CLINICAL BLADES PUNISH WILDER
DELIGHTED boss Paul Heckingbottom saluted his Sheffield United troops after they made Chris Wilder’s return to Bramall Lane a painful one.
The Blades put Middlesbrough to the sword with a convincing 4-1 win to climb to fifth place in the Championship.
Sander Berge and Billy Sharp both scored in the space of three first-half minutes before Jack Robinson added a third before the hour mark.
Folarin Balogun netted his first for Boro to give them hope, but Morgan GibbsWhite put it to bed after 79 minutes.
“I thought we were good from the first minute to the last,” Heckingbottom told BBC Radio Sheffield. “I’ve praised everyone in the changing room because there’s lots of things we spoke about that we executed really well.”
Ex-Blades boss Wilder admitted: “It was a really poor performance from us, they just out-performed us individually.”
Runaway leaders Fulham were once again in goal-hungry mood, grabbing five in South Wales in their 5-1 romp against
Swansea.
The Swans had Ryan Manning sent off late in the first half for a foul on Harry Wilson and Fulham ran riot in the second period.
Aleksandar Mitrovic, a
Ben Cabango own-goal and Bobby Decordova-Reid put the Cottagers three-up. Joel Piroe pulled one back, but two goals from Liverpool loanee Neco Williams took Fulham’s tally to 89 for the season.
Luton’s fourth win in five moved them back into the play-off places, with Elijah Adebayo’s 14th of the season enough for a 1-0 win at Coventry.
Blackburn’s malaise continued as they were held to a goalless home draw by Millwall.
Bottom club Peterborough notched the first point of the second Grant McCann era with a 1-1 draw at second-placed Bournemouth.
Jack Marriott gave Posh the lead, but Ryan Christie scored early in the second-half to secure a point for the Cherries.
Neither Barnsley nor Stoke would have been overly pleased with sharing the points at Oakwell.
Support
Domingos Quina seemed to have earned Barnsley a vital win, but Lewis Baker scored five minutes into stoppage time to earn Stoke a point.
In League One, on-song MK Dons won their fifth straight game with a 3-1 victory over Cheltenham courtesy of a Troy Parrott double and one from Mo Eisa, with Will Boyle grabbing a last-minute consolation for the Robins.
The goals were Parrott’s first since October and he said: “I’ve been getting a lot of support from the fans, the gaffer and the boys.
“Seeing how happy everyone was to see me score was overwhelming really. They show so much confidence in me and I cannot ask for much more. Hopefully it continues now.”
Plymouth’s second win in a row moved them back into the play-off positions. Ryan Hardie and Ryan Broom bagged the goals in a 2-0 home win over struggling AFC Wimbledon.
It looked as though the Dons were heading into the relegation zone, but rivals Morecambe were denied victory at Bolton by Jon Dadi Bodvarsson’s 94th-minute leveller. Cole Stockton had earlier put the Shrimps ahead.
Consolation
Sunderland moved back into the play-off places with a 3-1 home win against Fleetwood. Ellis Harrison gave the Cod Army a shock lead, but Elliot Embleton, Luke O’Nien and Jack Clarke struck in the second-half for the Black Cats.
A George Hirst double and Tyler Walker effort meant Chris Long’s stoppage time goal was a mere consolation for Crewe as in-form Portsmouth won 3-1.
Wes Burns and Kayden Jackson were the goalscorers as Ipswich eased to a 2-0 home win against Lincoln.
In League Two, Exeter jumped from eight to third as they arrested a minor wobble with a 3-1 win against Swindon. Jevani Brown, Jonathan Grounds and Matt Jay netted for the Grecians before Jack Payne struck a fine late consolation for the visitors.
Bristol Rovers remain in play-off contention thanks to a 2-1 win at Crawley. Harry Anderson and Aaron Collins scored either side of half-time for the Gas, with Jake Hessenthaler netting for the hosts.