As Cardiff and Wrexham’s promotion charges gather momentum, Swansea are brought back down to earth and Newport pick up a valuable point in their battle to avoid the drop.
Malky MacKay’s Bluebirds produced a stunning comeback against cash strapped Portsmouth when, Craig Conway struck a fine winner deep into injury time.
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| Craig Conway |
Earlier on Kenny Miller had put the home side in front from an acute angle, before goals from Marko Futacs and Greg Halford either side of the break gave Pompy an unlikely lead.
Skipper Mark Hudson got on the end of Conway’s cross to even things up and the former Dundee United midfielder rifled in a stunning winner to ensure that they went one point behind Southampton.
Meanwhile up at the Stadium of Light, Swansea were undone by two quality strikes despite dominating much of the game. The wonderful Stephane Sessegnon was a constant threat all afternoon and took his goal in spectacular fashion and was on hand to set up Craig Gardner's wonder goal, as Sunderland’s great start under Martin O’Neil continued.
Gylfi Sigurdsson, was the main threat to Sunderland all afternoon and despite having 64% of the possession Brendan Rodgers will be left ruing a chance to pick up points on the road. Scott Sinclair went close in the first half after some great work from Nathan Dyer. Chelsea loan signing Josh McEachran looked bright when he came on, in place of Sigurdsson.
The Swans now find themselves in thirteenth and eight points clear of the drop zone, although Brendan Rodgers will not get carried away until his side reach the magic forty point mark.
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| Andy Morrell |
As for Wrexham they picked themselves up following their midweek cup heartbreak, and stuck four past Kettering. Manager Andy Morell’s early strike gave them the lead at half time and Mark Creighton doubled the lead from close range. Kettering got themselves back into it when Djoumin Sangare finished with great aplomb, but Wrexham grew into the game. Debutant James Colbeck made an instant impact with two goals to ensure a seventh consecutive victory in the league, as Fleetwood town kept the heat on with a win at Darlington.
Down in Newport secured a crucial point despite playing for an hour with only ten men following Ismail Yakubu’s first half dismissal. The home side created enough chances to take all three points, but ultimately Justin Edinburgh will be satisfied with a solid defensive showing that sees his side remain one point ahead of trap door.
