Sky Sports selects the best of the bunch from the latest round of Football League fixtures.
Team of the week
Matt Gilks - Blackpool
Nottingham Forest's game against Blackpool may have ended in a 0-0 stalemate but it was far from boring as both goalkeepers performed heroics. Lee Camp impressed for the home side at the City Ground but the star of the show was undoubtedly Gilks, who repelled Forest with a series of superb stops. The best of the bunch came towards the end of the first half as he kept out a Joel Lynch effort before brilliantly denying Dexter Blackstock.
Jamal Lascelles - Stevenage
Stevenage ended a run of seven games without a win in fine style on Saturday as they thumped Yeovil 6-0 away from home. It was a real team effort from Gary Smith's men as they rekindled their play-off hopes, and one man to catch the eye was on-loan Nottingham Forest defender Lascelles. Solid at the back as Stevenage kept a clean sheet and always willing to push forward, the 18-year-old grabbed the fourth goal of the rout.
Kaspars Gorkss - Reading
One of the performances of the weekend came on Friday night as Reading defeated Southampton 3-1 at St Mary's to move closer to securing automatic promotion to the Premier League. Adam Le Fondre's late double sealed the points but a major factor behind their success was the way the defence dealt with Southampton's attacking threat, and Latvia international Gorkss was instrumental in marshalling the troops from his position at centre-back.
Chris Robertson - Preston
Alongside Gorkss at the heart of our back four is Robertson after he helped Preston beat Huddersfield 1-0. Simon Grayson's play-off contenders were not on top of their game but Robertson still needed to be at his commanding best to ensure Preston kept a clean sheet. The 25-year-old Scot's most significant contribution, though, was the winning goal on 54 minutes as he scooped the ball into the roof of the net from Danny Mayor's cross.
Matt Taylor - West Ham
Taylor takes the left-back spot in our Team of the Week after producing a dazzling display in West Ham's 6-0 victory Brighton. The versatile Taylor did not have to concentrate too much on his defensive duties as the Hammers ran riot and was able to show his attacking prowess with a series of eye-catching runs and crosses.
Jimmy Kebe - Reading
Kebe's fine form has been crucial for the Royals in their march towards the Premier League and he was again too hot to handle on Friday night with a couple of assists in the victory over Southampton. First, the winger delivered a superb cross for Jason Roberts to open the scoring, before more good work in the second half allowed Le Fondre to restore Reading's lead after Rickie Lambert had equalised for Saints.
Kalifa Cisse - Bristol City
Adding some steel to the midfield is Cisse of Bristol City, who demonstrated his battling qualities on Saturday as the Robins ground out a crucial point in their battle against relegation by holding Birmingham to a 2-2 draw. Cisse also created his team's second goal by playing in Jon Stead and will be looking to turn in a repeat performance next time out to help Bristol City secure survival.
Liam Lawrence - Cardiff
Barnsley's clash with Cardiff was a largely uninspiring encounter but there was one moment of quality to light up the afternoon as Lawrence cleverly headed home Andrew Taylor's sumptuous left-wing cross. The result extended the Bluebirds' unbeaten run to seven games and consolidated their place in the play-offs, whilst also earning Lawrence a spot in the
Sky Sports Team of the Week.
Ricardo Vaz Te - West Ham
The second West Ham player to figure in our XI is hat-trick hero Vaz Te, who put Brighton to the sword at Upton Park on Saturday. The Portuguese forward started the Hammers' rout with a quickfire brace inside the opening ten minutes, before striking again with a superb scissor kick just after the hour mark to take his tally to five goals in his last two matches.
Eliot Richards - Bristol Rovers
Bristol Rovers were the big winners at the weekend with a 7-1 demolition of Burton at the Memorial Stadium. It was only 1-0 at the interval but the Pirates were irresistible in the second period as Richards inspired a remarkable goal spree. Burton did not help themselves with some kamikaze defending but Richards' finishing was still a joy to behold as he notched a treble.
Luke Freeman - Stevenage
Freeman completes our attacking line-up thanks to his stunning performance against Yeovil at Huish Park. Stevenage's life may have been made easier by the sending-off of Michael Woods in the 33rd minute but Freeman was in no mood to show any mercy as he netted twice and also laid on two assists in the 6-0 away drubbing.
