Daniel Harris (later) and David Tindall (for a bit earlier) 

Championship, League One and League Two updates: football clockwatch – as it happened

In the Championship, Rotherham survived for another week likewise Carlisle in League One, but both look doomed nevertheless
  
  

Tyrhys Dolan celebrates with a backflip after scoring Blackburn Rovers’s fourth goal at Sunderland.
Tyrhys Dolan celebrates with a backflip after scoring Blackburn Rovers’s fourth goal at Sunderland. Photograph: Alex Dodd/CameraSport/Getty Images

Righto, that’s us done for this. Enjoy Ipswich v Southampton, kicking off in 20, and I’ll be back with you for Leeds v Hull; it should be a bazzer. But until then, ta-ra.

So it’s mainly as you were. In the Champo, Rotherham saved themselves for another week sand in League One, Carlisle aren’t quite down either, but both will surely go at some point.

Otherwise, Coventry’s defeat means their playoff place remains precarious, but West Brom should be fine, while QPR, Birmingham and Blackburn managed crucial wins; Wednesday, Argyle, Huddersfield – and, indeed, Birmingham – are still in shtuck.

In League One, Bolton are looking good, and in League Two Stockport extended their lead at the top.

Final scores

Championship

Leicester 3-1 Norwich

Birmingham 1-0 Preston North End
Coventry 1-2 Cardiff
Middlesbrough 2-0 Sheff Wed
Plymouth 0-1 Bristol City
Rotherham 2-1 Millwall
Stoke 1-1 Huddersfield
Sunderland 1-5 Blackburn
Swansea 0-1 QPR
West Brom 2-2 Watford

**

League One

Blackpool 0-0 Wycombe
Bolton 5-2 Reading
Bristol Rovers 0-0 Shrewsbury
Burton Albion 1-3 Barnsley
Cambridge 3-1 Wigan
Carlisle 1-3 Lincoln
Charlton 0-0 Stevenage
Cheltenham 1-2 Exeter
Leyton Orient 1-2 Peterborough
Northampton 2-0 Port Vale
Oxford Utd 4-0 Fleetwood

**

League Two

Crewe 0-3 Forest Green
Harrogate 5-1 Gillingham
Morecambe 2-1 Barrow
Newport 0-4 Crawley
Notts County 3-3 MK Dons
Stockport 1-0 Wimbledon
Sutton 3-1 Swindon
Tranmere 1-1 Colchester
Walsall 2-0 Salford City

Birmingham have beaten Preston 1-0 and now sit fifth-bottom; West Brom have a corner in the seventh of the five minutes of injury time. It comes to nothing, and that’s full time there. The Baggies, fifth, extend their lead over Norwich in sixth to four points and Coventry in seventh to eight. They’re looking good for the playoffs with six games to go.

Something has gone on at Bloomfield Road today.

WHAT A GOAL! West Bromwich Albion 2-2 Watford (Furlong 90+1)

Furlong stretches out a leg to trap a poor pass then, from 22 yards out, near the right corner of the box, he turns, and leathers a glorious finish high inside the near post – via the keeper’s gloves! From 0-2 down, the Baggies are level, and is there a winner in this?!

Updated

GOAL! Stockport 1-0 AFC Wimbledon (Bailey 85)

Massive! If The Hatters hold on, they’ll be four clear of Mansfield at the top of League Two.

Updated

GOAL! Rotherham 2-1 Millwall (Wyke 86)

I mean, Rotherham are down, but they’re not mathematically down because Wyke’s header looks set to prolong their stay in the Champo until at least Friday, when they meet fellow strugglers Plymouth.

Elsewhere: Cambridge leads Wigan 3-1 so will move closer to League One safety; MK Dons have just gone 3-2 up against Notts, cementing themselves in the playoff positions; and Oxford are 4-0 up on Fleetwood.

GOAL! Sunderland 1-5 Blackburn Rovers 5 (Moran 81)

Before I can tell you about Sunderland’s consolation, Blackburn restore their four-goal advantage.

GOAL! Bolton 4-1 Reading (Collins 77)

A hat-trick for Aaron Collins and Bolton will be closing the gap to Derby and Portsmouth – who meet tomorrow – to three and eight points respectively.

Updated

GOAL! Rotherham 1-1 Millwall (Longman 78)

A tap-in following a corner, and if Rotherham doin’r score a winner, they’re down – bit even if they do, they’ll be 16 points off second-bottom.

“Re Stoke hitting the crossbar,” begins Josh Reynolds, “it was ex-Chelsea man Lewis Baker who took the kick. He has certainly been a very up and down player as a Potter but he seems to be in an up period at the moment.”

There’s a basic skill-level that every Premier League player seems to have now – and I’m sure that’s increasingly the case below, too. I feel like we might be losing our donkeys, and the game is the poorer for it.

Boro have scored again and lead Wednesday 2-0, while Spennymoor United now lead Farsley Celtic 2-1.

GOAL! Swansea City 0-1 QPR (Cook 77)

A corner, the ball drops, and Cook punches a side-foooted volley that gives the Rs the lead. A win here won’t alleviate their relegation worries, but it’ll give them a little cushion.

GOAL! Rotherham 1-0 Millwall (Revan 71)

Rotherham might go down if they lose here and 19 points off safety, they still probably will. But this is a lovely finish, driven low and hard from the right corner of the box inside the far bottom corner.

Eeesh, Asante is in … and Hoedt does superbly to slide in and avert the danger.

GOAL! West Brom 1-2 Watford (Asante 70)

A lash inside the near post, and game on!

GOAL! Coventry City 1-2 Cardiff City (Kitching own goal 67)

It’s a brace for Kitching! This time, someone – I’m not sure who – looks to stand up a cross, it clips Kitching and soars in! Can he make it a hat-trick?!

GOAL! Birmingham City 1-0 Preston (Stansfield 68)

Massive goal! Birmingham haven’t won since February, but a slip allows Stansfield to stride through and though the ball gets stuck in his feet, he recovers to slot what could be a massive goal – it might be enough to take Blues out of the bottom three.

Updated

GOAL! West Bromwich Albion 0-2 Watford (Rajovic 66)

This was coming, and Watford lead by two thanks to a finish slid in at the back post.

Updated

GOAL! Burton Albion 1-2 Barnsley (McAtee 64)

I didn’t get around to noting the Barnsley equaliser, but Carlisle will be relieved because a Burton win relegates them. Anyway, a counter and, with the Burton keeper stranded, McAtee punches home confidently from 20 yards.

Eesh, Dennis bundles along the by-line and hits the post for Watford against West Brom; Stoke have just had a header cleared off the line by Huddersfield.

GOAL! Plymouth Argyle 0-1 Bristol City (Wells 57)

Nakhi Wells, Nakhi Wells, Nakhi Wells nods in and Plymouth, fifth-bottom and just two points above the relegation zone, are in trouble.

Updated

GOAL! Sunderland 0-4 Blackburn Rovers (Dolan 54)

This could get messy. Tyrhys Dolan not only scores, but celebrates with a backflip.

Tyrhys Dolan celebrates with a backflip after scoring Blackburn Rovers’s fourth goal at Sunderland.
Tyrhys Dolan celebrates in style. Photograph: Alex Dodd/CameraSport/Getty Images

Updated

I always respected him though, because him and Rooney would have Welbeck, who was living at home at the time, bring them the Ghanaian food his mum would make and, as someone married to a British-Ghanaian, I know exactly what a smart move this was.

“Your surprise at having to type ‘Tom Cleverley’s men’ was matched by a Manchester United Fan I was chatting to at work the other day, who just hadn’t seen a coaching career in Clevs’s future,” advises Mac Millings. “However, having seen him mature at Watford (where he spent the bulk of his playing career) as a leader on the pitch, then club captain, U-18 coach, and now interim head coach, I’m far from the only Hornet who has only been more and more impressed with him as time has gone by. It’s too early to say, but I’ll say it anyway: Tom Cleverley is going to have a good career in the dugout. (But yes, Antony T., only for a few more weeks at Watford...)”

I always wonder how his career might’ve goner had he not been pressed into service when not fully fit: he’d started the 11-12 season really well, was first choice, and then was rushed back after United had lost the derby 6-1 because Fergie knew they needed a result in the next game, Everton away. So Clevz played, United won, and he didn’t appear again until they lost at Wigan in the run-in.

GOAL! Bolton Wanderers 3-1 Reading (Bodvarsson 49)

Bolton attack down the right and when a low cross comes in, Bodvarsson adjusts feet well to punch home a close-range finish.

GOAL! Sunderland 0-3 Blackburn (Hedges 47)

Sunderland are a mess.

Updated

GOAL! West Bromwich Albion 0-1 Watford (Kayembe 40)

This is a lovely strike, Kayembe picking the ball up following a half-cleared corner, taking a touch and stroking a power-drive low inside the near post.

GOAL! Cheltenham Town 1-0 Exeter City (Williams 51)

Colossal goal for the Ladiescolleges – one that might take them out of the bottom three if they can hang on.

Updated

GREAT GOAL! Stoke City 1-1 Huddersfield Town (Hoever 50)

Hoever, right side of the box, steps inside and curls a beauty into the far top bin!

GOAL! Sutton United 2-0 Swindon Town (Bycroft own goal 48)

Sutton started the day second bottom, Town sixth-bottom – and this could be a fourth win on the spin for the Stockbrokers.

Half-time rave at The Hawthorns. Or maybe Kyren Wilson is in the crowd.

Little eyebrows.

“Words I never expected to type dept: ‘Tom Cleverley’s men’,” begins Antony T. “Don’t worry it’s Watford, you’ll only have to do it for a few more weeks.”

Badabing!

I’m going to get some water, then we’ll be back for what should be an edifyingly frantic set of second halves seconds half.

Half-time scores

Championship

Birmingham 0-0 Preston North End
Coventry 1-1 Cardiff
Middlesbrough 1-0 Sheff Wed
Plymouth 0-0 Bristol City
Rotherham 0-0 Millwall
Stoke 0-1 Huddersfield
Sunderland 0-2 Blackburn
Swansea 0-0 QPR
West Brom 0-0 Watford

**

League One

Blackpool 0-0 Wycombe
Bolton 2-1 Reading
Bristol Rovers 0-0 Shrewsbury
Burton Albion 1-0 Barnsley
Cambridge 1-0 Wigan
Carlisle 0-1 Lincoln
Charlton 0-0 Stevenage
Cheltenham 0-0 Exeter
Leyton Orient 0-2 Peterborough
Northampton 1-0 Port Vale
Oxford Utd 3-0 Fleetwood

**

League Two

Crewe 0-3 Forest Green
Harrogate 0-1 Gillingham
Morecambe 2-0 Barrow
Newport 0-2 Crawley
Notts County 1-1 MK Dons
Stockport 0-0 Wimbledon
Sutton 1-0 Swindon
Tranmere 1-1 Colchester
Walsall 1-0 Salford City

GOAL! Bolton 2-1 Reading (Collins pen 45+4)

Clear penno, calmly slotted.

“I can see by your confidence at 15.31pm that you haven’t been following Forest Green closely over the last couple of seasons,” chides Rory Beresford. “That said, Steve Cotterill has finally got them looking like an actual football team. Amazing what you can achieve by hiring a manager with a shred of management experience.”

I guess there’s a tension now: previously, clubs wanted the experience you mention, which is why you had your your Curbseses, your Allardyces and so on passing round club. Nowadays, though, clubs are looking for the Bayern youth coach, or someone doing a great job in Finland’s GM Vauxhall Conference who can come and build something for cheap.

A win for Huddersfield will take them out of the bottom three and ensure Stoke remain in the mix too.

LOVELY GOAL! Stoke City 0-1 Huddersfield Town (Radulovic 45)

Radulovic works space inside the box, eluding two challenges before planting a fine finish into the top corner.

GOAL! Bolton 1-1 Reading (Wing 40)

Trouble for Bolton, Wing feinting the shot, ducking outside his man, and leathering one from the edge that flies off a defender and in. Reading, struggling with financial irregularities and points deductions, are aggravating the third-placed promotion-chasers.

GOAL! Middlesbrough 1-0 Sheffield Wednesday (Ihiekwe own goal 41)

A corner, some mess, and Boro, still not out of the playoff conversation, are in front.

Stoke have just hit the bar against Huddersfield, a free0kick from far thudding the bar. Sorry to whoever took it because they earned some flowers, but by way of exculpation my wife has just come in and noted that I’ve three blaring screens, blaming ADHD not the rigours of watching football for a living.

GOAL! Burton Albion 1-0 Barnsley (Powell 37)

Interesting! Barnsley are settled in fifth in League 1, seven points above Lincoln, whereas Burton are in danger, five places off the bottom and two points away from the relegation zone.

GOAL! Sunderland 0-2 Blackburn Rovers (Szmodics 36)

Cut-back from the by-line and Szmodics now has 29 goals this season.

GOAL! Oxford United 2-0 Fleetwood Town (Brannagan 14)

But Fleetwood are making this a game, just cracking the bar with a brutal free-kick.

GOAL! Coventry City 1-1 Cardiff City (Kitching own goal 29)

I think we’ll get to see what happened as we were shown the first goal, but not as yet.

Scuffle at The Hawthorns, West Brom’s Furlong shoving Bayo in the phizog, to the intense aggravation of Emmanuel Dennis, who is sad.

GOAL! Sunderland 0-1 Blackburn Robers (Szmodics 29)

It’s a good finish this, snapped across the keeper after a darting run to collect a reverse-pass into the box. Sunderland just want this season to end.

Updated

GOAL! Crewe Alexandra 0-3 Forest Green Rovers (Robson 28)

Rovers, currently bottom of League Two but not adrift – they’re four points from safety – are going to beat the side currently ensconced in sixth.

Updated

GOAL! Newport County 0-2 Crawley Town (Darcy 26)

It’s looking good for the Red Devils.

Updated

GOAL! Coventry City 1-0 Cardiff City (Simms 24)

What a season Ellis Simms is having, 14 goals in 2024! He drops off, knocks the ball wide, and is nicely positioned to sweep home when the cross comes in. Cov are looking good to make the playoffs, currently sitting seventh.

Updated

Spennymoor Town are losing, which might raise a smile for those who spent their infancy watching George Courtney ref. Come on you Farsley Celtic!

GOAL! Notts County 0-1 MK Dons (Dean)

MK are chasing promotion, fourth in League Two but only two points off the top – though having played twice more. It is what it is.

Updated

GOAL! Oxford United 1-0 Fleetwood Town (Brannagan 14)

Oxford, seventh in League 1, lead Fleetwood, second-bottom. The latter have played two games more than third-bottom Cheltenham and trail them by four, which is to say they might, I’m afraid, be doomed.

Updated

Email! “Nasty Leeds fan here,” says Jeremy Boyce. “Hats off to Leicester, they’ve turned the Golden Egg hunt back into a total spine-chiller. Vardy is a legend, even if his wife has cost him plenty of spondoolicks. Carpeting’s loss was very much footie’s gain. Much fun to come later in Suffolk and Yorkshire, I’m sure they’re all totally relaxed and chilled about it all ? These games are tough calls, I’m on for a lively 3 - 3 or boring 0 - 0 draw in the first case, a shock banana-skin 0 - 1 ‘ome defeat for the Nasties at the ‘ands of ‘Ull in the second. What I’d really like is Saints smashing four un-replied past Ipswich and a tidy 3-0 at Fortress Elland. The reality lies maybe somewhere between all those. Enjoy your afternoon.”

I’m covering the Leeds game later, looking forward to it. And while we’re here, having spent a lot of time watching Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s Man United, why was Kieron McKenna unable to implement the vision we’ve seen him execute so consummately at Poertman Road, with far less money?

WHAT A GOAL! Bolton Wanderers 1-0 Reading 0 (Collins 11)

Six points behind second-placed Derby following a poor start to 2024, Bolton have taken the lead thanks to an absolute belter from Aaron Collins, thrashed from 20 yards into the top corner.

Updated

Gosh, Asante is getting after this, finding enough power from edge to head hard towards goal, Bachmann forced to dive and tip behind. West Brom, no longer candidates for automatic promotion given a gap to Leeds of 16 points, are pushing.

Huddersfield, third bottom, have just had a goal disallowed against seventh-bottom Stoke.

Words I never expected to type dept: “Tom Cleverley’s men” are under the pump at West Brom, who’ve started with decent tempo. And as I type, Asante has missed a one-on-one after intercepting a poor pass, Bachmann making a good save and Johnson taking an extra touch when fed the ball thereafter, allowing his shot to be blocked behind.

GOAL! Morecambe 1-0 Barrow (Tutonda 3)

Barrow are fifth, looking good for a playoff place given they’re seven points in front of eighth. The last thing they ned is aggravation from 10th-placed Morecambe but here they are.

Full time: Grimsby 1-1 Bradford City

The Mariners ease two points clear of the relegation zone.

GOAL! Newport County 0-1 Crawley Town (Conroy 1)

Crawley Town, in the last of the League Two playoff places, have scored after a minute away to Newport, Dion Conroy with the goal. One doesn’t come across many Dions these days, does not one?

Aaaaand away we go!

Thanks Dave and hi everyone. For now, at least, I’m watching Stoke v Huddersfield and West Brom v Watford, one game important at the bottom of the Champo and the other at the top.

And with that late drama at Grimsby where it’s ended 1-1, I’ll hand you over to Daniel Harris for all the 3pm games.

Richie Smallwood converts and Bradford equalise. 1-1.

Drama at Grimsby. The hosts – fourth bottom of League Two and just three points from safety – look set to see out a 1-0 win over mid-table Bradford. But the Bantams have been awarded an injury-time penalty.

Some team news from West Brom. The Baggies are fifth but sort of in a no-man’s land between automatic promotion and securing a playoff place.

For all your League Two table needs…

Pos Team P GD Pts
1 Stockport County 39 38 74
2 Mansfield 40 40 73
3 Wrexham 40 24 73
4 Milton Keynes Dons 41 14 70
5 Barrow 39 15 67
6 Crewe 40 12 66
7 Gillingham 41 -8 60
8 AFC Wimbledon 41 11 59
9 Crawley Town 39 1 59
10 Morecambe 40 -8 57
11 Walsall 39 0 56
12 Newport County 40 -2 55
13 Harrogate Town 40 -9 55
14 Bradford 41 -6 53
15 Doncaster 39 -9 52
16 Notts County 40 1 51
17 Tranmere 41 0 50
18 Accrington Stanley 40 -6 50
19 Swindon 40 -4 47
20 Salford City 41 -14 47
21 Grimsby 40 -17 42
22 Colchester 38 -18 37
23 Sutton Utd 41 -25 36
24 Forest Green 40 -30 33

How they stand in League One…

Pos Team P GD Pts
1 Portsmouth 40 33 86
2 Derby 41 35 81
3 Bolton 40 28 75
4 Peterborough 39 26 71
5 Barnsley 39 20 71
6 Lincoln City 40 24 64
7 Oxford Utd 40 10 64
8 Stevenage 40 11 63
9 Blackpool 40 14 60
10 Leyton Orient 40 -1 58
11 Northampton 41 -10 53
12 Wigan 40 5 51
13 Wycombe 39 -1 50
14 Bristol Rovers 39 -11 50
15 Exeter 40 -19 48
16 Charlton 40 -1 46
17 Reading 40 -1 45
18 Shrewsbury 40 -26 45
19 Cambridge Utd 39 -21 42
20 Burton Albion 40 -20 40
21 Port Vale 39 -23 39
22 Cheltenham 38 -19 38
23 Fleetwood Town 40 -21 34
24 Carlisle 40 -32 27

If you have a team in the EFL or follow it closely, you’ll have a good grasp of how things stand. Alternatively, you my be a bored Premier League fan who is vaguely curious and has little better to do on a rainy Bank Holiday Monday. Either way, take a butchers at this lot. Let’s start with the Championship.

Pos Team P GD Pts
1 Leicester 39 42 85
2 Ipswich 39 32 84
3 Leeds 39 42 83
4 Southampton 37 26 74
5 West Brom 39 23 67
6 Norwich 40 14 64
7 Coventry 38 18 60
8 Preston North End 38 -2 59
9 Hull 38 5 58
10 Middlesbrough 39 1 55
11 Cardiff 39 -10 53
12 Sunderland 39 5 51
13 Bristol City 39 -2 50
14 Watford 39 2 49
15 Swansea 39 -10 47
16 Millwall 39 -14 44
17 Stoke 39 -16 44
18 QPR 39 -13 43
19 Blackburn 39 -14 42
20 Plymouth 39 -9 41
21 Birmingham 39 -18 39
22 Huddersfield 39 -21 39
23 Sheff Wed 39 -31 39
24 Rotherham 39 -50 20

Updated

A full report from Leicester coming up but if you want hot-off-the-press quotes from Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, the scorer of the Foxes’ 33rd-minute equaliser, you can read Barry’s blog.

Updated

League Two fixtures

All today’s 3pm games. Mansfield v Accrington is off due to a waterlogged pitch while in the 1pm kick-off Grimsby currently lead Bradford 1-0.

3pm
Crewe v Forest Green
Harrogate v Gillingham
Morecambe v Barrow
Newport v Crawley
Notts County v MK Dons
Stockport v Wimbledon
Sutton v Swindon
Tranmere v Colchester
Walsall v Salford City

Updated

Leicester beat Norwich to go top

Full-time at Leicester and the hosts return to the summit with a deserved 3-1 victory. The top three have all played 39 games now so it’s in Leicester’s hands even though Ipswich and Leeds can go above the Foxes later today.

Pos Team P GD Pts
1 Leicester 39 42 85
2 Ipswich 39 32 84
3 Leeds 39 42 83
4 Southampton 37 26 74
5 West Brom 39 23 67

Updated

Game over at The King Power as sub Jamie Vardy blasts home his 14th of the season and eighth in nine games to put the game out of sight. 3-1 to Leicester.

Leicester v Norwich now in added time and the Foxes still lead 2-1. Victory will send them top again.

League One fixtures

Today’s games. The first eight involve home teams whose names begin with ‘B’ or ‘C’. Was the fixtures computer in light-hearted mood? Something for The Knowledge maybe?

3pm
Blackpool v Wycombe
Bolton v Reading
Bristol Rovers v Shrewsbury
Burton Albion v Barnsley
Cambridge v Wigan
Carlisle v Lincoln
Charlton v Stevenage
Cheltenham v Exeter
Leyton Orient v Peterborough
Northampton v Port Vale
Oxford Utd v Fleetwood

Updated

Championship fixtures

Nine 3pm kick-offs today. Here they are along with those two big games later in the day.

3pm
Birmingham v Preston North End
Coventry v Cardiff
Middlesbrough v Sheff Wed
Plymouth v Bristol City
Rotherham v Millwall
Stoke v Huddersfield
Sunderland v Blackburn
Swansea v QPR
West Brom v Watford

5.30pm
Ipswich v Southampton

8pm
Leeds v Hull

Leicester’s wobble down the stretch looked to be continuing when they went a goal down at home to Norwich but the Foxes have turned it around and lead 2-1 with just over 10 minutes to play. Follow the final stages in Barry Glendenning’s live blog here.

Updated

Preamble

Welcome to Part II of Easter’s EFL double header. Once again, the Championship’s top trio have been given staggered kick-off times. Leicester are in action as we speak, Ipswich host Southampton at 5.30pm while Leeds take on Hull at Elland Road in an 8pm kick-off. We’ll have live minute-by-minute coverage of that Yorkshire derby. At the bottom, it’s even more chaotic with just five points separating Millwall in 16th to Sheffield Wednesday in 23rd. Rotherham, 19 points adrift at the bottom, will be relegated today if they fail to win.

We’ll also dip into the action in Leagues One and Two where Portsmouth and Stockport lead their respective divisions. Mansfield, just a point off the pace, won’t be taking over top spot in League Two. That’s not a prediction; it’s a fact based on their home game against Accrington being called off due to a waterlogged pitch.

 

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