League One

SUNDERLAND continued their march to promotion as they came from behind to beat Oxford 3-1 ahead of the crunch trip to Peterborough.Lee Johnson’s men stretched their unbeaten run in League One to 11 as Lynden Gooch, AIden McGeady and Max Power struck after James Henry’s opener.
Aiden McGready rifles Sunderland into a 2-1 lead against OxfordCredit: Getty
James Henry is mobbed by his team-mates after firing Oxford aheadCredit: Getty
Lynden Gooch celebrates after he drew Sunderland moments before the breakCredit: Getty
That left them two points behind with a game in hand against second-placed Posh going into the Easter Monday showdown.
Johnson said: “It’s a huge three points against a very good side. We got the goal at a great time.
“Second half we took risks, particularly when they went down to ten men.
“We managed the situation very well until the last few minutes. Then we got the break and got the third.
And on Peterborough, he added: “It’s an opportunity for three points and there’s still much to play for.”
Oxford took the lead on 21 minutes through Henry.
The Black Cats clawed level seconds before the break thanks to trickery of Jordan Jones as he assisted for Gooch to get in front of his marker and prod home before a tunnel bust-up between both clubs staff and players at the break.
The U’s had been the side during the first period, and they continued to cause the most threat until an end-to-end moment on 61 minutes proved key.
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Oxford were still offering a threat as Elliott Moore came close with a header but the numerical advantage soon started to take its toll.
Sunderland’s Charlie Wyke was just about to pull the trigger but was denied by Hanson’s excellent last-ditch tackle.
Instantly the action was up the other end, but Mark Sykes’ lunging attempt to get it caught Luke O’Nien and resulted in a second yellow card.
Jones’ thumping strike from 20-yards cannoned off the bar as Johnson’s men pushed forward for a late winner.
Towering Moore in particular was proving to be on a one-man mission to stop the Black Cats, but eventually the pressure proved too much.
Karl Robinson was sent off following Sunderland’s second goalCredit: Getty
Max Power celebrates his goal by sliding in front of the visiting Oxford benchCredit: Getty
Sunderland caught Oxford napping with a quick but hotly-disputed free-kick after a foul on Chris Maguire by Cameron Brannagan.
Gooch dribbled down the right of the area and pulled the ball back for McGeady to slot home from the edge of the box.
Oxford boss Karl Robinson was raging and received his marching orders for his furious protests and was forced to watch on frustratingly as his team conceded a third at the death as Power finished off a counter before inciting things further by celebrating in front of the visiting bench.
Robinson said: “It was a good game of football, spoiled by you know who. I don’t want to say his name.
“We had a player down for that second goal. There was a duty of care to see if the player was injured, the man in the middle wanted to make it about him.
“I’m frustrated because the players were excellent, even down to ten men.”
Sunderland head to promotion rivals Peterborough next on Easter MondayCredit: Getty
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JOEY BARTON is reportedly facing a legal fight after blasting former Bristol Rovers bosses as negligent in an explosive rant. The former Manchester City midfielder, 38, only took over at the Memorial Stadium in late February.
Joey Barton could be involved in a legal challenge after his criticism of previous Bristol Rovers bosses Paul Tisdale and Ben GarnerCredit: PA
He replaced Paul Tisdale on a contract until 2023, with Tisdale himself only succeeding Ben Garner in November.
And according to the Daily Mail, lawyers have been contacted after Barton accused the duo of negligence and described their training sessions as a ‘farce’.
Speaking after Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to Sunderland, Barton directed his anger at the two previous managers, Tisdale and Garner.
He fumed: “They’ve set these boys up for failure and we’ve got to try to reverse that trend.
“Whatever has gone before me has been negligent. If they were doctors, they should certainly be struck off for what’s gone on here before.
“I could show you the footage of the training sessions. They’re a farce. It wasn’t done correctly.
“How do I know that? Look at the league table. Look at the fact two managers have been removed from the job.”
Barton – who had an acrimonious departure from Fleetwood in January – took over with the Gas just two points above the League One relegation zone.
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In his ten games in charge, Rovers have won twice and now sit 23rd, two points adrift of safety.
He continued his rant by detailing some of the specifics of what he believes Tisdale and Garner got wrong, with neither playing professionally consistently at the top level like Barton.
The one-cap England international then appeared ready for a comeback from the pair and offered to talk through their so-called errors.
Barton continued: “Two-and-a-half-hour sessions on a Friday — what chance have the lads got?
“It’s like having a 15-round spar the night before you have a 12-round scrap. What chance have you got? You’re going to get your head punched in.
“It’s because they don’t know what it’s like to go in the ring, the Colosseum. They’ve read it in a book and they’ve done it on a course and they don’t know. It’s criminal.
“Those coaches will probably want to take me to task on that and I’ll have absolutely no issue in showing them exactly what they got wrong and where they got it wrong, and they’ll be better coaches for it.
“If they want to get on the phone and have a conversation with me, no problem at all.”
Garner was head coach at Bristol Rovers between December 2019 and November 2020Credit: Getty
Tisdale replaced Garner at the Memorial Stadium but lasted just 19 matches, losing 11Credit: PA:Empics Sport
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PORTSMOUTH have sacked Kenny Jackett less than 24 hours after losing at Wembley.
Jackett, 59, oversaw his side’s defeat on penalties to Salford in the 2020 Papa John’s Trophy Final under the Arch on Saturday.

Kenny Jackett was sacked as Portsmouth manager on Sunday morningCredit: Arfa Griffiths – The Sun

But with his side in dire form in League One and slipping out of the play-off places, the Fratton Park board pulled the trigger on Sunday morning.
In nearly four years in charge, Jackett led Pompey to EFL Trophy glory in 2019.
But back-to-back play-off slip-ups against Sunderland and Oxford ensured the club remained in the third tier with many fans calling for a change.
Chief executive Mark Catlin said: “Portsmouth Football Club would like to place on record our sincere thanks to Kenny for the work he has done during his near four-year spell at the club and we all wish him well for the future.

“It has been an emotional past few weeks for everyone associated with Pompey and we now begin the process – which will be as short as possible – of appointing someone who we believe can give us the best chance of finishing inside the top six. These talks begin today.”
The players were informed about the decision at the training ground this morning.
There is no news regarding a caretaker boss at this stage.
Jackett was forced to step aside from managerial duties for a short period in February to undergo a medical procedure.

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Portsmouth FC can confirm that Kenny Jackett has departed as first team manager#Pompey
— Portsmouth FC (@Pompey) March 14, 2021

Portsmouth have lost their last four matches – the Wembley heartache following poor results against Doncaster, Northampton and Sunderland – and six of their last eight.
With 13 games left of the League One campaign, the South Coast club are clearly hoping a change in the dugout can inspire an upturn in form and a play-off charge.
Pompey currently sit seventh on 52 points, just two adrift of Ipswich who occupy the final spot as things stand.
They will be looking to return to winning ways on Tuesday night.
However, Portsmouth know they are in for a tough clash away at Peterborough with the Posh on course for automatic promotion.
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Pompey lost on penalties to Salford in the Papa John’s Trophy final at Wembley on SaturdayCredit: Getty Images – Getty

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ALAN JUDGE has furiously denied calling Darren Drysdale a ‘cheating bald c***’ after the referee’s explosive claims during his FA hearing on Thursday.
Drysdale has been cleared to return to duty after an FA commission ruled his unofficial suspension meant he had already missed more games than they could ban him for.

Referee Darren Drysdale remarkably squared up to Ipswich’s Alan Judge during the Tractor Boys’ clash against Northampton last monthCredit: � Richard Calver – www.matchdayimages.com

But the written reasons for the commission imposing a back-dated three week ban show Drysdale admitted he had lost his cool after being subjected to a tirade from Judge.
According to Drysdale, Judge responded after being booked for diving.
Drysdale, 50, told the commission: “As I blew my whistle Alan Judge shouted aggressively in a loud voice at me, and from a distance of only five metres, ‘It’s a f*** penalty you cheating bald c***.’
“Reacting completely out of character, I took exception to what I considered to be an offensive comment. 

“I walked towards Alan Judge who then continued his tirade of abuse as he then, what I deemed as, aggressively and provokingly pointed his finger towards my face and shouted, ‘You’re a f***ing cheating c***’.”
Drysdale, who admitted an FA misconduct charge, added: “I accept that I should not have moved my head towards Alan Judge as this only inflamed the situation.
“At no time was there any physical contact between myself and Alan Judge. 
“My action of moving forward was as a posture of authority and with the player being significantly shorter than me, this led to me looking down at him.”

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Drysdale has claimed he reacted to Judge after the player called him a ‘cheating bald c***’Credit: Getty Images – Getty

The commission heard that Judge had declined, on two occasions, to give any evidence to the hearing.
It found that Drysdale, who was immediately taken off the EFL match list, had effectively served a suspension in excess of the ban that would have been imposed and that it would be ‘disproportionate’ to add a further suspension.
Despite his ban having been deemed to be served between February 19 and March 10, Drysdale will not be on duty this weekend or next midweek as the appointments have already been made.
But, Judge has hit back at Drysdale’s claims, angered by the attack on his ‘reputation’ while claiming he has more important things to worry about after his mum passed away last week.

Judge said: “I said the incident was over as far as I was concerned when I walked off the pitch and that I wasn’t looking for an apology.
“I didn’t want to make anything of it because it’s a tough job being a referee but I’m not going to keep quiet when I’ve been accused of calling the referee a cheat and using the C word.
“I’ll admit using the F word but I said to him ‘you have got to be f****ing joking me’ and I said that a couple of times to him.
“I never used the C word. I don’t use that word and I didn’t call him a cheat.
“My mum passed away last week – which is far more important than this – and I don’t need this hassle to be honest.
“Like I said, the matter was closed but I’ve got a decent reputation in the game and I won’t stand by and be accused of saying something I didn’t and not responding.
“Our media team have got some audio and it backs me up.
“Some people have said I should have come out straightaway and explained what I said but I didn’t want to do that.
“I was trying to help Darren. I said the matter was finished and it was but I have to make it clear now that I totally dispute what has been said by the referee.”  

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