EFL roundup: Portsmouth see off Burton as Gayle helps Derby keep pace at top
Kusini Yengi’s two goals kept Portsmouth five points clear at the top of League One with a 2-1 win over Burton. Yengi scored the opener from the penalty spot in first-half stoppage time after being brought down and then turned in Abu Kamara’s cross just after the hour, with Burton captain John Brayford pulling one back late on.
Derby kept pace as Dwight Gayle scored his third goal in as many games to help them to a 2-1 win over Reading. That kept Derby second, one point above Bolton, who thrashed Oxford 5-0 with goals from Nathanael Ogbeta, Josh Dacres-Cogley, George Thomason, Aaron Collins and Josh Sheehan.
Barnsley moved up to fourth as they came from behind to beat bottom club Carlisle 3-2 with goals from Jordan Williams, John McAtee and Jon Russell, while Blackpool moved to within a point of the playoff places as Matt Pennington’s scruffy second-half goal beat Northampton 1-0.
Jack Moylan and Joe Taylor each scored twice as Lincoln stretched their unbeaten run to 12 matches with a 6-0 rout of Cambridge, and an own goal from Wigan goalkeeper Sam Tickle gave Wycombe a 1-0 win.
Exeter picked up their first win in five by beating 10-man Shrewsbury 3-0 while Fleetwood remain six points from safety after a 0-0 draw with Bristol Rovers, as do Port Vale after a goalless draw with playoff chasing Leyton Orient.
In the Championship, Riley McGree returned to haunt his old loan club Birmingham with a stunning goal as Middlesbrough won 1-0 at St Andrew’s.
Attacking midfielder McGree, 25, put Boro ahead in the 17th minute after a mistake by Alex Pritchard in a game of few clear-cut chances. The result heaps pressure on City, who have now gone five games without a win and are only out of the relegation zone by a point after their match in hand.
Wrexham missed the chance to move level on points at the top of League Two as they were held to a goalless draw at home to Harrogate on the night that leaders Mansfield were beaten 2-1 at Tranmere.
Tranmere took an early lead against Mansfield through Regan Hendry, and although Will Swan levelled for the Stags before half-time, Rob Apter’s strike just before the hour proved the winner.
Elliott Nevitt’s 15th goal of the season earned Crewe a 1-0 win over basement boys Sutton, moving them above MK Dons who sit fifth after losing 1-0 at relegation-threatened Grimsby, with Justin Obikwu getting the goal. Sixth-placed Barrow took a point from a 1-1 draw at Walsall.