Millwall win but Boro bite back, Lincoln beat Cardiff to hit the front in League One, late drama in League Two

Your season ticket to everything EFL, all season and every single weekend.

Mar 09, 2026

**Ali Maxwell, George Elek, Sam Parry, Huw Davies, Matt Watts**

FA Cup

Ali Maxwell

One quarter of the FA Cup’s quarter-finalists come from the EFL — and we absolutely love it. Port Vale and Southampton are one win from a Wembley semi-final.

Mansfield walked so Vale could run. The Stags hosted Premier League and Champions League favourites Arsenal and gave it a right go, losing 1-2. Mikel Arteta’s side are one of the most impressive defensive sides this century, and in their 46 games this season, only one team has taken more shots against them than Mansfield’s 18 efforts. That was Manchester United on the first day of the season, but United didn’t score — Mansfield did. Will Evans equalising, and shushing the Arsenal fans, will live long in the memory. Ebere Eze scored the winner, showing no respect for his EFL heritage.

Evans’ goal and celebration were trumped tenfold by Port Vale and Ben Waine on Sunday. League One’s bottom side have only won six league games this season, but their 1-0 win over Sunderland was their fifth in the FA Cup and their fourth 1-0 cup victory in a row. Kiwi striker Waine, hardly prolific across three years in English football, has scored the winner in three of those wins. Even better, he’s a huge Newcastle United fan, and celebrated his goal against their bitter rivals in the best possible manner: SHEARERRRRRRRRRR!

Vale’s defending in the last twenty minutes deserves plenty of credit, and the celebrations of the fans was truly joyous. With already four league games in hand in League One, and the quarter finals slated for the middle of the EFL’s Easter Weekend double header, the schedule will be brutal for Jon Brady’s bunch, but he’s certainly made some impact.

Southampton won against Fulham at Craven Cottage thanks to an injury-time Ross Stewart penalty and some excellent Daniel Peretz saves. Wrexham hosted a breathless tie against Chelsea, leading twice and almost taking a second Premier League scalp, but ultimately falling the wrong side of some bare margins. Norwich were beaten comfortably at Leeds, but it’s all eyes on the draw tonight — we pray for a sixth straight Port Vale home tie!

Championship

Sam Parry

We are in that liminal space now between the business end and what comes before. The permutations are starting to really matter. The most significant movers this weekend were Oxford and Millwall.

Let’s begin with a safari. Millwall were second best against Hull and still pulled off the sort of smash-and-grab the Tigers have inflicted on others this season. Being second best is rarely a formula for success. See if Alex Neil cares.

Hull struck the woodwork early and carried the greater threat, but Millwall made the first breakthrough when Jake Cooper finished from close range after a set piece was nodded back across goal. Joe Gelhardt equalised soon after and Hull continued to create chances without going ahead.

The pattern continued after the break: Hull pushing, Millwall clinical. Femi Azeez produced a wonderful pass across the defence to set up Ivanovic, and four minutes later Josh Coburn made it 3–1 from the edge of the box.

Hull’s inability to make their first-half pressure count cost them dearly. The numbers tell the story. Twenty shots inside the box to Millwall’s four. 3.08 xG to Millwall’s 1.38. One goal to Millwall’s three. That’s the rub.

T’other biggie happened on Friday night.

Oxford’s task was clear: beat Preston and they would climb out of the relegation zone, at least temporarily. Michal Helik shinned them ahead after ragdolling Lewis Gibson, before Milutin Osmajić equalised with a header from Ben Whiteman’s exquisite delivery.

Oxford kept posing a threat in transition and regained the lead when Will Lankshear turned in Stanley Mills’ effort. Ciaron Brown then bundled home from a long throw to seal the win and spark very different reactions at either end.

The victory briefly lifted Oxford out of the bottom three. They are back in it now, but only just, thanks to a pair of Saturday stalemates.

At Bramall Lane, West Brom and Sheffield United shared the spoils in a largely forgettable draw — George Campbell scoring both a poor own goal and a superb long-range equaliser.

Ipswich also had to settle for a point at Portman Road. They deserved their equaliser against Leicester and might have won it, but a sluggish first half against a bottom-three side proved costly. Leicester defended stubbornly and have now taken valuable away points at Middlesbrough and Ipswich in successive trips.

Elsewhere near the bottom, Portsmouth thought they had secured a late win at Blackburn that would have moved them seven points clear of danger, only for Hayden Carter to equalise deep in stoppage time. Swansea made it eight wins and two draws in their last 10 home games with a 2-0 home win against Stoke — Liam Cullen’s 50-yard strike the latest great moment for a Swansea side reborn under Vitor Matos. Charlton’s 1-0 win over Birmingham was less surprising than it sounds given the Blues’ poor away form, and it leaves Nathan Jones’ side nine points clear of the drop.

Back at the top everything went Coventry’s way.

Bristol City were architects of their own problems as Coventry stretched their gap to third to nine points. The visitors gifted Coventry their first two goals, and although Joel Latibeaudiere’s red card offered Bristol City a route back, Adam Randell’s second yellow early in the second half effectively ended the contest. Even at ten versus ten, the Robins never looked likely to recover. They are now seven points off sixth.

The final game of the Championship weekend came on Sunday at Loftus Road. In a strange way, 1-0 at half-time felt more dominant than the second period as QPR were pulled apart by Middlesbrough. Of course it wasn’t more dominant. But the inevitability of the result felt oppressive.

From a QPR perspective the first goal was a touch unfortunate - handball-ish. The second, a header from Alan Browne, was a touch shoddy. Hayden Hackney’s pearler was typical. Tommy Conway’s penalty was simply that.

With 47 points on the board QPR should not be troubled by relegation, though sides in that position should show fearful respect to the memory of Preston North End in 24/25. As for Boro, Kim Hellberg’s side maintain a nice, plump four point cushion to third.

League One

Ali Maxwell & Huw Davies

“AAAAAND THE NEW…”

With one point between them, League One’s runaway top two met in Cardiff. Two goals separated them, both scored by Lincoln.

From the first minute, Cardiff struggled to penetrate a defensive brick wall, while Lincoln’s attacking efficiency was evident. They had the game’s first six shots, before Cardiff ended the first half with a spell in which two good strikes from range were handled by George Wickens.

Early in the second half, a loose touch from Ollie Tanner allowed Lincoln the chance to get the ball back to front. Their front two, Ben House and Rob Street, dominated the Cardiff centre-backs with power, movement and understanding. Street scored.

Some 20 minutes later, without Cardiff having mustered a shot in response, Tanner gave the ball away again and, within 11 seconds, Dom Jefferies had scored on the break. Cardiff 0, Lincoln 2, setting up a period of joyous, cacophonous noise from the Imps fans. “Tottenham away, olé olé…”

It was a brilliant, potentially title-winning performance. Michael Skubala’s side were much clearer in their roles, their movements on and off the ball, and more confident at the sharp end. Eyebrows were raised when the ‘model’ we built to power our Pinstickers Guide to League One Promotion suggested that Lincoln would take the title, but remove the team names, and consider points won, goal difference, recent form and recent underlying performance data. In all of those aspects, Lincoln City are League One’s #1.

Brian Barry-Murphy’s have played with sexy, silky confidence for months, but Lincoln rendered them swaggerless, and not for the first time this season. Cardiff’s record against the current top six – W2 D2 L4 – is more or less their only ‘negative’ statistic in 2025/26, but may be cause for thought when making plans for the Championship.

BUT WAIT. Bolton haven’t given up on automatic promotion just yet. That still-faint hope was fully invisible at half-time against Wycombe, who led their hosts 2-0, but then Steven Schumacher introduced the most effective use of CBT outside of mental health treatment.

When Corey Blackett-Taylor came on, it was as if the pitch had been raised on its right-hand axis, tilting all play to Bolton’s left. The winger had already created several chances (and Caolan Boyd-Munce had already made a superb goal-line block) when Sam Dalby expertly laid off an Eoin Toal pass for Ruben Rodrigues to finish. 88’: 1-2. Then Blackett-Taylor got the better of Fred Onyedinma once again and his cross was headed in by Mason Burstow. 90’+1: 2-2. Job done, Corey, thanks for coming in. But boss, I’m up for some overtime. On 90’+6, Blackett-Taylor cut inside past Onyedinma, Josh Scowen slipped, and the pair watched in desolate horror as Bolton’s supersub bent in a stunning winner. Bedlam.

Reading’s comeback at Luton, winning 3-2 from 2-1 down with 10 minutes remaining, was almost as late, almost as dramatic, but just as significant a pendulum swing for each team’s promotion chances. While Bolton’s turnaround pushed Wycombe down from 5th to 9th, Reading just about stayed within a point of the play-off places.

Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan’s hat-trick doubled his 2025/26 goals tally and was entirely created by Luton players. First, Isaiah Jones cushioned a defensive header into his path. Then, after the Hatters had scored either side of half-time through Nigel Lonwijk and George Saville, the most unmarked man in recorded history, a pass from Joe Johnson was intercepted by Matt Ritchie, who delivered a lovely trivela for Big Kelvin to finish. Finally, Luton completed their implosion when Kai Naismith allowed Ritchie to rob him in the box, with Ehibhatiomhan on hand to win it.

Jack Wilshere’s side are now eight points off 6th. Their misery was compounded by victories for almost every playoff rival:

Stevenage won a low-margin game 1-0 at Burton Albion through Jamie Reid’s arguably offside goal.
Huddersfield beat Rotherham 1-0 despite a flaccid performance angering their supporters.
Barnsley saw off Exeter, 2-1, thanks to David McGoldrick scoring and setting up Vimal Yoganthan’s fine header with a delectable cross on his wrong foot.
Plymouth Argyle went behind to a Thor hammer from Doncaster’s Elliott Lee, and had a penalty saved, but rallied to win 2-1 with Bim Pepple scoring again.
And Bradford beat Leyton Orient 2-1.

It was 1-1 in the last of those games when, in a remarkable 15 minutes, Bradford had four players booked, a fifth sent off, then scored. Antoni Sarcevic’s second goal of the day was a deserved winner, even with 10 men. Aden Baldwin protested his red card, but the optics were always against him.

League Two

Matt Watts

In the past, the Premier League has been described as the ‘league of late goals’ but, this weekend, that moniker belonged to League Two. EIGHT of the 12 games featured goals scored in the 90th minute or later.

With both Bromley and Cambridge dropping points away from home, the chasing pack had the opportunity to make up some ground. Swindon thought they had done just that when Billy Bodin put them 2-1 up at Crawley in the 91st minute, however, Kellan Gordon’s 98th-minute equaliser extended the Robins’ winless run to three games, whilst also putting a point between Crawley and the bottom two.

Notts County succeeded where Swindon could not thanks to Jodi Jones’ 94th-minute winner at Walsall. Have you ever seen Jones score a back-post header? No, me neither, but this one will live long in the memory of the travelling Notts fans. Martin Paterson’s side move up to 4th ahead of next Saturday’s grudge match at home to Chesterfield. With MK Dons beating Harrogate, there’s now only two points between 2nd and 5th in the fourth tier.

Unfortunately, it’s yet more woe for Mat Sadler and Walsall, who took the lead against Notts only to succumb to a 2-1 defeat. Since beating Crewe on Boxing Day, the Saddlers have won two of their last 15 games in all competitions - losing nine. They’ve also slipped from 1st to 11th in League Two.

There was drama in Chesterfield, but it went against the home side: Sam Stubbs’ 93rd-minute winner for Shrewsbury means that Gavin Cowan’s side have now taken 18 points from the last 21 available. Four of those wins have come against teams currently in the top eight and, despite their struggles for much of the season, a top half finish isn’t out of the question.

A late brace from one of the EFL’s forgotten men, Tommy Leigh, saw Bristol Rovers come from behind to beat play-off chasers Crewe 2-1 at the Mem. The Gas have now taken seven points from the last nine available and they’re seven points clear of the bottom two. One point above Bristol Rovers, you will find Tranmere. Zech Obiero’s fine injury-time strike was nothing more than a consolation for Rovers, who lost 3-1 at home to Oldham, managed by their old boss Mr Mellon. Painfully managerless themselves, Tranmere have now lost five in a row and 11 of their last 12 games, while Oldham have taken 13 points from the last 15 available. Talk about trending in different directions.

On Friday night, Barrow were on course for three vital points before Isaac Hutchinson’s 90th-minute equaliser for Cheltenham. Despite the late setback, Barrow are out of the bottom two after Newport’s 2-1 defeat at home to Colchester. Lee Jenkins’ 97th-minute header was too little too late for Christian Fuchs’ side who have followed all seven of their league victories this season with a defeat in their next league game. The old cricket adage “one brings two” categorically does not apply in Newport.

Finally, Shaun Rooney’s 91st-minute equaliser for Fleetwood at Gillingham is unlikely to have serious consequences for either side, but it does extend the Cod Army’s unbeaten run to six games and their unbeaten run against Gillingham to ten games.

🎦 Our Top 5 clips from the EFL weekend

Magic Mike with the lob for Oldham.
Butterflee - Elliot Lee lets loose.
If it at first you own goal then do this: George Campbell, THWACK.
“That belongs in a museum!” ~~Indiana~~ Jodi Jones, 2026.
The hipster unloads his holster: Hackney’s at it again.

📊 Your Monday morning cheat sheet

📈 Imps on top — Lincoln City went top with victory over Cardiff City; their 74 points after 35 games is their best return at this stage since 1975–76, when they won the fourth division title.

🦁 Millwall march — Millwall have earned 30 Championship points since Boxing Day (W9 D3 L2), more than any other side.

🐏 Rams rising — Only Millwall and Norwich (both 8) have recorded more Championship wins in 2026 than Derby County (7), while the Rams have won three successive home league games for the first time since November.

🤦 Double trouble — George Campbell became the first West Bromwich Albion player to score both a goal and an own goal in a league match since Semi Ajayi in 2020, and the first Championship player overall since Rob Atkinson last season.

🟥 Seeing red — Only Birmingham City and Sheffield United (5 each) have received more Championship red cards this season than Stoke City (4); Sorba Thomas’ dismissal was his first since March 2024.

🔄 Bolt On Rewards — Bolton Wanderers won despite trailing by two goals until the 88th minute, the latest a team has been 2+ down and still won an EFL match since the 2004 rebrand.

🎩 Another David McGoldrick entry — At 38y 98d, David McGoldrick became the oldest player to both score and assist in a League One match since Adebayo Akinfenwa in January 2022.

🏠 Home Park humming — Plymouth Argyle have won four of their six home league games in 2026, already more than across all of 2025 at Home Park in League One.

📉 Probromley — Bromley have failed to win three of their last four games when leading (W1 D3); only Tranmere Rovers (20) have dropped more points from winning positions in League Two this season than Bromley (19).

🔥 Fondop form — Mike Fondop has five goal involvements in his last five League Two games for Oldham Athletic (3G 2A), more than across his first 35 in the competition.

📊 Shrews untamed — Shrewsbury Town have won six of their last seven league games, more than across their first 29 of the season combined; no side has more wins or goals (14) since the start of February.

🌱 Ogunsuyi double — At 19y 101d, Trey Ogunsuyi became the youngest player to score a league brace for Shrewsbury since Tom Bradshaw in 2011.