Football League: Norwich grind out win to stay top of Championship

Championship

Kenny McLean gave Norwich the lead on the stroke of half-time at Rotherham but they were pegged back shortly after the restart by Semi Ajeyi. The Millers were not level for long as Ben Godfrey showed the league leader’s mettle, straining to head the Canaries back into the lead just four minutes later and this time they did not relinquish the advantage.

Aston Villa’s late season push into the play-offs continued with a fourth successive win against Middlesbrough. John McGinn’s white hot strike added to Anwar El Ghazi’s earlier effort to give Villa a 2-0 lead at the break. Late on, Albert Adomah added a third against his former club to seal the points.

Steven Fletcher got Sheffield Wednesday off to a fine start against Blackburn, opening the scoring after 10 minutes. The Owls never looked back from that point as Atdhe Nuhiu, Dominic Iorfa and Marco Matias added further goals. Rovers found the net twice but Craig Conway and Elliott Bennett’s goals were mere consolations. Steve Bruce’s side move up to 10th but remain just two points behind Villa in sixth.

There was late drama at Deepdale as Sean Maguire headed home four minutes into added time to give Preston a 1-0 win over Birmingham. North End move up to eighth. Hull suffered a set-back in their play-off pursuit, only managing a draw with QPR despite Jarrod Bowen giving the home side a 2-0 lead at the break. Josh Scowen pulled one back for the Hoops just after the hour with Tomer Hemed securing a point by scrambling home in the 84th-minute.

Caretaker manager James Shan guided West Brom to their second win a week. Kyle Edwards, making his full debut, getting the only goal of the game at Brentford. The Baggies are still looking for a successor to Darren Moore after his surprising sacking, but in the meantime Shan has ensured his side stay clear of the chasing pack in the play-off hunt.

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There were five different scorers for Wigan in their thumping 5-2 win over Bolton at the wrong end of the Championship. Joe Garner, Gavin Massey, Nick Powell, Michael Jacobs and Leon Clarke all getting their names on the scoresheet. Gary O’Neil and Sammy Ameobi got the Trotters’ goals.

Ipswich took the lead against Nottingham Forest through Collin Quaner but Jon Nolan inadvertently bundled into his own net before half-time to level the contest and that was how it stayed, while Reading and Stoke played out a 0-0 draw.

League One

Luton took the lead on the stroke of half-time against Gillingham thanks to Danny Hylton and the league leaders extended their unbeaten run to 25 games but only with a draw after being pegged back twice in the second half.

At the other end of League One, struggling Oxford secured a a crucial win against relegation rivals Bradford in bizarre circumstances. With the game in added time, Lewis O’Brien appeared to have squandered a golden opportunity for Bradford after which Oxford broke and Jamie Mackie scored. But that was just the start of the shambles as referee Andy Davies then ruled out the Oxford goal and awarded Bradford a penalty before reversing his decision. Gary Bowyer told reporters post-match: “I still can’t understand what’s gone on - and I’ve been in to see the referee.”

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Elsewhere, AFC Wimbledon moved off the bottom with a 1-0 win at Southend. Also in the relegation dogfight, Shrewsbury boosted their survival hopes by beating mid-table Wycombe.

In the play-off race, goals from Lee Cattermole and Will Grigg saw Sunderland come from 1-0 down to beat Walsall. At Fratton Park, Portsmouth beat Scunthorpe thanks to two goals in the last 20 minutes, Omar Bogle and Jamal Lowe the men to get them. Charlton were held to a goalless draw at Bristol Rovers. A 2-1 away win at Peterborough saw Coventry close in on Doncaster in sixth.

League Two

With Lincoln City and Mansfield meeting on Monday night and Bury’s game against Cambridge falling foul of a waterlogged pitch, MK Dons missed the opportunity to make significant gains on the teams above them in the automatic promotion race, only managing a draw with Stevenage thanks to a late Chuks Aneke effort.

After falling behind early Crewe Alexandra scored six goals without reply against Crawley, who were reduced to 10-men when Ibrahim Meite was sent off 10 minutes from full time.

Macclesfield continue to reel in Yeovil Town at the bottom of League Two. Harry Smith netted his seventh of the season after James Pearson opened the scoring for the Silkmen. Exeter moved above Colchester and into the final play-off spot by beating John McGreal’s side 3-0.