Fabio Carvalho had put Marco Silva’s men on the road to an immediate return to the Premier League – which they would have secured with a victory – but Wayne Rooney’s men equalized after the break of the young striker Luke Plantz. And the Aries took care of a significant victory when Tosin Adarabioyo converted Tom Lawrence’s ball into the back of the net. Earlier in the day, Luton boosted its hopes of rising as it overtook Nottingham Forest after a 1-0 win at Kenilworth Road. Cal Naismith scored from the spot eight minutes before the break after Jack Colbak’s handball in the area and the Hutters held despite the dismissal of Sonny Bradley in the 77th minute. The defeat of Forrest gave Fulham the opportunity to seal their return to the Premier League with the victory over Derby at the end of the opening. Bournemouth gave further hope to the chase after failing to win for the fourth consecutive match with 0-0 at home to Middlesbrough. Scott Parker’s team failed to knock down the playoffs by chasing Boro and was just five points behind third-placed Huddersfield in view of the late start to QPR. Sheffield United’s hopes for the playoffs were dealt a blow after a home defeat by Reading, which boosted its chances of survival. Lucas Joao gave Reading a shock lead after 17 minutes, but the Blades seemed to have grabbed a late point through Iliman Ndiaye in the 90th minute. Tom McIntyre went down to the other end and beat Reading a significant victory to take them nine points away from danger. Blackburn failed to take advantage of the Blades’ slide after losing to relegation fighters Peterborough. The Rovers were reduced to 10 players when Tajo Edoun received his second yellow card after 41 minutes. Ben Brereton-Diaz put the top 10 ahead after 77 minutes, but Sammie Szmodics equalized six minutes later. Jack Marriott scored the winner three minutes ago, but Posh remains nine points away from safety. Huddersfield, meanwhile, were eliminated twice in a 2-2 draw with QPR. Yoann Barbet’s own goal put the Terriers ahead, but Luke Amos hit the equalizer again before the break. Then Harry Tofolo restored the home side’s lead, with only Ilias Chair equalizing for the second time to ensure the points would be shared. Coventry kept alive their hopes for the playoffs after losing 2-0 to 4-2 in Birmingham. Christian Pedersen headed in a corner after 12 minutes and Gary Gardner made it 2-0 six minutes before the break. But Mark Robins’s men soon returned to equal terms as Ben Sheaf hit twice before halftime. And the Sky Blues completed their comeback when Michael Rose headed in 71 minutes before Callum O’Hare finished fourth. Barnsley are 10 points away from safety after the 1-1 draw at Swansea. Claudio Gomez gave Barnsley the lead in the 54th minute, but it only lasted 10 minutes before Olivier Ducham equalized. Hull secured a 2-1 victory over Cardiff. Allahyar Sayyadmanesh put Hull ahead after eight minutes and Lewis Coyle swept in an attempt with his left foot to double the lead three minutes later. Aden Flint withdrew nine minutes ago. West Brom grabbed an extra time winner by beating Blackpool 2-1. The Baggies were ahead three minutes before the break with Andy Carroll, but Blackpool, now unbeaten in five, hit the equalizer again through Marvin Ekpiteta. Karlan Grant was three minutes late to keep the Baggies’ incredible playoff game alive. Preston and Millwall also drew 1-1, while Jay Dasilva’s winner in the 84th minute gave Bristol City 1-0 at Stoke.
Sky Bet League One
Sunderland secured another belated victory, beating Shrewsbury with defeats Nathan Broadhead late to improve their hopes of reaching the Sky Bet League One playoffs. The fifth victory in six games means that Alex Neil’s men have now collected 20 points from the last 24 available. Eliot Embleton’s well-hit shot with his left foot gave the Black Cats the lead in the fourth minute, as Broadhead’s foul had a rebound from the wall. Broadhead scored a second in the 13th minute, after goalkeeper Marco Marozi could only block Dennis Sirkin’s shot. Josh Vela gave the visitors hope five minutes into the second half with a neat low finish and eight minutes later former Sunderland defender Tom Flanagan equalized the score, shooting after half a corner kick. However, Broadhead’s second game in extra time sealed a 3-2 success and allowed Neil’s team to finish sixth with a third straight victory in the final stages. Garath McCleary’s double allowed Wycombe to climb over Sunderland in fifth place, scoring both goals in a 2-0 win over fourth-placed Plymouth at Adams Park. McCleary opened the scoring in the 14th minute with a strong finish with his right foot and doubled the lead 17 minutes later after a good work on the left by Brandon Hanlan. An impressive start from Oxford helped them leave behind a disastrous series of three consecutive defeats with a 3-2 victory at Fleetwood. Nathan Holland, Cameron Brannagan and Billy Bodin scored to give Karl Robinson a 3-0 lead in 16 minutes. Ellis Harrison scored a goal back with a penalty in the 39th minute and Sean Hayes (53) further reduced the deficit, but Oxford kept the victory which means that Cod Army falls to the last four. Morecambe climbed out of the relegation zone against his opponents in Lancashire thanks to a 3-2 victory over Charlton. Cole Stockton (26) and Arthur Gnahoua (43 and 59) scored the goals that put Derek Adams’s team in 19th place. Jayden Stockley (53) and Chuks Aneke (81) answered for the hosts. AFC Wimbledon threatened with relegation with Sam Cosgrove scoring in the 19th minute to relegated Crew, but Mikael Mandron and Chris Long changed things two minutes into the second half before Bassala Sambou sealed a 3-1 victory in extra time. – only the Railwaymen seventh victory of the campaign. The Gillingham fighters took the lead twice in Cheltenham with goals from Vadaine Oliver and Ben Reeves, but Callum Wright and Kion Etete secured the 2-2 lead. Amadou Bakayoko and Kieran Sadlier scored in Bolton’s 2-1 victory in second-placed Doncaster, to which Ademipo Odubeko responded. Portsmouth beat Lincoln 3-2 in a fun match where all the goals came in the second half. George Hirst’s penalty in the 50th minute gave Portsmouth the lead and Michael Jacobs made it 2-0 in the middle of the second half. Teddy Bishop and Ben House equalized with two goals in eight minutes, only Ronan Curtis beat the hosts with effort in the 82nd minute. The clash in the middle of the table between Akrington and Burton ended without a goal.
Sky Bet League Two
Scunthorpe’s 72-year stay in the English Football League came to an end as a 3-0 defeat by Leighton Orient confirmed its relegation to the Vanarama National League. The last team of League Two was back in 15 minutes, when Paul Smyth opened the scoring from a narrow angle. Orient made it 2-0 in the 24th minute when Theo Archibald crossed the edge of the area with Iron goalkeeper Rory Watson. Ruel Sotiriou added a third for the hosts six minutes later, with a header on the back post, and that proved to be enough to seal Scandhorp’s fate. At the other end of the table, second Exeter closed the gap with Forrest Green to just two points after beating Colchester 2-0 in the first phase, with the leaders then losing 4-0 to Barrow who is threatened with demotion. Exeter extended their unbeaten run to nine games thanks to goals in the two halves of Jack Sparks and Ofrande Zanzala. Barrow, meanwhile, boosted their survival hopes as first-half goals from Joe Grayson and John Rooney, and efforts by Matt Platt and Aaron Amadi-Holloway in the second half gave them a three-game winning streak. degrees above the fall zone. Stevenage also secured a significant victory, with Scott Cuthbert scoring 1-0 against Rothdale and a three-point lead over Oldham, who lost 2-0 to Northampton to drop to 23rd place. Northampton are now in fourth place after goals from Jon Guthrie and Louis Appere on each side of the half. Oldham were reduced to 10 players late when Carl Piergiani was sent off. Bristol Rovers beat Salford 1-0 thanks to Eliot Anderson’s attempt in the 75th minute to move up to fifth, while third-placed Port Vale beat Hartpool 1-0 thanks to a Conor Hall header in the second half. Swindon, who was chasing the playoffs, beat Harrogate 4-1, with Aston Villa loanee Louis Barry and Josh Davison scoring twice before Luke Armstrong took the consolation of the hosts. Sutton advanced to the top seven with a 3-2 win over Mansfield playoff rivals, with Omar Bugiel, David Ajiboye and Richie Bennett all scoring and Town scoring their own goals with Ben Goodliffe’s own goal and Matty’s belated effort. Longstaff. Newport lost 2-1 at home to Crowley, with Ashley Nandesan and Ludwig François scoring for the visitors before James Wate scored a goal in the second half. Ten-player Bradford were held to a 1-1 draw late after playing for more than 60 minutes with 10 players, as Calum McManaman’s 89th-minute goal for Tranmir annulled Jamie Walker’s first half, which came nine minutes before Eliot Wat. expelled for two Quickfire bookings. Jack Earing’s goal in the first half gave Walsall a 1-0 victory over Carlisle.
