A LATE GOAL from defender Anel Ahmedhodzic saw Sheffield United move to the top of the Championship as they picked up their fourth-successive victory when beating bottom-of-the-table Luton 1-0 at Kenilworth Road.
The struggling Hatters had looked by far the better side in the first half, but the Blades eventually broke through with a 79th minute goal.
They now leapfrog Leeds – who were not in action – and reach the summit of the English second tier.
Earlier, Yousef Salech struck a 90th-minute Severnside derby equaliser to earn relegation-threatened Cardiff a 1-1 Sky Bet Championship draw against play-off hopefuls Bristol City.
Salech slid home fellow substitute Cian Ashford’s cross with his third goal in seven games since joining from Swedish club Sirius last month.
Republic of Ireland midfielder Jason Knight had put the Robins in front on the hour-mark by heading home Yu Hirakawa’s free-kick for his third goal of the season.
Wales captain Aaron Ramsey was sent on for his first taste of Championship action since 31 August after a long-term hamstring problem, and late Bluebirds’ pressure was rewarded with Salech’s increasingly influential scoring habit.
Another Irish player was also on target in the Championship this afternoon, with Mark O’Mahony scoring on his rerturn from injury.
Advertisement
Second-half goals from Andre Dozzell and O’Mahony earned Portsmouth a 2-0 victory at Oxford, inflicting a first home defeat on Gary Rowett since he took charge at the Kassam Stadium.
This was only Pompey’s second away win of the season in the Sky Bet Championship and ended a sorry run of seven straight defeats on the road.
The game was suspended for 30 minutes in the first half because of a medical emergency in the crowd.
And the visitors took control early in the second, Dozzell tapping home Rob Atkinson’s low cross from just two yards in the 47th minute after Oxford failed to clear a corner.
The hosts missed two good chances to equalise from close-range headers before Portsmouth sealed victory in the sixth minute of stoppage time.
Terry Devlin’s header put O’Mahony through and the Cork 20-year-old finished clinically, shooting low past Jamie Cumming.
Elsewhere in the English second-tier, Burnley made it 11 clean sheets in-a-row but were left frustrated as they drew 0-0 away at local rivals Preston.
The promotion-chasing visitors missed a series of good chances with Lyle Foster culpable for wasting two of the clearer openings.
The Clarets have now had 11 scoreless draws in the league this season while Preston continue their remarkable run of having lost just once at Deepdale in the Championship since Paul Heckingbottom’s arrival in August.
Elsewhere in the division, Blackburn beat Plymouth Argyle 2-0, Middlesborough defeated Watford 1-0, Coventry were 2-1 winners at Sheffield Wednesday, and Stoke City overcame Swansea City on a 3-1 scoreline. Hull City and Norwich City, and Millwall and West Bromwich, drew 1-1.
There were Irish goalscorers in League One too, with James Collins and Cian Hayes on the sheet.
Collins scored for new club Lincoln City as they fell to a 3-2 defeat at Leyton Orient, while Ireland underage international Hayes hit Peterborough’s equaliser in a 1-1 draw away to Stevenage.
Further afield, Ireland striker Amber Barrett was also on target this afternoon bagging a brace as Standard Liège beat Oud-Heverlee Leuven 4-1 in the Belgian Women’s Cup semi-final.
Barrett scored twice in the first half, continuing her fine form ahead of Ireland’s upcoming Nations League double-header against Türkiye and Slovenia.
The Donegal forward will arrive into Carla Ward’s first camp tomorrow full of confidence.
Her Standard Liège side face the winners of tonight’s other semi-final between Genk and Anderlecht in the decider.
- Additional reporting from Emma Duffy and Sinéad Farrell
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Close
Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
here
before taking part.
Ireland's Knight and O'Mahony on target in Championship, Barrett fires Belgian side into cup final
LAST UPDATE | 15 Feb 2025
A LATE GOAL from defender Anel Ahmedhodzic saw Sheffield United move to the top of the Championship as they picked up their fourth-successive victory when beating bottom-of-the-table Luton 1-0 at Kenilworth Road.
The struggling Hatters had looked by far the better side in the first half, but the Blades eventually broke through with a 79th minute goal.
They now leapfrog Leeds – who were not in action – and reach the summit of the English second tier.
Earlier, Yousef Salech struck a 90th-minute Severnside derby equaliser to earn relegation-threatened Cardiff a 1-1 Sky Bet Championship draw against play-off hopefuls Bristol City.
Salech slid home fellow substitute Cian Ashford’s cross with his third goal in seven games since joining from Swedish club Sirius last month.
Republic of Ireland midfielder Jason Knight had put the Robins in front on the hour-mark by heading home Yu Hirakawa’s free-kick for his third goal of the season.
Wales captain Aaron Ramsey was sent on for his first taste of Championship action since 31 August after a long-term hamstring problem, and late Bluebirds’ pressure was rewarded with Salech’s increasingly influential scoring habit.
Another Irish player was also on target in the Championship this afternoon, with Mark O’Mahony scoring on his rerturn from injury.
Second-half goals from Andre Dozzell and O’Mahony earned Portsmouth a 2-0 victory at Oxford, inflicting a first home defeat on Gary Rowett since he took charge at the Kassam Stadium.
This was only Pompey’s second away win of the season in the Sky Bet Championship and ended a sorry run of seven straight defeats on the road.
The game was suspended for 30 minutes in the first half because of a medical emergency in the crowd.
And the visitors took control early in the second, Dozzell tapping home Rob Atkinson’s low cross from just two yards in the 47th minute after Oxford failed to clear a corner.
The hosts missed two good chances to equalise from close-range headers before Portsmouth sealed victory in the sixth minute of stoppage time.
Terry Devlin’s header put O’Mahony through and the Cork 20-year-old finished clinically, shooting low past Jamie Cumming.
Elsewhere in the English second-tier, Burnley made it 11 clean sheets in-a-row but were left frustrated as they drew 0-0 away at local rivals Preston.
The promotion-chasing visitors missed a series of good chances with Lyle Foster culpable for wasting two of the clearer openings.
The Clarets have now had 11 scoreless draws in the league this season while Preston continue their remarkable run of having lost just once at Deepdale in the Championship since Paul Heckingbottom’s arrival in August.
Elsewhere in the division, Blackburn beat Plymouth Argyle 2-0, Middlesborough defeated Watford 1-0, Coventry were 2-1 winners at Sheffield Wednesday, and Stoke City overcame Swansea City on a 3-1 scoreline. Hull City and Norwich City, and Millwall and West Bromwich, drew 1-1.
There were Irish goalscorers in League One too, with James Collins and Cian Hayes on the sheet.
Collins scored for new club Lincoln City as they fell to a 3-2 defeat at Leyton Orient, while Ireland underage international Hayes hit Peterborough’s equaliser in a 1-1 draw away to Stevenage.
Further afield, Ireland striker Amber Barrett was also on target this afternoon bagging a brace as Standard Liège beat Oud-Heverlee Leuven 4-1 in the Belgian Women’s Cup semi-final.
Barrett scored twice in the first half, continuing her fine form ahead of Ireland’s upcoming Nations League double-header against Türkiye and Slovenia.
The Donegal forward will arrive into Carla Ward’s first camp tomorrow full of confidence.
Her Standard Liège side face the winners of tonight’s other semi-final between Genk and Anderlecht in the decider.
- Additional reporting from Emma Duffy and Sinéad Farrell
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Amber Barrett Championship jason knight Republic Of Ireland Soccer WNT Wrap