Saturday Afternoon Round-Up

The Premiership:

Harry Redknapp's Spurs earned a hard-fought away win at The Brittania Stadium after Niko Kranjcar's late goal seized the initative in the race for fourth. The north London side will have been buoyed by their 2-1 victory following a 2-2 draw in the early kick off for Aston Villa in an entertaining derby match with Midlands rivals Wolves. Villa boss Martin O' Neil will have been frustrated by his side's inability to overcome Wolves, and it took a late, and questionably offside equaliser from John Carew to secure a point for the Champions League chasing side. Elsewhere in the race for fourth spot, Everton did their prospects no harm with a professional 2-0 win over relegation-threatened Bolton at Goodison Park. Everton took the lead on 72 minutes shortly after the dismissal of the away side's Gretar Steinsson. The red card seemed to change the game, with Everton having being frustrated by the visitors to that point.

In this season's tense relegation scrap both Burnley and Hull conceded at the death to succumb to defeat. Iain Dowie's first game in charge of strugglers Hull seemed set to end in a priceless away win, until late goals from Jamie O' Hara and Nwankwo Kanu in the final two minutes snatched a 3-2 win for the doomed south coast team. Meanwhile, Hugo Rodallega's last minute goal over Brian Laws' Burnley will be considered by many as the goal that consigns Burnley to relegation in a heart-breaking 1-0 defeat.

At The Stadium of Light a goalkeeping masterclass from Sunderland stopper Craig Gordon saw the Black Cats safely through to a 3-1 win over stuttering Birmingham. Two early goals from Darren Bent saw the home side make an imperious start to the match, before Cameron Jerome pulled a goal back on 60 minutes to set up a tense finale. But Frazer Campbell's 88th minute goal settled the tie and brought Steve Bruce's side a welcome win over his former club to take Sunderland away from the relegation pack.


The Championship:

With Newcastle not due to kick off until 17:20, West Brom had an opportunity to close the gap at the top to just one point with a home game against Preston. The Baggies took their chance in a lively 3-2 victory, with all the goals coming in the first half. Having taken a 2-0 lead through goals from Ben Watson and Chris Brunt in the 7th and 9th minute, Preston defender Sean St. Ledger pulled one back for the visitors. Greame Dorrans restored a two-goal cushion for Roberto Di Matteo's side before Neil Mellor pulled another goal back for Preston on the stroke of half time. And 3-2 it stayed to take the automatic promotion chasing Baggies within a point of rivals Newcastle who would face Bristol City later on.

Robert Earnshaw's early goal proved to be the decider for Billy Davies' Nottingham Forest as they secured their 11th home win on the bounce over struggling Peterborough. The result leaves Forest 8 points behind automatic promotion with only 8 games remaining, which will surely prove to be insurmountable with Forest's patchy away form.

Playoff hopefuls Doncaster and Sheffield United played out a 1-1 draw at The Keepmoat Stadium, where it took a late James Harper equaliser to bring The Blades back on level terms. Meanwhile, playoff outsiders Middlesbrough and Reading also finished 1-1, as Blackpool needed a late Ben Burgess equaliser to share the spoils in a 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace. The result leaves the league table looking ominous for Palace, as they drop into the relegation zone.

Elsewhere in the relegation battle, there were valuable home wins for both Ipswich and Scunthorpe. The 1-0 win for Roy Keane's side over Barnsley takes them 8 points clear of the meleé, and they can surely regard themselves as nearly home and dry. Scunthorpe secured a massive win over fellow strugglers Plymouth Argyle to lift themselves out of the relegatio zone and leave Plymouth 6 points off safety with a 65 minute Martyn Woolford winner in a 2-1 victory. And Scunthorpe's win left steel city club Sheffield Wednesday looking nervously over their shoulders with just a point separating them and the drop zone following a 0-0 stalemate at home against Derby County.

League One:

There was frustration in the race for automatic promotion as both Charlton and Norwich dropped points. Norwich still hold an 8 point lead at the top, with Leeds due to play their game in hand on Monday night with Millwall. But it could have been a 10 point gap, had it not been for a late Gorden Greer equaliser for the home side as playoff-chasing Swindon Town secured a 1-1 draw. Meanwhile a battling away performance from Gillingham saw them gain a point in a 2-2 draw against local rivals Charlton. The result leaves Charlton 4 points behind second-placed Leeds United, and Swindon move level on 67 points as they make a late bid for automatic promotion.

In the race for the playoffs, Colchester succumbed to a poor 1-0 away defeat to 10-man Walsall, courtesy of a dramatic 94th minute winner from Darren Byfield. Colchester's loss was Huddersfield's gain as they strolled to a comfortable 2-0 away win at Leyton Orient's Brisbane Road. And in the outisde pack, Bristol Rovers' 3-0 away win at Yeovil saw them move to within a point of MK Dons, who were heavily beaten 3-0 at home by rank outsiders for the playoffs, Southampton.

Meanwhile, in the tight relegation scrap there were draws for three of the four sides in the drop zone. Stockport County were defeated 1-0 at home to Brentford in a result which sounded the death-knell on their season. Wycombe and Exeter played out a 2-2 draw with a point bringing Exeter within a point of safety but leaving The Chairboys in real peril 7 points from survival. Southend also played out a 2-2 draw at Roots Hall against Carlisle. And in a tie between two sides not yet safe from relegation, Brighton enjoyed a 2-0 away win over Oldham to take them up into 14th spot, but still only 7 points away from the drop zone.

League Two:

Two late goals for Rochdale secured a 4-2 away win for champions elect away at Accrington. Both sides were reduced to 10-men after 74 minutes, after which Rochdale scored two late goals to take them 11 points clear at the top of the table. Notts County underlined their automatic promotion credentials with a battling 1-0 away win at Crewe Alexandra as Bournemouth's hopes were dealt a blow after they conceded a late goal away at Grimsby's Blundell Park to lose 3-2. The result was a massive one for The Mariners, bringing them back to 4 points off survival.

Rotherham applied further pressure to Bournemouth with a 1-0 victory over Bury, which saw the away side slip further down the table and away from the automatic promotion spot. And Chesterfield were left to settle for an away point at mid-table Burton Albion in a 2-2 draw between two sides who had both conceded 5 the previous Saturday; whilst Chesterfield having been hammered 5-0, Burton remarkably lost 6-5 at home to Cheltenham.

Results from the playoff hopefuls saw Northampton take a comfortable 3 points from fellow playoff contenders Morecambe in a 2-0 win at Sixfields as Aldershot enjoyed the same scoreline in a home win over Shrewsbury Town. Dagenham & Redbridge came from behind to secure a 3-1 home win over Macclesfield which leaves Macclesfield yet to be sure of League 2 survival.

At the foot of the table, Grimsby's 3-2 win over Bournemouth moves them to within 4 points of safety as a 2-1 home defeat for Darlington against Barnet all but confirmed their relegation as The Bees moved 10 points clear of the relegation zone. A 2-0 win for Hereford over Bradford meant they remained level with Barnet on points, also 10 points clear of the drop zone. The 1-1 stalemate between Cheltenham and Port Vale will leave The Robins nervously watching the progress of Grimsby Town behind them.