Burnley are on the brink of promotion to the Premier
League after a 1-0 victory over beleaguered Blackpool on Friday.
Sean Dyche's side could have been promoted with three
games to spare had Derby County slipped up in their match at Doncaster Rovers
later in the day.
Derby kept Burnley waiting by claiming a 2-0 win at the
Keepmoat Stadium, but the Championship's second-placed side retain an
eight-point cushion over their nearest rivals and know one more win will
guarantee a return to the top flight.
Michael Kightly scored the only goal of the game at
Bloomfield Road after 49 minutes, the winger cutting in from the right flank
before curling a delightful left-footed shot into the far corner.
Burnley were good value for their win against a team
battling to avoid relegation from England's second tier.
A miserable day for Blackpool was compounded by two
bizarre incidents in the second half. Play was briefly interrupted when a
section of home supporters threw tennis balls onto the pitch in an apparent
protest against chairman Karl Oyston and Blackpool coach Bob Malcolm was then
sent to the stands after appearing to lash out at Stephen Dobbie, his own
player, as the forward prepared to come on as a substitute.
Goals from George Thorne and Chris Martin secured three
points for Derby, who were already guaranteed a play-off spot following results
earlier in the day, in South Yorkshire.
On-loan midfielder Thorne registered his first goal for
the club with a controlled finish from outside the penalty area following Will
Hughes' lay-off and leading scorer Martin made sure of the points when he
converted Jamie Ward's cross with the outside of his right boot.
Wigan Athletic took a huge step to securing a play-off
berth with a 3-0 win over fellow hopefuls Reading.
Having suffered an agonising FA Cup elimination on
penalties against Arsenal last weekend, Wigan responded superbly with Jordi
Gomez and Martyn Waghorn scoring in the first half.
Callum McManaman netted six minutes after the interval to
add gloss to the scoreline and lift Wigan six points clear of their opponents,
who slip to seventh.
Brighton and Hove Albion are up to sixth after Bruno
Saltor rescued a 1-1 draw at Huddersfield Town. The Spaniard scored with seven
minutes of normal time to go after Oliver Norwood had put the hosts ahead six
minutes in.
Bournemouth's late play-off charge took a blow as they
slipped to a surprising 4-2 defeat at home to Sheffield Wednesday.
Yeovil Town remain bottom of the table after a 0-0 draw
at Blackburn Rovers, while Charlton Athletic, in 20th, grabbed a point at home
to Bolton Wanderers with a goalless draw of their own.
Culled from Soccerway
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