We’ve got some early goals around the grounds in League One. Bristol Rovers lead Rotherham 1-0 thanks to an early goal from Ruel Sotiriou, Huddersfield are 1-0 up at Stevenage, Peterborough have put one past Shrewsbury and Blackpool lead at Stockport.
Another email, this time from Simon McMahon regarding the Scottish Premiership. “There’s a six pointer at Dens today where the bottom two clubs meet. Dundee haven’t won in the league since they beat today’s opponents on 5 January, at which stage they were 8th, and 10 points off the bottom. Another defeat today would see St Johnstone move level with Dundee and increase the pressure on Tony ‘The Doc’ Docherty.”
Before the afternoon goes full goalmania, an update on the Bundesliga action. Borussia Mönchengladbach are 2-0 up at Heidenheim, RB Leipzig lead Mainz 1-0 and Wolfsburg are winning 1-0 at Werder Bremen, while it’s goalless between St Pauli and Dortmund and likewise between Bochum and Hoffenheim.
Kick-offs! Kick-offs everywhere!
Man the barricades. It’s 3pm and centre circles across the country are getting a well-deserved shoeing.
Here’s an email from Paul Baxter. “‘Frank Lampard’s Coventry fans’ sounds like a cult. We are Coventry fans. Please stop with the FLC business. Cheerfully, Mike.” Apologies, it was intended as a self-referential joke about how columnists, commentators and pundits are hopelessly addicted to what grammarians are calling the Lampardian prefix. Just a bit of fun.
Full time, Girona 2-2 Celta Vigo
It’s honours even after the mid-table mayhem at Montilivi. Celta Vigo bobble along, 10th in La Liga, with Girona bibbling just behind them in 11th.
Goal! Girona 2-2 Celta Vigo (Herrera 68)
It’s turning into quite a slugfest at Montilivi. Yangel Herrera has equalised for the hosts, glacing in from a corner.
We’ve got some correspondence! Peter Higginson writes in: “Discovered this week I was deficient in vitamin C so just bought eight oranges to avoid scurvy. Can this disease explain Wolves’ instability in the league or is it just narcolepsy at the back? Predicting a 3-1 win today and a good pop at the Holy Grail of the FA Cup as we slide into Championship oblivion. Not drunk.” Well, that makes one of us.
Full time, Birmingham 1-0 Wycombe
Last but not least for the Football League’s early kick-offs, Birmingham’s 1-0 win against Wycombe extends their lead at the top of League One and all but wraps up the title. Taylor Gardner-Hickman got the only goal of the game, while the visitors ended up a man down after Xavier Simons was sent off in first-half stoppage time for a scything challenge on Ethan Laird.
Full time, Wrexham 0-0 Bolton
There were plenty of chances at the Racecourse Ground, with Wrexham registering 15 shots and Bolton 14, but no goals. Finishing, it’s a fine art. The League One promotion rivals only had one shot on target each.
Full time, Tranmere 1-1 Port Vale
No change at Tranmere, where both sides will have to be satisfied with a point. The hosts are still 22nd and in serious relegation danger, while the visitors are sixth and relatively secure in their League Two playoff berth.
Full time, Salford 1-2 Bradford
Bradford are now within four points of Walsall at the top of League Two, albeit having played a game more than their rivals. Salford remain ninth after a third defeat on the spin.
Goal! Salford 1-2 Bradford (Mellon 90+4)
There’s been another late goal, this time at Moor Lane. Bradford have taken all three points thanks to an injury-time strike from Michael Mellon.
Full time, Oxford 2-3 Coventry
The Frank Lampard revival continues. Coventry are up to fifth in the Championship, climbing above West Brom and Blackburn to put themselves firmly in playoff contention.
Full time, Blackburn 1-1 Norwich
What a point for Blackburn that is. A draw with all the heady elation of a win.
Goal! Blackburn 1-1 Norwich (Weimann 90+6)
Near-certain winner? Nothing is near certain in football. Blackburn are, amazingly, back level, the substitute Andreas Weimann nodding in a header to send Ewood Park absolutely ballistic.
Full time, Leeds 1-1 West Brom
Leeds, the Championship leaders, have had to settle for a draw against West Brom at Elland Road. Junior Firpo put the hosts ahead in the ninth minute, but Darnell Furlong levelled towards the end of the first half and nobody could find a winner in the second.
Goal! Blackburn 0-1 Norwich (Crnac 90)
Drama at Ewood Park. Emmanuel Dennis was sent off for a second yellow card in the 85th minute and, right at the death, the 10-man hosts have conceded, Ante Crnac smashing in a near-certain winner after a neat pass from Emiliano Marcondes.
It’s full time at Selhurst Park, Palace joining Preston in the last eight of the FA Cup. Join Emillia Hawkins for live reaction:
Goal! Girona 1-2 Celta Vigo (Alonso 51pen)
Back to La Liga we go. Marcos Alonso, formerly of Bolton and Chelsea, has just put Celta Vigo 2-1 up from the spot with a rifled finish into the bottom-left corner.
Goal! Salford 1-1 Bradford (Halliday 71)
There’s been a goal in the clash between League Two promotion chasers, Bradley Halliday levelling for second-placed Bradford against their ninth-placed opponents.
There’s been another goal at Selhurst Park. Palace are now 3-1 up, Eddie Nketiah getting his fourth goal of the season.
Full time, Preston 3-0 Burnley
It’s official: Preston are through to the FA Cup quarters for the first time in 59 years. There’s bound to be considerable fallout from the match but, on the field, there’s little doubt the hosts were the dominant team.
Goal! Oxford 2-3 Coventry (Sakamoto 71)
But wait a minute, Frank Lampard’s Coventry fans! Tatsuhiro Sakamoto has just lashed in a third goal for the visitors after collecting a raking cross from Jake Bidwell.
In La Liga, there’s an early kick-off between Girona and Celta Vigo that I overlooked earlier. It’s 1-1 at half-time, Viktor Tsygankov having put Girona ahead only for the visitors to hit back through Iker Losada.
Goal! Oxford 2-2 Coventry (Moore 62)
Sorry, Frank Lampard’s Coventry fans. It’s all square at Oxford now, Elliott Moore equalising with a bouncing header at a corner.
In the Championship’s early kick-offs, it’s goalless between Blackburn and Norwich, Leeds and West Brom are locked at 1-1 and Coventry lead 2-1 at Oxford. In League One, Birmingham lead Wycombe 1-0 while Wrexham and Bolton are at a stalemate. What about League Two, you ask? I’m getting to League Two, OK? Salford are 1-0 up against Bradford, while Port Vale have pegged back Tranmere at 1-1.
Goal! Preston 3-0 Burnley (Keane 73)
It’s all over at Deepdale, with Preston set for the FA Cup quarter-finals for the first time since 1966. Will Keane has nabbed the third goal, poking home from close range after a sweeping cross from Andrew Hughes.
In the other early FA Cup match, Crystal Palace are leading Millwall 2-1. Emillia Hawkins is helming our dedicated live blog for that one. You can follow along here:
There’s been a fair bit of acrimony at Deepdale, where Burnley players refused to shake Milutin Osmajic’s hand after Hannibal Mejbri accused him of racist abuse during their Championship meeting in mid-February. Preston now lead 2-0, with Osmajic scoring their second goal and celebrating loudly in front of the Burnley fans.
Preamble
Is it that time of the week again? The clock of mortality ticks for us all but, thankfully, this clockwatch is fully focused on football, which is one of the best distractions. There’s FA Cup action under way, with Preston hosting Burnley in a match evoking sepia-tinted Pathé reels and postwar ding-dongs. After taking in the latter stages of the action at Deepdale, it’ll be time for Bournemouth’s Cup clash with Wolves at 3pm (all times GMT).
There’s also Scottish Premiership action, with a post-Clement Rangers sizing up Motherwell, and the usual Football League melee. The early Championship kick-offs involving Blackburn and Norwich, Leeds and West Brom, and Oxford and Coventry are in motion, as are the League One tussles between Birmingham and Wycombe and Wrexham and Bolton. Down in League Two, Salford and Bradford are at it, as are Tranmere and Port Vale. There’ll be a full slate of 3pm kick-offs to follow.
There’s also a buzz of activity across Europe, with Rayo Vallecano taking on Sevilla in La Liga at 3.15pm, five Bundesliga matches kicking off at 2.30pm and Atalanta, Serie A title outsiders, gunning for lowly Venezia at 2pm.
Who knows, we might even get around to the Eredivisie and Ligue 1 action. Let’s see how we get on. The minute hand waits for no one, not least live bloggers trying to keep up with upwards of 30 games in multiple different countries all at once. But that’s part of the fun.
