Oxford United 1 Burton Albion 1

Jacques Maghoma rescued a point for Burton and fired them into the promotion places.

Democratic Republic of Congo winger Maghoma knocked in his tenth goal of the season in the 71st minute.

Substitute Billy Kee nodded down Lee Bell's cross and Maghoma turned to drill past debutant Kiwi keeper Max Crocombe from fourteen yards.

Oxford striker James Constable reached double figures himself when he headed in Tony Capaldi's corner from four yards in the 50th minute.

Keeper Stuart Tomlinson had kept Oxford out before the break when he reacted brilliantly to tip over defender Damian Batt's point blank volley from only six yards.

Assistant manager Kevin Summerfield was delighted with the point which took the Brewers to third in the table - the club's highest ever league position. He said:

"The players showed real character after going a goal behind. The conditions were awful and the pitch was in a real state. It was difficult, but we did enough to get a result and come away with a point."

Oxford manager Chris Wilder said:

"I think we deserved to win a tight game especially on the first half performance. We scored a good goal and looked comfortable until then. It's a point. It's not what we wanted, but we have to move on."

My piece from this morning's paper

Cheltenham Town 0 Rochdale 0

Keith Hill returned to Rochdale and immediately stopped the rot.

Manager Hill led Dale to their first promotion in 41 years when they finished third in League Two in 2010 and helped the club to a first point in four games in his first game back.

Former Cheltenham central defender Hill left Rochdale to manage Barnsley in June the following year, but took on the job again last Tuesday - one day after the sacking of John Coleman.

Cheltenham's promotion form continued to falter and they have now not won in five outings.

In the first half the Robins did not have a single attempt on goal, but central defender Keith Lowe could have netted twice after the break.

Two minutes after the break Lowe nodded narrowly wide from Billy Jones's corner and in the 66th minute keeper Jason Lillis did well to beat away his ten yard point blank shot.

Rochdale came close to going two goals ahead from the edge of the box in the space of one first half minute.

Striker Ashley Grimes sent a low curler narrowly wide from the left angle in the 16th minute and then keeper Scott Brown had to tip over the bar at full stretch from winger Bobby Grant.
Hill was happy with the response from his players after they grabbed a point in rain and high winds. He said:

"It was an horrendous evening to play a football match, but a great test of character. We've only had two days to work with the players and given them a lot of information and they've done well.

Everybody's keen and I'm relatively pleased to come away with a point. It's something to build on."

Cheltenham have not won in four league outings and boss Mark Yates admitted:

"We're not having the best of times and we're not right at the moment, but the players need to keep believing. Hopefully with two or three additions in the next week we can kick on.

We haven't really tested the keeper and that's disappointing."

My clipping from the morning paper

AFC Wimbledon 2 Wycombe Wanderers 2

By Wycombe fan 'Phil' *

*With apologies for he late post, but I've just picked up my e-mails! If you are a Wycombe fan, I would suggest following  Phil on Twitter: @bluntphil - Jeff

An incredibly hoarse Wycombe player/manager Gareth Ainsworth croaked that he hopes Wimbledon avoid the drop this season despite his side stealing a point from one of his many former clubs.

Neil Ardley was left scratching his head after Wimbledon failed to take the three points after dominating large parts of the game and extended their poor run of form at Kingsmeadow.

Striker Paul McCullum was the star of the show with a brace in the penultimate game of his loan spell and would have claimed a hat trick had he not been thwarted twice by in form Wycombe keeper Jordan Archer.

McCullum,19, has now scored four goals in as many games and just signed a two and a half year contract at parent club West Ham. He said:

"I want to play at the highest level but I'm a local boy and if Wimbledon want to extend my stay I'd be happy to play here"

It was Wycombe who started the brighter and opened the scoring in the eighth minute. Dean Morgan broke away down the right before pulling a clever ball back to Joe Kuffour who turned and fired a deflected shot which spun across the face of goal and went in off the post

This sprung Wimbledon into life and they levelled on 15 minutes after loose defending by Hause resulted in a corner which was not cleared and Paul McCullum was on hand to slam the ball into the roof of the net from inside the six yard box.

The home side took the momentum and were unlucky not to go into the lead after McCullum's close range effort was superbly tipped onto the bar by Archer. However, he didn't have to wait long for his second goal after some tenacious work by Stacey Long down the right picked out McCullum in the penalty area and he was able to turn his man and fire in into the bottom corner to give Wimbledon a deserved half time lead.

The second half began with the home side continuing to dominate, crucially without adding to the score line after Archer again denied McCullum from close range.

It took the introduction of Bruno Andrade and Matt McClure just after the hour to get Wycombe back into the game. Wanderers were awarded a free kick mid way into the Wimbledon half and it was McClure who notched his seventh goal of the season with a right foot finish into the bottom corner after the Dons failed to clear on seventy two minutes.

Neither side were able to nick it in the closing stages and it was Neil Ardley who was left the more frustrated of the two managers, he said:

"I've got mixed emotions. I'm angry and frustrated at dropping two points in a game we should have won. On the flipside, the performance was really good. There was a twenty minute spell where we needed to score to kill the game off. When you have the momentum you need to make it count and where we are at the bottom we've had trouble doing that."

Wycombe assistant manager Richard Dobson conceded that it was definitely a point gained and said:

"We didn't play well enough after the first goal and took our foot of the pedal. Sometimes when you score first you think it'll be easier than it actually is, credit to Wimbledon for coming back and putting us under pressure. They kept on us and as the game went on they grew in confidence and were unlucky not to get the third."

AFC Wimbledon: (4-4-2) - Sullivan, Osana (Hussey '45), Antwi, Mitchel-King (c), Meades, Ajala, Long, Sweeney, Moore, McCallum (Harrison '73), Midson (Prior '88)
Subs not used: Balkestein, Jaimez-Ruiz, Kiernan, Fenlon

Wycombe Wanderers: (4-4-2) - Archer, Harriman, Winfield (c), Hause, Dunne (Andrade '66), Grant, Scowen, Lewis, Wood, Morgan, Kuffour (McClure '66)
Subs not used: Spring, Harrison, McCoy, Stewart, Ainsworth

Referee - Mr G Sutton
Attendance - 4507 (764 away)

Bristol City 0 Leicester City 4

Chris Wood backed Bristol City to beat the drop - despite costing former boss Derek McInnes his job.

McInnes, 41, was sacked shortly after relegation-threatened Bristol's lacklustre show against promotion chasing Leicester.

Striker Wood opened the scoring in the eleventh minute and then crushed the hapless Robins by netting two more in the following twenty minutes.

Kiwi international striker Wood was signed by McInnes on loan last term and helped the club stay in the Championship, but his ruthless one-man-show on Saturday ended the former St. Johnstone chief's fifteen months in charge at Ashton Gate.

Wood, 21, has now scored six goals in three games since joining Leicester on New Year's Day from West Brom and said:

"They're too big a club to be in the relegation zone and they've got a great squad. They definitely have enough to get out of it.

"I know a lot of the players and they just need to get a few draws or wins and then they'll be flying. It's not nice to see them doing badly at the moment, but the quality's there and it's just about finding the right combination."

Hot shot striker Wood opened the scoring in the twelfth minute.

Winger Ben Marshall fed Wood on the left of the area and the Kiwi cut inside two defenders before firing in a low shot past keeper Dean Gerken at his near post.

Relegation candidates Bristol immediately lost whatever confidence they may have had and Wood's second only six minutes later appeared to finish them off.

Gerken flapped at Marshall's corner and the ball bounced off central defender Liam Fontaine before Wood pounced to stab home from five yards.

Wood then made it three goals in 29 minutes when he collected a pass from midfielder Matty James and to skipped past midfielder debutant Liam Kelly on the edge of the box before drilling a low shot past Gerken.

Kelly arrived at Ashton Gate in a £200k move from Kilmarnock on Friday and must already be thinking about sacking his agent after suffering in this sorry show from the Robins.

James sealed the win only six minutes into the second period with his first strike for three years.

Wood held the ball up and then fed James who ran past Bristol's static defence before firing in a low shot from just inside the area.

It took Bristol 72 minutes before they launched any serious threat on Kasper Schmeichel's goal.

Debutant striker Wes Burns crossed the ball from the right wing and fellow substitute Paul Anderson's shot from twelve yards was well saved by Schmeichel.

Substitute Lloyd Dyer made sure the Foxes protected Wood's three goal cushion at half time when he cleared defender Greg Cunningham's in-swinging corner off the line in the 26th minute.

Marshall also came close when he rifled a shot just wide from the edge of the box two minutes before the home side were booed off at the break.

Robins Managing Director Jon Lansdown revealed that the decision to sack McInnes was made in a emergency Board Meeting hours after the club had dropped to the foot of the table. He said:

"There is no hiding the fact it wasn’t a good day. Derek is disappointed but he does understand. It's a decision we felt we had to make for the good of the football club."

“He has been good to work with and we gave him every opportunity to succeed here, but we’re looking at ourselves from now until the end of the season. We want to give ourselves the best possible chance to get out of where we are now."

But Lansdown's dad, Steve, is the majority shareholder at the club and he was backing McInnes up until the eleventh hour.

On Friday McInnes was given £200k to buy midfielder Liam Kelly, 22, from Kilmarnock and were even in negotiations with Crawley on Saturday morning about a move for central defender Kyle McFadzean.

McInnes pipped Mark Robins to the job in 2011, but the the aptly named former Barnsley boss is available and has been installed as a 3/1 favourite to land the role this time.

Before learning he had been dumped, McInnes blamed his players for the defeat. He blasted:

"A lot of players let the fans down in the first half. The first three goals were self-inflicted. We were too pedestrian in our play and made it easy for a very good Leicester team. You hope the players can produce better than that because they are better than that. As good a side as Leicester are, we played a part in our own downfall."

Meanwhile Foxes boss Nigel Pearson was delighted his team after seeing them move to third in the Championship table.

Midfielder Matty James scored his first goal in three years in the 49th minute to seal the win, but Pearson was particularly pleased with Wood and said:

"Chris is doing what we hoped he would do, things are falling for him and he's taking his opportunities, but the most important thing is that we win games as a team and he's playing his part in that. We needed something different up top and he gives us that.

"All in all it's a good day, but we've got to keep this level of performance going. Chris is taking his chances and gives us the aerial challenge we didn't have before. He's doing what we hoped he would."

My piece from the morning paper

... and from Sunday's edition

A tale of two cities

When Bristol City face Leicester City at Ashton Gate tomorrow, the away team have a great opportunity to press home their promotion claims while the Robins really need a win to boost their collective confidence and start moving away from the drop zone.

Following a run of eleven league games without a win, City have picked up three in the last eight fixtures, but still find themselves second from bottom of the Championship table and three points off safety.

However, a win against the high-flying Foxes tomorrow could see them move out of the bottom three.

Fellow relegation candidates Peterboro and Sheffield Wednesday have tricky away fixtures against Nottingham Forest and Hull respectively while foot of the table Barnsley host a strong Leeds side.

But while three points would be very welcome, the confidence that a win (against a Leicester side who have won the last three games and put six past Huddersfield in their last league fixture) would bring, is immeasurable.

I haven't had the pleasure of a trip to watch the Robins since they lost at home to Charlton back in November and couldn't understand why a squad - which is moderately talented - seemed to lack such collective self-belief. And manager Derek McInnes has already told the club's website:

“When we last played them I felt they were one of the best sides in the league. If we allow them to get their tails up they can be a formidable team and they proved that when they dispatched Huddersfield last time out.”

(http://www.bcfc.co.uk/news/article/20130111-mcinnespreleicester-590944.aspx) 

So McInnes is very aware of the impending threat, but I suspect that the crowd will really need to play a positive role now if they want to watch Championship football next term.

The Bristol chief signed midfielder Liam Kelly this week to bolster his squad and striker Sam Baldock is also available following an injury. However, there are still question marks over defenders Richard Foster who are both trying to get fit enough to figure while midfielder Marvin Elliott is definitely out and tricky winger Albert Adomah is on international duty with Ghana.

Leicester boss Nigel Pearson welcomes back striker Jamie Vardy who picked up a heel injury in a game just before Christmas, but he'll be vying for the striker's role with former Bristol City loanee Chris Wood and the experienced David Nugent who already has twelve league goals to his name this season.

While now is the time for Bristol to start edging their way up the table, Nigel Pearson will be hoping that his boys can put together a run that sees them grabbing one of the two automatic  promotion places. He told the club's website:

“We’re doing ok, but we need to make a move on the teams above us. From here on in, every game will be very important, but, as the games become fewer and fewer, it’s important we do as much as we can to affect the sides above us.

“Automatic promotion is still our target, whether we can achieve that or not remains to be seen, but we need to put ourselves in a good position.

“Cardiff have done exceptionally well to create a big gap between themselves and third place particularly, but we have to make sure our own form is such that we put pressure on teams above us.”

(http://www.lcfc.com/news/article/110113-pearson-time-to-strike-590054.aspx?)

A Rolls Royce performance from Bentley

The JPT fixture last night wasn't one I had been looking forward to, but in the end it turned out to be a really entertaining game with several twists and turns.

Oxford only seemed to wake up after Southend striker Barry Corr had scored the opener and by half time they were a goal to the good following a first senior goal from Tyronne Marsh and another from strike partner Tom Craddock. At this point I felt that Oxford looked as though they could book their way into the area final with a degree of comfort.

Oxford started the second half brightly, but then wobbled when Sean Clohessy took advantage of a weak header from O'Brien.

Within five minutes former Swindon hit man Corr had put Southend ahead prompting another re-write from 'yours truly'.

At least it wasn't going to go to penalties I thought ... seconds before Sean Rigg's 89th minute equaliser.

At this point my finger moved from the 'send' button to the 'delete' button and I was on the phone to the sports desk when Southend boss Paul Sturrock made what appeared to be one of the strangest substituions I have witnessed.

In the 93rd minute and with the game obviously moving towards penalties (they don't do extra time in the JPT), Sturrock hauled off keeper Paul Smith and sent on rookie Daniel Bentley, 19.

Bentley had - it turned out - saved three penalties in an earlier round, but it still seemed to be a real slap in the face for Smith, 33, who Sturrock signed in the summer and who had once been acquired by Nottingham Forest for a fee of £500k.

Fortunately for Sturrock, Bentley came up trumps and saved Alfie Potter's penalty allowing sub Elliot Benyon to send Southend through.

So was it good management? A good decision on the night, no doubt. No-one can say whether Smith would have done better and Sturrock pointed to Bentley's save to give weight to his decision, but will it stand the test of time. How much damage has Sturrock done to his relationship with Smith?

When I asked about Smith, Sturrock admitted that he should have probably "marked his card" as he had been thinking about making the substitution if it came to penalties.

I also saw Smith after the game, but he politely declined to say anything ... unsurprisingly! I spoke to a friend of his though who said that while he was angry, Smith was also pleased that the team had won the game and so - in my opinion - was already showing what a good pro he is.

Sturrock didn't leave on the team bus and so both he and Smith have had time to collect their thoughts, but it's now down to Sturrock to show his talent as a manger and make sure Smith is onside as they focus on promotion from League Two ... which is arguably more important than an area final of the JRT.

Oxford United 3 Southend United 3 (Southend win 5-3 on pens)

Daniel Bentley was the penalty shoot out hero after coming on as a 93rd minute sub.

Paul Sturrock replaced unhappy first choice stopper Paul Smith who stormed down the tunnel, but rookie Bentley repaid his manager's faith by saving winger Alfie Potter's spot kick.

Fellow substitute Elliot Benyon then sealed the win by burying the Shrimps fifth penalty. 

Sean Rigg grabbed a last gasp Oxford equaliser.

Rigg headed in Tony Capaldi's 89th minute corner, but must have been as shocked as everyone else when Southend manager Paul Sturrock pulled Smith off in the 93rd minute.

Barry Corr curled in a 59th minute goal for his seventh of the campaign and looked to have sealed the tie.

Corr opened the scoring in the sixth minute when he out jumped the defence to head Kevan Hurst's free kick from eight yards.

Less than eight minutes later rookie hit man Tyronne Marsh, 19, levelled by nodding in his first senior goal in his second start from six yards.

Striker Tom Craddock notched up his twelfth goal of the season in the 32nd minute when he raced on to Simon Heslop's superb fifty yard pinpoint pass to lob stopper Paul Smith.

But full back Sean Clohessy pulled the Shrimps back into the game by curling in his second of the season in the 54th minute.

Sturrock was a relieved man and explained:

"In one of the rounds before he saved three penalties and so I had it in my mind to bring him in. Paul isn't happy at the moment and maybe I should have marked his card, but we won the game. He's a big boy and will get over it.

If Daniel hadn't saved it some people would have pointed the finger at me, but it all worked out."

Bentley admitted:

"I was as surprised as anyone, but credit also goes to Paul as he kept us in the game.

I haven't seen anything like it before, but if I'm called upon I'm always ready and I'm really pleased I saved the penalty."

Oxford assistant boss Mickey Lewis said:

"It was a really good game against one of the best teams in our league, but I felt we weren't good enough on the break.

I think the lads deserved the draw after 90 minutes though."

My piece from the morning paper

Beaten but unbowed

From an Oxford supporter's point of view, Saturday's performance wasn't as bad as the result makes it look and there were some positives to be taken from the game.

First of all, Michael Duberry came through his second game in one week and looked good. 

I had a quick chat with Dubes after he had warmed down and he told me that the neck and head felt fine. He was disappointed to be out of the Cup, but you could see how delighted he was to be playing again after seven months out and he could well be vital to Oxford's promotion or play-off chances.

I remember James Constable telling me about six weeks ago that he felt that Oxford were still in the hunt if they put a good run together. Well they seem to be doing that and Duberry's experience and classy defending should only serve as a boost to the squad.

Despite a glaring miss on Saturday, I also think that Justin Richards could prove to be a canny buy.

When he was asked to describe Saturday's 'sitter' he responded by asking whether we wanted to hear the PG or X-rated version! He was obviously unhappy about it, but while watching him play, I felt that he put in a good hard-working shift and created a fair bit of room for Tom Craddock who - if it hadn't been for some good goalkeeping by George Long - might have had a couple of goals himself.

In the absence of Constable, Richards has the experience to keep things tickling over and by his own admission he is in the shop window. At 29 years of age, he knows it is important that he shows what he can do to find himself another club when his Burton contract runs out in the summer.

This may not ultimately be at Oxford, but by signing a player who is hungry to secure his future, I think Chris Wilder might just have pulled off a mini masterstroke.

The feeling in the Oxford camp on Saturday evening seemed to one of "we gave it a good go, we played well, but the league is our priority - bring it on".

A final word for the fans at the Kassam on Saturday. They were great in support of the U's and I was especially pleased to see them stand up and applaud Sheffield full back Matthew Hill who had obviously hurt himself in a clash of heads and was carted off to hospital for a CT scan.

They weren't quite so forgiving of the referee however, but then again, I also lost count of the number of players and staff members from both clubs who quietly (and not so quietly in some cases!) questioned his ability after the game. 

Oxford United 0 Sheffield United 3

Tony McMahon dished up samba flair as the Blades cut Oxford out of the Cup.

McMahon is now jokingly being compared to his Brazilian hero after scoring a third goal from a free kick in four games in the 17th minute. 

Central defender Jake Wright fouled Jamie Murphy twenty yards out and McMahon netted his third free kick in four games when he stroked the ball over the wall to leave keeper Ryan Clarke rooted to the spot.

McMahon  revealed:

"The lads now call me the free kick specialist and our midfielder Kevin McDonald even called me Juninho which is pretty funny."

"I scored two at Crawley a couple of week's ago. They were my first goals for the club and his was my first FA Cup goal. I was absolutely buzzing when it went in."

Full back McMahon, 26, signed from Middlesbrough and was in his hometown club's youth academy while the little midfielder played over 100 first team games and won nearly fifty international caps.

And McMahon admitted that moving from the club he had been with and supported from childhood was a wrench, but said:

"Anyone can see that I'm loving life now. You only have to look at my face. I play with a smile every game and that's because of the players and the gaffer who is always giving me advice and helping me to improve."

Former Stoke City hit man Dave Kitson, 32, netted the second in the 68th minute from close in after a nod back across the face of goal from Nick Blackman.

Ryan Flynn floated the free kick from the left flank to Blackman at the far post and he nodded the ball back for Kitson to bundle home from one yard.

Blackman, 23, was moved to the wing by manager Danny Wilson to accommodate Jamie Murphy who signed in a six figure deal from Motherwell last Thursday, but is delighted to be reunited with a former team mate. He said:

"There's been competition since the start of the season and we've added another quality player in Jamie. I played with him at Motherwell and he was easily one of the best players in the league - and that was two or three years ago. In fact he set up quite a few of my goals while I was there.

"I'd heard we were linked with his and just hoped it was true because I know the player he can be. The first time I knew for certain was when he walked into the changing room on Thursday."

Blackman wrapped things up in the 87th minute with his twelfth of the campaign when he fired in a pass from midfielder Kevin McDonald from just inside the box.

But Clarke kept Oxford in the game five minutes after the break when he bravely dived at the feet of new Blades striker Murphy to block his shot from six yards.

Manager Danny Wilson signed the 23-year old from Motherwell for an undisclosed six figure sum on Thursday to bolster his promotion chasing League One outfit.

In the 54th minute Justin Richards should have equalised from eight yards.

Striker Richards signed a one month loan deal from Burton on Friday and was left red-faced after scooping the ball wide with the goal begging.

On the hour McDonald came close himself when his 25 yard drive flew inches over Clarke's bar.

League Two side Oxford had opportunities to break the deadlock before McMahon's opener.

Winger Tony Capaldi's long throw in the sixth minute was headed clear by Stoke loanee defender Danny Higginbotham, but midfielder Peter Leven volleyed over from twenty yards.

Six minutes after McMahon's goal, Craddock came close to levelling.

Capaldi pumped a long ball forward and Caddock raced on to it before cutting into the box fro the left and firing in a shot that George Long did well to save at his near post.

Long also kept Craddock out with a good block in the dying minutes, but by then the tie was over.

Wilson was pleased with his team and said:

"We defended brilliantly at times and as the game wore on we were able to show our quality. It could have been a bit of a banana skin for us, but we competed well. From the fantastic free kick from Tony we got a foothold in the game.

"Our main priority is clearly the league but it doesn't do any harm to have a run in the FA Cup. To keep a clean sheet was great because Oxford have as good an offensive threat as many teams in our division."

Oxford boss Chris Wilder was happy that his side had put up a fight despite being dumped out of the competition by the same club and scoreline in successive seasons. He said:

“I was proud of how the lads went about their business. They showed a really good attitude and we created chances. If we could have put one of those away then it might have been a different story.

"The result didn't reflect the game. We pushed, we played and we probed. We pushed them all the way.
"The first goal wasn't a free kick for me. I get so frustrated by some of the people officiating our games, but I don't want to take anything away from Danny Wilson and his boys.”

My piece from this morning's paper

... and Sunday's edition

Birmingham City 0 Cardiff City 1

Jack Butland's unfortunate gaffe gifted promotion favourites Cardiff a win against the battling Brummie babes.

Butland has been strongly tipped with a £5 million move to Southampton in this month's transfer window, but may not have impressed watching scouts with his part in Cardiff's winner.

Striker Joe Mason sealed a fourth victory on the bounce for the Championship leaders four minutes before half time.

England keeper Butland saved a low shot from winger Craig Conway, but only managed to knock the ball back into the danger area and Mason pounced to plunder his fifth goal of the campaign from ten yards.

But manager Lee Clark defended his stopper and was still pleased with his side. He said:

"It was a freak goal. The ball hit Jack's heel, hit him on the back of the head and landed at Mason's feet.

"The performance out there - individually and collectively - was excellent. My only little criticism would be that we tried to walk the ball into the net rather than pull the trigger, but I can't be upset with what my players gave me today."

The win gave Cardiff a seven point cushion at the top of the table.

Cash-strapped Birmingham boss Lee Clark will be hoping to strengthen his squad with funds made available by the transfer of Butland and he needs some experienced heads.

Clark was forced to play SIX teenagers against the Championship leaders and was also forced to bump up untried nineteen year old reserve Marcel Henry-Francis to the bench when he lost midfielder Hayden Mullins in the warm up.

And the youngsters did their boss proud by putting in the sort of shift they will need to climb away from the threat of relegation.

Experienced defender Curtis Davies, 27, kept Birmingham in the game less than two minutes after the break when he cleared a twelve yard strike from Conway off his goal line with Butland beaten.

Clark's kids had the better of the first half before Mason's goal and came closest to breaking the deadlock.

In the fifteenth minute nineteen year old West Ham loanees Ravel Morrison and Rob Hall linked up to feed winger Wade Elliott, 34, but the 'old man' of the team fired narrowly wide from just inside the box.

Five minutes later striker Nathan Redmond, 18, forced keeper David Marshall to save a shot from the right angle of the area at foot of his near post.

And in the 37th minute Marshall was called on to punch clear Hall's goal bound free kick from the right flank.

Bluebird's chief Malky Mackay was pleased with the win and said:

"To have four wins out of our over the festive period - we couldn't ask for anything more. And to come away with a tenth clean sheet of the season is something we're absolutely delighted about. It was a tough game and we had to battle for what we got."

My piece from this morning's paper