games (W9 D5), their joint-longest run in Football League history, last achieved in November 1972.
SkyBet Championship
Blackburn 0-1 Hull
Bristol City 0-5 Derby
Ipswich 1-1 Preston
Leicester 0-2 Charlton
Middlesbrough 1-0 Norwich
Millwall 1-1 Sheffield United
Oxford 0-2 Birmingham
Portsmouth 3-0 West Brom
QPR 2-1 Coventry
Sheffield Wednesday 0-1 Wrexham
Stoke 0-2 Southampton
Watford 0-2 Swansea
Sky Bet League One
AFC Wimbledon 0-1 Bolton
Barnsley 3-1 Stevenage
Bradford 1-0 Doncaster
Burton Albion 2-2 Cardiff
Exeter 0-4 Rotherham
Leyton Orient 0-1 Port Vale
Luton 1-0 Blackpool
Mansfield 0-0 Wycombe
Northampton 0-2 Reading
Peterborough 2-3 Huddersfield
Stockport 2-1 Plymouth
Wigan 0-1 Lincoln
Sky Bet League Two
Accrington Stanley 3-1 Cheltenham
Bristol Rovers 3-0 Newport County
Chesterfield 2-2 Walsall
Crawley 2-0 Harrogate
Crewe 1-0 Colchester
Fleetwood 1-2 Notts County
Gillingham 1-4 Bromley
Grimsby 2-2 MK Dons
Oldham 0-3 Cambridge
Shrewsbury 0-0 Barnet
Swindon 3-1 Barrow
Tranmere 0-2 Salford
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