EFL WEEKEND NOTES: "Most surprising scoreline of the season?"
Highlights, top-lines and tough takes, Ali Maxwell reflects on big shocks, electric derbies and turkey-twizzlers.
Hello, good morning, and welcome to the EFL Newsletter by NTT20 — thanks for subscribing!
It’s the Monday after a weekend of unfettered drama and scarcely believable - no, unbelievable - managerial narrative. And today’s EFL Weekend Notes distils all of that down into a package of highlights, top lines and social media bites direct to your inbox. Make sure you’re subscribed so you don’t miss a beat.
Words: Ali Maxwell
Championship
Sheff Utd win + Boro’s shock defeat puts the Blades in driving seat
Sweetest possible victory for Luton Town and Rob Edwards vs Watford
Swans break Cardiff fans’ hearts in 99th minute
The opposite of the goal-fest expected. Sunderland were impressively sturdy and hit the bar themselves as they successfully stared down Burnley’s slick attack.
🎦 Norwich City 0-1 Sheffield United
Low-margin, high-importance stuff at Carrow Road. One shot on target for either side, the solitary goal arriving by way of Manchester City loanee James McAtee.
The Blades record their first back-to-back wins since January, bringing them that bit closer to a top-flight return. Just imagine the scenes at full-time when they heard the result from West Yorkshire…
🎦 Huddersfield Town 4-2 Middlesbrough
The most surprising scoreline of the Championship season? Not only the result. Not only the number of goals: Huddersfield scored 11% of their season’s tally in just 20 minutes. But also, that the Terriers won from behind.
Despite the defeat, don’t miss Boro’s opener. Eviscerating counter-attacking. Ruffels bounced through the middle to equalise, Koroma did a Koroma Special, and two Matty Pearson goals led to a second straight win for Huddersfield - they’re level on points with Cardiff now. Hello!
An excellent football team played a collection of football players and won with ease. Pure Hatters domination and, on a number of levels, Watford humiliation.
Watford didn’t defend their box (same old story), and Luton took advantage through Osho and Campbell. Only two shots mustered by Wilder’s team; both from 25+ yards.
He’s digging them out already:
“We have players who are so-called talented players…The fans want to see a team, and their reaction at the end of the game said everything. I’m hurting. Are the players? You’d have to ask them.”
This was hell and high water.
🎦 Birmingham City 1-0 Blackburn Rovers
Khadra squeezed a shot through a crowd of bodies, and despite some Dack ‘n’ Diaz opportunities… that was that. Blues salvaging those early-season positives, but this wasn’t in Rovers’ script.
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🎦 West Bromwich Albion 0-0 Millwall
This was Millwall defending their penalty box and their play-off spot with great zeal.
#EFL21Under21’s Tommy Conway scored on his return after 12 games out injured. But a Reading set play, nodded on by Carroll and in by Joao, meant spoils shared. Reading’s reported points deduction, which has hung over them for weeks and was described by Paul Ince as ‘imminent’ late last week… was not imminent and has not yet been imposed.
🎦 Coventry City 0-4 Stoke City
Are Stoke the best team in the Championship right now? How excited are we allowed to get? Because some of the football being played in the last month is dishing out the dopamine. Tyrese Campbell is making up for lost time.
Just a cool 3.66 xG away at the team that has kept the joint-most clean sheets.
What are we meant to do? Are we meant to go ‘it’s Stoke, though’ and just ignore what’s happening because ‘it’s Stoke, though’? Not to go all Emma Thompson in Love Actually, but: what would you do? Would you stay, knowing life could be about to get a lot better? Or would you cut and run, not willing to be hurt again? This is going to be one for the NTT20 Monday Pod.
Warnock drags three former clubs into the relegation scrap, which suddenly looks incredibly spicy.
🎦 Cardiff City 2-3 Swansea City
Tired of winning these derby matches to nil, as they had done in the previous three, Swansea decided to try giving away a 2-0 lead and then nicking it in the 99th minute. Looks fun tbh.
Neither team had ever done the double in over 90 years of the South Wales Derby, until last season. Now it’s a derby double-double.
🎦 Hull City 0-0 Rotherham United
Quina sees red, but Rotherham hold out for a valuable point. Hull haven’t quite cracked attacking yet under Rosenior.
🎦 Wigan Athletic 1-0 Queens Park Rangers
Within every QPR game, there is a moment that encapsulates QPR from October 2022 - Present Day. Increasingly, it comes in the first minutes of the match, as it did in this episode of ‘Quite Poor Really’—a defensive disasterclass from Leon Balogun to concede a penalty scored by (and with) Power.
Wigan, deducted three points during international break, have recouped them back immediately.
🎦 Preston North End 3-1 Blackpool
Did North End dominate the game? No. Did they score three fabulous goals against their great rivals? Yes.
Potts power. Whiteman precision. Cannon placement. North End are five points off the play-offs and have taken 15pts from their last 8 games? I’m interested.
League One
Ipswich make it 7W in a row… Wednesday let a lead slip but go top
Charlton and Barnsley score six & five respectively
Do Cambridge United have a pulse?
🎦 Sheffield Wednesday 1-1 Lincoln City
The Imps cancelled out Smith’s equaliser before half time through Mandroiu, and then faced 15 Wednesday shots to nil in the second half. But they stood strong, in no small part thanks to Jackson’s goal-line clearance.
This Lincoln team are bonkers. *Keith from The Office voice*: Difficult, isn’t it, playing the league’s dominant top teams? Not for me, I like it. Unbeaten in six vs top four teams.
Wednesday’s results: poor. Their performances: troubling. The sense of panic: palpable.
🎦 Derby County 0-2 Ipswich Town
It’s now 8 games without conceding, 7 wins in a row, 20 goals without reply. What are you meant to say at this point? No one can hang with Ipswich Town right now.
Nothing about their level of play is particularly new. In almost every game this season, they have dominated. A class above between both boxes, creating twice as many opportunities as their opponents.
During a fifteen-game run of just four wins, the major factor was poor finishing and a few individual errors at the back. It wasn’t a lack of control. Those pendulums have swung the other way, and this is the result. They are 3rd in the table but favourites for the League One title with the bookmakers.
Derby with one win in six games, and three defeats in a row, still cling to 6th spot.
From the 4th until the 94th, this was ugly for Morecambe. A great way for Barnsley to bounce back from midweek defeat in Exeter.
🎦 Peterborough United 0-0 Oxford United
*squints* Is that out-of-possession shape? Some resilience? A great point for Oxford, who soaked up Posh pressure for much of the game, avoided any huge drama, and squandered a 3v1 counter attack of their own.
🎦 Wycombe Wanderers 2-2 Milton Keynes Dons
MK Dons’ first point against a top 8 team all season. Check out Wycombe’s second for David Wheeler, teaching Tjay De Barr how to catch a left-foot volley. Wycombe stuttering, MK Dons strengthening.
🎦 Portsmouth 1-0 Forest Green Rovers
Could Forest Green recreate last week’s famous performance and win vs Wednesday? No. Allowing Owen Dale to score a back post header over the top of Godwin-Malife seemed much more in keeping with FGR 22/23.
Pompey the only winners between 5th and 12th and tracking very nicely indeed.
🎦 Charlton Athletic 6-0 Shrewsbury Town
Leaburn at the double. Fraser’s goal was a sumptuous free kick, but Rak Sakyi’s shows a player far too good for the level. Uncharacteristic from Shrewsbury, but they’ve earned an off-day after the defensive discipline shown this season.
🎦 Fleetwood Town 2-2 Exeter City
Quite liked Exeter’s corner routine for their first. Jack Marriott scored his 2nd and 3rd Fleetwood goals, only for Sweeney to squeeze one past Lynch for a late equaliser—a strong week for the Greeks Grecians.
The three above the bottom four all picked up a point apiece.
🎦 Cheltenham Town 0-0 Burton Albion
Cheltenham’s fifth 0-0 draw in 20 home games. Are we sure that’s not illegal?
🎦 Port Vale 0-2 Cambridge United
We see you Cambridge United! We see a strong second-half performance, and chances actually being taken. Novel!
However, after The Us previous four league wins, here’s how long they went winless: 5 games. 5 games. 8 games. 6 games. So let’s lay down the gauntlet to back this up vs Fleetwood on Friday.
BONUS: Bolton Wanderers 4-0 Plymouth Argyle - Wembley Stadium
In the Papa John’s Trophy Final at Wembley, Bolton wiped the floor with Argyle. It’s their first visit to Wembley since losing 0-5 to Stoke in the FA Cup Semi Final in 2011. Congratulations to Wanderers, another step on the impressive trail being blazed by Evatt and the owner Sharon Brittan.
The key question: how will this impact Argyle’s automatic prospects and Bolton’s play-off tilt? We don’t know, but we sure as hell are going to find out.
League Two
Orient marching to the title; the other ‘Top Six Clashes’ are drawn
Mansfield and Barrow keep the playoff pressure on
The bottom two win - don’t get comfortable, ColU and Crawley!
🎦 Leyton Orient 1-0 Carlisle United
Orient have won 12 of their 20 home games to nil. Mellish had a late chance to atone for his freak own goal, but a poor connection let him down. Richie Wellens is on the cusp of a second League Two title. Carlisle were the only team in the top 10 to lose!
🎦 Northampton Town 1-1 Stevenage
Described as a ‘classic game of two halves’ on our Sunday Scouting reports. George said whoever won this would have ‘one foot in League One', but this feels like nothing was lost or gained. Work still to do. But let’s enjoy an incredible goal:
I am obsessed with this. I know that skill is not called a ‘turkey twizzler’ but I can’t think of any other phrase right now. In off both posts, as well? You’re spoiling us!
🎦 Stockport County 1-1 Salford City
This was a ‘must not lose’, and neither did.
Talk about catching one right out the middle. Right out the top drawer, from Callum Hendry.
🎦 Bradford City 3-2 Grimsby Town
Bradford City have been questioned a lot recently. Questioned by ourselves for patchy, peculiar home form. Questioned by their own fans, who wondered if Andy Cook’s goals are papering over cracks…
So this response to going 2-1 down vs Grimsby, with two pretty messy goals, should be commended. They got a grip and won the game with Andy Cook - who else? - notching the winner. No doubt they were the better side here, and the victory, coupled with other results, gives them a strong sniff (whiff?) of the autos.
🎦 Mansfield Town 4-1 Crawley Town
A comfy afternoon stroll for Mansfield, just what they needed after four without a win. They scored with their first attempt and never took their foot off Crawley’s throat.
Jack Rose spilt a long-range free-kick to the grateful Isaac Hutchinson for an injury-time equaliser. Feels damaging for Sutton, though it was Michael Flynn that seemed most unhappy. It’s worth watching his and Matt Gray’s post-match back-to-back if you like experiencing a bit of chalk with your cheese.
Barrow’s first goal was a visceral reminder to Glenn Morris and Max Ehmer that you don’t always get what you deserve… how’s your luck? Robbie Gotts’ dramatic late winner was a fantastic touch and hit. It means that Barrow are absolutely still alive, still striving, and with Easter fixtures against Crewe and Crawley, they could be a dark horse for the play-offs.
🎦 Doncaster Rovers 0-2 Crewe Alexandra
It’s lovely to see Courtney Baker Richardson back doing good things. I think he is a striker that, in time, could be among the most dangerous in League Two. Crewe are almost certainly not going to finish 20th, which is great news for this pod listener Mark, who won a free season ticket with this response to our 1-24s:
Some vociferous Doncaster boos followed both goals. They’ve been the 5th worst team in the league since Christmas and the vibe is horrendous. They’ve been on a downward slide for two years now, and there’s no obvious argument against them struggling for League Two survival next season. A big summer ahead.
We’ve got ourselves a ball game down at the bottom…
🎦 Tranmere Rovers 1-1 Harrogate Town
A loose, entertaining affair. Genuine question: is it right or wrong to describe the Tranmere goal as a ‘lovely strike’ or a ‘great free kick?’ It quite literally wouldn’t go in the goal if not for the bounce off the keeper’s back. It’s not even on target. But it also feels like a great effort. I don’t really know where I stand here.
🎦 Hartlepool United 2-1 Swindon Town
Whatever happens in the last seven matches, I have really enjoyed Hartlepool’s survival bid in the last few weeks: the desire and effort of the players, the raucous atmosphere at Victoria Park. This late winner gives them a great chance, and it looks like they have the wind in their sails.
After releasing a statement all but accepting relegation and sacking one Jim (Bentley) and putting another Jim (McNulty) in temporary charge, there was a feeling that Rochdale might’ve downed tools. But wait! A goal from Danny Lloyd-McGoldrick. And a win. A battling win after scoring one of their two shots and keeping out fifteen from their opponents; it may bring some hope. Not so much hope for survival but maybe for the future.
🎦 Colchester United 0-0 Newport County
Was a match that happened near Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain.
Elsewhere on NTT20
The Monday pod will be out in a matter of hours. Take a shot every time we mention Neil Warnock.
Easter Eggs will crack. Roast Dinners will be made. But before all that… we’ll bring you a Betting Show and a bulked-up build-up to one of the great weekends of the season. Watch out for the next EFL Weekend Preview.
We’ve received a bunch of Mailbag missives over the past week. They’re all noted down. Leaving us to percolate on 3pm blackouts, strike partnerships, EFL permutations, and more. We’ll answer those soon, and there’s still time to send in more. So please do hit us up with a comment on any post 👇
Thanks for reading… go well!
Really enjoying these, thanks Ali!
Top start to the week again lads. Question; do you think Boro's lack of solidity away from home might cost us in the play-offs? Or does it not matter too much with how good we are going forward?