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Coventry win 3-0 at Swansea, Boro held by Blackburn QPR put six past Portsmouth, Wrexham see off Blades Kieran Mc Kenna was left rueing missed chances after Ipswich’s promotion-rivals Millwall took a point home from a 1-1 draw at Portman Road. Their opener came in the first half from Jack Clarke, with Millwall responding early in the second period through Josh Coburn. The result means Ipswich remain third, level on 69 points with their opponents in fourth, but Town have a game in hand. Mc Kenna said his side should have been “two or three goals up” after a dominant first half, adding: “We should win the game and I’m disappointed we didn’t go and kill the game off in the second half because they came out and put two up front and went man-to-man and locked on and we had so much space to break through. ” Second-placed Middlesbrough failed to capitalise on that draw, with Kim Hellberg saying his side must work harder in front of goal after a 0-0 stalemate at relegation-threatened Blackburn. The early signs were positive for the visitors, but they could not maintain the momentum in the second half and only had one more shot on target, leaving them two points above Ipswich and Millwall. “I think the first half is one of our best halves in creating opportunities because often it’s tricky because everyone is fresh and it’s difficult to break them down, ” said Hellberg. “We did it very good today. Everyone can see we should, of course, be ahead in the first half. The second half was frustrating … it’s something I need to handle. ” Andy Carroll was victorious on his managerial debut with Dagenham and Redbridge. The former England, Newcastle, Liverpool and West Ham striker was placed in interim charge of the National League South club this week after the sacking of Lee Bradbury. That decision came only weeks after You Tuber KSI was announced as a minority shareholder in the club, setting out grand plans to emulate the success of Wrexham. Carroll is also an investor in the club after joining them last summer on a three-year contract. The 37-year-old scored seven goals in 13 appearances, but has not played since mid-December. KSI was in the crowd to see Carroll's managerial bow, and it proved to be a very successful one, with a 1-0 win over Torquay moving Dagenham to within five points of the playoff places. The only goal came in the 74th minute when George Marsh scored directly from a corner. PA Media Leaders Coventry cruised to an easy 3-0 win over Swansea to take another significant step towards the Premier League. Frank Lampard’s side saw their woodwork rattled twice in the first half, but three goals in 11 minutes before the break put them in complete control. Brandon Thomas-Asante, Matt Grimes – making a first return to the club where he made 333 appearances in a 10-year spell before leaving in January 2025 – and Tatsuhiro Sakamoto struck to send the away end into delirium. It gives Coventry a nine-point advantage over Middlesbrough with seven games remaining. Hull secured a vital three points in their effort to remain in the playoff spots with a 3-1 defeat of relegated Sheffield Wednesday. Sergej Jakirovic’s men were far from perfect against the beleaguered visitors, who took a shock lead through Jamal Lowe on 23 minutes. But Hull equalised 60 seconds later through Matt Crooks, then Dominic Iorfa headed into his own net just before the interval. Once Kyle Joseph coolly steered home a third on 58 minutes a home win never looked in doubt against a side who have now claimed one point from their last 16 games. A Shea Charles wonder goal helped Southampton secure their ninth league win in 12 games with a 2-0 victory over second-bottom Oxford. Cyle Larin was also on target as Southampton extended their unbeaten run to 14 games in all competitions and consolidated their place in the top six. But the manager, Tonda Eckert, insisted no one is getting carried away: “The atmosphere was good in the dressing room, but not too euphoric – and it shouldn’t be. ” Wrexham came from behind to strengthen their playoff hopes with a 2-1 win at Sheffield United. They were second best in the first half and fell behind to an Andre Brooks goal in the 49th minute, but the former Sheffield Wednesday striker Josh Windass soon levelled before Sam Smith headed in a 78th-minute winner. The victory keeps Wrexham level on points with sixth-placed Southampton as they bounced back from Tuesday’s 3-1 loss to Watford. For United, a four-match winless run has left them 13 points from the top six with seven games left to play and any hopes of a playoff push seemingly over. Lincoln continued their surge towards the Championship with a 3-0 victory over relegation-threatened Rotherham as Lee Clark's first game in charge ended in defeat. Michael Skubala's promotion-bound side took the lead in the 18th minute as Reeco Hackett squeezed his strike under Ted Cann before Ben House's deflected effort made it two. Hackett buried a third in first-half stoppage time as Lincoln moved 18 points clear of third place Bolton, who lost at bottom club Port Vale. Vale kept their slim survival chances alive with a battling 1-0 win thanks to George Hall's first-half strike. Second-place Cardiff were held to a 0-0 draw at home by lowly Blackpool. The hosts could have gone 13 points clear of Bolton but failed to break down a disciplined side despite having 25 shots at goal. Oliver Norwood's late equaliser saw Stockport firm up their play-off hopes with a 1-1 draw against Luton at Kenilworth Road. Leyton Orient made it four wins in a row with a 2-0 win over 10-man Wycombe, goals from Demetri Mitchell and Idris El Mizouni making sure of the points after Taylor Allen had been dismissed after only nine minutes. Gary Caldwell's Wigan enjoyed a 2-0 win over Exeter to leapfrog their relegation rivals, while former Barnsley forward Elliot Lee returned to haunt his old side as Doncaster moved five points clear of the drop zone with a 1-0 win. Relegation-battling Burton completed a double over promotion-chasing Bradford as Alex Hartridge and Tyrese Shade goals secured a 2-1 victory for Gary Bowyer's side, but managerless Northampton's survival hopes were dealt another blow as they were beaten 4-1 at Mansfield. Stevenage moved into sixth with a 1-0 win at top-six rivals Reading while Tom Cleverley's in-form Plymouth rallied from a goal down to beat fellow play-off chasers Huddersfield 3-1 and climb to seventh. Jimmy-Jay Morgan's goal helped Peterborough snatch a point in a 1-1 draw away at AFC Wimbledon. PA Media Chris Davies admitted his Birmingham side’s latest setback on the road was “painful” as they were beaten 1-0 by playoff-chasing Derby. The home side were good value for the win against a feeble Birmingham team who never looked like replying to Rhian Brewster’s 43rd-minute header which goalkeeper James Beadle misjudged. Beadle made several good saves in the second half but Birmingham’s performance was summed up by their failure to register a shot at goal until the 65th minute. Davies said: “Very disappointed with the result and performance, we didn’t deserve anything. The strength and personality to really hurt the opposition hasn’t been there and ultimately it’s my responsibility, that’s my job to get that out of the players and put a team on the pitch that can do that. Today was a big, big game for our season and it’s even more painful that we lose the game in such a fashion. ” Patson Daka missed a penalty to dent Leicester’s survival bid in their 0-0 draw against Watford at Vicarage Road. Daka’s 40th-minute spot-kick was brilliantly tipped on to the post by home goalkeeper Egil Selvik. The striker also headed wide of a near open goal in the second half as Leicester failed to climb out of the bottom three. A largely sterile draw did little to improve Watford’s fading playoff hopes and it took Ed Still’s side 70 minutes to manage a shot on target. Norwich moved into the top 10 as Pelle Mattsson’s early goal secured a 1-0 victory at Charlton. Norwich went ahead in the fifth minute at The Valley, the 24-year-old midfielder netting his first goal since he joined from Silkeborg last summer. Ali Ahmed’s pass set up a shooting chance for the Dane on the edge of the penalty area and he sent a right-footed strike through a packed box and beyond Charlton goalkeeper Will Mannion. Paul Smyth, Rayan Kolli and Richard Kone all scored twice as QPR thrashed relegation-threatened Portsmouth 6-1 at Loftus Road. Rangers were three up within half an hour, with Smyth putting them ahead and then netting again after Kolli’s first goal. Nicke Kabamba scored late to earn leaders Bromley a 1-0 win at home to Colchester to stretch their lead at the top to five points. MK Dons in second were beaten 3-1 at home by Barnet while third-place Cambridge are now just two points behind them after a 1-0 victory at home to promotion rivals Salford. Notts County thumped 10-man Cheltenham 5-2 to keep up the pressure on the top three while Swindon's 1-0 win at Tranmere kept them in the hunt for automatic promotion. A 5-0 win for Grimsby at home to bottom-side Barrow helped them stay in the play-off spots, while Chesterfield stayed in the picture with a 1-0 win at Accrington. Struggling Walsall gave their faltering promotion hopes a lift by beating Newport 2-1, Crewe beat Shrewsbury 4-0 and Oldham were 1-0 winners against Harrogate. Bristol Rovers won 2-1 at Gillingham while Fleetwood beat struggling Crawley 1-0. PA Media John Swift gave Portsmouth hope with a goal before the interval, but Kolli scored again in the second half and Kone added a late double, one of them a penalty. Portsmouth are now without a win in six matches – a run which has included five defeats – and are just one place and one point above the drop zone, with the visiting fans chanting “you’re not fit to wear the shirt”. Portsmouth’s manager, John Mousinho, said later that he had had a “positive” discussion with his players after the defeat, and insisted his tactical approach was not the reason for their hammering. “Without giving anything away, because I think what was said needs to be kept in the dressing room, we’ve tried to have a very honest conversation, ” he said. “The main message as we came out of the room was we have to be realistic about where we are and what we’ve done today, but also positive because some of the work we have done and some of the points we’ve picked up means we’re out of the relegation zone with a game in hand. We’ve been very realistic but also positive, and I wanted to get the lads’ opinion as well. I think it’s really important I’m not in there on a monologue and losing the plot about everything that’s gone on. ” Centre-back George Campbell scored a priceless winner as West Brom eased their relegation fears with a deserved 1-0 victory over Bristol City at Ashton Gate. The decisive moment came in the 26th minute when Campbell met Callum Styles’ right-wing corner with a powerful far-post header that crossed the line despite attempts to clear by the home defence. Cheered on by a large contingent of travelling supporters, West Brom defended their lead with few alarms against a City team for whom the end of an ultimately disappointing season cannot come soon enough. On Friday, Alfie Devine scored twice as Preston ended a seven-game winless streak with a 3-1 victory over Stoke at Deepdale. The 21-year-old Tottenham loanee cancelled out a fourth-minute volley from Sorba Thomas with a composed finish in the 15th minute and his second came via a delightful dink for Preston’s third on the hour mark. Milutin Osmajic had earlier headed the home side in front with his eighth goal of a turbulent season.
