Middlesbrough 1-0 Leeds

Neil Warnock faced calls for his head as Curtis Main claimed a dramatic late winner. Middlesbrough stole the points as Main sent a looping header past Paddy Kenny from Ishmael Miller’s raking cross eight minutes from time to end a five-game winless run. It left Leeds further off the play-off pace after an undeserved defeat – as 2,000 travelling fans left the Elland Road boss in little doubt as to their feelings by chanting ‘Warnock, time to go’. In a dramatic finale, there was still time for Main to earn a second yellow card for time wasting, as sub Habib Habibou forced a stunning last-minute save from Jason Steele to give Boro a vital three points. Warnock’s men must now pick themselves up for Sunday’s FA Cup trip to Man City. Jonathan Woodgate kept Boro on level terms before the break with a cool goal-line clearance to deny Ross McCormack after keeper Jason Steele slipped in his attempt to clear a dangerous throughball. The first 45 mintues was dominated by Warnock’s men and David Norris twice went close. Luke Varney’s shot from 20 yards then had Steele scrambling to his left to cover, as Boro were left to rue an early miss from Rhys Williams. It took Boro 45 minutes to muster a serious threat on goal but Paddy Kenny ensured Leeds were not caught out in first-half stoppage time. Faris Haroun burst through on goal after some great work from Chelsea loan star Josh McEachran but Kenny was out at the striker’s feet in a flash to block. Chances dried up after the break but Leadbitter floated a free-kick inches wide after Williams was upended on the edge of the box as Boro took control in the last 20 minutes. It almost led to a winner - but Leeds escaped. Morison should have won it for Leeds with 14 minutes left but headed straight at keeper Steele.

Huddersfield Town 0 Cardiff City 0

Cardiff dropped points for only the second time in eight npower Championship games as managerless Huddersfield battled for a deserved and hard-fought point in a goalless draw at the John Smith's Stadium. Leaders Cardiff began the day 10 points clear at the top of the table and after their shock home defeat to Peterborough in mid-December had won six and drawn one of their subsequent seven matches. But Huddersfield, for whom joint caretaker managers Mark Lillis and Steve Eyre were taking charge of their fourth game following the sacking of Simon Grayson, were in no mood to be rolled over. They were worthy of their point despite riding their luck when Cardiff defender Matthew Connolly hit the post in stoppage time at the end of the first half. Joel Lynch made his first start since New Year's Day in central defence for Huddersfield and striker Sean Scannell was recalled, while Kevin McNaughton replaced Ben Turner at right-back for Cardiff. Neither side produced a shot on goal in a cagey opening quarter of an hour before Huddersfield striker James Vaughan headed wide from six yards. Cardiff defender Mark Hudson was off target with a header from similar distance at the other end and home midfielder Oliver Norwood fired a 25-yard free-kick over the crossbar. Huddersfield took the game to the leaders and had a goal disallowed midway through the first half when Vaughan hooked the ball home from a corner only for referee Mark Brown to rule Cardiff goalkeeper David Marshall had been fouled. The visitors enjoyed their best spell as half-time approached and Huddersfield goalkeeper Alex Smithies, captain for the day in the absence of Peter Clarke, was forced into a full-length save to turn away Craig Bellamy's 25-yard free-kick. Cardiff almost snatched the lead in time added on at the end of the first half when centre-half Matthew Connolly crashed a shot from the right edge of the penalty area against the post. The Welshmen were then dealt an injury blow as McNaughton required medical treatment after a heavy challenge and he was replaced during the interval by Ben Nugent. Cardiff began to get on top early in the second period and Bellamy fired an angled left-footed shot just wide in the 60th minute. Smithies then fumbled an effort from Craig Conway and Nugent headed the subsequent corner the wrong side of the post as Huddersfield were forced on to the back foot. The home side failed to threaten Marshall in Cardiff's goal, but continued to harry their opponents, who also found clear-cut chances hard to come by. Bellamy smashed a free-kick from the edge of the area into the wall with three minutes remaining to end a frustrating afternoon for the Welshmen, while Huddersfield were given a standing ovation by most in a crowd of 15,265 after an entertaining stalemate.

Bolton 2-1 Burnley

Craig Davies and David Ngog came off the bench to turn a Lancashire derby on its head and hand Bolton three much-needed points in a 2-1 success against Burnley. Following a goalless first-half of few chances, Burnley looked set to claim local bragging rights from the second time this season following David Edgar's close-range finish in the 55th minute. It prompted Wanderers boss Dougie Freedman to introduce strike pairing Davies and Ngog, initially to howls of derision from the Reebok Stadium faithful who were unhappy to see Marvin Sordell and lively winger Steve De Ridder withdrawn. But the switch proved to be inspired as Davies headed his first goal since joining from Barnsley last month before Ngog sealed the Trotters' maiden league triumph of 2013 nine minutes from time. Freedman's men climb to 16th in the npower Championship table, although they remain three points above the relegation zone, while Burnley slip behind bitter rivals Blackburn into eighth, four points shy of the play-offs. The Clarets made an enterprising start and Bolton had Darren Pratley to thank for keeping the game goalless in the 17th minute. Ross Wallace - fresh from signing a contract extension at Burnley this week - collected Dean Marney's return backheel from a cleverly-worked short corner to drive across the face of goal, but Wales international Pratley hacked clear. Craig Dawson had the two best chances of the half on his Bolton debut. He headed Jay Spearing's outswinging corner narrowly wide at the back post before from another set-piece saw the on-loan defender force the half's only meaningful save from Lee Grant. Given the predominant method of creating chances in the match, it was somewhat inevitable when Burnley went ahead from a 55th minute corner. Wallace hung up a cross to the back post where McCann towered above the Bolton defence to nod back across goal and leave Edgar with a simple nodded finish. Then came Freedman's ill-received changes that would send a sceptical Reebok crowd into raptures. In the 66th minute, Lee Chung-Yong engineered room to swing a ball in from the left and Davies glanced beyond Grant via the underside of the crossbar. An from another corner Kevin Davies - another substitute - made a customary nuisance of himself, and Burnley were unable to fully clear. Spearing drove back towards goal where Ngog stole in front of Burnley full-back Danny Lafferty to turn the ball home.

Leeds owners reject takeover bid

Leeds United's owners GFH Capital have confirmed they have turned down a bid by an undisclosed party to buy a controlling stake in the club. It has been reported that a Yorkshire-based consortium made an offer for a 51 per cent share of the npower Championship side with a view to securing a phased buy-out. The identities of the consortium members have not been disclosed. "We are aware of growing speculation regarding new investment at Leeds United," GFH Capital said in a statement on Leeds' official website. "As can be expected with a club as fantastic as Leeds United, since our acquisition we have received several offers to invest in the club alongside us. "The most recent offer was for a majority stake and has not been accepted. "Although we continue to seek strategic investors, we will only bring on board those who we feel can make a positive contribution to the sustainable success of Leeds United." GFH Capital, a Dubai-based investment bank, completed their takeover of Leeds from Ken Bates in December. Former Hull chairman Adam Pearson indicated earlier this week that he would like to return to football and gave Leeds as an example of a club he would be interested in. Pearson, the current owner of rugby league side Hull FC, was the commercial director of Leeds for six years before he left the position in 2001. However, it is not known if he is part of the consortium involved in this latest offer.

Sheffield Wednesday 2-2 Derby County

Leroy Lita continued to prove his worth to Sheffield Wednesday by helping them fight back from two goals down to earn a point against Derby at Hillsborough. Lita, on loan from Swansea, kick-started the Owls’ revival by tapping in from close range to take his tally to three in three following his move from south Wales after Derby had surged into a 2-0 lead. The Rams opened the scoring in the 23rd minute when Jeff Hendrick finished a nice passing move by firing low past Chris Kirkland and Jamie Ward doubled the lead from the spot following Miguel Llera’s foul soon after the restart. But after Lita’s lifeline, Llera atoned for his misdemeanour by heading Wednesday level from good work by Michail Antonio in the 57th minute. Wednesday looked the most likely to go on and win it as debutant Connor Wickham was denied by a good save by Adam Legzdins, but they had to settle for a point which extends their unbeaten run to five npower Championship games. Nigel Clough’s men are also enjoying some good form, unbeaten in four, though they have slipped off the play-off pace. They arrived at Hillsborough without a win in their last three away games but they showed no signs of travel sickness and they settled well. Ward, a former favourite across the city at Sheffield United, brought a low save out of Kirkland very early on, with the Owls keeper palming away a skidding effort well. But Derby were not deterred and went ahead midway through the first half. A fine passing move ended with Hendrick playing a one-two with Ward on the edge of the area and slamming a low shot into the corner, with Kirkland only able to get a hand on it. Dave Jones’ side were unable to show any of the fervour they displayed in despatching Brighton last week, though the home fans were given something to cheer as Friday’s loan signing Wickham made his debut from the bench following an injury to Keiran Lee. Top scorer Antonio tried to inspire his side with a speculative effort from distance, but Legzdins had no problems keeping it out as Derby saw out the first half with ease. And three minutes after the restart they strengthened their position following Llera’s foul on Ward and the striker dusted himself off and doubled the Rams’ lead from the spot. But that stirred the hosts into action and they got themselves back in it three minutes later when Lita netted by reacting first to a loose ball from a corner. The momentum of the game had totally shifted and the rampant hosts levelled in the 56th minute. Antonio got the ball on the right, jinked away from his marker and sent a pinpoint cross for Llera to head home in front of the Kop. Wednesday sensed a winner could be on the cards, with Wickham and David Prutton both going close but it ended all square.

Brighton 1-0 Hull

Former Spain international Vicente fired Brighton to within two points of the play-offs after a 1-0 win over Hull, who missed the chance to go second. The 31-year-old midfielder has struggled with a constant stream of injuries since Seagulls boss Gus Poyet persuaded him to move to the south coast 18 months ago after 11 years with Valencia. But when he does get on the pitch, Vicente is a class act and he proved it by climbing off the bench to grab Brighton's 83rd-minute winner with a free-kick. Hull needed only a point to climb into the automatic play-off spots and would have grabbed all three themselves but for some fine second-half saves from Tomasz Kuszczak. Tigers goalkeeper David Stockdale was also busy in a first half dominated by Brighton. Spanish full-back Bruno linked up well with Craig Mackail-Smith to tee up Dani Lopez for a shot which Stockdale got down well to palm away at full stretch. Hull showed more attacking ambition after the break and Brighton's on-loan Stoke defender Matt Upson had to make a brave defensive header to stop Jack Hobbs getting on the end of Ahmed Elmohamady's dangerous cross. Jay Simpson headed a Robbie Brady cross wide at the near post and Robert Koren prodded Stephen Quinn's centre over the crossbar. David Meyler should have done better with another inviting cross from Brady but he sidefooted his effort across goal and wide. Vicente's arrival sparked Brighton into life and they should have gone ahead in the 67th minute when the substitute's superb reverse pass sent Wayne Bridge to the byline. Bridge crossed towards Ulloa and the ball was only half-cleared to Andrea Orlandi as he arrived in the area, but the former Swansea midfielder's composure deserted him as he blazed over the top. Brady almost conjured up a stunning goal for Hull but Kuszczak got his fingertips to the dipping, 30-yard strike. Kuszczak made another superb save to keep out Elmohamady's low drive in the 79th minute. And the Pole's intervention proved pivotal four minutes later when Orlandi was tripped on the edge of the area. Vicente stepped up and slammed a low free-kick past the wall, under the body of the diving Stockade and into the net to secure three valuable points for the play-off hopefuls.

Blackpool 2-1 Millwall

Millwall boss Kenny Jackett bemoaned his side's defending after they allowed a a 1-0 lead to turn into defeat at Blackpool. On-loan striker Nathan Delfouneso was the match-winner for the Seasiders in stoppage time, after Thomas Ince had cancelled out James Henry's opener. Jackett said: "I'm very frustrated and disappointed with both the goals defensively. "Over a period of maybe 10 games we've given away too many goals with not enough clean sheets. "We've given two goals away again. Every game we have not had zeros against us enough. "You have to come through those periods of pressure and make sure you don't concede and we didn't do that well enough. "I felt going forward we probably had more clear-cut chances than we have in a while without necessarily putting them away. "It was tough from us to get a decision from the referee and the linesman throughout the game, but that's how it is for us away from home. "It hurts the players and myself as manager to have lost four games on the spin. Whatever the details of the game are, there's a line there and that's winning and losing."

McLeish leaves Nottingham Forest

Alex McLeish has left his role as Nottingham Forest manager by mutual consent, the npower Championship club have confirmed. Recent reports speculated that McLeish was considering his future at the City Ground after little over a month at the helm. The Scot was left frustrated after missing out on several transfer targets last month - most notably Peterborough winger George Boyd whose move to the east midlands was scuppered by a failed eye test. And a bad week for McLeish was capped on Saturday with a 2-1 defeat at his former club Birmingham, where both Blues goals were scored by another player he tried to sign - Chris Burke. It is thought the reason behind McLeish's decision to leave Forest is interference from the club's Kuwaiti owners, the Al-Hasawi family, in team affairs. McLeish, who replaced Sean O'Driscoll as manager on December 27, said via a statement on the club's official website: "I am extremely saddened to be leaving after such a short period. "But even so, it has been a privilege to be manager of such a fantastic football club and I want to thank the players, staff and fans for their support and wish Nottingham Forest the best of fortunes ahead. "Both parties entered into the relationship in good faith, however, there was a difference in the understanding of the development strategy of the football club and it was felt by both parties that we should part company."

Warnock points finger at ref

Leeds manager Neil Warnock claimed his side should have had two penalties in their 1-0 defeat to Cardiff. The Whites went down to Frazier Campbell's second-half effort and Warnock accused referee Mike Dean of being in a bad position when Cardiff captain Mark Hudson appeared to handle the ball. "It is a cruel game sometimes. Everything about this match was cruel," he said. "We missed open goals and the young lad (Byram) made a schoolboy error. I thought Mike Dean was brilliant but he didn't see the handball, when we all appealed, because he was in a bad position and should have been in a better one. "He had three or four bodies in the way. The linesman could have helped him out, but they don't, do they. Then there was another handball in the 93rd minute that wasn't given. "Our two centre-halves were magnificent, we played some good stuff against the top-of-the-table team and were better than them, so it's very frustrating that we got nothing."

Bolton 1-1 Millwall

Millwall boss Kenny Jackett declared himself pleased with his side's performance as they held Bolton to a 1-1 draw at the Reebok. Lions striker Andy Keogh won a penalty and delicately placed the ball past Adam Bogdan, but Keith Andrews managed to equalise from another spot-kick later in the first half. He said: "We had a bit of a threat on the break but overall we have got four points out of six against Bolton which is great against a team that have come down from the Premier League. "The first half we played well and caused Bolton problems. In the second half it was a rear-guard action from us and we defended well for long periods. "In terms of the table and where it leaves us we are still in there with a shout." It was also Republic of Ireland international Keogh's first game since he broke his toe and Jackett was delighted with his return and he was also impressed with debutant Martyn Woolford's performance. He said "I think Andy is a key player for us and I thought he played very well today. "Him and Danny N'Guessan up front gives us a lot of pace on the counter, which you need to take advantage of when you play a team which try to get on top of you like Bolton do." He added: "I was pleased with Walford's first game because he gave us balance on the left hand side and he had a great strike in the first half where he nearly scored as well."

Cardiff City 0-0 Ipswich Town

Cardiff boss Malky Mackay was in positive mood despite the 0-0 draw against Ipswich, which was the first time they've failed to score this season. Their opponents were well organised and could have snatched a win through Guirane N'Daw's curling effort that hit the woodwork. Despite that, Cardiff stretched their lead at the top of the Championship to eight points. Mackay said: "We were playing against a team who are right at the top of the form table with a new manager and some new players coming in. They'd only lost two in 10 so if we had not worked as hard as them then we'd have been beaten. "For us to come out with another clean sheet, our fourth in five games, on the back of 13 points out of 15 I'm delighted. "I think you can always hope you can create more chances. We created 20 attempts on their goal but it is the clinical nature of that final pass that was missing. "The conditions were pretty poor in terms of the wind and the rain and I think both sides struggled with that at times." It took Cardiff 27 minutes to create a real chance, Mark Hudson missing the first of two first-half headers in a match short on quality. Craig Bellamy and Aron Gunnarsson both had second-half chances to extend Cardiff's lead at the top of the table but couldn't find a way through.

Bristol City 0-4 Leicester

Chris Wood fired in a first-half hat-trick as Leicester secured an easy 4-0 win at Ashton Gate to send Bristol City to the foot of the npower Championship. The former Robins loanee made it nine from his last five games and six in three since joining the Foxes from West Brom. Most of the damage was done before the break, inflicted by a combination of Ben Marshall, home goalkeeper Dean Gerken and the unstoppable Wood. Marshall provided the ammunition for the first two goals, though Gerken will have to shoulder the blame for the second as he flapped at an 18th-minute corner. And Gerken looked culpable again when Wood's long-range shot crept under his body four minutes before the interval, taking the striker's tally for the season to 17. Matty James added the fourth to compound the woes of Derek McInnes, whose side now prop up the pile following Barnsley's victory over Leeds. It took just 11 minutes for the visitors to get off the mark. Marshall played a precise pass down the left flank, Wood controlled, cut inside and drove home. The visitors forced a corner seven minutes later and capitalised on some poor goalkeeping from Gerken, who tried to punch it clear but failed to make sufficient contact, and Wood tapped in the loose ball. McInnes' shellshocked side struggled to muster any meaningful response as Pearson's men continued to control proceedings. And they were rewarded with a third goal just before half-time. Wood unleashed a shot from 20 yards and though Gerken got across his goal to cover it, the ball squirmed under his body. Things got even worse for the hosts early in the second half. They sloppily conceded possession inside their own half, James took full advantage, advancing to within striking distance to pick out the bottom-right corner for his first goal since August.

Burnley 1-0 Crystal Palace

Burnley boss Sean Dyche hailed his side's "excellent" play as they edged past Crystal Palace 1-0 at Turf Moor. Junior Stanislas marked his first start since November by scoring the only goal of the game with a brilliant strike into the top corner from outside the box with nine minutes to go. The Clarets survived a late scare as Lee Grant got down brilliantly to turn the ball away after Jason Shackell had diverted Jonathan Parr's cross towards his own goal and Mile Jedinak hit the crossbar in stoppage time, but Dyche's side held on. He said: "I thought our football was excellent but it was a tight game and we did well to win it. "We asked the players to give a lot in their performances and they did that once again. "I am sure Ian Holloway will argue that Palace should have got something from the game and if you isolate the second half maybe he is right, but over the 90 minutes I think we deserved to win. "We scored a fantastic goal and I am delighted for Junior, but the whole team worked hard for it. "Football is swings and roundabouts and I think we have been hard done by at times but when we apply ourselves then we don't have to worry about silly decisions and we can challenge anyone in the league. "We need to improve our consistency now and see if we can get more wins on the board. If we can do that then who knows where it could take us."

Middlesbrough 1-2 Watford

Scott McDonald's injury-time goal was not enough for Middlesbrough as they slumped to a 2-1 defeat against Watford. Czech Republic striker Matej Vydra, signed on loan by Gianfranco Zola from Italian side Udinese in the summer, fired home in time added on at the end of the first half and struck his second in the 83rd minute. Scott McDonald headed home a consolation for Boro in the third minute of stoppage time but it wasn't enough to prevent Tony Mowbray's side from losing for only the second time in their last 10 outings at the Riverside. Defenders Seb Hines and George Friend, midfielders Josh McEachran and Faris Haroun, plus strikers Scott McDonald, Emmanuel Ledesma and Lukas Jutkiewicz all returned to Middlesbrough's starting line-up, and as a result, Boro took time to adjust, despite making all the running. Ledesma's 30-yard effort in the second minute warmed Almunia's hands and Jutkiewicz's shot from inside the penalty area was blocked by Watford defender Joel Ekstrand. Friend then blasted the subsequent corner over the bar. Hines then blazed his shot from six yards off target from Grant Leadbitter's corner as Boro did everything bar score in the opening half an hour. But Watford scored with their first shot on target. Vydra pounced on a loose ball in first-half injury time before firing a drilled left-footed shot into the bottom corner. Reach (twice), Ledesma and Faroun all tried their luck from outside the area, the latter's superbly held by Almunia before Boro boss Mowbray sent on Ishmael Miller for Jutkiewicz in the 69th minute. But Watford doubled their advantage when Vydra steered home his second in the 83rd minute, taking Abdi's cross from the left in his stride to bury another finish into the bottom corner. McDonald headed home Reach's cross in the 93rd minute, but it was a mere consolation.

Kelly completes Bristol City move

Liam Kelly has joined Bristol City for an undisclosed fee after passing a medical. Kilmarnock accepted an undisclosed bid for the midfielder on Thursday and Kelly passed a medical later that day, meaning the move is now only subject to international clearance. The 22-year-old has made over 100 appearances for Killie and won the Scottish League Cup there. Manager Derek McInnes told the Robins' official website: "He has accumulated quite a lot of games and experience in the Scottish Premier League and has been a key player for Kilmarnock over the last few seasons. "He has amassed quite a lot of Under-21 games for Scotland and is now involved in the full senior squad as well. "Liam is someone we think will only get better. He gets around the pitch, utilises the ball well and takes responsibility for his position." Kelly added: "I'm pleased to be signing for a fantastic club. "I've been in England before with MK Dons, served my apprenticeship and then moved to Kilmarnock for four seasons. "It's a big step to take (to come to Bristol City) but one I'm looking forward to. I can't wait to get going now and get training with the lads."