EFL: Four penalties in a game and Saville's fast starts among five things you may have missed
- Published
With Championship table-toppers Wolves heavily beaten at Aston Villa and a stoppage-time goal that saw the League Two lead change hands, you could be excused for missing several other talking points amid the drama of another entertaining Saturday in the English Football League.
But 10 March delivered a flurry of stories across the divisions, and BBC Sport looks at five that may have passed you by.
Saville's a fast starter
Grabbing an early goal inside the first 60 seconds? A boost for any team, but not uncommon.
A side scoring inside the first minute in two consecutive games? A rarity.
But the same player netting first-minute openers in back-to-back matches? Extraordinary!
Step forward Millwall's George Saville, who, after netting after 57 seconds in a 2-1 win at Hull on Tuesday, found the net for the Lions after just 51 seconds at home to Brentford on Saturday.
The 24-year-old Northern Ireland international's second consecutive quick-fire contribution was enough to earn Neil Harris' men a fifth win in six games and extend their fine unbeaten league run, which stretches back to New Year's Day.
Evans' winning start at Posh
It took a little longer than 51 seconds for the new man in charge at the ABAX Stadium to see his side score, but there was still a big win for Steve Evans in his first match as Peterborough manager.
The Scot, who resigned as Mansfield boss in February before moving to the League One club, oversaw a 4-1 win at home to play-off rivals Charlton.
The result lifted Posh above the Addicks in the table, up to seventh, one point below the play-off places with games in hand on the sides immediately above them.
Never a man to lack confidence, Evans said: "The chairman said to me, promotion is going to be difficult, but he desperately wants it and I love to prove people wrong."
By contrast, there was a surprise 3-0 home loss for Swindon's player-caretaker manager Matt Taylor in his first game in charge at the County Ground - a game in which the former Portsmouth midfielder played the full 90 minutes.
Jolly stoppage-time celebrations for Jolley
There was an entirely different end to the game for another new boss as Grimsby struck late to earn a point in their first match under Michael Jolley.
The former Burnley Under-23 boss looked set to be facing defeat in his first Mariners game, at home to relegation rivals Port Vale, before James Berrett's cool finish in the 91st minute made it 1-1 and kept them above Vale in the League Two table.
Grimsby fans may have known little about Jolley before he was appointed on 2 March. But the club's board declared in a statement that the 40-year-old's arrival was a "real coup", external for the Lincolnshire club.
And Berrett's late intervention offered a sizeable morale boost for the ex-manager of Swedish side Eskilstuna, as it ended the Mariners' four-match losing run.
"There are a million things we can look to improve on, but the lads showed they are willing to go until the 90th minute to get something from a game," he said afterwards. And sometimes even the 91st.
He added: "I was really pleased with the psychology of my team."
Four penalties at Hull as Maddison shines again
For the match officials, the busiest afternoon came at Hull, where four penalties were scored - including three in 23 first-half minutes - as the Tigers beat Norwich 4-3.
The game was the first in England's top four tiers to see four penalties awarded since Manchester City v Tottenham on 18 October 2014.
Hull's Abel Hernandez netted twice from the spot after Norwich's James Maddison had scored his two spot-kicks.
In fact, it was another impressive afternoon - despite defeat - for Maddison, as he notched a hat-trick, 24 hours after being named the EFL Young Player of the Month for January.
After Saturday's loss, the 21-year-old attacking midfielder posted on Twitter:, external "To score three goals away from home and come away with nothing is bitterly disappointing.
"On a positive note, [I'm] delighted with my first senior hat-trick, just gutted it gained us no points."
Championship strikers finding form at the right time
Strikers who can hit top form at the "business end" of the season can be priceless, and two men who have done just that recently are helping Fulham and Middlesbrough in their bids to return to the Premier League.
The Cottagers' on-loan forward Aleksandar Mitrovic's second consecutive brace snatched victory at Preston on Saturday, taking his tally to seven goals in five games.
Going one better, with eight in five, is Middlesbrough's Patrick Bamford.
The former Chelsea man's latest came in a 3-1 home win over Barnsley that helped create a three-point cushion between sixth-placed Boro and seventh-placed Bristol City.
Meanwhile, Fulham - on a run of 10 wins in 12 league games and 15 without loss - are in fourth, seven points above Boro and five points off the automatic promotion places.
- Published10 March 2018
- Published9 March 2018
- Published28 February 2018