A heavily reduced EFL schedule still provided a good dose of entertainment over the weekend. Here’s the round-up…
Fulham leapfrogged Derby County to move into fourth position, securing a 2-1 win at Pride Park. First-half goals from Aleksandar Mitrovic and Ryan Sessegnon sealed the points, despite Tom Huddlestone’s effort after the break.
Bobby Reid moved level with Matej Vydra at the top of the Championship scoring charts, hitting a hat-trick as the Robins recorded an emphatic 4-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday at Ashton Gate.
Mark Beevers’ first goal of the season gave Bolton Wanderers the lead against Preston North End, but Sean Maguire struck twice on his return from injury to help Preston North End come back and win 3-1 at the Macron Stadium.
Goals either side of half-time from Joe Lolley and Matty Cash saw Nottingham Forest past Birmingham City, who replied late on through Michael Morrison. The day’s other game finished all square, where Shaun Hutchinson rescued a point for Millwall against bottom club Sunderland.
Erhun Oztumer took home the match ball after grabbing three second-half goals for Walsall, with those strikes ending Chris Powell’s unbeaten start to life as Southend United manager.
Oldham Athletic left it late but moved out of the League One relegation zone by beating Scunthorpe United 2-0 at Glanford Park. A debut goal from Patrick McEleney in the 78th minute broke the deadlock, before Eoin Doyle made sure five minutes later.
Milton Keynes Dons remain firmly in the bottom four, after being undone by Ellis Harrison’s solitary strike in their meeting with Bristol Rovers at Stadium MK.
Sunday saw Blackburn Rovers and Wigan Athletic do battle at Ewood Park, with the visitors coming back from 2-0 down to earn a point, thanks to goals from Michael Jacobs and Max Power.
Carlisle United made it four wins in a row and moved within three points of the play-off positions after registering a 2-0 home win against Grimsby Town. Hallam Hope’s early strike opened the scoring, before Mark Ellis’ second-half goal made sure of the points, condemning the Mariners to a 15th consecutive League Two game without victory. New boss Michael Jolley takes over at Blundell Park on Monday.
Read more: Michael Jolley appointed as new Grimsby boss
Elsewhere, Luton Town missed the chance to extend their lead at the top to six points after letting slip a lead against Cambridge United. James Collins had struck first for the Hatters, but he was dismissed in the second half and the hosts took advantage when Jabo Ibehre nodded home six minutes later.
Nathan Jones’ men are four points clear of Accrington Stanley, who have a game in hand after their game at Newport County was one of 10 weekend postponements in the division.
