📈 EFL Review: Leicester march towards PL; perfect Posh; Wrexham impress | OneFootball

The Football League served up its usual helping of brilliant goals and astonishing late drama this weekend.

Here are our highlights.

Championship

Moment of the weekend

It’s been a brilliant start to the New Year for Leicester.

The Foxes dropped just one point in the four games over Christmas, scoring 10 goals and extending their lead at the top of the table to 10 points.

New Year’s Day was a particular boon to the King Power club as they beat Huddersfield 4-1 and saw second-placed Ipswich draw 0-0 at Stoke.

It really is only a matter of time before Enzo Maresca’s side confirm their place back in the Premier League.

Notable mentions: Sheffield Wednesday beat play off-chasing Hull; Birmingham lose yet again; Plymouth and Watford in six-goal thriller

Player of the weekend

Patrick Bamford was delighted to see the back of 2023.

Back in May Leeds were relegated from the Premier League with the striker an almost near presence on the bench.

Injury then saw the towering striker miss a large part of the start of this campaign with Bamford not starting in the XI until this weekend.

Just half an hour into his first start though, Bamford got the goal that saw the Yorkshire side beat Birmingham City 3-0 – a result which ultimately cost Blues boss Wayne Rooney his job.

Notable mentions: Jack Clarke (Sunderland); Finn Isaac Azaz (Plymouth); Marvin Johnson (Sheffield Wednesday)

League One

Moment of the weekend

Derby hosted Peterborough on New Year’s Day in what was one of the most-anticipated games of the season so far.

Both sides came into the clash at Pride Park unbeaten in five looking to maintain their automatic promotion pushes.

And it didn’t take long for the game to burst into life with James Collins scoring for Derby after 30 seconds and Harrison Burrows then equalising a few moments later.

This match ebbed and flowed before Ricky-Jade Jones netted in injury time to hand Posh a 3-2 win.

Peterborough are now up into third whilst Derby are in fourth place, level on points with Oxford.

Notable mentions: Pompey stay top with Stevenage win; Reading get must needed win; 10-man Wycombe beat Bristol Rovers

Player of the weekend

And speaking of Oxford.

After a demoralising 3-2 defeat to Derby on Saturday, the Yellows knew they had to pull something out of the bag when they travelled to Charlton.

And they did thanks to Oisin Smith and his wonder strike with seven minutes of normal time remaining.

Picking the ball up near the halfway line, the defender burst forward with the ball and rifled an effort into the top corner from 35 yards.

It means Des Buckingham’s side won 2-1 at The Valley and stayed in the play off places.

Notable mentions: Colby Bishop (Portsmouth); James Collins (Derby); Harvey Nibbs (Reading)

League Two

Moment of the weekend

Stockport hadn’t lost at home in the league since the opening day of the season but 2024 started with a second defeat as Mansfield downed the League Two leaders.

Second half goals from George Maris and KD Davis saw the Stags claim the biggest scalp of their campaign so far as they stayed in second place.

It was a brilliant performance from Nigel Clough’s side and means that the Stags are now on the longest unbeaten run of any side in the fourth tier.

Notable mentions: Tranmere put four past Notts County; Walsall net six; Forest Green get vital point

Player of the weekend

It took Steven Fletcher 400 league appearances but finally the Wrexham striker did it – he scored a hat-trick in English football.

Paul Mullin is usually the forward that gets the headlines for the Welsh side but this weekend it was the former Scotland international who bagged the plaudits.

Fletcher helped Wrexham beat fourth-place Barrow 4-1 on New Year’s Day closing the gap to League Two leaders Stockport to two points.

Notable mentions: Connor Jennings (Tranmere); Isaac Hutchinson (Walsall); Joe Ironside (Doncaster)