AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan and his team-mates walked off the pitch during the first half of the Serie A match at Udinese on Saturday evening.

The 28-year-old France international left the action shortly after his team had taken the lead, apparently indicating to referee Fabio Maresca he had heard racist abuse from the crowd at the Stadio Friuli.

Maignan was followed by the other Milan players but they returned to the pitch soon after and play was able to resume around seven minutes after Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s goal had broken the deadlock.

Maignan was beaten three minutes later by a Lazar Samardzic shot and the teams went in at half-time level at 1-1 after six minutes of stoppage time.

Ivan Toney claimed he knew he would score and Brentford would win upon his return from his eight-month exile.

The striker, banned from football since May for breaching betting rules, was back on the scoresheet for the first time in 267 days.

Toney struck with an audacious free-kick to thrust himself back into the spotlight for the right reasons.

“It was a long time coming,” he told Sky Sports. “I manifested this win when I was at home during the time I was out, I am here now and buzzing to be back scoring goals and winning with the team.

“I knew this would happen. I manifest things like this. Before I left my house I thought ‘we’re winning today and I’m scoring’. And I made it happen.”

Danilo volleyed Forest into a third-minute lead before Orel Mangala gave away a free-kick on the edge of the area.

Only one player was going to take it, and just as Toney had when he scored in the corresponding fixture last season – his last goal before the ban – the 27-year-old nonchalantly stroked the free-kick around the wall and inside Matt Turner’s left-hand post.

Forest captain Ryan Yates was furious with Turner for not spotting the gap that Toney found, although no one noticed the England forward subtly rolling the ball a few inches to the right as the keeper was lining up his wall.

“Yeah, I saw the gap,” Toney added. “Sometimes you have a gap either way and I bent the ball around the wall and was happy to see it go in.”

But Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo felt the goal should not have stood.

“Ball displacement, and the law is clear,” he said. “Every goal must be checked. I don’t know if they checked or not.

“The players have to be a little bit mature as well because it changes the position of the ball. It’s a yard almost. But our players didn’t realise.”

Bees head coach Thomas Frank was blissfully unaware of the incident, and the law.

“I have no clue. I didn’t know that he did it,” said Frank. “He’s a clever player, what more can I say? He took it well and it’s in the back of the net.

“Classic Ivan. He loves the big stage and he thrives there. It’s extra impressive to come back after eight months and play the way he did, scoring a clever goal. Super impressive.”

Brentford went ahead in the 58th minute when Ben Mee got in front of his marker and headed home Mathias Jensen’s corner.

Seven minutes later Chris Wood glanced in a cross from Callum Hudson-Odoi for his fifth goal in four league matches under new boss Nuno Espirito Santo.

But Toney was involved again when Brentford snatched the victory in the 70th minute, switching the play out to the right from where Jensen crossed for Neal Maupay to lash into the net and lift the Bees above their opponents and into 14th place.

Nuno added: “It was a good performance. I think we played well, we had good momentum, fighting spirit and togetherness. The result is frustrating but the performance was good.”

Morocco head coach Walid Regragui has told his players to forget about their winning Africa Cup of Nations start when they face DR Congo on Sunday.

Tournament favourites Morocco, semi-finalists at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, cruised to a 3-0 win against 10-man Tanzania in their opening Group F match.

The Atlas Lions can all but secure their place in the knockout stage with victory against DR Congo at the Laurent Pokou Stadium in San Pedro.

Regragui told a press conference: “The first thing we need to do is forget about the first match we had.

“It is a very difficult tournament both physically and mentally, and each match has its own reality.

“We had a good start, but we need to do the same (on Sunday) against a team that is not easy.”

Regragui conceded his players had struggled with the hot and humid conditions in their opening game, adding: “(We are) fighting with both the opponent team and the climate.

“To win this competition, one must be the best during both strong and weak moments.”

DR Congo head coach Sebastien Desabre could not hide his frustration after his side were held 1-1 by Zambia in their opening match and they must avoid defeat to keep their hopes of progressing out of the group alive.

The Frenchman said: “It wasn’t a final. There are still two finals remaining and the ambition is to win the next two matches.

The Leopards missed a host of chances against Zambia and Desabre added: “Above all, I hope that my attackers will be more effective.”

Morocco’s Bayern Munich defender Noussair Mazraoui remains doubtful due to a thigh injury sustained while playing for his club side before the tournament.

DR Congo have no major new injury concerns, while Young Boys forward Meschak Elia and Braga’s Simon Banza are pushing for starting places after stepping off the bench against Zambia.

Tanzania are “ready” to face Zambia in their second Africa Cup of Nations game after the suspension of head coach Adel Amrouche, acting boss Hemed Suleiman has said.

Following Tanzania’s 3-0 loss to Morocco in their Group F opener in Ivory Coast, in which they had Novatus Miroshi sent off, Amrouche was given an eight-match ban by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

A statement from the organisation said the sanction had come with Amrouche having been charged “for bringing CAF into disrepute following comments and allegations he made about the Royal Moroccan Football Federation.”

The Tanzanian Football Federation suspended Amrouche and appointed assistant Suleiman as acting head coach, and he said in quotes on the tournament’s official website ahead of Sunday’s clash: “After the match against Morocco, we prepared our team mentally and physically.

“We have also resolved our problems and we are ready to play Zambia. It’s a great team with good players but we have objectives for this tournament too.

“It’s a big responsibility for me to be here. But that’s normal too. The head coach could have had a red card so I have always had to be prepared for such situations.”

Zambia, managed by former Chelsea and West Ham boss Avram Grant, drew 1-1 in their opening match against DR Congo.

Grant said: “The most important thing in football is the next match. We started well against DR Congo but the focus now is Tanzania.

“This meeting is important because we want to win to increase our chances of qualifying for the next round.

“We have our own style of play. We want to move forward, and score goals every time. The Tanzania team is very solid. We will have to expect a complicated match.”

Ivan Toney marked his return from his eight-month exile with a goal to help Brentford to a thrilling 3-2 win over Nottingham Forest.

The striker, banned from football since May for breaching betting rules, was back on the scoresheet for the first time in 267 days.

Named captain for the day, Toney struck with an audacious free-kick to cancel out Danilo’s opener for Forest and thrust himself back into the spotlight for the right reasons.

Ben Mee headed Brentford in front but Chris Wood equalised before Toney’s strike partner Neal Maupay found the net as Brentford celebrated their talisman’s comeback with a much-needed win after five successive Premier League defeats.

Not that this was ever likely to be a low-key return – there was even a digital billboard over the road from the Gtech Stadium flashing up a picture of Toney and the words ‘he’s back’.

Yet Forest threatened to ruin the party when they went ahead with less than three minutes gone.

Vitaly Janelt made a mess of a clearance, twice, and when Mee attempted to tidy up his header flew straight to Brazilian Danilo, who took a touch with his thigh before volleying past Bees keeper Mark Flekken.

But Toney, whose ban officially ended on Wednesday, hauled Brentford level in the 19th minute after Orel Mangala gave away a free-kick by pulling down Mikkel Damsgaard on the edge of the area.

Only one player was going to take it, and just as Toney had when he scored in the corresponding fixture last season – his last goal before the ban – the 27-year-old nonchalantly stroked the free-kick around the wall and inside Matt Turner’s left-hand post.

Forest captain Ryan Yates was furious with Turner for not spotting the gap that Toney found, although no one noticed the England forward subtly rolling the ball a few inches to the right as the keeper was lining up his wall.

The delight around the ground was palpable as Toney raced over to the touchline to celebrate with boss Thomas Frank and his coaching staff.

The Bees could have gone in ahead at half-time but Keane Lewis-Potter’s shot hit the crossbar.

Brentford’s pressure told in the 58th minute when Mee got in front of his marker and headed home Mathias Jensen’s corner.

Seven minutes later Wood glanced in a cross from Callum Hudson-Odoi for his fifth goal in four league matches under new boss Nuno Espirito Santo.

But Toney was involved again when Brentford snatched the victory in the 70th minute, switching the play out to the right from where Jensen crossed for Maupay to turn and lash the ball past Turner.

Gelson Dala struck twice as Angola beat Mauritania 3-2 in a breathless Africa Cup of Nations clash to go top of Group D.

Dala’s first-half opener was cancelled out by Sidi Amar, but he scored his second soon after the interval and Gilberto put Angola 3-1 ahead three minutes later.

Aboubakary Koita fired a stunning second goal for Mauritania just before the hour-mark and his side searched for an equaliser in a pulsating match, but Angola held on.

Mabululu, who stepped off the bench to score in Angola’s opening 1-1 draw with Algeria, forced the first save of the match with an angled drive.

Both sides created plenty of first-half chances and Pape Ba went close for Mauritania when his shot from inside the penalty area was saved.

Angola took a deserved lead in the 30th minute when Dala provided a thumping close-range finish, only for Mauritania to equalise against the run of play before the break through Amar’s low finish from inside the area.

It was Mauritania’s first-ever African Cup of Nations goal from open play.

In first-half stoppage time, Mauritania’s Omare Gassama forced Angola goalkeeper Neblu into a brilliant low save and Dala was denied at the other end by Babacar Niasse.

The Palancas Negras appeared to take control early in the second half with two goals in the space of three minutes.

Dala burst through the middle into the penalty area and although forced wide, he fired a left-footed finish into the far corner to put Angola 2-1 up in the 50th minute.

Angola doubled their lead in the 53rd minute. Gilberto pounced on Mauritania substitute Khadim Diaw’s mistake in the box and his angled shot flew into the net via a deflection.

In a see-saw encounter Mauritania hit back five minutes later with an early contender for goal of the tournament.

Koita dropped his shoulder to make space 30 yards from goal and unleashed an unstoppable shot into Neblu’s top right-hand corner.

Neblu thwarted Amar with a flying save and as the chances continued to flow, Dala was denied his hat-trick by Mauritania goalkeeper Niasse.

Koita fired off target as Mauritania, who lost out to a stoppage-time penalty in their opening 1-0 defeat to Burkina Faso, pressed for an equaliser but they failed to carve out any further clear-cut chances.

Coventry and their manager Mark Robins condemned alleged racist abuse aimed at midfielder Kasey Palmer in the closing stages of the Sky Blues’ 2-1 win at Sheffield Wednesday.

Owner Doug King said the club will support Palmer, a Jamaican international, following the incident, while Robins urged the perpetrators to “grow up”.

King said: “We completely condemn the abuse aimed at Kasey today and will support him following this incident.

“There is no place for this in football or society and we support Sheffield Wednesday and the authorities in taking the strongest possible action.”

Robins said after the game: “Obviously there has been a ridiculous few people that have decided to do whatever they’ve done.

“They’ve made some racist remarks or comments and that should be dealt with. Hopefully they will get it on camera and they will deal with them. There’s just no place for it. It’s ridiculous in this day and age. Just grow up!”

Sheffield Wednesday also released a statement saying the club were “shocked and saddened” by the alleged incident.

“We will work together with the relevant authorities and anyone proven to be culpable will face the strictest possible sanctions from both Sheffield Wednesday and the law,” it read.

“We stand shoulder to shoulder with Coventry and the football world in stamping out this abhorrent and wholly unacceptable behaviour.”

Chairman Dejphon Chansiri said: “We absolutely condemn the abuse reported by Kasey Palmer today and stand together with Coventry in our clear stance that there is no place in football or society for such appalling behaviour.”

Speaking after the game, Owls boss Danny Rohl said of the allegations: “Maybe there were some words. It is important that the club speak now with the referee and then make a statement so that we can say exactly what happens.

“This is important and we will do this as a club.”

Meanwhile, Robins singled out Ben Sheaf’s performance after the Coventry skipper scored twice in the win, with Josh Windass notching for the Owls.

“You know it’s a tough game with the way they set out to play,” he said. “We’ve come out of it on the right end of a good scoreline and I think there have been some brilliant performances within it.

“I think Ben Sheaf was outstanding – not just the goals that he scored – it was an all-action performance from him. He broke play up and got us moving forwards. The goals were outstanding, particularly the first one.

“He’s arrived in the penalty area and there was a player that I played with that looked exactly like that and it was Bryan Robson. I thought he was absolutely outstanding today.

“We’ve had some good performances throughout.

“We could have had one or two more if we’d have picked the right pass. Essentially, we’ve kept a really spirited team at arm’s length.”

Sheffield Wednesday manager Danny Rohl expressed his disappointment at the result.

“I think the first half was a game between two boxers. We pressed and had some good moments but then sometimes we missed the smart pass into the final third,” he said.

“We played against a strong team who are on a good run at the moment. We conceded a second goal that was not necessary.

“I wanted to make a signal, which was why I made four substitutions immediately.

“We came back with a goal and had a good chance for Bailey (Cadamarteri) for an equaliser.

“It is a long, long way until the end of the season. We have to fight until the end.”

Liam Manning was not in the least surprised by an impressive debut from on-loan midfielder Scott Twine as his first-half goal earned Bristol City a point from a 1-1 Championship draw with Watford.

But the head coach did admit astonishment at the manner of the 25th-minute equaliser. Twine climbed above a defender to head into an unguarded net after goalkeeper Ben Hamer had blocked Tommy Conway’s close-range drive into his path.

“I reckon it’s the first time Scott has ever scored with a header,” said Manning. “He probably closed his eyes and it went in off his nose.”

The goal cancelled out Tom Dele-Bashiru’s 13th-minute well-struck penalty for Watford – after Rob Dickie had handled the ball inside the box – and ensured a fair outcome to a competitive English second-tier clash.

Manning and Twine have worked effectively together before as the player scored 20 goals in a season for MK Dons with the same boss in charge during the 2021-22 season.

Signed last Monday from Burnley on loan until the end of the season, the 24-year-old caught the eye with his accurate delivery from free-kicks and corners.

Manning added: “Scott showed what he is all about and will only improve as he gets to know the other players.

“He had a chance to score before his goal and is great at getting forward into threatening positions.

“His dead-ball delivery is one of the reasons I wanted to sign him and it was clear to see, I felt we had the better chances in the game.

“Two or three outstanding ones went begging. We had 15 shots from inside their box, which is a very high number.

“They had more control in the first half, but we had a chat during the break and came out firing.

“We were much more on the front foot and played in the areas we wanted to play in.

Both sides had chances to claim all three points from a stirring battle with no quarter asked or given.

Dickie had a late header brilliantly saved by Hamer, while Robins goalkeeper Max O’Leary produced a brave first-half save at the feet of Yaser Asprilla.

Watford boss Valerian Ismael said: “It was another solid away performance from us. We were strong, pressed well and were tactically very sound.

“We just needed to be more mature in our decision-making at times. That is the next step if we are to win games consistently. We have to be more ruthless.

“It was a clear penalty and we had another good opportunity to be ahead at half-time.

“Our attacking intent was very good in the first 45 minutes. In the second half, we got into more promising situations only to fail with the right final pass or cross.

“We have to be better at controlling the ball in our opponents’ half. Sometimes we take too many touches and lose possession.

“We need to be more calm on the ball, but that is OK, it will come.

“We are working with a lot of young players and I am pleased with the progress they are making.

“We have the possibility of entering the transfer market before the deadline and I am hopeful of doing some business.”

Manning does not anticipate any more signings before the deadline and said there were no deals imminent that would see players leaving.

QPR boss Marti Cifuentes is preparing for a vital match against fellow strugglers Huddersfield after his side ended their winless run by beating Millwall.

A 2-0 success at Loftus Road was Rangers’ first victory in eight Sky Bet Championship matches and lifted them up a place, to third from bottom.

And it means they will climb out of the relegation zone if they beat Huddersfield – the team immediately above them – next weekend.

Cifuentes said: “We need to keep on working. Today we are very happy, but we know that we have a very important game next week here again.

“We need to be very focused on the task. The next target is to win against Huddersfield.

“Enjoy the victory today – it was very important for us – and from tomorrow start to prepare for a massive game against Huddersfield at home. Feet on the ground and keep on working.

“I’m aware that no matter what the result next week it is going to be a huge task. It’s an important game but, step by step, we need to get a lot of victories, not just next week.”

Rangers struggled to create clear-cut chances before Chair broke the deadlock in the 27th minute.

They defended well and their win was sealed by Sinclair Armstrong netting a late second.

Cifuentes added: “In all the games that we’ve played, we never gave up and I never felt – even in the worst games we played – that the team was accepting the defeat.

“We have been close in all the games since I took over. We’ve always been in games but haven’t had the clinical touch.

“Today we did, and that made things easier. You could feel the tension, London derby, but definitely the first goal gave us the calm that we needed and from there we played at a very good level.

“Today’s victory was a consequence of a lot of small things we have been doing well over the last few games but unfortunately not getting the points.”

Millwall boss Joe Edwards admitted that his team’s disappointing performance felt like a step backwards.

The Lions won three matches in a row soon after Edwards’ recent appointment but have now suffered back-to-back league defeats.

“In pretty much every department we were not good enough and that’s incredibly frustrating,” Edwards said.

“It can be really frustrating when it feels like there’s a lot of good work going on, good performances, progress and signs we’re building, and then today out of nowhere you have a performance like that.

“QPR are in a difficult position and they came out fighting, particularly in the second half, and we couldn’t match it.

“The flow of our attacks in recent weeks – we’ve been ripping through teams and today we didn’t do that.

“Today we became predictable very early on and I’m not sure why. QPR grew into the game, whereas we just got stuck in our half and played predictable football, which was absolutely not our plan.

“QPR didn’t start well and we settled quickly, but it was like that lulled us into a false sense of security. We were then unable to break into any kind of intensity.”

Ian Foster urged Plymouth to look up the table after claiming his first Championship win as Argyle head coach with a 3-1 win over Cardiff at Home Park.

Argyle soared to 15th on the back of two goals by Scottish striker Ryan Hardie, who also set up top scorer Morgan Whittaker for his 15th Championship goal of the season, after Cardiff had taken a 10th-minute lead through Perry Ng.

Foster said: “We expected a difficult game and they always are, they are tight at this level. You have seen the results in the league today. There is never an easy game.

“The message to the players was to claw these (Cardiff) back. I think they were six places and seven points above us. If it becomes 10 it’s almost impossible. It’s four now.

“I am really pleased with the players because there was evidence again today that they are taking on the information we are giving to them.

“I have been (in post) two weeks yesterday so we have not had that many sessions, four players very new to the football club on the pitch today and two of them have only had very limited time with the group.

“A lot of positives today but a game I thoroughly thought we deserved to win.

“We don’t want to be looking over our shoulders, we want to be looking up at the next team and that’s how we did it today.

“We looked at these and said ‘let’s get these back’ and that’s our challenge.

“Cardiff are the next team above us, four points, and we have got to bridge that gap as soon as possible.

“I am happy. It’s really challenging, I knew it would be. I am really enjoying it.”

Cardiff boss Erol Bulut said his side stopped playing after taking the lead.

Bulut said: “It is not the first time that I have been disappointed, the fans are disappointed.

“They are right because today we had the game in our hands, we started well and were leading 1-0 but after that the game is not finished.

“We stopped playing and the result was we lost 3-1. We had some changes but we didn’t score again, there was too many individual mistakes in different situations and they (Plymouth) scored from those mistakes.

“The game is not only 31 minutes, it is 95 minutes.

“We can speak about having only 15/16 players available, we had 11 players on the pitch so we have to do everything. We stopped after scoring the goal and it is not easy after that.

“We had similar problems in other games, we have to be more aggressive, we have been more aggressive and won games and the last two games – Leeds and today – was not like that.

“I don’t have players outside to replace them and they are getting tired, I don’t have anyone on the bench to make that change in defence. My players are doing their best and it is not enough.”

Bristol Rovers manager Matt Taylor questioned referee Gavin Ward as his Pirates lost at home for only the second time in Sky Bet League One this season.

Blackpool came out of the blocks quickest to score twice in the first 20 minutes at the Memorial Stadium en route to a 2-1 victory.

Kyle Joseph twice crossed low, initially for CJ Hamilton to shoot into the top corner of the Rovers net in the fifth minute before midfielder Karamoko Dembele then converted from another Joseph cross 14 minutes later.

Rovers responded through Chris Martin’s deft flick, following a long throw, and Taylor argued that his side should have had a free-kick at least – if not a penalty – when Aaron Collins was brought down with just a minute of the game left to play.

“It’s definitely a foul,” said Taylor. “You’ll probably freeze frame it to see if it was in the box or not but it was definitely a foul.

“Just like the handball in the wall in the first half was definitely that.

“The biggest one for me is their second goal. I need to get clarity from the officials for that in relation to what I need to instruct Connor Taylor to do in that situation.

“Jordan Rhodes is in an offside position and Taylor is stretching and back-pedalling. He heads it into a dangerous area and their player picks it up.

“One pass and it’s in the back of the net. Does he leave it? For me it’s still offside.”

Taylor added that he didn’t think referee Ward had controlled the game, with eight yellow cards handed out in the match, explaining that he would be unlikely to be asked by the media about the referee if the official had produced a good performance.

The former Exeter boss did hint after the game that striker Martin is set to extend his contract through to the end of the season.

Blackpool head coach Neil Critchley dismissed talk that his team might have conceded a late penalty when Collins was caught by two Seasiders defenders as he burst into the penalty area in stoppage time.

“It’s outside the box,” he said. “He falls in the box but it’s outside the box.

“It could have been given but we could have been given one against Nottingham Forest the other night.

“These things happen. I’ve got a list to go through of penalties that we should have had this season. But yes, maybe it was a free-kick.

“We’ve had to do it in a different way today. Certain aspects of our game away have been questioned this season. I think that answers some of them today.

“It wasn’t a pretty game of football but I thought we battled and competed and we had to against a really good team at home.”

David Martindale hopes Livingston can take confidence from tasting victory for the first time in 14 games with their 2-1 Scottish Cup win over Raith Rovers.

The Lions are six points adrift at the bottom of the Premiership and have not won in the league since October.

But they are in the draw for the fifth round of the cup after Jamie Brandon cancelled out Jack Hamilton’s early opener for Raith and Dan MacKay’s header settled the tie in the 82nd minute.

Martindale was full of praise for his players.

He said: “I hope there is going to be a bump from it, momentum is huge in football.

“Results breed confidence. Hopefully the players can take some credit, I think we’ve played better and been beaten.

“If Raith had taken their chances early doors they might have been out of sight.

“I do think the players have to take huge credit.

“I thought we started the game unbelievably bad. We went a goal behind and were lucky not to be two behind. We got the penalty and missed that.

“At that point, it would have been really easy for the players to feel sorry for themselves, especially with the run we had been on.

“But, from that minute onwards, I think the players have to take huge credit. They found a way to win a game of football and they did that, nothing to do with Davie Martindale, the staff, tactics, formations.”

Livi won without the services of star attacker Joel Nouble, who Martindale revealed had been left out following a bid from a club in England.

He added: “I’ve had a wee bit of interest in Noubs from two teams in League One in England. There’s two teams in the Scottish Prem too.

“A club from down south put an offer in yesterday and it’s not a million miles away from where I think we need to be.

“I went back to them and explained that and said, ‘look if you tidy up that, tidy up that I reckon we can get this done’.

“I spoke to Joel, he was a bit disappointed that I was pulling him out of the squad but I felt it was unfair on him and potentially us.”

Meanwhile, Raith manager Ian Murray reckons his side should have won and hopes pushing top-flight opposition so hard will inspire them in their Championship title race with Dundee United.

Following a draw with Kilmarnock and defeat to Hibernian in the Viaplay Cup earlier in the campaign, he said: “I think days like this whet the appetite for where we want to be.

“Every time we’ve played Premiership sides this season it’s been really tight and once again we put so much into this one.

“We created a lot of chances and didn’t take them – some of the misses were unfortunate, some of them were poor.

“Against this higher level of opposition, though, you need to be more clinical.

“That’s the bottom line in cup competitions. We could have been ahead before we scored and then in the second-half I thought we were better than them.”

Huddersfield manager Darren Moore was “frustrated” after his side were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw at Blackburn.

The Terriers fell behind early on after Adam Wharton intercepted Jonathan Hogg’s pass before slotting home from 10 yards.

Huddersfield responded impressively and their talismanic defender Michal Helik brilliantly directed his near-post header into the far corner to notch his eighth goal of the campaign midway through the first half.

The visitors had plenty of chances to seal victory, the best missed by Jack Rudoni in the first half while David Kasumu fired wide when clean through in the second half.

Despite seeing their winless run stretch to four Sky Bet Championship games, Moore believes the victories will come.

He said: “I know they had a lot more possession but I thought we had the clearer-cut chances, certainly we feel like as a team we’re going away a little bit frustrated with the chances we created.

“We could have capitalised more. I don’t want it to seem like a downer but the hard bit was the boys getting into those areas and finding the composure. The last bit was the final conversion because they were clear-cut chances for us to go and score.

“The positives are I’ve been quite happy with the way the boys have been showing the performances over the last half dozen, seven, eight games, in terms of we’re talking about us winning games.

“I keep saying to them that as long as they keep applying themselves, those draws will turn into wins because you’re certainly in the ascendency in winning games as opposed to losing games. We have to keep going.”

It is seven games without a win for Blackburn, who failed to work Lee Nicholls enough in the Huddersfield goal.

Rovers boss Jon Dahl Tomasson felt that a first-half injury to Hayden Carter killed momentum but conceded his side did not create enough.

He said: “We are of course disappointed not to win the game. Huddersfield came with a very clear plan to sit back and rely on set-plays and transition moments.

“We know when a team sit back like that, it can be difficult to play through, with a lot of bodies behind the ball.

“I actually thought we started really bright. We scored an excellent goal, then I think with Hayden Carter, he got injured and it killed the momentum a bit and then we were playing too slow in that moment.

“We conceded a goal we shouldn’t have conceded of course, but all the credit to Huddersfield and Helik. He’s scored a lot of goals from set-pieces this season.

“The second half, I thought we dominated totally. We did a lot of good things until we came to around the box. What we’ve been really great at during this season is creating chances.

“I think with the possession we had, we didn’t create enough chances. I think we were lacking runs and were lacking quick play, instead taking too many touches around the box.”

Tony Mowbray praised Birmingham after they “found a way” to edge a lively 2-1 win at Stoke.

The new boss stretched his unbeaten start to three games in all competitions as Blues rose to eight points above the relegation zone.

“I’m really pleased for the supporters behind the goal,” said Mowbray.

“It’s my first experience of the away support from Birmingham City and it was big and loud and noisy; it’s great that they could celebrate a win.

“We found a way today and that’s the important thing in football but we can’t play like we did in that second half every week because we won’t win many matches.”

Jay Stansfield opened the scoring inside 10 minutes as he rifled home his eighth league goal of the season.

The Potters responded positively to their early setback but struggled to convert their dominance into chances.

And the visitors capitalised shortly after the restart thanks to Juninho Bacuna’s exquisite free-kick from 25 yards.

Jordan Thompson halved the hosts’ arrears late on, but Birmingham held on for a vital victory.

“First half, the game plan was good and we looked like we could break away and score,” Mowbray added.

“That’s probably the best football that Stoke have played for a long time and Steven (Schumacher) deserves a lot of credit for that.

“They were good today and in the second half, we went into protection mode, but we managed to see it out.

“You can give your team organisation and structure and I thought we saw the game out well today against as good a Stoke team as I’ve seen.

“I like a lot of what we’ve got at this football club; I’ve just got to change the mentality a little bit.

“The vast majority of them are very humble and hard-working and it’s hurt them where they are, but we’re only here to win now.”

It was a frustrating afternoon for Stoke, whose five-match unbeaten start under Steven Schumacher came to an end.

Bae Jun-ho struck the bar, Michael Rose failed to convert from close-range and Ryan Mmaee missed a host of chances for the toothless Potters.

“It was disappointing to lose it and I don’t think we deserved to lose it,” said Schumacher.

“The performance was good bar a couple mistakes, but it’s two brilliant bits of quality that has decided the outcome.

“We got more in the dangerous areas than Birmingham did, but we didn’t make the most of it, so that’s disappointing.

“It’s important that we are creating chances; that wasn’t the case a few weeks ago, so now I need the lads to show their quality and composure.

“With the way we’ll play and the way we’ll get forward, they’ll get chances so now we’ve got to find a way to take them.

“I’ve got belief in the squad; the players have got quality but they’ve got to make the most of big opportunities.”

Stuart Kettlewell stressed there is plenty of room for improvement despite Motherwell overcoming a spirited display from Alloa to reach the last-16 of the Scottish Cup.

The Steelmen made the perfect start when Blair Spittal fired them ahead inside the opening minute, though Conor Sammon would stun the home crowd by levelling just before the half-hour mark.

There was a nervousness around Fir Park, though Georgie Gent’s slammed home on the hour-mark before Spittal added his second with a sublime free-kick in the closing minutes to secure victory.

“The most important thing is that we are into the hat for the next round,” Kettlewell said.

“What we often do is look at results around the country and we can see how difficult this round of the cup can be.

“A lot of people want to create an upset and the biggest thing for us was that it wasn’t here.

“I wasn’t happy with a lot of aspects of the game if I’m being honest, I think we have to sharpen a lot of our senses in how we play both in possession and out of possession.”

The Well boss was delighted at the impact of Spittal, who played an integral part in hauling his threadbare team into the next round.

Motherwell named seven academy graduates on their substitutes bench – a consequence of losing a number of key players during the winter break.

“The three goals we score are of real quality, it possibly could have been a hat-trick for Blair Spittal,” he added.

“He’ll be disappointed its not three, it’s a good save from the goalkeeper but Blair shows quality in the first minute and then shows it again towards the end.

“He’s probably the guy in my opinion that flies under the radar because he’s so consistent and so versatile.

“I think everyone can see by the nature of the squad I have at this minute that I rely on his versatility but also rely along with everyone else on the quality he showed again today.”

Alloa boss Andy Graham believes his team can hold their heads up high after competing with the Premiership opponents for long spells.

The League One side would run out of steam as the second half progressed, though caused some nervy moments for the hosts.

“The first half was really pleasing. To lose a goal against a Premiership team so early, the response to that was brilliant,” he said.

“We really grew into the game after that and deserved to be level.

“We believed we could win the game but fair play to Motherwell, their quality showed in the end.”