📈 EFL Review: Wednesday win again; Stoke on the rise; County champions | 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

Whilst most people have rightly been focusing on the top of the Championship and the race for promotion, the relegation scrap has also been one for the ages this season.

Sheffield Wednesday were rock bottom of the Championship when former Bayern Munich coach Danny Röhl joined in late October.

The German tactician though, has produced arguably the coaching job of the campaign with the Hillsborough outfit now just one point from safety with two games to go.

Wednesday beat fellow relegation rivals Blackburn this weekend with the Yorkshire side producing one of their very best performances in a 3-1 win at Ewood Park.

Notable mentions: Cardiff shock Southampton; Leicester edge West Brom as promotion nears; QPR claim much-needed win

Player of the weekend

There haven’t been many occasions for Stoke fans to cheer over the season but this weekend was one of the best wins the Potteries have seen in a long time.

Needing a win against Plymouth to go three points clear of relegation, Stoke steamrollered the Devon outfit with a brilliant 3-0 victory.

South Korean youngster Jun-ho Bae was the star of the show however, thrilling with his pace and trickery down the left-hand side.

The future is bright for this superb 20-year-old.

Notable mentions: Cian Ashford (Cardiff); Jamal Lowe (Swansea); Jamie Vardy (Leicester)

League One

Moment of the weekend

This was the weekend that Lincoln peaked at just the right moment and made their late charge for a place in the League One play-offs.

The Imps started 2024 in 12th, a full 12 points behind sixth-place Barnsley, having won just eight of their 24 games up to that point.

Since then, Lincoln have lost just one game in the calendar year and finally went into the top six on Saturday as they beat Cheltenham 2-1.

With Oxford having only drawn with Stevenage on Friday evening, Michael Skubala’s side leap-frogged the Yellows on goal difference.

Lincoln now host champions Portsmouth on the final day whilst Oxford travel to Exeter.

Notable mentions: Burton win Reading thriller; Wigan shock Pompey; Blackpool beat Barnsley in thriller

Player of the weekend

It’s fair to say that Karamoko Dembélé’s loan to Blackpool has been an unqualified success.

Joining from high-flying Brest, the former Celtic youth star has taken to life in League One like a duck to water.

With seven goals so far, Dembélé has helped the Bloomfield Road side climb up the table in these final few weeks.

But this past weekend it was his ability to lay in others that secured victory for Blackpool.

The 21-year-old was exceptional against play-off rivals Barnsley as he provided two assists in a 3-2 win.

Blackpool go to Reading on the final matchday, one point back from Lincoln and Oxford.

Notable mentions: Garath McCleary (Wycombe); Nathaniel Mendez-Laing (Derby); Lewis Wing (Reading)

League Two

Moment of the weekend

It seems most weeks recently we’ve been writing about Doncaster and their remarkable late rise up the League Two table.

But once again Donny have won and are now level on points with Crawley in the last remaining play-off place ahead of the final round of games.

It’s hard to overestimate just what an achievement this is for Rovers with Grant McCann’s side in 20th place at the turn of the year and having won just five times in their first 23 games.

But since the start of 2024, Doncaster have the second-best record in the division, claiming 39 points in 20 matches.

This past weekend saw them beat Barrow 4-2 with the final round of matches coming next week.

Doncaster have a game in hand against Colchester and Tuesday, but if they lose that, must better Crawley’s result next time out to finish in the play-offs.

Notable mentions: Forest Green claim rare win; Salford leave it late for Newport victory; MK Dons smash five.

Player of the weekend

Stockport could have quite easily taken their foot off the gas this weekend having already confirmed their status as League Two champions last time out.

But the Edgeley Park outfit comprehensively beat Accrington Stanley 4-2 thanks to a pair of goals from striker Kyle Wootton.

It was a thrilling day all round for the Lancashire side as they lifted the trophy in front of their own fans with a game to spare.

Five goals next weekend against Wrexham – however unlikely – means they will hit the magic 100 for the campaign.

Notable mentions: Ollie Palmer (Wrexham); Abraham Odoh (Harrogate); Isaac Hutchinson (Walsall)