In-form striker Ellis Simms bagged a first-half double as play-off chasing Coventry recorded a 3-1 win at struggling Huddersfield.

Simms took his tally to 12 goals in his last nine matches across all competitions to boost Coventry’s hopes of securing a top-six finish.

Substitute Rhys Healey claimed his first goal in Huddersfield colours to reduce their arrears in the 79th minute but Haji Wright added a third for Coventry late on to send them up to seventh.

It was the visitors who created the first meaningful opportunity in the eighth minute when Wright tested the reflexes of Lee Nicholls after a quick counter attack.

But Town, unable to call upon star man Sorba Thomas due to suspension, wasted a glorious chance to get their noses in front on the 15-minute mark.

Josh Koroma seized on a loose ball after Milan Van Ewijk slipped over and the makeshift striker saw his low drive from an acute angle kept out by Brad Collins.

It proved a big moment as Coventry broke the deadlock in the 16th minute in spectacular fashion.

Palmer, a thorn in Huddersfield’s side throughout the first half, played in Simms down the left and he skipped past Michal Helik before unleashing a stunning right-foot curler into the top corner.

Things got even better for the FA Cup semi-finalists when Simms doubled their advantage midway through the half after a well-worked move.

Palmer freed Van Ewijk down the right, who neatly pulled the ball back for Simms to rifle in his second.

Moments later, Simms could have completed his hat-trick following excellent approach play by Wright but Nicholls was equal to the former Everton man’s effort.

The home side finished the half strongly, with wing-back David Kasumu rattling the post with a 25-yard piledriver.

Lady luck did not shine on Andre Breitenreiter’s side after the break as Jack Rudoni’s rasping left-foot drive struck the crossbar from just inside the penalty area.

It then took a brilliant last-ditch intervention from Spencer to prevent Wright from getting a sight at goal as Coventry pressed for a third.

Breitenreiter turned to his bench in an attempt to spark his team into life, throwing on Pat Jones, Ben Wiles and Healey.

Yet Huddersfield were indebted to Nicholls for keeping them in the contest as he produced good stops to foil substitute Callum O’Hare and Wright in the final quarter.

A blunder from Coventry shot-stopper Collins handed Huddersfield a lifeline. His pass was intercepted by Healey and Wiles kept his cool to square the ball to the striker, who drilled home.

Healey’s strike visibly lifted the crowd and swung the momentum Huddersfield’s way, with Collins pulling off two terrific saves to deny Jones.

Wright wrapped up the points deep into added time, lashing a left-foot shot into the bottom corner to send the away end delirious.

Jamal Lowe’s second-half goal cancelled out Bailey Cadamarteri’s opener as Swansea drew 1-1 at Sheffield Wednesday on Good Friday.

The home side had several golden opportunities in the second half but a Swansea equaliser in the last quarter of an hour ensured the Owls remain in the relegation zone.

Wednesday boss Danny Rohl made four changes from the 6-0 demolition at Ipswich, with Pol Valentin, Akin Famewo, Liam Palmer and Cadamarteri joining the starting XI. A late fifth change had to be made when Di’Shon Bernard suffered an injury during the warm-up. Bambo Diaby took his place.

Swansea manager Luke Williams made a couple of switches to the side that claimed a 2-0 victory in the South Wales derby, with Josh Key coming in alongside Jay Fulton.

The home side had the first sight of goal, with Anthony Musaba heading wide within a minute of the start.

The Swans controlled the majority of play in the first half following that. Przemyslaw Placheta stung the palms of Wednesday keeper James Beadle. Liam Cullen also had his header saved but a foul was given against the striker anyway.

The Owls had a huge chance to take the lead as two ex-Cardiff men combined. Ike Ugbo squared for Will Vaulks but the midfielder scuffed his shot well wide.

Against the run of play, Wednesday did go ahead after 41 minutes. Diaby flicked on Vaulks’ free-kick from the right and Cadamarteri poked home on the stretch to give Wednesday the lead going into the break.

Beadle tipped over from Jamie Paterson’s volley from the edge of the box in the first chance of the second half. Matt Grimes then volleyed wide from a corner.

Substitute Djeidi Gassama came close to doubling Wednesday’s advantage after some good work on the right by Valentin but Carl Rushworth made a low save to keep him out.

The home side came agonisingly close again as Ugbo hit the crossbar from close range.

Just as in the first half, a goal was scored against the run of play as the Owls were made to pay for not taking their chances. Harry Darling’s header from a corner fell at the feet of substitute Lowe. The striker could not miss as Wednesday’s appeals for handball were waved away and Swansea were level in the 76th minute.

Valentin had a glorious chance to put Wednesday back in front but the winger dragged his shot wide. In added time, Rushworth stayed alert to saved Vaulks’ deflected effort.

The Owls remain in 23rd and stay in the bottom three on goal difference.

Nick Haughton scored one and created another as AFC Fylde won 3-1 at Oldham to deal a blow to the Latics’ promotion push.

Haughton looked dangerous from the very start as he hit a shot against the crossbar in the sixth minute, and he put the visitors ahead moments later as he turned in Connor Barrett’s cross.

It was 2-0 after 17 minutes when Adam King got his first Fylde goal, turning in a loose ball after a corner, with Haughton then volleying narrowly wide moments later after creating space for himself.

Ethan Mitchell headed in a third from Haughton’s cross in the 32nd minute. Oldham got one back through Dan Gardner just before the break, but any hopes of a second-half comeback were dashed by a 60th-minute red card for Mike Fondop.

Jon Mellish scored a hat-trick as rock-bottom Carlisle stunned promotion-chasing Peterborough with a shock 3-1 success in Sky Bet League One.

Midfielder Mellish, who had only previously scored twice all season, did the damage as Paul Simpson’s basement boys bagged just a sixth win of a torrid campaign.

Mellish rose unchallenged to meet substitute Jordan Gibson’s cross after Posh switched off from a Dylan McGeouch short corner as Carlisle took a 27th minute lead.

The same man doubled their advantage three minutes into the second half when he struck an impressive volley past Posh goalkeeper Jed Steer, following a weak defensive header from England Under-20 defender Ronnie Edwards.

Mellish was not done there, completing a memorable treble in the 58th minute with another spectacular left-footed volley after the hosts failed to deal with a McGeouch cross.

Posh quickly hit back as captain Harrison Burrows slammed a 61st-minute shot through a crowd of players from the edge of the box but that was as good as it got as Darren Ferguson’s men flopped.

Substitute Jonson Clarke-Harris fluffed a glorious chance to cut the arrears further, before also being denied by the bar late on as the courageous Cumbrians stood firm.

Cole Stockton scored twice as Barrow moved closer to securing a Sky Bet League Two play-off place with a 3-1 win over lowly Grimsby.

The Cumbrians have never appeared in a Football League play-off but an unbeaten March campaign has bolstered their chances.

Stockton broke the deadlock after 11 minutes with his sixth goal since joining on loan from Burton in the January transfer window.

The former Morecambe goal machine doubled the Bluebirds’ lead in the 22nd minute with a simple tap-in after Dom Telford’s shot following a mazy dribble was stopped on the line.

Barrow looked set for a routine three points but Grimsby kept up the pressure in the second half and saw Kieran Green hit the post with a header.

However, Pete Wild’s side sealed victory after 81 minutes as midfielder Robbie Gotts drilled in a low shot from the edge of the area.

Gotts’ goal was extra insurance as Justin Obikwu fired in after 88 minutes to give the Mariners a consolation.

Barrow’s latest win stretched their unbeaten run to six games – all in March – with four victories and two draws and leaves them fifth in League Two.

Norwich maintained their Sky Bet Championship play-off push as they saw off plucky Plymouth 2-1 to make it seven successive home wins in the league.

The struggling visitors stunned the Canaries by taking in the lead after 10 minutes as Morgan Whittaker headed home his 20th goal of the season.

But David Wagner’s side, who had lost 6-2 at Plymouth earlier in the season, responded well to the setback and two goals in seven second-half minutes, from top scorer Josh Sargent and an Ashley Phillips own goal, settled a hard-fought encounter in which the relegation threatened Pilgrims played their part.

Plymouth found themselves on the backfoot from the off but managed to take the lead from their first attack.

An impressive switch in play from Alfie Devine allowed Matthew Sorinola to make ground down the right flank before crossing for Whittaker to find the bottom corner with a powerful header.

Norwich had a chance to hit back a few minutes later when Sargent burst through but a superb last-ditch block from Phillips snuffed out the danger.

Sargent later hit the post with a deflected drive from a Gabriel Sara corner, while on the stroke of half-time Borja Sainz got to the byline, only to fail to pick out an unmarked Sargent, who would have had a simple tap-in.

Plymouth were largely on the defensive, although they nearly made it 2-0 after 37 minutes when Ryan Hardie skipped past keeper Angus Gunn only to miss the target from a narrow angle.

Norwich continued to dominate after the break and deservedly got back on level terms after 67 minutes from a clever short corner routine.

Substitute Christian Fassnacht picked out the deep lying Sargent with a low delivery and the United States international had the space to sweep home his 14th goal of the season.

The Canaries now had the bit between their teeth and seven minutes later took the lead from another corner.

This time Sara took it and his conventional delivery was headed goalwards by Sam McCallum, with Argyle defender Phillips then inadvertently deflecting the ball home from close range.

Gunn produced an excellent block to foil Hardie as Plymouth pressed for an equaliser before an audacious 30-yard free-kick from Sara hit the underside of the crossbar, with Fassnacht’s follow-up header going just over.

Reading eased their Sky Bet League One relegation fears with a hard-earned 1-0 home victory over mid-table Northampton.

The Cobblers controlled most of the opening half, with Reading only staying in contention thanks to a series of fine saves from goalkeeper Joel Pereira.

But the home side struck in the 65th minute, with what proved to be the winner, when substitute Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan fired home from an angle after cutting in from the left flank.

Reading, buoyed by the recent news that owner Dai Yongge had agreed “exclusivity” terms with an as-yet unnamed potential buyer of the club, created little in a poor first-half showing.

Ben Elliott, Harvey Knibbs and Sam Smith squandered a string of half-chances before Northampton dominated the remainder of the period – and Pereira had to be at his best.

An alert and agile double save denied Town’s 15-goal top scorer Sam Hoskins, with Pereira also keeping out firm efforts from Ben Fox and Louis Appere.

Reading improved after the break and went ahead when Ehibhatiomhan exchanged passes with Jeriel Dorsett before curling a superb shot past Town keeper Louie Moulden.

It was the tall striker’s 11th goal of the season in all competitions.

Northampton tried hard to find an equaliser late on but Reading held firm to secure a vital win in their relegation battle, moving six points clear of the bottom four.

Ebou Adams scored his first goal for Derby to boost their automatic promotion hopes with a 1-0 win over Blackpool.

Derby went with an attacking formation but the first clear chance fell to Blackpool in the 29th minute, with George Byers scuffing a shot wide from 15 yards.

It brought an instant response from Nathaniel Mendez-Laing, whose curling shot was touched behind by Daniel Grimshaw and the corner was almost forced in at the near post.

But Grimshaw could do nothing in the 40th minute when a cross was half cleared to Adams, who scored with a first-time shot from the edge of the area.

Derby should have added a second in the 55th minute when Mendez-Laing put Conor Washington through on the right but he failed to beat Grimshaw.

Blackpool almost took advantage in the 71st minute through a Sonny Carey free-kick which Rams keeper Joe Wildsmith clawed away.

There was another late scare for Derby when Kyle Joseph twice had goalbound shots blocked by Curtis Nelson and Eiran Cashin.

Woking missed the chance to open up a seven-point gap on the Vanarama National League relegation zone as they were beaten 1-0 at home by Eastleigh.

Midfielder Solomon Nwabuokei struck midway through the first half for the visitors, heading home at the far post from a corner.

Woking hit the bar with a header of their own at the end of the first half as they sought a route back but, despite putting Eastleigh under intense pressure during five minutes of stoppage time at the end of the game, they could not force an equaliser.

The visitors are now six points clear of the bottom four.

Substitute Jovon Makama scored a last-minute winner as Lincoln beat Leyton Orient 1-0 to move into the Sky Bet League One play-off positions for the first time this season.

Makama had been on the pitch for just a handful of minutes when he earned the Imps maximum points as they stretched their unbeaten run to 14 matches and dealt a major blow to Orient’s own play-off hopes.

Orient had the game’s first chance after six minutes, with Imps goalkeeper Lukas Jensen alert to tip Darren Pratley’s snapshot over the bar.

The game turned niggly, with little goalmouth action at either end, before Jordan Brown fired narrowly wide for the visitors after 29 minutes and then Ruel Sotiriou and Shaq Forde both fired straight at Jensen.

City finally managed their first shot of the match five minutes before the break when Joe Taylor ran on to Danny Mandroiu’s quick free-kick but blazed wildly wide.

It took 21 minutes of the the second half for either side to have an effort on goal, with Taylor stabbing an effort into the ground and wide.

Ollie O’Neill headed Rob Hunt’s inch-perfect cross narrowly over at the other end before Imps sub Freddie Draper finally had the hosts’ first shot on target after 76 minutes, his effort easily gobbled up by Sol Brynn.

Orient sub Ethan Galbraith nearly won it late on, his low drive bringing out an excellent diving save from Jensen.

But City did produce a winner when Makama did brilliantly to first block an attempted clearance and then collect the ball and curl a low shot into the bottom corner.

Morecambe halted a run of four successive losses with a 2-1 win over Accrington to claim the bragging rights in their Lancashire derby.

Nelson Khumbeni and Chris Stokes scored second-half goals for the Shrimps, who still have a chance of securing a play-off place, before Lewis Shipley grabbed what proved a consolation.

There wasn’t a lot to remember from the first half in terms of goalmouth action.

Both keepers had one save to make, with Morecambe’s Archie Mair tipping over a Brad Hills effort after 22 minutes and Manchester United loan stopper Radek Vitek easily collecting a Khumbeni strike.

After the break, Stanley had a chance cleared off the line in a scramble and, from this, Morecambe broke through Gerard Garner down the right and he passed to Khumbeni in the area, who found the top corner of the net after 55 minutes. It was the Bolton loanee’s first goal for the Shrimps.

The second came seven minutes later when Charlie Brown’s free-kick into a crowded area was turned home by Stokes from close range.

A Jack Nolan cross was headed home by Shipley after 89 minutes but, despite nine minutes of added time, the hosts could not grab an equaliser.

Jack Price’s stunning late strike helped relegation-battling Shrewsbury earn a 1-1 draw with promotion-chasing Oxford in League One.

Billy Bodin fired Oxford into a second-half lead but they dropped out of the top six after Price volleyed home an 83rd-minute equaliser.

In a quiet opening 15 minutes, Oxford had the first opportunity through Mark Harris, who was played through on goal but was denied by goalkeeper Marko Marosi.

Shrewsbury’s Aiden O’Brien received a low ball into the box from Dan Udoh on the half-hour mark, but his timid effort was parried clear by Jamie Cumming.

The U’s broke the deadlock eight minutes into the second half.

Josh Murphy brought down a long ball, went around the keeper before getting pushed wide and sent in a low cross to Harris, who laid it off to Bodin to smash home.

But the hosts equalised through substitute Price’s 20-yard volley.

Oxford came close to retaking the lead from the kick-off as Bodin had an edge-of-the-box effort pushed away. Cameron Brannagan then had a follow-up shot, but Morgan Feeney made a last-ditch clearance to edge the Shrews a point closer to safety.

Emmanuel Latte Lath’s 90th-minute equaliser saved a 1-1 draw for Middlesbrough to puncture Southampton’s Sky Bet Championship automatic promotion ambitions.

Adam Armstrong had seemingly fired Saints towards a 23rd victory of the season with his 30th goal contribution in the Championship this season – more than any other player.

But Ivorian Latte Lath nodded in his 10th goal of the campaign late on to extend Boro’s unbeaten run to five matches.

Saints ended their 20-day break since their last game with a goal inside 12 minutes.

Kamaldeen Sulemana lifted a ball from the left side into the box and it should have been dealt with by makeshift centre-back Jonny Howson – who was forced to fill in at the back with Boro contending with 11 injuries, six of them to defenders.

Howson sliced his attempted clearance to Armstrong, who settled himself before using his composure to slot into the bottom corner for his 19th goal of the season.

Armstrong almost pilfered his 20th two minutes later but his fierce effort was deflected just over.

Boro grew into the half and struck the post in the 28th minute with their first shot of the afternoon. Kyle Walker-Peters had given the ball away in midfield before Finn Azaz rattled the base of the upright.

Isaiah Jones could not find a stretching Latte Lath while Sulemana blazed over to end a first half that promised more.

The second period started like a runaway train as Gavin Bazunu stood strong to deny Latte Lath at one end before Che Adams pounced on Seny Dieng’s parry to put the ball into the net at the other before the flag went up for offside.

Adams then had two gilt-edged chances in two minutes to double Southampton’s lead.

The Scotland international was dinked through by Taylor Harwood-Bellis but took so long to settle himself Dieng had time to position himself to save the eventual shot in the box, then Adams was able to control and turn seven yards out when unmarked but somehow missed the target.

Armstrong was brilliantly denied from close range by Nieng before his follow-up was blocked on the line by Lukas Engel.

Ryan Fraser had a shot parried before Will Smallbone shinned the rebound over as Saints were made to pay for their wastefulness in the dying embers.

Alex Gilbert’s cross from the right was met by Latte Lath, who craned his neck to divert into the bottom corner.

Gary O’Neil said there is no truth in reports that he will leave Wolves in order to replace Erik ten Hag as manager of Manchester United.

A number of names have been linked with Old Trafford since minority investor Sir Jim Ratcliffe took charge of football operations earlier this year.

O’Neil, appointed at Molineux days before the start of the current season, has overseen an impressive campaign in which Wolves have far exceeded expectations.

They currently sit ninth and are 20 points clear of the relegation zone despite having been tipped to struggle following the departure of former boss Julen Lopetegui in August.

Instead they have sights on possible European qualification and could finish the weekend in seventh – likely to be worth a place in next season’s Europa Conference League – if they beat Aston Villa on Saturday evening and other results go their way.

Despite his rising personal profile, O’Neil dismissed suggestions he is being lined up for the United job.

“I don’t know where it came from,” he said.

“Growing up, Liverpool and Manchester United always felt special. It’s an honour to be linked even if there’s no truth in it.

“I love it here. I’m a head coach, I’m always going to be a head coach. I’m really enjoying my time at Wolves. I was only made aware of (the links) by the media team to prepare for your questions.”

Matheus Cunha is in contention to feature against Villa having missed most of the last two months with a hamstring injury.

The 24-year-old went off during his team’s home defeat to Brentford on February 10 but could return to the fold on Saturday.

He has scored 11 goals in all competitions in what is is his first campaign since signing permanently from Atletico Madrid.

“He will play some football for us this week,” said O’Neil. “He’s back, he’s fine and has worked his socks off. He’s shaved an enormous amount of time off the medical diagnosis of what he had.

“He’s done unbelievably well and now the decision for me is when and how long he plays. He is training, sprinting and has done everything you can do to test the hamstring, apart from being put into a Premier League game.

“It’s now on me to decide if that’s from the start tomorrow, the bench tomorrow or from the start on Tuesday (against Burnley).

“We’re trying to get it right for him as he’s massively important to us for tomorrow’s game, but also the nine after that.”

Boss Carlos Corberan believes the quality in Millwall’s squad is not reflected by their position in the Championship table after West Brom’s 1-1 draw at The Den.

The Lions controlled the first half and Duncan Watmore capitalised with a fine finish past Baggies goalkeeper Alex Palmer.

However, the visitors won a penalty after the break and John Swift made no mistake, converting past Millwall stopper Matija Sarkic.

Corberan feels Millwall have the quality to compete at the top of the table rather than the bottom.

He said: “That’s why they are competing at this level. They are a competitive team and for me one of the teams that their position in the table is not reflective of the level of their squad.

“Over the last five or six games they have lost one game and in the summer their target would have been to reach the play-offs.

“When there are many good teams in the Championship this can happen to good teams.

“I think that today was a tough game, there were two teams with two different styles.

“In the first half they were better than us but in the second half, with our style, we were a little bit better than them.

“There is also the feeling of a result, today we have had to work hard to get the point.

“It has been a game where we were not brilliant and we didn’t create enough chances, we tried but we couldn’t.”

Millwall boss Neil Harris was happy to take the positives after an impressive performance against a team in the top six.

He added: “What a good Millwall performance for so much of that game, especially in the first half.

“I thought West Brom nailed it in the first five minutes, they slowed it down and retained the ball to stop us getting near them, but then we grew into the game.

“We had them rattled, and they’re a really good side with really good players, but we bossed it.

“We should have been 3-0 up, we should have been out of sight at half-time.

“If you don’t see teams off at this level you get punished by a moment and when they have quality one-on-one players you get found wanting.

“So a glass half full in the sense that it was a really strong performance, a really good point gained against a good side but there is disappointment because we deserved the three.

“The lads have come in saying it should have been out of sight and Matija’s not had a save to make all game.

“We have made a really good side look ordinary and we looked like a really good Millwall side.”