EFL weekend action: the key headlines

It was another weekend of exciting action across the EFL’s three divisions, with plenty of big results recorded on Friday night and Saturday afternoon.

Ahead of kick-off at each match, Clubs held a two-minute silence in memory of HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, with players also wearing black armbands as a mark of respect. 

Below, we’ve picked out some of the key results…

Bees breeze past Preston to regain third spot

Brentford got back to winning ways in style on Saturday afternoon, putting five goals past Preston North End at Deepdale. Swansea City had temporarily moved into third after beating Millwall 3-0 in the early kick-off – a result which extended Norwich’s wait for automatic promotion – and Brentford responded with a big victory of their own. Ivan Toney was again among the scorers, moving onto 29 league goals for the season.

Dike strikes again as Barnsley boost their Play-Off hopes

Daryl Dike scored his fifth goal in as many matches to help Barnsley to a crucial 2-0 win over Middlesbrough on Saturday, after his team-mate and reigning Player of the Month, Alex Mowatt, broke the deadlock direct from a corner. Dike now has eight goals for the Tykes since joining on loan from Orlando City in January, with Valerien Ismael’s men now sitting five points clear of seventh-placed Reading.

Blues secure a big win in their battle to beat the drop

Lukas Jutkiewicz scored twice as Birmingham City saw off Stoke City, earning his side three points which edged them further clear of the relegation places. The striker found the net either side of half-time to ensure that Lee Bowyer’s men were the only side in the bottom 10 to record a victory on Saturday, meaning they are now nine points clear of 22nd-placed Rotherham United. 

U’s hit Crewe for six to ignite their Play-Off push

Oxford United equalled their record away win by beating Crewe Alexandra 6-0 on Saturday afternoon, in a victory that featured six different goalscorers. Karl Robinson’s side scored three times inside 10 minutes before the interval to post a commanding half-time lead and didn’t look back, claiming a big win to move to within four points of sixth-placed Lincoln City, who drew 2-2 at home to in-form Blackpool.

Five-star AFC Wimbledon move out of the drop zone

AFC Wimbledon recorded their biggest victory of the season, beating Accrington Stanley 5-1 away from home, to move a point clear of the bottom four. It looked set to be a difficult afternoon when the visitors fell behind early on, but they fought back superbly to go in 3-1 ahead at the break, and scored two further goals in the second half to claim three vital points. The only negative was a late red card for Ben Heneghan, but the result will give them plenty of confidence for the run-in.

Wigan produce a big away display to boost survival hopes

With goals and away wins the common theme across Saturday’s League One matches, Wigan Athletic also had an afternoon to remember on their travels, running out 4-1 winners over Doncaster Rovers. Joe Dodoo set the tone for the important victory with a fine finish after just three minutes and, by just after the half-hour mark, they had raced into a three-goal lead. The result leaves them a point and a place below AFC Wimbledon.

Bolton battle back to move back into the top three

Ian Evatt’s Bolton Wanderers came from behind against Harrogate Town to record a 2-1 win that moved them back into the automatic promotion places in League Two. Eoin Doyle’s 78th-minute winner was his 17th league goal of the campaign, and left the visitors without a win in six matches. Bolton are two points ahead of fourth-placed Tranmere Rovers and five off new leaders Cheltenham Town.

Exeter close the gap and knock Cambridge off the top

Exeter City moved to within a point of the Play-Off places with an impressive 4-1 win at Cambridge United, a result which knocked their opponents off the top of the table as a result. It took just a matter of minutes for the visitors to open the scoring through Ryan Bowman, and they doubled their lead after a quarter of an hour, going in 2-0 in front at half-time. Despite a Cambridge goal early in the second half, Exeter found two more goals of their own to close in on seventh-placed Newport County.

Smith’s goal earns Vale a sixth straight win

Port Vale’s winning run continued on Saturday with a 1-0 victory over Morecambe, marking a sixth consecutive league win for the first time since March 1996. Despite a lengthy delay due to snow, Nathan Smith headed home Tom Conlon’s inch-perfect free-kick and it proved decisive against the promotion-chasing Shrimps. Vale are now 13th, and eight points off a Play-Off place themselves.