EFL goals, round-up: Leicester win, Rooney off mark, Wrexham & Bolton hit six & seven
Championship: Leicester back to winning ways as Jamie Vardy scores twice in win over Watford | Rampant Bolton thump seven past Exeter in League One | Ruthless Wrexham net six against Morecambe in League Two.
Saturday 25 November 2023 19:28, UK
Wayne Rooney registered his first win as Birmingham boss at the sixth attempt thanks to a 2-1 comeback victory over bottom club Sheffield Wednesday in the Sky Bet Championship.
George Byers' goal put the struggling Owls on course for only a second success of the season but the lead was quickly wiped out by Juninho Bacuna.
Substitute Jordan James grabbed the 81st-minute winner at St Andrew's, to the relief of former England captain Rooney, who managed just a single point from his opening five fixtures.
Wednesday's 13th defeat of a miserable campaign leaves them 10 points from safety.
Jamie Vardy scored twice as leaders Leicester returned to winning ways by beating Watford 2-0.
Substitute Vardy broke the deadlock in the 76th minute and then added a second from the penalty spot deep into added time after being brought down by Hornets goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann, who was sent off for a second yellow card.
The veteran Foxes striker also missed an open goal from four yards as the hosts bounced back from 1-0 defeats to Leeds and Middlesbrough.
Fourth-placed Southampton had to settle for a 1-1 draw at lowly Huddersfield.
Ben Jackson salvaged a point for the Terriers with an 87th-minute equaliser after Adam Armstrong opened the scoring with his 10th goal this term.
West Brom moved up to fifth as they beat second-placed Ipswich 2-0 in the late kick-off. Darnell Furlong and Grady Diangana sealed the win for the Baggies at The Hawthorns.
Ipswich remain seven points clear of Leeds, who could only draw 1-1 at Rotherham on Friday night.
In a dramatic late twist at Deepdale, Karlan Grant and Ike Ugbo each scored in stoppage time as Cardiff snatched a 2-1 victory over 10-man Preston.
Ugbo struck the winner nine minutes beyond the 90, three minutes after Grant cancelled out Milutin Osmajic's opener. North End had Robbie Brady sent off shortly after taking the lead.
Mark Sykes' strike earned Bristol City a 3-2 success over Middlesbrough in Liam Manning's first home game as head coach while Sammie Szmodics' 11th goal of the season helped Blackburn to a 3-0 victory at Stoke.
Elsewhere, Plymouth beat Sunderland 2-0, Swansea and Hull drew 2-2 and Coventry triumphed 3-0 at Millwall to register a first victory in seven outings.
Second-bottom QPR's winless run was stretched to 12 matches by a 1-0 loss at Norwich.
Sky Bet League One
Bolton hammered struggling Exeter 7-0 to move top of Sky Bet League One.
Jack Iredale and Victor Adeboyejo put Wanderers two goals ahead at the break before Paris Maghoma struck and Dion Charles bagged a brace.
A dominant afternoon was completed with late goals from Kyle Dempsey and Daniel Nlundulu as Bolton took over top spot from Portsmouth, who were beaten by 4-0 by Blackpool.
Owen Dale put the visitors ahead nine minutes in before Jake Beesley doubled the lead and Pompey's afternoon soured further when Joe Morrell was shown a second yellow card in the 63rd minute.
The Tangerines took advantage as CJ Hamilton and Albie Morgan extended their lead.
Peterborough also posted four goals to beat Burton 4-0.
Joel Randall and Ephron Mason-Clark put Posh in control Cole Stockton's 61st-minute own goal and Kwame Poku's strike five minutes wrapped up an emphatic win.
Oxford fell away from the top after being beaten 2-0 by second-bottom Cheltenham, going behind to Robert Street's first-half goal.
The Robins faced an uphill battle when the goalscorer saw red just before the break, but Oxford were also reduced to 10 men as Ruben Rodrigues was shown a second yellow card and Will Goodwin then sealed victory.
Oxford are level on points with Stevenage, both one point off the automatic promotion places, after Jamie Reid, Ben Thompson and Elliott List scored for Boro in a 3-0 win over Fleetwood.
Timothy Eyoma scored a late equaliser as Lincoln drew 2-2 with Barnsley, while Nathaniel Mendez-Laing's 90th-minute strike earned Derby a 2-1 win against Bristol Rovers.
Bottom-of-the-table Reading earned their first league victory since September by beating Wycombe 2-1.
Sam Smith's opener was quickly cancelled out by Killian Phillips, but Lewis Wing restored Reading's lead with what proved to be the winner.
Leyton Orient and Wigan drew 1-1, as did Carlisle and Charlton. Shrewsbury beat Port Vale 2-1.
Sky Bet League Two
Paul Mullin's hat-trick boosted Wrexham's promotion push as they handed managerless Morecambe a 6-0 drubbing.
The tone for Morecambe's afternoon was set when Joel Senior turned the ball into his own net and Mullin struck two minutes later before Jacob Mendy extended the lead before the break.
Mullin added two more within 10 minutes of each other in the second half before James Jones scored deep into stoppage time to pile on the misery for the Shrimps.
Victory lifted Wrexham up to second, five points behind leaders Stockport, who fell to a shock 2-1 loss to Newport.
Bryn Morris gave Newport the lead on the stroke of half-time and Shane McLoughlin added a second, Isaac Olaofe scoring a consolation for the visitors six minutes into added time.
Jake Young ended Mansfield's unbeaten run with a late strike to earn Swindon a 2-1 win.
Young fired Swindon ahead and then, after Lucas Akins had equalised, struck again at the death to steal the three points.
Notts County dropped to sixth after an incredible finale saw Wimbledon snatch a 4-2 victory.
County, who trailed 2-0 at the break, hit back to make it 2-2, only for Jake Reeves' spot-kick in the 86th minute to restore the Dons' lead before Ali Al Hamadi wrapped up the victory in stoppage time.
Another six-goal thriller saw MK Dons stage an impressive second-half comeback to beat Salford 4-2.
Despite taking the lead through Max Dean, the Dons fell behind to goals from Kelly N'Mai and Ryan Watson, but Joseph Tomlinson's double put the Dons back in front before Ellis Harrison sealed victory.
Elsewhere, Bradford beat Accrington 1-0 and Barrow won comprehensively 4-1 at Colchester.
Crawley beat Horrgate 2-1, and Crewe snatched a 3-2 win over Doncaster.
Grimsby and Sutton drew 1-1, Tranmere beat Gillingham 3-1 and Walsall and Forest Green drew 0-0.
