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The Football League weekend that was

13th September, 2015
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Roar Guru
13th September, 2015
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All 72 Football League teams resumed hostilities over the weekend, and in all three tiers the leaders remained as up top. Yet there was some shuffling of the next best at all levels.

There was also a loss that handed a third manager of the week the boot, and a third for League One. Bad luck does come in three then.

There was plenty more good and bad luck shared down the pyramid, and the best of it is shared below.

Also worth noting is another full round of fixtures in the Championship on early Wednesday morning Australian time. The full list is also included below.

Championship round-up
Brighton and Hove Albion will eventually shake the tag of surprise leaders of the Football League as they have now seen off two top of the table challengers in two weeks and have skipped four points clear at this early stage.

Hull, Ipswich and QPR – previously second, third and fourth – all lost and have now been replaced by Cardiff City, Middlesbrough and Birmingham City. Burnley move into fifth and the previously mentioned losing high flyers shift to sixth to eighth.

Leeds United are the only team of four unbeaten sides outside the top six due to five draws in six games. Rotherham still sit last despite securing their second point of the season, and previously winless Bolton won their first game leaving Rotherham, Blackburn and Huddersfield the only teams without a win.

Championship highlights

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Reading 5-1 Ipswich Town
Confidence was high among Ipswich fans before the start of the season and early on in 2015-16, but that has now evaporated after the huge loss against bogey side Reading. Reading’s big win was their first home win of the season and also produced their first home goals of the season. They move up to ninth, just one place behind Ipswich.

Brighton 1-0 Hull City
The top of the table clash went the way of the Seagulls for the second consecutive round. Brighton have earned their stay at the top of the table and four-point gap by seeing off promotion rivals two weeks running.

Preston North End 1-2 Derby County
Pre-season favourites Derby got their first win of the season away to Preston and climbed to 13th in the process. Two goals from star man Chris Martin in the first half looked enough for the win, but 16 minutes of injury time and a 103rd minute gave the Rams a scare.

League One round-up
Gillingham remained unbeaten and top of League One with a win over lowly Blackpool and are just a point ahead of Walsall who won their sixth game of seven. Completing the unlikely early season top three are Burton Albion, still doing a great job in their first season in the third division.

Like the Championship a bunch of previous high flyers in the top six all lost this weekend with losses for Coventry, Sheffield United, Rochdale and Swindon.

At the bottom Crewe Alexandra remain winless on two points and Colchester are also winless but two points and two places better off. Given that there have been three managers sacked with better records, those in charge of these clubs may well be worried.

League One highlights

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Oldham Athletic 1-5 Peterborough
Manager-less Peterborough embarrassed Oldham 5-1 at home at home and cost Oldham manager Darren Kelly his job after just 102 days and seven games in charge. After trailing 2-0 at half-time Oldham pulled one back at 48 minutes, but a spell of three Peterborough goals in 16 minutes sealed Oldham’s fate.

Sheffield United 1-3 Bury
The team everyone targets in League One were well beaten at home against the previously midfield-placed Bury. All the goals came in the second half, Sheffield United cancelled out Bury’s 61st minute goal on 72 minutes, but two goals in the 83rd and 93rd minute sealed Bury a first away win.

Burton 1-0 Rochdale
The battle of the two most unlikely top six sides went the way of newly promoted Burton Albion who now sit an impressive third with five wins from seven games, taking to the third tier very well. A 24th minute goal was it that was needed.

League Two round-up
Leyton Orient remain on top of League Two, but their lead has been eroded as the previously 100 per cent O’s drew against Cambridge allowing the top six to tighten up within three points of each other.

The next two teams up the top are Portsmouth and Plymouth who after seven games have the exact amount of points and goals for and against. Joining the top seven are some of the least fancied sides in Mansfield Town and Morecambe.

At the bottom Newport remain the lowest team in the Football League with their sole worst record in the three divisions now with just one point from their first seven games. Barnet, last year’s winners of the non-league division, are now in the bottom two.

League Two highlights

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Mansfield Town 4-0 Crawley Town
A tale of two towns as Mansfield thrash Crawley to move up to the promotion places in seventh, while Crawley fall closer to the drop in 19th. The Stags were 2-0 up by the time a Crawley player received a 52nd minute red card, and punished Crawley another two times to round out the misery for Crawley.

Wycombe Wanderers 1-2 Plymouth Argyle
A clash between two of the top sides from early in the season ended in a vital away win for the Pilgrims as they leapfrog Wycombe into third. All the goals came by the 32nd minute.

Notts County 3-2 Luton Town
Two of the bigger name sides in the fourth tier played out a thriller as Luton Town came back from 2-0 down only to concede a 93rd winner against Notts County who move to 18th with the win. Luton drop to 20th.

Upcoming Championship midweek fixtures
Birmingham City vs Nottingham Forest
Brighton vs Rotherham
Burnley vs Milton Keynes
Cardiff vs Hull
Charlton vs Huddersfield
Leeds vs Ipswich
Middlesbrough vs Brentford
Preston vs Bristol City
Bolton vs Sheffield Wed
Reading vs Derby
QPR vs Blackburn

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