League One Results 5th April Part 2

Hartlepool United 2-0 Brighton & Hove Albion
A win for Hartlepool puts them four points above the relegation zone. Brighton too probably should start worrying again as they’re only three points ahead of Hartlepool now.
Andrew Crofts was unable to play for Brighton due to ‘family reasons’. I really hope everything’s okay.

Norwich City 2-1 Stockport County
Norwich remain nine points clear of the top of the table – but that won’t guarantee them promotion. Just ask Leeds United. Stockport probably did rather well to lose to the league leaders by only one goal. Plenty of teams haven’t.
Owain fon Williams was in goal for Stockport.

Southampton 2-1 Leyton Orient
If Southampton win their game in hand, they’ll only be five points from the play-offs. It’s not impossible anymore. Leyton Orient remain in trouble but I don’t think Geraint Williams was the problem. It was their inability to take Nicky Adams on loan again. So it was only Geraint’s fault if he was mean to Nicky and he didn’t want to go back but the impression I got was that Nicky was happy to go but Leicester City said they needed him.
Lloyd James was on the bench for Southampton.

Swindon Town 3-0 Tranmere Rovers
Swindon remain in the second automatic promotion place after a great run of form but whether they finish there or not could depend on whether they manage to beat rivals Millwall in the final game of the season.
Billy Bodin wasn’t on the bench for Swindon but Tranmere’s own teenage Welsh star, Ash Taylor, played the full match.

Walsall 2-1 Wycombe Wanderers
Walsall got another win to help halt their downward spiral, whilst making it even more difficult for Wycombe to get out of trouble – although they could still do it, just as Walsall could still go down.
Rhys Weston was unlucky not to win a penalty for Walsall. Mark Bradley came off the bench after 83 minutes.

Yeovil Town 1-2 Leeds United
Leeds’ automatic promotion hopes remained alive after they got a rare win. Yeovil however are in trouble again.
Gavin Williams returned from his three-match suspension and went straight into Yeovil’s starting line-up, despite fighting with at least six other players for one of the five squad places that can be allocated to loanees. This match wasn’t as eventful as his last match, where he got a goal and an assist before being sent off, but he played well and did get the assist for Yeovil’s goal.
Shaun MacDonald, another Welsh loanee, also played the full match for Yeovil but loanee Arron Davies was again left out. Assistant manager Nathan Jones was on the bench.
Sanchez Watt made an 88-minute appearance from Leeds’ bench. I don’t think Leeds have quite got the hang of giving their young loanees first-team football. They kept leaving Sam Vokes on the bench too when he was on loan from Wolves.

League One Fixtures 5th April Part 2

Hartlepool United v Brighton & Hove Albion
Hartlepool are just two points outside the relegation zone. Brighton were there once but now they’re only three points away from the top half of the table.
Brighton captain Andrew Crofts has been a key figure for Brighton as they’ve pulled away from danger. He really has. Ask the manager if you don’t trust me.

Norwich City v Stockport County
The top side face the bottom side. A home win looks like the only possible result but Norwich have a suspended goalkeeper and will be forced to field a youngster (when I say youngster he’s only six months younger than me but for a goalkeeper, he’s young).
And Stockport’s goalkeeper Owain fon Williams actually isn’t all that bad.
I would love Owain Tudur Jones and Josh Dawkin to get into Norwich’s squad but I don’t think they will, even though both have been doing well in the reserves. I wonder if either of them can play in goal.

Southampton v Leyton Orient
Southampton continue to have a go at getting to the play-offs (Leeds did it with a points deduction but they didn’t get through and still haven’t), while Leyton Orient face life without their Welsh former manager Geraint Williams.
Lloyd James is likely to be in Southampton’s squad but if it’s true he’s going to need an operation, he probably won’t start. But he still seems to get picked ahead of Anthony Pulis.

Swindon Town v Tranmere Rovers
Swindon are in second place but need a win to ensure they stay there. They face Tranmere, who are fighting for the lives, as the saying goes. And they’re currently winning the battle.
Billy Bodin was probably only on Swindon’s bench recently to cover injuries but I’m sure it won’t be the last time he’s in the squad.
Tranmere also have a young Welshman in their ranks: Ash Taylor has been one of their best players this season.

Walsall v Wycombe Wanderers
Wycombe look like they’re down and there’s still a small chance Walsall could join them.
Rhys Weston will probably start for Walsall with Mark Bradley on the bench.

League One Fixtures 27th March Part 1

Brentford v Leyton Orient
Brentford are looking fairly solid in mid-table but Leyton Orient are in trouble again after a string of bad results.
Lewis Price will probably be on the bench for Brentford but Orient manager Geraint Williams was unable to re-sign Nicky Adams on loan from Leicester City.

Brighton & Hove Albion v Tranmere Rovers
Brighton are seven points clear of the relegation zone but Tranmere are safe by just one point.
Andrew Crofts is likely to play for Brighton and Tranmere will be glad to have Ash Taylor back from injury. Ash thinks Tranmere will be safe once they get to 50 points. It’s not going to happen tomorrow, Tranmere have 39 points.

Bristol Rovers v Southend United
Bristol Rovers have a habit of beating the big clubs and losing to the struggling ones, which would be a big help for Southend United.
Byron Anthony returned from injury to play for Bristol Rovers last weekend and is likely to play again if he’s still okay. Ben Swallow will be on the bench (and going on recent weeks, he might well stay on it)| but David Pipe is unlikely to be in the squad at all.
Southend’s former loanee Sanchez Watt from Arsenal has joined Leeds United.

Colchester United v Wycombe Wanderers
Colchester United are just about hanging onto their position in the play-offs but they’ll need to beat Wycombe to be sure of staying there.
Lee Beevers is still out for Colchester but Thomas Bender was on the bench last time and could be there again.

Championship Fixtures 24th March

Cardiff City v Sheffield United
Sheffield United are the team closest to Cardiff in terms of points but they have played one game more – and this obviously won’t change when they play each other.
Joe Ledley, shockingly, is already back in training for Cardiff after having two hip operations and could be back in the team in three weeks’ time. Darcy Blake deserves to keep his place in the starting line-up, while Adam Matthews and Aaron Wildig should also be in the squad.
Ched Evans isn’t be ready to return from a collarbone injury for Sheffield United.

Leicester City v Reading
Leicester were brilliant in the first half of Sunday’s match against Coventry but this time, if they get a two-goal lead, they’ll be wanting to hang onto it but they’ll stay in the play-off places. Reading might even have a bit of a play-off run going themselves.
Andy King will keep his place in the side after two brilliant goals for Leicester against Coventry but Nicky Adams just hasn’t been able to get into the team. The rumour is Geraint Williams is interested in bringing him back for a second loan spell at Leyton Orient.
Simon Church is probably going to be on the bench for Reading. He does well when he’s picked but the other strikers won’t stop scoring.

West Bromwich Albion v Coventry City
WBA face the team who fought back from 2-0 down to get a point at the weekend. West Brom’s own promotion hopes look very good but Coventry could be going up with them through the play-offs.
Freddy Eastwood will most likely be on the bench for Coventry.

League One Results 13th February Part 1

Brentford 1-1 Wycombe Wanderers
Lewis Price was again left out of Brentford’s squad as his loan side only got a point against Wycombe.

Brighton & Hove Albion 1-2 Norwich City
Andrew Crofts’ Brighton were 1-0 up with ten minutes to go and looked like they could get a shock win. But it wasn’t to be. Norwich, who had Josh Dawkin on the bench, scored two late goals and Brighton were back in the relegation zone, if only on goal difference with a game in hand over their nearest rivals.

Carlisle United 5-0 Milton Keynes Dons
Yes, I did get that one the right way around. MK Dons, who were without the suspended Jermaine Easter, had a bit of a nightmare against a club that not too long ago were looking like relegation candidates.

Leyton Orient 1-1 Leeds United
Nicky Adams was again impressive for Orient, grabbing the assist as his team took the lead in the 83rd minute. But then Leeds got a cruel equaliser in the fifth minute of stoppage time. The bad news for Orient is that Nicky’s loan spell is now over and he has been recalled by parents club Leicester. Orient manager Geraint Williams is understandably very disappointed to lose him.

Millwall 1-0 Exeter City
Andy Marriott gave an outstanding performance in goal for Exeter City. Without Andy’s inspired performance, Millwall would have won by a lot more than 1-0. Richard Duffy and Rob Edwards also played for Exeter. Stuart Fleetwood coming off the bench just after the hour mark and such was his impact that some Exeter fans named him as their Man of the Match.

League One Fixtures 16th January Part 2

Leyton Orient v Bristol Rovers
Leyton Orient’s Welsh manager Geraint Williams has signed Nicky Adams on loan from Leicester and is expected to start. Rovers’ Byron Anthony is said to have a chance of playing in defence as Pat Baldwin’s move from Colchester has been delayed. Unfortunately, going on previous games, Byron perhaps shouldn’t hold his breath. Ben Swallow, who has just signed a new contract with Bristol Rovers, could also get a start after doing well recently but with so long since their last game, it wouldn’t surprise me if some of Bristol Rovers’ injured players have gone and got better.

Millwall v Southampton
Jason Price will be hoping to play after missing out against Derby in the FA Cup. Lloyd James has continued his good form for Southampton and certainly doesn’t deserve to be dropped. Anthony Pulis has returned from his loan from Lincoln but he has been injured recently so he might not be ready to play.

Walsall v Brighton & Hove Albion
Brighton captain Andrew Crofts might be happy to be playing Walsall as they haven’t played for a month. But Rhys Weston (who has recovered from a calf problem) says he, Mark Bradley and the rest of Walsall’s squad have been training very, very hard. Craig Davies won't play for Brighton as he has gone on loan to Port Vale.

Wycombe Wanderers v Charlton Athletic
Following their draw against giant-killers Leeds, Wycombe will be hoping to do at least as well against Grant Basey’s Charlton.