EFL goals and round-up: Luton, Preston win; Millwall beaten & Norwich held
Luton tighten grip on third spot in the Sky Bet Championship after 3-1 win over managerless Blackpool, while Preston close on top six after late win over Reading. Sheffield Wednesday go top of League One
Monday 10 April 2023 22:09, UK
Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu scored twice as Luton pushed Blackpool closer to relegation with a 3-1 victory, tightening their grip on third.
Andy Lyons had given the Seasiders a shock lead, but after Mpanzu's first goal levelled on the stroke of half-time, Carlton Morris put Luton in front and Mpanzu sealed the points.
The Hatters are now five points behind Sheffield United in second, after they fell to a 2-0 defeat at Burnley. Wes Foderingham saw red early for the Blades, and the already-promoted Clarets took advantage thanks to two second-half goals from Johann Berg Gudmundsson.
Luton are also three points clear of Middlesbrough in fourth after Boro drew 2-2 at Bristol City in the tea-time kick-off.
Faltering Millwall remain in the play-off places but are now without a win in four matches following a 1-0 defeat at Hull.
Ryan Hedges came off the bench to keep Blackburn in sixth and firmly in the play-off hunt with a dramatic late equaliser in an enthralling 2-2 draw away at Huddersfield.
Preston moved to within a whisker of the play-off places as Brad Potts' stoppage-time header secured a 2-1 win against relegation-threatened Reading.
Norwich missed an excellent opportunity to move into the top six as were held to a frustrating goalless draw by Rotherham.
Josh Griffiths' gaffe handed QPR a survival lifeline as West Brom's fading play-off hopes took another hit. Chris Martin charged down the goalkeeper's clearance to score as Rangers came from 2-0 down to salvage a 2-2 draw.
Dennis Cirkin's third goal of the season earned Sunderland a 1-0 win over Cardiff to move them to within four points of the play-off places.
Coventry and Watford played out an entertaining 2-2 draw at the CBS Arena.
Wigan took another step towards an immediate return to League One after going down 2-0 at home to mid-table Swansea thanks to Joel Piroe's first-half double.
Birmingham and Stoke drew 0-0 at St Andrew's.
Sky Bet League One
Sheffield Wednesday put a lean run of form behind them to beat Accrington 3-0 and go top of Sky Bet League One.
The Owls' promotion charge had stalled after six games without a win, but Dennis Adeniran put them ahead at Hillsborough in the 11th minute, volleying home when Stanley failed to clear their lines.
Adeniran doubled his and Wednesday's tally from close range just after the interval before Liam Palmer fired beyond visiting goalkeeper Lukas Jensen in the 72nd minute.
Wednesday capitalised on Plymouth coming unstuck at home against mid-table Lincoln, with Olamide Shodipo's opener and a third goal in two games from Ben House sealing a 2-0 win for the Imps.
Ipswich missed the chance to go top as their eight-match winning streak ended despite going ahead through Conor Chaplin's 22nd goal of the season at Cheltenham, who claimed a 1-1 draw with six minutes left courtesy of Alfie May.
Chem Campbell's early header and a Charlie Savage own goal lifted Wycombe to a 2-0 win over Forest Green, whose hopes of avoiding an immediate return to the fourth tier suffered another setback.
Duncan Ferguson's Rovers need to win their remaining five matches to give themselves any hope of avoiding the drop, but they were spared on Easter Monday after Oxford drew 0-0 at Port Vale, who finished with 10 men as Dennis Politic saw red late on following an incident with Stephan Negru.
Nicky Cadden opened the scoring but was later dismissed while Devante Cole made sure of a 2-1 win for Barnsley against Shrewsbury, who pulled one back through Killian Phillips before Ryan Bowman was sent-off in a fiery encounter.
Jesurun Rak-Sakyi bagged a brace as 10-man Charlton held on to beat Burton 3-2 and Sam Smith's stoppage-time header rescued a potentially priceless point in the fight against relegation for Cambridge, who drew 1-1 at Bolton.
Peterborough ran out 3-1 winners over Exeter, Bristol Rovers came from behind to beat Fleetwood 2-1, MK Dons drew 1-1 at Derby, while Portsmouth's home clash with Morecambe finished goalless.
Sky Bet League Two
Callum Hendry's stoppage-time brace completed a stunning Salford fightback as they won 3-2 at AFC Wimbledon to move into the play-off places.
Kasey McAteer and Ali Al-Hamadi had put the Dons 2-1 ahead, with Conor McAleny levelling in-between, and it seemed like the hosts would come out on top when Hendry saw a 90th-minute penalty saved.
But Hendry scored in the fifth and sixth minutes of time added on to complete a remarkable turnaround and hand Salford a dramatic three points.
League leaders Leyton Orient squandered a two-goal lead as they were held to a 2-2 draw at home by lowly Harrogate.
Ruel Sotiriou struck twice in the opening half but quickfire efforts after the break from Anthony O'Connor and George Thomson levelled proceedings before the hour mark.
The O's are eight points ahead of second-placed Northampton, who edged out Gillingham 2-1 thanks to William Hondermarck's strike eight minutes from time after Louis Appere's opener was cancelled out by substitute Aiden O'Brien.
A first-half brace for Kyle Wootton and efforts from Jack Stretton and Kyle Knoyle after the interval saw Stockport thrash Newport and move up to third, while Nicky Featherstone's goal helped Hartlepool hold Stevenage to a 1-1 draw and move out of the relegation zone.
Bradford stayed in the play-off positions after overcoming Sutton 3-1, while Colchester moved four points clear of the drop zone thanks to a 4-0 drubbing of Crewe.
Crawley slipped into the bottom two after losing by the same scoreline at Barrow, where Josh Gordon bagged a hat-trick.
Rock-bottom Rochdale claimed a 1-1 draw at Mansfield, Grimsby came from behind to beat Doncaster 2-1 with two goals in the last six minutes, Tranmere squeaked past Swindon 1-0 and Carlisle drew a blank in a goalless draw at 10-man Walsall.
