Rotherham United continued their excellent run of form by beating Preston North End at Deepdale 1-2 in the Championship.
The Millers went in front inside the first minute thanks to an own goal by Joe Rafferty, who managed to turn his diving header into his own net after Freddie Ladapo’s shot was deflected into his path by Liam Lindsay.
Ben Wiles doubled Rotherham’s lead ten minutes into the second half, finishing from ten yards out after tricky footwork in the box from new loanee Lewis Wing.
Former Blade Ched Evans scored a consolation goal ten minutes later, bundling the ball over the line after battling Viktor Johansson in the air.
Evans was denied an equalised in the first half by a brilliant save from Johansson, clawing his header away to safety.
Former Rovers midfielder Ben Whiteman was denied by the inside of the post, after his free kick struck the upright before bouncing off the back of Johansson and going out for a corner.
Scott Sinclair thought he had equalised for North End, but he had strayed just offside before powering the ball into the net.
The result means that Rotherham United are now out of the relegation zone and still have at least one game in hand on the teams around them.
The two inform sides in League One took part in a five goal thriller at the Keepmoat Stadium on Saturday, with Doncaster Rovers beating Oxford United 3-2.
Jon Taylor gave Rovers a lead on 31 minutes, cutting inside from the right wing before firing a low shot on his weaker left foot into the bottom corner.
However the U’s were back in it just before the break, with Sam Long being quickest to react after a good save by Ellery Balcombe, turning the loose ball into the roof of the net.
Donny made a lightning start to the second half, with Fejiri Okenabirhie putting the hosts back in front, sliding the ball past the goalkeeper just two minutes in.
Taylor Richards doubled Rovers’ lead four minutes later with the Brighton loanee nutmegging his man before drilling the ball into the far corner.
Olamide Shodipo grabbed a consolation goal with 20 minutes left, cutting inside but benefitting from a huge deflection which diverted to shot in at the near post.
Doncaster Rovers sit third in the table, three points behind top but with two games in hand.
Sheffield United once again performed well against a strong side but were unable to gain any points, losing 1-2 to Chelsea at Bramall Lane on Sunday.
Chelsea opened the scoring just before half time through Mason Mount after his first time strike beat Aaron Ramsdale following a clever cutback by Timo Werner.
United equalised ten minutes after half time through an own goal by Antonio Rudiger, who tried playing a backpass to Edouard Mendy, but ended up finding the bottom corner of his own net.
However the Blues went back in front after the referee went over to the pitch-side monitor and awarded a penalty, deciding that Ramsdale brought down Werner after the Chelsea striker cut out a short backpass by Kean Bryan.
Jorginho sent Ramsdale the wrong way putting the Blues back into the lead minutes after United equalised.
Oli Burke should have put the Blades a goal up inside the opening 60 seconds, but he drilled his shot into the side netting.
The Blades had a penalty ruled out for offside by VAR, with Chris Basham’s right foot the offender before he was then brought down in the Chelsea box.
Sheffield United held off any further attacks from Chelsea in the second half whilst still creating a few of their own, Rhian Brewster was unlucky to see both of his slammed efforts blocked by the Chelsea dependence.
Billy Sharp had the Blades’ best effort with pretty much the last kick of the game, an acrobatic strike that was well saved by Mendy.
The result means that the Blades are still bottom of the Premier League.
Sheffield Wednesday were brought back down to earth with a bump after losing 4-1 away to Millwall, despite taking the lead early on.
Wednesday took the lead inside ten minutes through their inform striker Callum Paterson, who received the ball from Elias Kachunga lung bursting run down left, before slipping which seemed to bamboozle the Millwall defenders and turning the ball into the net on the second attempt.
Millwall equalised with six minutes of the half remaining, when Joey Pelupessy pulled down Ryan Leonard in box, Kenneth Zohore stepped up from the spot, slamming his penalty into the top corner.
The Lions took the lead midway through the second half, with Shaun Williams and Scott Malone linking up well for the latter to weave his way into the Owls penalty area before volleying past Keiren Westwood, who could only get the faintest of touches.
Within a minute Millwall doubled their lead with Ben Thompson’s cross from the right catching Westwood out by going all the way in.
Tom Bradshaw sealed the game in the 90th minute after Mahlon Romeo’s shot deflected off Chey Dunkley before grazing the toe of Bradshaw, taking it into the far corner.
It was a game of two half, and there was no doubt who dominated the second, with Jon Dadi Bodvarsson’s deflected shot needing clawing away by Westwood.
Westwood pulled off an even better save from the following corner, denying Shaun Hutchinson’s bullet header from eight yards out.
The Owls remain in 23rd place, three points off safety.
Finally, Barnsley’s clash at Oakwell against Derby County was postponed following a pitch inspection due to a waterlogged pitch.
In a statement, the Tykes said: “After incessant heavy rain in the area, and despite the best efforts of our groundstaff, the decision was made to postpone the fixture after a 12pm pitch inspection.
“Details regards the new date and time for the rearranged game will follow in due course.
“All iFollow Barnsley match passes purchased for the match will carry over to the new date.”
Follow @BarnsleyFC on Twitter for updates on the fixture rearrangement.
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