.png)
4 hours ago
11
Ipswich gave their hopes of automatic promotion a massive boost by recording a hard-fought 2-0 win over Norwich at Carrow Road, while Coventry must wait for another day after being held 0-0 at home by Sheffield Wednesday.
Ipswich moved into the top two, with at least a game in hand on their nearest rivals, as first-half goals from Jaden Philogene, with a harsh penalty, and George Hirst completed a long overdue double over their East Anglian rivals.
Norwich had more of the ball, but were frustrated by an impressive defensive display from the visitors, who kept the number of clearcut chances down to a bare minimum. The defeat ended any faint chance the Canaries had of making the playoffs – although the fact they are heading for a top 10 finish is still a remarkable achievement for a side who were in the bottom three at the start of the year.
Ipswich grabbed the lead in controversial fashion after 11 minutes. Anis Ben Slimane accidently caught Jack Taylor as he attempted to hook the ball clear in the area but the referee, Anthony Backhouse, decided it was a penalty and Philogene sent Vladan Kovacevic the wrong way from the spot.
Ipswich doubled their lead just before the break. Darnell Furlong’s long throw from the left was flicked on and an unmarked Hirst volleyed home to give his side a flattering two-goal advantage. Town should have made it three after a swift counterattack but Taylor was denied by another excellent Kovacevic save. It was Ipswich’s first win at Carrow Road since 2006 and they completed a derby double for the first time since 1992-93.
Kieran McKenna, the Ipswich manager, said: “This is a brilliant result. As soon as I came here I was told how important this fixture was and that it had been so long since we’d beaten them. We finally got a win at our place earlier in the season and now we’ve backed it up by completing a double.”
League One: Cardiff move closer to Championship return
ShowCardiff moved closer to an immediate return to the Championship after their 2-0 win over Bolton was followed by another promotion rival Bradford losing. Omari Kellyman ended a near five-and-a-half-hour goal drought at home in the 50th minute and just moments later, Chris Willock made sure of a victory that put second-placed Cardiff 11 points clear of Bolton, who have four games left.
The afternoon got even better for the Bluebirds as Bradford, in third, remain 10 points behind them following their 1-0 defeat at home to Stevenage, who only had one shot on target but Daniel Kemp’s strike gifted them all three points. The win gives Stevenage a four-point cushion in the final play-off spot after Plymouth were held to a 2-2 draw by Exeter, who took the lead twice through Reece Cole and Jayden Wareham. However, Lorent Tolaj struck for the Pilgrims, while Malachi Boateng guaranteed a share of the spoils with his effort from close range in the final minute.
Already-promoted Lincoln are closing in on the League One title after beating Leyton Orient 2-1 thanks to Jack Moylan’s strike and William Forrester’s own goal, with Dominic Ballard pulling one back.
Wycombe scored two last-gasp equalisers to claim a 3-3 draw at play-off chasing Huddersfield. Nathan Lowe put Wanderers ahead but Ryan Ledson and Marcus Harness looked to have won it for Huddersfield. Connor Taylor levelled for Wycombe and while Harness put the Terriers back in front, Lowe’s second in the 12th minute of time added-on made sure of a draw.
Dale Taylor’s brace and a goal for Tom Bloxham helped Blackpool move four points clear of the drop zone after a 3-1 win over Peterborough, despite the Tangerines having Fraser Horsfall sent off late on. Owen Bailey gave Doncaster a 1-0 win over Reading, while a goal from Callum Wright and penalty from Joseph Taylor helped Wigan beat Mansfield 2-1. Tom Bradshaw’s brace underpinned a 3-1 victory for Barnsley at Rotherham and Kyran Lofthouse’s goal saw Burton edge out AFC Wimbledon 1-0. PA Media
Coventry missed the chance to move one point from promotion to the Premier League as they were held to a goalless draw by relegated Sheffield Wednesday. Frank Lampard’s side could have been promoted if they had beaten the lowly Owls and Middlesbrough had failed to beat Portsmouth later in the day.
It was just a third point of 2026 for Sheffield Wednesday, who broke the Football League record by going 37 games without a win in all competitions in the process.
Lampard said: “We obviously created enough to win the game but we didn’t quite do it, and you have to credit the opposition for making it difficult for you … I know there’s a pressure and everyone wants to release the pressure by getting it done and now we have to move on to the next one.”
Millwall had gone second overnight but their bid for automatic promotion suffered a blow after they were held to a 0-0 draw by West Brom at home. Millwall created the best chances but Josh Coburn volleyed wide from five yards and Mihailo Ivanovic hit the bar from long-range.
Middlesbrough could have taken advantage of Millwall’s slip, but fell to a shock last-minute defeat at home to Portsmouth, who gave their hopes of avoiding relegation a huge boost. The visitors didn’t have a shot on target until Andre Dozzell’s volley deflected in off Conor Chaplin in the final seconds of seven minutes of stoppage time, bringing to an end an eight-game winless run for John Mousinho’s side.
Boro are now winless in six and three points behind Ipswich, who have two games in hand. Portsmouth had looked set to fall into the relegation zone until Chaplin’s winner, which keeps Mousinho’s side a point and a place above the bottom three.
Late goals from Gustavo Hamer and substitute Danny Ings denied Hull the chance to strengthen their grip on a playoff place as Sheffield United ran out 2-1 winners at Bramall Lane. Two ex-Blades were the centre of attention for the visitors, with Oli McBurnie’s early goal giving them the lead and John Lundstram receiving a gamechanging red card in the second half. After the sending off, United dominated the game and earned an impressive three points against the promotion chasers.
Southampton continued their march up the table as they came from behind to beat fellow play-off hopefuls Derby 2-1 at St Mary’s. Second-half goals from Leo Scienza and Taylor Harwood-Bellis cancelled out Carlton Morris’ earlier strike to extend the Saints’ unbeaten run to 17 games.
League Two: Bromley made to wait for promotion
ShowBromley will have to wait to confirm automatic promotion to League One after losing 2-1 at 10-man MK Dons. Victory for Bromley would have sealed promotion, but Nathaniel Mendez-Laing and Ben Wiles scored for the second-placed Dons, who had Jon Mellish sent off before Marcus Ifill scored a consolation.
Cambridge leapfrogged Notts County into the third automatic promotion spot after a 4-0 win over the Magpies, despite the dismissal of goalkeeper Jake Eastwood. Dominic Ball, Shayne Lavery and James Gibbons scored for the U’s before Eastwood saw red for handling outside the area. Gibbons added a fourth after half-time.
Newport moved four points clear of the bottom two as Nathaniel Opoku and Joe Thomas sealed a 2-1 win over rock-bottom Harrogate, who had levelled through Jack Evans. Callum Stead’s late strike gave Barnet a 3-2 victory over second-bottom Barrow, while Bristol Rovers ran out 3-1 winners over Crawley.
Substitute Esapa Osong’s injury-time strike steered Fleetwood to a 2-1 win at Accrington, while Andy Cook’s brace underpinned Grimsby’s 3-2 victory over Crewe. Tranmere drew 1-1 at Chesterfield, Salford’s match against Gillingham finished goalless, Shrewsbury beat Oldham 1-0 and Cheltenham thrashed Walsall 4-0. PA Media
QPR and Bristol City maintained their recent unbeaten runs by playing out a 0-0 draw at Loftus Road. The Robins have not lost since Roy Hodgson took interim charge, having won their first two matches after the former manager was given the role. QPR are unbeaten in five matches, but the result did nothing for either side’s outside hopes of a playoff spot.
Brad Potts’ second goal of the season earned Preston a 2-1 victory at Charlton. The Addicks, who have lost their last three Championship matches at The Valley, went ahead through Joe Rankin-Costello in the first half, but North End equalised before the interval through Lewis Dobbin. Potts scored in the 65th minute as Preston won on the road for the first time since 4 January.
Zan Vipotnik’s 21st league goal of the season inspired Swansea to a 1-0 win against struggling Leicester at the King Power Stadium as the Foxes saw their relegation fears worsen. The game’s only goal came after 53 minutes as Vipotnik blasted a shot into the net via the crossbar from close range after Eom Ji-Sung sprinted from his own box to the edge of the Leicester penalty area in a blistering counterattack. The hosts slipped to second bottom as a result, four points from safety with four games left.
Oxford gave their hopes of beating the drop a boost with a 2-0 win over mid-table Watford. Myles Peart-Harris scored their opener in the 19th minute when the Hornets were unable to clear a Cameron Brannagan free-kick. And substitute Mark Harris sealed a first win in five games on a fast break two minutes into stoppage time with a low shot past goalkeeper Egil Selvik.
Matt Bloomfield’s team looked to be climbing out of the relegation places, but Portsmouth’s late winner at Middlesbrough leaves them in 22nd place with four games to go.
Adam Forshaw scored only his third goal in a decade as Blackburn edged towards survival with a 1-1 draw at 10-man Stoke. The former Leeds and Middlesbrough midfielder gave Rovers a 21st-minute lead with his first goal since February 2025 and just his second since April 2016. But it only earned one point rather than three for Michael O’Neill’s side as Crystal Palace loanee Jesurun Rak-Sakyi levelled for City after 56 minutes.
Stoke finished a man down when the former Blackburn defender and Spurs loanee Ash Phillips was dismissed for a second bookable offence three minutes from time.
