Danny Batth’s last-minute equaliser clinched Blackburn a 1-1 draw at Elland Road and denied Leeds a 10th straight home win.
Pascal Struijk’s late penalty appeared to have snatched Leeds all three points in their push to extend their lead at the top of the Championship before Batth struck. Leeds poured forward in pursuit of a winner during 10 minutes of added time but John Eustace’s playoff-chasing visitors held firm for a deserved point. Daniel Farke’s side had taken maximum points from their previous three festive fixtures, but they failed to spark against Rovers.
Ryan Shawcross’s interim spell as Stoke manager ended with a creditable goalless draw at Burnley that dented the hosts’ automatic promotion push. The Potters announced the appointment of Mark Robins as their new manager on the morning of the game, although he was absent as he scouted and prepared for his first game in charge – at home to Plymouth Argyle on Saturday.
An unproductive afternoon for Scott Parker’s Clarets ended in even more frustration when the substitute Hannibal Mejbri was shown a straight red card in the 86th minute. He was tackled by Junior Tchamadeu and was adjudged by the referee, Gavin Ward, to have deliberately stamped on the Stoke right-back while hurdling him. The visitors’ recent improvement continued as they followed a home win over Sunderland by holding Burnley to a seventh goalless draw of the season.
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League One roundup: Wycombe leapfrog Birmingham and Wrexham
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Wycombe celebrated the New Year in style by climbing to the top of League One with a dramatic 2-1 victory over Exeter.
The match appeared to be heading for a draw after Luke Leahy and Tristan Crama exchanged goals, but the home side broke the deadlock via Aaron Morley’s penalty in the fourth minute of added time. It lifted them from third to first, replacing Birmingham at the summit after they could only manage a 1-1 draw with Stockport.
Alfie May opened the scoring at Edgeley Park with a superb effort from just outside the box in the sixth minute, but Chris Davies’ side could not break through again despite further chances and Macauley Southam-Hales levelled in the 78th minute. Wycombe and Birmingham both have 50 points but Wanderers occupy top spot through a superior goal difference.
Wrexham were dispatched 2-1 by playoff-chasing Barnsley. Davis Keillor-Dunn and Adam Phillips were on target for the hosts at Oakwell to lift them one place up the table to sixth, while Wrexham dropped down from second to third despite Max Cleworth’s late goal giving them brief hope.
Harvey Knibbs struck twice as Reading defeated his former side Cambridge United 3-1 at Abbey Stadium to boost their hopes of finishing in the playoff positions. Knibbs pounced either side of a goal by Elias Kachunga as the visitors registered their 12th win of the season. Sam Smith delivered the final blow in the 83rd minute with a stunning volley.
Leyton Orient kept themselves in the hunt for a playoff place by edging Bristol Rovers 3-2 at the Memorial Stadium. Ethan Galbraith, Jamie Donley and Charlie Kelman hit the target for the visitors, while two goals from Chris Martin, one of them a penalty, made up Rovers’ response.
At the bottom, Burton had a 2-0 lead over Peterborough thanks to goals from Kegs Chauke and Rumarn Burrell, only for the visitors to reply through Archie Collins and Emmanuel Fernandez in a 2-2 draw.
Tom Bloxham rescued a point for Shrewsbury at Blackpool with his 80th-minute goal sealing a 1-1 draw. Rotherham won 1-0 at Lincoln, Northampton drew 0-0 with Stevenage and Mansfield beat Bolton 2-1.
Crawley’s clash with Charlton at Broadfield Stadium and Wigan’s fixture against Huddersfield at The Brick Community Stadium were postponed because of heavy rain.
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Bottom side Plymouth grabbed a last-gasp equaliser to claim a 2-2 draw with Bristol City in their first match since the New Year’s Eve departure of Wayne Rooney as manager. The Pilgrims twice trailed at Home Park to goals from Anis Mehmeti and Jason Knight but hit back, first through Rami Al Hajj, then with an acrobatic effort from the defender Julio Pleguezuelo in stoppage time.
The interim manager, Kevin Nancekivell, was delighted with Argyle’s never-say-die attitude, saying: “I’m pleased with a point. I thought we deserved it. We had the better of the first half, Bristol City had the better of the second half, so I was delighted that we came back … I’m just looking after the team with Joe [Edwards]. I believe we will be in charge for Stoke [away on Saturday]. Wayne showed a lot of class when he came in to say goodbye to us. It’s been a difficult period but we have a job to do. The bare minimum that anyone at Plymouth Argyle asks for is 100%.”
Fellow strugglers Portsmouth made a flying start to the new year with an emphatic 4-0 home win over Swansea. Josh Murphy, Paddy Lane, Ryley Towler and Colby Bishop were on target. Cardiff held on for a 1-1 draw against Coventry after the sending off of Callum Robinson. The Bluebirds had led early through Alex Robertson but Tatsuhiro Sakamoto equalised.
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League Two roundup: Walsall roar back to beat Notts County
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Walsall, the League Two leaders, had to come from behind to topple Notts County with goals from Jamille Matt and Nathan Lowe securing a 2-1 victory.
Walsall are 12 points clear at the top with their nearest rivals, Doncaster, also winning 2-1 against Fleetwood, although it was stoppage time when Billy Sharp pounced to secure all three points.
Salford and Crewe overcame Harrogate and Carlisle 2-0 and 3-2 respectively to strengthen their positions in the top four, but Port Vale lost ground after a goalless draw with Cheltenham.
Carlisle dropped to the bottom of the table following their loss at Gresty Road and Morecambe‘s 2-0 victory over Tranmere, which was secured through goals by Yann Songo’o and Jamie Stott.
MK Dons won 2-1 at Chesterfield, Barrow and Bradford drew 2-2, while Accrington and Swindon secured 3-2 victories over Grimsby and Colchester respectively.
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QPR saw off Watford 3-1 to continue their recent revival. Goals from fit-again Michael Frey and Jimmy Dunne put them on their way before Sam Field made sure after a deflected Kwadwo Baah reply. Oxford maintained their winning start under Gary Rowett as a Ruben Rodrigues header gave them a 1-0 win at Millwall in Alex Neil’s first game in charge of the Lions.
Josh Windass scored from inside his own half in Sheffield Wednesday’s 4-2 defeat of Derby. The substitute picked the ball up inside his own half, spotted Jacob Widell Zetterström off his line and, having not even reached the centre circle, sent an inch-perfect lob over the back-pedalling goalkeeper’s head and into the net. Barry Bannan, Djeidi Gassama and Anthony Musaba also struck.
Marcelino Núñez scored the only goal as Norwich won 1-0 at Luton, while West Brom ran out 3-1 victors over Preston after Josh Maja scored either side of a Callum Styles strike in the first half.
