Loanee Hirst Among The Goals Again As Ipswich March On
- Ipswich Town forward George Hirst continues his scoring form in League 1
- Marc Albrighton and Hamza Choudhury both feature in the Championship
- Winger Ayoze Pérez plays for La Liga side Real Betis against Atlético Madrid
- Jakub Stolarczyk, Ben Nelson and Kasey McAteer are all in League 2 action
It was a third successive 2-0 victory for the Tractor Boys, who beat play-off hopefuls Derby County at Pride Park to maintain their own promotion push.
Conor Chaplin’s first-half goal was added to by Hirst’s 76th-minute finish, before the young forward was replaced by Freddie Ladapo for the closing stages.
The Suffolk outfit remain third in the table, two points off top spot, prior to hosting Wycombe Wanderers at Portman Road on Friday and then meeting Cheltenham Town on Monday (both 3pm kick-offs).
Marc Albrighton came on as a late substitute during West Bromwich Albion's goalless draw with Millwall at The Hawthorns on Saturday – a tenth appearance for the Baggies since his January loan move. Ninth in the Sky Bet Championship as things stand, West Brom are in action twice over the Easter weekend.
Away to Rotherham United on Good Friday (1:30pm kick-off), the fixture at New York Stadium is followed by hosting Queens Park Rangers on Easter Monday (3pm kick-off), as they aim to reduce the five-point gap to the play-offs.
Returning to action for Watford, Hamza Choudhury was in from the off as the Hornets fell to a 2-0 reverse away to Luton Town last Saturday. A goal in each half from Gabriel Osho and Allan Campbell consigned Chris Wilder’s men to defeat in the midfielder’s 30th league appearance this term.
The Hertfordshire club currently sit 11th in the second tier and host Huddersfield Town on Friday, before travelling to Coventry City on Monday (both 3pm kick-offs).
Over in Spain, Ayoze Pérez started Real Betis’ 1-0 reverse against Atlético Madrid at Cívitas Metropolitano Stadium on Sunday. The Spaniard played 69 minutes of the contest, before Ángel Correa’s 86th-minute winner sent Los Verdiblancos home empty handed.
They remain fifth in La Liga, three points behind Real Sociedad. Manuel Pellegrini’s side are next in action when they host Cádiz on Sunday (3:15pm kick-off).
Goalkeeper Jakub Stolarczyk helped Hartlepool United stretch their unbeaten run in Sky Bet League 2 to six matches. Following on from a 1-1 draw with league leaders Leyton Orient, the Pools secured a 2-1 success over Swindon Town at Victoria Park. The 22-year-old Polish shot-stopper played in both games – his 10th and 11th consecutive appearances for the club.
The north east side remain in the relegation zone, but could move out of the bottom two over the Easter weekend. Grimsby Town are up first on Friday afternoon, before hosting Stevenage on Monday (both 3pm kick-offs).
After starting the 2-1 defeat to Barrow, Under-21s midfielder Kasey McAteer played 90 minutes as AFC Wimbledon defeated Walsall 2-0 at Cherry Red Records Stadium. He started again away to Rochdale last weekend but could not prevent the London side slipping to a 1-0 loss, being replaced just before the hour mark.
Those result leave the Dons 16th in the table with games against Harrogate Town (A) and Salford City (H) on the horizon over the Easter weekend.
Development Squad centre-back Ben Nelson played another 90 minutes for Doncaster Rovers as they suffered a second successive 2-0 loss, this time at home to Crewe Alexandra. Rovers remain in the top half of League 2 prior to playing Gillingham on Friday and Grimsby three days later (both 3pm kick-offs).
All times BST.