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First half goals from Tatsuhiro Sakamoto and Haji Wright strengthened Coventry’s position at the top of the Championship as they won 2-0 at Bristol City in a match that ended with both teams reduced to 10 men.
The visitors took a 37th minute lead when the former Robins player Jay Dasilva crossed from the left and Sakamoto outjumped his marker to net with a downward header.
Coventry’s task was made more difficult when Joel Latibeaudiere was sent off in the 43rd minute for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity, pulling back Emil Riis. But in first-half added time the Sky Blues doubled their advantage when Wright eluded a weak challenge from Neto Borges before beating Radek Vitek with a low right-footed drive.
The game became 10-a-side in the 56th minute when Bristol City midfielder Adam Randell was shown a second yellow card for a high challenge on Josh Eccles. From then on Coventry defended strongly to secure the points.
Millwall moved five points clear of Hull in the Championship playoffs and closed the gap on second-placed Middlesbrough for 24 hours at least as second-half goals from substitute Mihailo Ivanovic and Josh Coburn earned their side a 3-1 win at the MKM Stadium.
Ivanovic cashed in on the goalkeeper Ivor Pandur’s error in the 70th minute before Coburn’s fierce hit eight minutes later provided Alex Neil’s side with a victory that had looked highly unlikely after a one-sided first half.
The visitors opened the scoring after 14 minutes through Jake Cooper’s instinctive volley from close range, but Hull equalised four minutes later when Joe Gelhardt scored his 12th of the season. Hull twice struck the bar in a breathless first half and Kyle Joseph contentiously had a goal ruled after David Webb adjudged Oli McBurnie had fouled the goalkeeper Anthony Patterson.
Neil’s decision to replace the floundering duo Zak Sturge and Tommy Watson at half-time proved a masterstroke. Millwall were far more assured thereafter and left East Yorkshire with three points courtesy of goals from Ivanovic and Coburn.
Despite the victory, Neil was critical. “It was a pleasing victory, but it wasn’t a good performance,” the Millwall manager said. “I wasn’t pleased at half-time, hence why I made two changes … I thought Hull were better, performance-wise, and carried a threat, but we are obviously delighted to get three points.”
Hull’s head coach, Sergej Jakirovic, though Webb’s decision to rule out Joseph’s header was the key incident of the game. He said: “A goal all day. I’m very shocked. When you watch it back, it is a goal. How has McBurnie fouled if he is in front of the goalkeeper? You can complain about VAR [the video assistant referee system], about how long it takes to make a decision, but at least it’s fair.”
Leicester put a dent in Ipswich’s automatic promotion hopes but they still remain in the relegation zone despite a 1-1 draw at Portman Road. Patson Daka put the Foxes ahead in the 39th minute before Sindre Walle Egeli equalised for the hosts in the second half. Town, who had several penalty appeals waved away by referee John Busby, hit a post through Dara O’Shea’s header following a corner in first half in a game of few clearcut chances.
The result means Ipswich drop down to fourth, two points adrift of the automatic places, while Leicester remain in 22nd after a third draw in their last four matches.
Derby kept up their bid for the play-offs with a 2-1 victory over relegated Sheffield Wednesday, who registered another unwanted record. Although the former Derby loanee Jerry Yates cancelled out Ben Brereton Díaz’s opener, Matt Clarke headed the home side in front and that was enough to send Wednesday to a 13th straight league defeat.
The win put Derby within three points of the play-offs, with sixth-placed Wrexham in FA Cup action this weekend. The result also meant Wednesday became only the fifth team in Football League history to go 30 or more consecutive games without a win, joining Crewe, Cambridge, Derby and Macclesfield.
At the other end of the table, the relegation battle remains too tight to call as Hayden Carter scored a stoppage-time equaliser, snatching Blackburn a dramatic 1-1 draw against fellow strugglers Portsmouth.
Michael O’Neill’s hosts had the better of a nervy encounter but looked set to be plunged into further relegation trouble when they were suckerpunched by Connor Ogilvie’s deflected strike in the 84th minute. However, Blackburn’s character shone through and they scored a vital stoppage-time goal for the second home game in three as Carter’s flicked header – his second goal in two games – earned what could be a vital point in their fight to stay up.
They certainly deserved something from the game and will rue Yuki Ohashi’s early miss which should have set them on their way, with the draw leaving Rovers four points clear of the relegation zone despite failing to win in three. Portsmouth fell away somewhat in the second half and remain a place and point above Blackburn with a game in hand.
West Brom defender George Campbell scored at both ends as his struggling side hit back to snatch a 1-1 draw with Sheffield United at Bramall Lane. It was a rollercoaster second half for the centre-back, first giving the hosts the lead with an own goal before unleashing an incredible strike from distance to snatch a vital point for his team. It was enough to lift the Baggies out of the bottom three by a point.
Charlton took a huge step towards safety with substitute Charlie Kelman’s fifth goal of the season earning a 1-0 victory over Birmingham. The former QPR frontman’s clinically executed finish moved the Addicks nine points clear of the bottom three. It was another hammer blow for the visitors’ fading play-off aspirations as Chris Davies, marking his 100th game in charge of the Blues, lost three successive league matches for the first time since he took charge in June 2024.
On Friday, Oxford shocked Preston with a 3-1 win at Deepdale. Michal Helik prodded United ahead in the fourth minute before Milutin Osmajic’s 12th-minute equaliser. Will Lankshear’s improvised 54th-minute finish gave Matt Bloomfield’s men a deserved lead and Ciaron Brown’s header seven minutes later sealed the points. They remain second bottom, though, level on points with Leicester.
In midtable, Zan Vipotnik’s 17th league goal of the season and a brilliant long-range effort from Liam Cullen proved enough as Swansea beat 10-man Stoke 2-0. Vipotnik – the division’s leading scorer – glanced home a header from a corner in the 53rd minute after the Wales international Sorba Thomas had received a second yellow card in the first half.
Thomas was dismissed for a shove on Goncalo Franco after 36 minutes, having been booked for a foul 13 minutes earlier. Vipotnik’s goal looked enough to extend Swansea’s unbeaten home league record to 10 matches, before Cullen made sure of victory with a spectacular 50-yard effort in stoppage time.
