EFL goals and round-up: Sheff Utd tighten grip on second; West Brom win | Football News

Sheffield United maintained their grip on second spot in the Sky Bet Championship after a 1-0 win at Reading.

Iliman Ndiaye’s second-half strike earned the Blades a crucial victory in the race for promotion.

Victory leaves Paul Heckingbottom’s men 10 points behind runaway leaders Burnley and seven above third-placed Middlesbrough.

Reading were dangerous, with Andy Carroll a nuisance, and Tom Ince came the closest for the Royals in the first half.

But Ndiaye linked well with Oli McBurnie on the hour to score against the run of play and seal the points for the visitors.

Daryl Dike maintained West Brom‘s promotion hopes as they beat struggling Wigan 1-0.

The striker scored his sixth goal of the season when he nodded in after Jayson Molumby’s shot had been turned onto the crossbar by Ben Amos.

Wigan goalkeeper Amos also turned a Dike shot onto a post and Jed Wallace and John Swift hit the woodwork for the hosts.

Victory left the Baggies ninth in the Championship and four points adrift of the top six.

Huddersfield climbed off the bottom and above the Latics on goal difference after a 0-0 draw with Bristol City.

Robins boss Nigel Pearson marked his 600th game in management, but could not find a victory to celebrate the milestone with.

The Terriers remain in the bottom three and are six points from safety, with City 13th in the table.

Sky Bet League One

Ryan Hardie’s late penalty kept Plymouth‘s automatic promotion hopes on track as they came from behind to beat Derby 2-1 in their Sky Bet League One clash at Home Park.

Second-placed Argyle fell behind to Nathaniel Mendez-Laing’s opener, but hauled themselves level on the hour mark through Callum Wright.

Hardie’s nerveless spot-kick sealed the win which kept the chasing pack at bay and lifted the home side back level on points with leaders Sheffield Wednesday, while Derby drop to sixth.

Ipswich continued their upward trajectory as they brushed aside Accrington 3-0 at Portman Road.

Kieran McKenna’s in-form side grabbed an early lead through Nathan Broadhead and doubled their advantage just before the hour mark through Kayden Jackson before Kyle Edwards completed the scoring in added time.

It sealed a fourth straight win for the Tractor Boys and a fifth straight clean sheet, keeping them on the coat-tails of the two teams above them.

Barnsley moved up to fourth and stretched their unbeaten run to eight games with a 3-1 win over Portsmouth at Oakwell.

Two goals in three minutes from James Norwood and Nicky Cadden put the hosts well in control before Pompey, who went into the game on the back of three straight wins, reduced the deficit through Colby Bishop.

But Devante Cole fired home on the hour mark to ensure the Tykes leap-frogged Bolton in the table and continued their promising run of form.

Wycombe ended a run of two games without a win as they beat Fleetwood 2-0 at Adams Park.

Chris Forino put the home side in front with just four minutes on the clock and Sam Vokes struck the second after 66 minutes to seal the points.

Strugglers Cambridge and Morecambe shared the points in a 1-1 draw at the Abbey Stadium, Jack Lankester’s opener for the hosts cancelled out by a Cole Stockton header for the Shrimpers just before half-time.

Frankie Kent’s late winner kept Peterborough‘s play-off hopes alive as they edged a 2-1 win at home to Shrewsbury.

Jonson Clarke-Harris put Posh ahead, but Tom Flanagan quickly levelled for the Shrews before Kent’s 87th-minute effort claimed the points.

Lincoln are now unbeaten in 10 but played out their seventh draw after their trip to Cheltenham ended goalless.

Sky Bet League Two

Play-off hopefuls Bradford and Stockport failed to turn up the pressure on the teams around them as they were both held to disappointing goalless draws.

Bradford failed to break the deadlock at Walsall, whose winless league run now stretches to 10 games, while Stockport were held at home by Gillingham.

Relegation-threatened Crawley‘s slump continued as they crashed to their sixth straight defeat in a 3-0 loss at Sutton.

Omar Bugiel struck twice either side of half-time to give the hosts the lead and, after Crawley’s Joel Lynch was sent off for a second yellow card, Lee Angol completed the scoring late on.

Harrogate boosted their survival hopes with two late goals to sink Doncaster 2-0 at the Keepmoat Stadium.

Heading into the game without a win in seven games, the visitors pounced through Luke Armstrong after 81 minutes and a second three minutes from Alex Pattison gave third-bottom Harrogate a much-needed victory.

John McAtee gave Grimsby a first-half lead against Newport, but Priestley Farquharson’s 55th-minute effort salvaged a point for the visitors in a 1-1 at Blundell Park.