Leicester manager Enzo Maresca paid tribute to his team’s character after seeing them regain control of the race for automatic promotion from the Championship.Stephy Mavididi’s 87th-minute header, after Jay Stansfield had earlier cancelled out Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s opener, saw the Foxes beat Birmingham 2-1 and take full advantage of defeats for Ipswich and Leeds to regain first

Mansfield boss Nigel Clough told his players to forget Saturday’s 4-1 home mauling by promotion rivals Crawley and quickly move on.Stags’ heaviest defeat of the Sky Bet League Two campaign saw them drop out of the top three.However, a fourth successive win on the road for Crawley strengthened their hopes of making the play-offs.“Everything that could go wrong did go wrong on the

Stevenage manager Steve Evans says his side will not give up the fight for a Sky Bet League One play-off place despite going down to a 1-0 defeat at Exeter.An error by goalkeeper Taye Ashby-Hammond, who saw his clearance charged down by Exeter striker Sonny Cox and finished off by Reece Cole, led to the only goal of the game and the defeat leaves Evans’ men six points adrift of the play-off

Bristol City’s post-match plans were blown off course as their flight home was cancelled in the wake of their goalless draw with Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.Having claimed a creditable draw on Wearside thanks mainly to the excellence of their goalkeeper Max O’Leary, who made a string of important saves, City’s players and staff had been due to fly home from Newcastle Airpo

David Artell reserved praise for Danny Rose after his opportunistic winner helped Grimsby to an important 1-0 victory against Newport County which boosted their ongoing Sky Bet League Two survival bid.Rose did the damage at Blundell Park with his 13th goal of the season as Grimsby moved five points clear of the danger zone.Artell’s side have games in hand on Sutton and Forest Green below the

Phil Parkinson praised the character of his Wrexham side after they came from behind to claim a 2-1 League Two comeback win at relegation-threatened Colchester.Goals from Paul Mullin and Max Cleworth secured the promotion-chasing Reds victory, after John Akinde had fired the hosts ahead following half-time.Wrexham boss Parkinson said: “It’s all about character today.“We’ve

Portsmouth manager John Mousinho saluted two-goal Colby Bishop as the league leaders moved to the brink of sealing promotion with a 3-1 win at home to Shrewsbury.Top-scorer Bishop took his tally for the season to 20 to give Pompey the chance to secure a return to the Championship after a 12-year absence at Bolton next weekend.Mousinho: “It’s a fantastic achievement for Colby to get 20

Darrell Clarke admitted it had been a frustrating afternoon for the visitors after his Cheltenham side suffered a 3-1 defeat at Leyton Orient to leave them two points from safety in the Sky Bet League One relegation zone.Ethan Galbraith and Ollie O’Neill left the visitors chasing the game with first-half goals before Orient’s leading scorer Ruel Sotiriou ended his nine-match barren run

Stockport boss Dave Challinor hailed hat-trick hero Paddy Madden after his side remained top of League Two with a 3-1 win at Sutton.Madden, who also bagged a treble in the 8-0 demolition in the reverse fixture, nabbed his third hat-trick of the season as he took his tally to 18 in all competitions for the league leaders.And Challinor said: “It’s the time of the year where you need expe

Lee Bell admitted his Crewe side went “back to basics” to secure a goalless draw at Accrington as they look to cement a play-off place.The Alex manager has 10 first-team players missing through injury and results have slipped.However, the point at Stanley means they remain in sixth place, five points clear of eighth-placed AFC Wimbledon.This was not a classic match at the Wham Stadium