Darrell Clarke admitted it had been a frustrating afternoon for the visitors after his Cheltenham side suffered a 3-1 defeat at Leyton Orient to leave them two points from safety in the Sky Bet League One relegation zone.

Ethan Galbraith and Ollie O’Neill left the visitors chasing the game with first-half goals before Orient’s leading scorer Ruel Sotiriou ended his nine-match barren run with a superb strike late on.

Substitute Joe Nuttall reduced the deficit with a goal in the final minute of stoppage time but Clarke was left to ponder the uphill struggle ahead if his team are to avoid the drop.

“We started the game quite well, particularly in the first 20 minutes, but then we conceded two goals from outside the box that really we could have done better by getting closer at the edge of the box and blocking the shots,” Clarke said.

“I was frustrated at half-time and looking for solutions to the problems we had in the first half and try to get the next goal because the game is not over at 2-0. I think if we had taken our chances and got that next goal, we would have kicked on. It’s all ifs, buts and maybes and now we have to go again.

“Probably the last two or three games have been 45-minute performances and we need to start putting 90-minute performances together.

“I’ve just said to the players, ‘we’re still in this race’, we kept going to the end and I believe there is enough in there to keep us in this division, albeit not on today’s showing.

“I will make sure I get the right answers for the team but we will have to perform better than we did today.”

O’s boss Richie Wellens saw his side collect maximum points at home for the first time in four matches.

“We missed the easier chances today with a couple of one-on-ones and could have scored a few more goals but we also scored three excellent finishes,” he said.

“I thought the keeper should have saved Galbraith’s goal but O’Neill’s goal was good and so was Sotiriou’s. I wasn’t happy with him to be honest because he was a bit sulky and his reactions weren’t great but I know he has a goal in him.

“That game should have been more comfortable than it was but we lacked discipline and gave opportunities away. They could have scored four goals today. I was disappointed we conceded to the one at the end because we wanted the clean sheet.

“This is the first game we’ve played when we can’t achieve anything but we respect the league and the teams fighting, so we played a strong team as well as given Zech Obiero a start at 18 years old, so overall it was a good day.”

Portsmouth manager John Mousinho saluted two-goal Colby Bishop as the league leaders moved to the brink of sealing promotion with a 3-1 win at home to Shrewsbury.

Top-scorer Bishop took his tally for the season to 20 to give Pompey the chance to secure a return to the Championship after a 12-year absence at Bolton next weekend.

Mousinho: “It’s a fantastic achievement for Colby to get 20 goals in successive seasons. He hasn’t played every game, so what he has achieved is brilliant.

“The result is the most important thing but the performance is important as well.

“With Peterborough and Derby not playing today, it gave us a chance to push on and extend the lead at the top. It wasn’t in spectacular fashion but we got the job done.

“I don’t think we played particularly well to be honest. We started well by getting the early goal but we became sloppy. We were slightly better in the second half but I think we were a bit jaded from Tuesday’s game. It was a difficult game to bounce back from.

“If you would have offered me a win having not played well, I would have taken it.”

Pompey took the lead after only three minutes when Conor Shaughnessy crossed from the left and Shrews skipper Chey Dunkley could only put the ball into his own net.

Shrewsbury levelled after 29 minutes when a break on the left saw the ball reach an unmarked Jordan Shipley in the box and he easily beat home goalkeeper Will Norris.

Pompey regained the lead three minutes before half time from the penalty spot after clever play by Kusini Yengi resulted in him being brought down and Bishop converted.

Shrewsbury played the second half with more purpose but Pompey finished the job off with 14 minutes remaining when Bishop slammed home from 10 yards.

Shrews boss Paul Hurst said: “To get a result, you must put your chances away.

“We had a game plan, which after three minutes we were thinking ‘do we tear it up’, but we had to make sure that we didn’t concede again.

“There was always the thought that we were going to be blown away but they didn’t perhaps play as they wanted to.

“I genuinely thought we would get something from the game but a soft penalty for them saw us going in at half time a goal down instead of level.

“The penalty was a terrible decision. If that had been at the other end, it wouldn’t have been given, trust me. An experienced referee got it wrong. It was an easy decision for him to make.”

Motherwell came from behind to secure a remarkable 3-2 victory against Dundee at a drenched Dens.

The Dark Blues looked to be coasting after Jordan McGhee and Luke McCowan had given them a 2-0 lead.

However, the Steelmen hit back with goals from Georgie Gent, Theo Bair and, deep into added time, Moses Ebiye.

The game only went ahead after two game-day pitch inspections. Despite that, there were still heavily-sanded areas in front of both dugouts and in one goalmouth.

Motherwell issued a statement prior to kick-off expressing deep concern over the welfare of their players due to the state of the surface.

After an even opening, Motherwell had a chance in the 26th minute but Adam Devine could not direct his header on target with the ball flying well over Dundee keeper Jon McCracken’s crossbar.

The hosts then had an opportunity of their own when a McCowan free-kick was headed back across goal towards Mexican defender Antonio Portales but he hit his shot into the side-netting.

However, the hosts took the lead in the 37th minute. Lyall Cameron sent a cross into the box with Amadou Bakayoko heading across goal to McGhee, who powered home a header at the back post.

Dundee doubled their advantage in the 70th minute. McCowan fired an inswinging corner from the right which flew over Liam Kelly and into the net at the back post. The Motherwell players appealed for a free-kick but after a VAR check the goal was given.

However, the game was turned completely on its head in two minutes.

VAR intervened with a penalty check for handball against Joe Shaughnessy in the 79th minute. Referee David Dickinson was called to the pitchside monitor and he pointed to the spot.

Bair stepped up with McCracken making a superb save but Gent reacted fastest to rifle home the rebound with the goal being given after yet another VAR check.

The Steelmen equalised two minutes later when Bair twisted and turned on the edge of the Dundee box, beating McCracken, before finding the back of the net.

The hosts were rocking and Bair had two more chances to give his side the lead but could not take them.

However, Motherwell scored their third to seal an incredible win in the 93rd minute when substitute Ebiye fired home past McCracken.

Aston Villa’s Premier League top-four hopes suffered a big blow as they threw away a two-goal lead to draw 3-3 against Brentford, who scored three times in nine minutes.

Villa looked to be consolidating fourth position after goals either side of half-time from Ollie Watkins and Morgan Rogers put them in the ascendency.

But they hit the self-destruct button as quickfire strikes from Mathias Jorgensen, Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa saw Brentford turn the game on its head.

The hosts had to rally and a Watkins header rescued a point, but the result handed the impetus to Tottenham in the race for guaranteed Champions League qualification.

Spurs, who are three points behind in fifth, play relegation threatened Nottingham Forest on Sunday and also have a game in hand.

The draw means Brentford’s winless run extends to nine games and they will see this as a chance missed.

After an even opening, Villa almost took the lead midway through the first half when Lucas Digne’s inswinging corner was clawed away by Bees goalkeeper Mark Flekken.

An opener came in the 39th minute as Watkins grabbed his 23rd goal in all competitions and 17th in the league.

John McGinn, back after a three-game ban, floated in an inviting cross which Watkins headed down towards goal.

Flekken scrambled to scoop the ball away and Leon Bailey followed it in, but the goal decision system showed Watkins’ header had crossed the line.

Villa doubled their lead 32 seconds after the restart as Rogers opened his Villa account in style.

The January signing from Middlesbrough picked up a Youri Tielemans pass, weaved into the area and found the bottom corner.

The game appeared done but Brentford stunned their hosts with three goals in nine minutes.

They got themselves back in it just before the hour, but goalscorer Jorgensen did not know too much about it.

The defender completely missed his kick from Mikkel Damsgaard’s ball across goal, but it hit his standing foot and wrong-footed Emi Martinez.

The tension inside the stadium was palpable and 121 seconds later the Bees were level as Mbeumo volleyed home Sergio Reguilon’s cross from the left.

The remarkable turnaround was complete in the 68th minute as Reguilon was again the provider, squaring for Wissa to convert the easiest of tap-ins.

Suddenly Villa were mounting a rescue act in a game they thought they had already won.

And it took them 12 minutes to get back level as Watkins nodded home Bailey’s deflected cross after Flekken had come to claim it but missed it.

They threw everything forward in search of a winner, with Digne’s acrobatic effort going over, but they could not find a winner and dropped two points.

Port Vale moved out of the Sky Bet League One drop zone thanks to a goalless draw at Wigan.

The home side came close to scoring with their first attack, as Matt Smith’s shot took a huge deflection off Thelo Aasgaard, completely wrong-footing Connor Ripley, only for the ball to sail inches past a post.

Former Wigan man Gavin Massey then had a great chance to mark his return to the DW Stadium with a goal, only to be thwarted by England Under-21 stopper Sam Tickle.

Smith’s deliveries were causing concern for Ripley, who had to act smartly to take the ball off Aasgaard’s feet, before tipping another cross round a post.

Martial Godo hit a post as Wigan pushed further, with substitute Charlie Kelman unable to force home the rebound.

But Vale finished the stronger and almost nicked it in the closing stages.

Tom Sang headed wide from an unmarked position, before Tickle parried out a deflected shot from James Plant, and did even better to divert the rebound from Baylee Dipepa past a post.

Alfie May’s double for Charlton secured a 2-1 win over play-off hopefuls Barnsley at The Valley.

May broke the deadlock with a tremendous free-kick in the 20th minute to fire Charlton ahead.

Adam Phillips grabbed an equaliser for Barnsley eight minutes later from the penalty spot following a handball by Kayne Ramsay.

But, after a dreadful miss from inside the six-yard box by Devante Cole, the Addicks regained the lead in the 40th minute when May curled in a shot from the left corner of the box following a clever dummy by George Dobson.

Chuks Aneke missed a 94th-minute penalty for Charlton after Liam Roberts fouled Tyreece Campbell, and Barnsley assistant coach Jon Stead was sent off for dissent a minute later.

Defeat left Barnsley with two wins from seven matches and Cole wihtout a goal in 12. But the Tykes still only need seven points from their last five games to guarantee a play-off spot.

The Addicks have now gone 11 games without defeat.

Bojan Miovski saw his late goal disallowed by VAR as Aberdeen were forced to settle for a point in a goalless cinch Premiership draw with Livingston at the Tony Macaroni Arena.

The striker looked to have settled a poor-quality contest when he fired home from close range in the dying moments but Angus MacDonald was found to have been offside in the build-up following a VAR intervention.

The Dons had had the better chances, with Miovski earlier denied by Shamal George when clean through and Jamie McGrath hitting the woodwork with a deep cross that almost crept in.

Livingston’s best opportunity came in the opening five minutes when Steven Bradley headed the ball wide from six yards out.

Aberdeen remain ninth in the league, while Livingston are now nine points adrift of Ross County at the foot of the table.

Livingston manager David Martindale had made just one change from the side who lost to Celtic last time out, with Jason Holt dropping out and Daniel Mackay coming in.

Aberdeen, meanwhile, were unchanged following their important 2-1 win over Ross County last weekend.

It was the hosts who should have taken an early lead in the fourth minute as Sean Kelly’s left-wing cross found Bradley, who headed just wide when he should have scored.

Aberdeen’s first chance came in the 20th minute and it was a golden opportunity as Miovski was released through on goal by Leighton Clarkson but the striker’s effort was well blocked by Livi goalkeeper George.

It was a stop-start first half with a number of lengthy delays following head knocks to Tete Yengi, McGrath and Michael Nottingham, although all three were eventually able to continue.

It was not until the 41st minute that the next chance was created as Steven Kelly had a left-footed shot from the edge of the box that was parried to safety by Kelle Roos.

Despite nine added minutes, there was to be no breakthrough as a forgettable first half came to an end.

McGrath had the first effort of the second half in the 52nd minute, firing in a near-post free-kick that was palmed away by George.

In a flurry of activity, substitute MacDonald saw a header blocked from the resulting corner and – in the same passage of play – McGrath’s deep cross cannoned off the far post with George scrambling in the windy conditions.

Martindale threw on Bruce Anderson after an hour and the substitute nearly had an instant impact, volleying over at the near post from a Mackay cross.

The second half was low on quality but Aberdeen thought they had snatched it at the death as Miovski bundled the ball home after George had saved Stefan Gartenmann’s header.

But, following a VAR check, MacDonald was adjudged to have been offside from the original free-kick as a disappointing match ended goalless.

Lauren Hemp feels England are thriving under the pressure of entering their Euro 2025 qualifiers as first-time defending champions.

The Lionesses could only muster a 1-1 draw with Sweden to open their qualifying campaign on Friday night at Wembley, with the Republic of Ireland to come on Tuesday, then France to conclude the competition’s first window.

Friday marked the first meeting between England and Sweden since their semi-final at Euro 2022, when England triumphed 4-0 en route to the Wembley final and their first major tournament trophy.

Asked if having a bigger target on the Lionesses’ backs is to their benefit, Hemp replied: “Yes. It’s great for us. We are European champions, and we want to keep that, so it’s important for us to win as many games as possible and get ourselves back in and among it.

“It’s good to have people come up and be like, ‘Oh my God, we’ve got England’, that’s what we want to be. We want to be a hard-working team, hard to beat. I think it’s great having that.”

Friday’s stalemate was certainly a much more even encounter between World Cup runners-up England and last summer’s bronze medallists, with Peter Gerhardsson’s side at times looking like the stronger opponent, particularly towards the closing stages of the first half.

Alessia Russo nodded home a fine Lauren James delivery to put her side in front inside 24 minutes, but the Arsenal forward’s maiden Wembley goal was cancelled out by Fridolina Rolfo after the break and the Lionesses could not find a winner in a late-stage rally.

It might have even been worse for England, who breathed a sigh of relief when Arsenal’s Stina Blackstenius – fresh off scoring last Sunday’s League Cup winner – squandered a golden chance for Sweden to take the lead earlier in the half.

In a new-look format, the top two sides in each of the four top-tier groups will directly book places at next summer’s European finals in Switzerland, while the remainder will be entered into a play-off round with teams from lower divisions.

On paper, the Lionesses’ group might be the toughest they have ever encountered in qualifying, but Hemp added: “I think for me I find it quite exciting. I want to play in tough games. I think as a group we’re so confident at the moment that we’re ready to take on anyone. We saw the group and my first thought was, ‘bring it on’. I think we are all like that.”

Leyton Orient found their shooting boots to inflict a 3-1 Sky Bet League One defeat on relegation-haunted Cheltenham.

A dull opening period was lifted in the 34th minute by a superb Ethan Galbraith strike. Collecting a pass from George Moncur, he drilled a 25-yard drive past the despairing dive of goalkeeper Luke Southwood.

The visitors, who showed little going forward before the interval and failed to record a shot on target in the first half, fell further behind 10 minutes later. Ollie O’Neill, always a threat to the Robins, cut inside from the left and delivered a sublime shot that curled into the far corner.

Finding more purpose after the interval, Cheltenham soon squandered a marvellous opportunity to reduce the deficit when O’s stopper Sol Brynn dropped a set-piece at the feet of Curtis Davies, who managed to screw the ball wide from four yards out.

Ruel Sotiriou completed the visitors’ miserable afternoon in the 85th minute when he pounced from 18 yards out to notch his 11th league goal of the season before Joe Nuttall bagged a late consolation for the Robins.

Goals from Djeidi Gassama and Anthony Musaba handed Sheffield Wednesday a vital 2-0 victory at fellow strugglers QPR to boost their chances of staying in the Sky Bet Championship.

The win leaves second-from-bottom Wednesday just a point from Huddersfield in 21st.

QPR’s own relegation fears were eased by recent back-to-back wins but this result leaves them just four points ahead of Wednesday – a victory would have put them 10 clear of the Yorkshire side.

Wednesday would have gone ahead in the first half had Josh Windass not missed a sitter. The forward contrived to nudge the ball past the far post from a yard out after being set up by Ian Poveda.

The Owls suffered another setback when the lively Poveda, who had been causing Rangers problems, was taken off just before the half-hour mark after picking up what looked like a hamstring injury.

But Gassama, his replacement, was also a thorn in QPR’s side and scored the opening goal on 59 minutes.

Gassama weaved his way into the box, going past Sam Field with ease, and then had a touch of good fortune when Isaac Hayden’s attempted clearance cannoned off the Frenchman and into the net.

Lucas Andersen almost equalised when his fierce strike hit the bar but otherwise Rangers struggled to create clear-cut chances.

That prompted boss Marti Cifuentes to make a triple substitution, sending on Morgan Fox along with forwards Lyndon Dykes and Paul Smyth.

QPR still struggled to create opportunities but one did fall to Jimmy Dunne, who headed over from Chris Willock’s cross.

Dunne headed over again late on, this time at the far post from a cross by Ilias Chair, but Wednesday were generally comfortable and scored again in the final seconds to seal their win.

Gassama was again involved, this time darting down the left and finding Musaba, who blasted past goalkeeper Asmir Begovic.

Cifuentes and his Wednesday counterpart Danny Rohl have radically improved results since taking over this season at clubs heading towards relegation.

But the defeat leaves Rangers still looking anxiously over their shoulders and Wednesday very much in with a fighting chance of staying up.

Mark Harris’ double helped push Oxford back into the League One play-off places as they ruthlessly beat Burton 4-0 at the Pirelli Stadium.

A long throw from Tom Hamer into the Oxford box was cleared and, when Tolaji Bola misjudged his header on halfway, Harris was able to race away, round keeper Max Crocombe and slot home midway through the first half.

The Welsh striker continued to torment the Brewers defence, adding a second early in the second half by bundling the ball in from eight yards out.

Josh Murphy grabbed a well-deserved goal shortly afterwards, driving from his own half to score on the counter-attack.

And, as Albion’s defence capitulated, substitute James Henry added a fourth from inside the box, dispossessing Ryan Sweeney before firing into the bottom corner.

The margin of defeat pushed Albion into the bottom four on goal difference after Port Vale’s point at Wigan.

Colby Bishop’s double helped a below-par Portsmouth beat Shrewsbury 3-1 to move another step closer to promotion.

Table-topping Pompey started with two centre forwards and the early pressure paid dividends when they took the lead on three minutes.

Conor Shaughnessy crossed from the left and Shrews skipper Chey Dunkley could only put the ball into his own net.

Pompey were in total control but their lethargic and scrappy play produced little.

Shrewsbury took advantage and equalised on 29 minutes. A break on the left saw the ball reach an unmarked Jordan Shipley in the box and he easily beat home goalkeeper Will Norris.

Conceding seemed to wake Pompey up and they regained the lead three minutes before half time from the penalty spot.

Clever play by Kusini Yengi resulted in him being brought down and top scorer Bishop converted.

Shrewsbury played the second half with more purpose but Pompey finished the job off with 14 minutes remaining when Bishop slammed home from 10 yards.

Victory left Pompey nine clear of third-placed Bolton with four games remaining.

Aaron Collins returned to haunt his former club Bristol Rovers as promotion hopefuls Bolton won 2-0 at the Memorial Stadium.

The 26-year-old striker scored in the 52nd minute as his right-footed chipped finish sailed over the onrushing Jed Ward and into the Pirates’ goal following a George Thomason pass.

Rovers had enjoyed their best spell of an even contest just before their nominated player of last season netted on a windy afternoon in Bristol.

Connor Taylor was adjudged to have fouled Cameron Jerome with a minute of stoppage time left to play, and substitute Aaron Morley sealed the win by converting the resulting spot-kick.

The Gas went close to scoring when Nathan Baxter clawed Chris Martin’s diving header from off his goal-line a minute after the restart.

Baxter also saved low at his near post to deny both Luke Thomas and Antony Evans in the first half, as Rovers made it six games without a goal, and the visitors won a first away game in seven matches.

Play-off chasing Lincoln extended their unbeaten League One run to 16 matches but had to settle for a hard-earned 1-1 draw at lowly Reading.

Tyler Bindon salvaged a point for the Royals with seven minutes remaining after Freddie Draper had given the visitors, now two points off the play-off places, the lead.

Reading had the better of an entertaining first half but Lincoln goalkeeper Lukas Jensen was rarely troubled.

Home striker Sam Smith created the game’s first opening, with a clever cross from the byline, but Ben Elliott skewed his shot wide at the near post.

In an even opening, Lincoln replied when Teddy Bishop scooped narrowly over the crossbar from a Lasse Sorensen centre.

Reading could have gone ahead approaching the interval only for desperate Lincoln defending to block close-range efforts from Femi Azeez and Paul Mukairu.

Azeez could have given Reading a second-half lead but curled over after a fine solo run.

Lincoln sat back for much of the second half but were rewarded in the 72nd minute when, on a rare break, substitute Draper nodded home.

But Reading deservedly levelled when Lewis Wing swung in a corner and defender Bindon nodded in from inside the six-yard box.

Exeter moved into the top half of the Sky Bet League One table with a 1-0 win that dented Stevenage’s hopes of making the play-offs.

After a cagey opening, it was Boro that created the first chance with Alex MacDonald finding himself with only Viljami Sinisalo to beat, but Exeter’s Finnish goalkeeper was equal to a shot that was straight at him.

Exeter responded with Luke Harris sliding in at the near post to poke a Dion Rankine cross at Taye Ashby-Hammond, while Reece Cole was off target with a curling shot from 20 yards out.

However, the deadlock was broken in the 39th minute when – for the third time in the game – Sonny Cox charged down a clearance by Ashby-Hammond and Cole cleverly guided the ball into an empty net from 25 yards for his seventh goal of the season.

Former Grecian Jamie Reid almost equalised at the start of the second half, but Sinisalo made a brilliant double save, while Rankine smashed a good chance into the side netting from an acute angle for Exeter.

Reid was off target with a glancing header as Stevenage pushed for an equalising goal, but other than a cross that flashed across the face of goal, they rarely threatened Sinisalo in the Exeter goal.