Late drama everywhere as Wrexham turn it around, Donny throw it away, and Bolton, Bromley and Barnet strike late...
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Championship
Sam Parry
Ollie Rathbone’s 2025/26 season for Wrexham is a catalogue of cameos and consequence. In one of only two league starts, against Blackburn, he scored in a 2-0 win. In 20 minutes as a sub at home to Preston, he scored a 77th-minute winner. In a two-minute cameo at Watford, he nabbed a 91st-minute equaliser. And on Saturday…
The latest act came after QPR looked to have done enough. Harvey Vale opened the scoring early with a superb volley. Wrexham failed to register a first-half shot but levelled after the break, only for Steve Cook to restore QPR’s lead on 80 minutes with the freest over headers. A stoppage-time equaliser from Josh Windass: cue limbs. Then cue some more, as a Rathbone strike from range turned defeat into victory and lifted Wrexham into the top six. From 10 shots this season, Rathbone has directly contributed 7 points.
There was also late drama at The Den, though not of the jeopardy kind. Millwall were already in control at 2-0, with Josh Coburn also having missed an open net while Femi Azeez had a diving header ruled out. Then Camiel Neghli missed a stoppage-time penalty – but Luke Cundle bundled home the rebound. Aidomo Emakhu added a late fourth to cap a dominant afternoon. Millwall sit six points off 2nd and six points off 7th.
At the sharp end, Middlesbrough strengthened their position by beating Preston. At 0-0, a PNE penalty appeal for handball went unheeded. Minutes later, Alan Browne scored against his former club and, once ahead, Boro raced away with it – 4-0 up by the 54th minute. Having faced scrutiny over his finishing, Tommy Conway’s brace took him to three goals in two games and doubled his season’s tally to six.
That result mattered because…
Third-placed Ipswich (with key men missing) lost ground with a 3-1 defeat to Sheffield United (who also had key men missing). With Gus Hamer back in the side, the Blades were comfortable in possession and clinical on the break. Ipswich briefly threatened a comeback after a second-half penalty, but Patrick Bamford’s fine finish restored a two-goal cushion. He also received a late second yellow for a dive, bringing him the first red card of his career.
At the bottom, Oxford claimed a vital 2-1 win over Leicester. Abdul Fatawu struck late for the Foxes, but it was only a consolation. Mark Harris, starting for the first time since 20th December, used his pace against a high line by breaking free 1-v-1 and rounding the goalkeeper to finish into an empty net. Someone called it…
For the Foxes, this result was the final Jenga piece to be pulled before the tower toppled. Martí Cifuentes was sacked on Sunday. Who will pick up the pieces? And will all 38 pieces be there to play with, given the possible points deduction that’s looming?
In the South Coast derby, Portsmouth’s Ebou Adams had a hand in affairs. So duel-savvy was he, that he effectively duelled the equaliser into existence. Southampton had struck first through Leo Scienza, who gave his celebration the full derby-day treatment, but in truth neither side did enough to win. Colby Bishop’s eight touches in the box were only one fewer than Southampton managed as a team — a stat that neatly captured the inefficiency on both sides.
But where better to finish than where the weekend began? That’s right: West Brom on Friday night television. Derby scored with their only first-half shot when debutant goalkeeper Max O’Leary spilled a corner, but a 95th-minute Chris Mepham header gave Eric Ramsay a deserved and much-needed first point.
League One
Huw Davies
We start with a draw, because Monday pod rules don’t apply here. Doncaster led Wigan 3-0 through Francis Okoronkwo, Jay McGrath (who’d made a superb goal-saving block at 0-0) and Harry Clifton, the latter helped by Will Aimson’s banana-peel-coated studs. When you’re in the relegation zone, though, nerves jangle. Joe Taylor clipped in delightfully and Donny retreated deeper than the ninth circle of hell, which allowed Callum Wright to convert Fraser Murray’s dangerous cross from a couple of yards out. In the dying minutes, Owen Moxon equalised, Sam Tickle brilliantly denied Jack Senior and it finished 3-3. Rovers shouldn’t have drawn this game – they outshot Wigan 28 to 8 – but draw it they did, leaving them in the poop.
Also in the poop: Rotherham, who drew 1-1 with Wimbledon by missing chances and conceding to their visitors’ only shot on target.
OK, back to the top. Saturday lunchtime gave us two big promotion clashes: Cardiff v Stockport, which ended 1-1 (a fair result despite Callum Robinson’s big chance late on), and Huddersfield v Bradford. The hosts won 1-0 with a goal that illustrated the perils of switching off in the multi-ball era. It feels almost transgressive to take a throw-in two seconds after the ball’s been sent into the crowd, but those have been the rules for some time now. A ball boy, Bali Mumba and Alfie May all reacted quickly to the opportunity, Bradford’s defenders didn’t, and Marcus Harness scored.
Liam Manning’s Terriers deserved their win. Bradford took a single shot, from miles out, in the hour before Marcus McGuane’s red card and only four shots after it, three of those from outside the area. McGuane, given his first start in any competition this season by the new manager who had trusted him at Oxford and Bristol City, was tricked into the first yellow card – he was rightly booked, but only for retaliating when Aden Baldwin, wrongly unbooked, tried to push him over the pitchside hoardings – but could have no complaints about the second. In the end, it didn’t matter.
Meanwhile, by which I mean earlier, Lincoln had hosted Burton Albion on Thursday night and made the most of foul conditions and a skiddy surface. Jack Moylan scored by skimming one like a stone – outside of the boot, inside of the post. Then, after Jake Beesley had equalised with an xGeesley special, i.e. unmarked six yards out, Freddie Draper’s low shot was spilled by Bradley Collins and, showing great initiative to get to the rebound first, Moylan mopped up. Well, not literally. That would’ve taken forever. Lincoln are two months unbeaten, W6 D4 L0 in that time, and this gave them a little cushion over their automatic promotion rivals.
The cushion would’ve been puffier had Bolton not climbed to 3rd with a stoppage-time winner from the spot against Leyton Orient.
Now, introducing a new feature: What In Devon’s Name? Plymouth and Exeter both deserve commendations. Exeter, who scored some very swish goals in their 3-1 win at Port Vale, have English league football’s joint-best form over five matches. They did allow Vale 12 shots from inside the box, but on the other hand, Jayden Wareham almost scored doing this:
And Argyle beat Luton 1-0. They would’ve scored before first-half stoppage time (through a Brendan Galloway bicycle kick, no less) were it not for Nigel Lonwijk’s incredible goal-line block and Josh Keeley’s fine saves. The win was merited even with Conor Hazard saving Nahki Wells’ good opportunity, which takes him to 6.94 xG for the season with only two goals scored.
January signing Ronan Curtis impressed again. Derek Adams joined Tom Cleverley’s setup as director of football in mid-November with Argyle bottom of League One; since then, only three teams can better their 23 points from 12 games. The underlying data shows their improvement, too.
League Two
Matt Watts
Like most weekends since the autumn, it was a good weekend for Bromley. The league leaders came from behind to beat top-three rivals Swindon 2-1 at a packed-out Hayes Lane. A week after being racially abused online for missing a late penalty against Chesterfield, Nicke Kabamba rose highest to nod in the winner in the 90th minute.
Andy Woodman’s Ravens have won 10 of their last 12 games. They’re still unbeaten at home in the league this season, and have maintained their record of scoring two or more goals in every home game. Next up: Crewe at home on Tuesday night.
Who goes to school on Tuesday night?
Salford are up to 2nd after beating Bristol Rovers 1-0. The only goal of the game was a delightful finish from Ryan Graydon, who has scored three goals in three games since making the switch from Fleetwood. The Ammies, 10 unbeaten in league and cup, sit six points behind Bromley with a game in hand.
It was Callum Paterson’s day at Stadium MK as MK Dons beat Shrewsbury 5-1. Paterson scored his 100th career goal before adding a couple more to bag his first career hat-trick – all within the opening 34 minutes. The goal of the game, however, was a consolation scored by Tom Sang.
Neil Harris’ Cambridge came from behind twice to beat Tranmere 4-2. Shayne Lavery scored his first goal since mid-October, big Kelland Watts bagged a brace, then Ben Knight put a gloss on the scoreline just before full-time. Not only have Cambridge won their last four league games, but they’re unbeaten in League Two since 25th October.
Grimsby have also won four league games in a row (five in all competitions). They beat Cheltenham 2-0 thanks to a long-range pile-driver from Kieran Green and a deft flick from Andy Cook / cross from Jaze Kabia. I’ll leave that one to the Dubious Goals Panel!
A 2-1 defeat to Colchester proved to be Pete Wild’s final game in charge of Fleetwood. The Cod Army haven’t won since before Christmas, have lost their last five games in all competitions, and are 15th in the table. Injuries, key players moving on, off-field dramas and a budget that is no longer towards the top end of League Two are all contributing factors.
Down towards the foot of League Two, only two teams in the bottom 11 won. Scott Lindsey’s new-look/old-look Crawley picked up their first win since 8th November, beating Barrow 1-0. A sumptuous 89th-minute winner from one of their many new additions, Taylor Richards, proved to be the difference between the two sides.
Newport are off the bottom - and only one point from safety - after beating misfiring Chesterfield 2-1 at Rodney Parade. Goals from Harrison Biggins and Michael Spellman put County 2-0 up, before Dilan Markanday pulled one back with five minutes remaining. That’s back-to-back home wins for Christian Fuchs’ side; can they make it three in a row against Accrington on Tuesday night?
Unfortunately, at any given moment, one team has to prop up the other 71 EFL teams and, at present, that team is Harrogate. The Sulphurites conceded three second-half goals in their 3-0 defeat to Gillingham. Simon Weaver’s men haven’t won a league game since beating the Gills in the reverse fixture at the end of September.
🎦 Our Top 5 clips from the EFL weekend
Lift, love, laugh — Regan Slater scores what would be the winner for Hull.
Lift and let drive — Kieran Green grabs a banger for Grimsby.
Lifting it over the keeper’s head — Callum O’Hare bags for Blades on the break.
Lifting the Vale – QPR hit the bar before Harvey hits a volley.
Lifting the roof off - Ollie Rathbone scores a late screamer for Wrexham.
📊 Your Monday morning cheat sheet
⏱️ Imply Red — No EFL side has led more often (18 times) nor for longer than Lincoln City, who’ve spent 46.6% of their minutes ahead. If only first halves counted, Lincoln would have 58 points from 27 games — 20 more than L1 leaders Cardiff City.
🔟 Pat on the head — With a hat-trick on Saturday, Callum Paterson has recorded 10 goal involvements in nine games (6 goal and 4 assists) since December, more than any other player in England’s top four tiers.
⤵️ Saints still reeling — In their last 10 games under Tonda Eckert, Southampton’s opponents have averaged 26.5 touches in the box per game. In their final 10 games under Will Still, Southampton’s opponents averaged 16.5 touches in the box per game.
💪 Hullk — Hull City have won eight of their last 11 Championship games (D1 L2). No team in the top four tiers has won more league matches in that spell… although in their 2–1 win over Swansea, they were reliant on Swans missing all four of their big chances. Someone needs to probe those numbers in an article.
✈️ Late luggage — Exeter City have earned more points (7) and scored more goals (6) in their last three League One away games than across the 11 that preceded them this season.
🎯 Hamer time — Gustavo Hamer supplied two assists for Sheffield United vs Ipswich Town. It’s his sixth Championship game with multiple assists – more than any player since his 2020 debut (level with Harry Wilson and Ryan Giles).
📈 Truly, Madly, Lisbie — Kyrell Lisbie has scored three goals in his last four league games, more than in his first 21 EFL appearances for Peterborough United.
🍊 Fletcher’s dozen — Ashley Fletcher’s 12th League One goal marks his best ever return in a single league season.
🚫 O’s No — Leyton Orient have lost eight of their last nine away league games (W1), including two separate four-game away losing runs.
🧓 Garnering experience — At 37y 287d, Joe Garner became the oldest player to register multiple assists in a League Two game since Wes Hoolahan for Cambridge United in October 2020.
SkyBet Championship
Birmingham 1-1 Stoke
Blackburn 1-1 Watford
Bristol City 2-0 Sheffield Wed
Derby 1-1 West Brom
Hull 2-1 Swansea
Leicester 1-2 Oxford
Middlesbrough 4-0 Preston
Millwall 4-0 Charlton
Portsmouth 1-1 Southampton
QPR 2-3 Wrexham
Sheffield Utd 3-1 Ipswich
Sky Bet League One
Blackpool 2-0 Northampton
Bolton 2-1 Leyton Orient
Cardiff 1-1 Stockport
Doncaster 3-3 Wigan
Huddersfield 1-0 Bradford
Lincoln 2-1 Burton Albion
Plymouth Argyle 1-0 Luton
Port Vale 1-3 Exeter
Reading 2-2 Barnsley
Rotherham 1-1 AFC Wimbledon
Stevenage 1-1 Mansfield
Wycombe 0-2 Peterborough
Sky Bet League Two
Barnet 3-2 Oldham
Barrow 0-1 Crawley
Bromley 2-1 Swindon
Cambridge 4-2 Tranmere
Cheltenham 0-2 Grimsby
Colchester 2-1 Fleetwood
Harrogate 0-3 Gillingham
MK Dons 5-1 Shrewsbury
Newport 2-1 Chesterfield
Notts County 1-0 Crewe
Salford 1-0 Bristol Rovers
Walsall 0-0 Accrington Stanley
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