There were plenty of goals across the Championship, League One and League Two at the weekend. TIBS News provides an EFL review.
Championship
A huge shock emerged from the Ricoh Arena when high-flying Sheffield United were torn about by Coventry, eventually falling to a 4-1 loss. Norwegian international Sander Berge put the Blades ahead after 16 minutes before Viktor Gyokeres levelled soon after. Callum O’Hare scored a brace on his 100th start for the Sky Blues before Matty Godden sealed the win. Coventry are now just three points from the play-offs as they continue to shock the league.
Fulham needed a late equaliser from Harry Wilson to spare their blushes against relegation-threatened Barnsley. Carlton Morris’ first-half penalty had put the Tykes ahead and they were looking good value for the win until Wilson scored a long range stunner to tie the game up at 1-1. The result leaves Barnsley four points from safety as they look to pull off a great escape.
Reading were taught a lesson about finishing in front of goal as Nottingham Forest ran out 4-0 winners. Keinan Davies scored twice, with his first coming after just 17 seconds of play. Ryan Yates and Sam Surridge both got on the scoresheet as well as Forest climbed to eighth, just two points outside of the play-offs.
League One
Saido Berahino scored a hat-trick as Sheffield Wednesday put six past a stunned Cambridge side. Lloyd Jones scored an own goal after six minutes before Barry Bannan made it two. George Byers also found the net in between Berahino’s goals to secure the 6-0 win that will live long in the memories of Owls’ fans as they continue their play-off push.
Charlie Kelman’s first minute winner gave Gillingham fresh hope of surviving relegation as they overcame fellow struggles Doncaster. The hosts couldn’t find a way past Pontus Dahlberg in the Gillingham net and seemed to struggle for ideas in front of goal. The win means the Gills are only in the relegation zone due to a worse goal difference than Wimbledon and Fleetwood, who have the same amount of points (33).
Wimbledon, in turn, lost 2-0 to Lincoln City – who finished the game with 10 men – in a dramatic encounter. The Imps went ahead through a curling shot from Lewis Fiorini before tempers reached a flashpoint, resulting in Brooke Norton-Cuffy getting sent off. Any hopes of avoiding an 18th-straight game without a win were ended when Teddy Bishop scored in the 84th minute.
League Two
Carlisle continued their great run of form as they beat second-placed Northampton 2-1 with the last kick of the game. Tobi Sho-Silva put the Cumbrians ahead but Northampton quickly equalised through Paul Lewis. Carlisle were then were awarded a last-minute penalty and Jordan Gibson made no mistake as he secured his side’s fourth successive win which saw them go nine points clear of the drop zone.
Swindon continued their trend of scoring late goals with a 96th-minute winner to beat Oldham 1-0 at the County ground. Jordan Clark had been sent off as the clock turned to 90 and the extra man proved crucial as Dion Conroy headed home in a game where Swindon had struggled to create chances. The result sees them rise to sixth in the table, one point from the automatic promotion spots.
Colchester came back from a goal down to come out 3-1 winners at 10-man Scunthorpe. Joe Nuttall had put the hosts ahead, three goals in 17 second-half minutes saw the visitors turn the game on its head after Luke Matheson had been sent off at the end of the first half. Scunthorpe are now rooted to the bottom of the table, 10 points from safety with just 10 games left.
By Joshua Stewart
