Shrewsbury boss Paul Hurst said he had a feeling Daniel Udoh would get on the scoresheet again after his goal earned a 1-0 victory over rock-bottom Carlisle.

Udoh made the breakthrough five minutes before time, holding off numerous defenders before turning and converting at Harry Lewis’ near post.

The 27-year-old missed a chance to add a second late on but his first-half effort proved enough as Shrewsbury moved nine points clear of the League One relegation zone with their first home victory in seven games.

Udoh was also on the scoresheet as Shrews won 2-1 at Port Vale earlier this month and Hurst, who celebrated his first home win since returning as head coach in January, had a feeling the striker would notch again.

Hurst said: “We could have made it a little bit easier at the end with the chance, ultimately one goal was enough today.

“I said in there (changing room) that I thought he (Udoh) is due a goal and he would score today, as I said when we were at Port Vale.

“I wish it was that easy as I would tell him every game and he would be on the scoresheet but a great finish. He is good at that, he only needs half a yard.

“We have the victory and we will kind of enjoy that I don’t think it was a day for top many words after the game as we haven’t got a game for a while now.

“It’s not very often you get the chance to enjoy the victory so let the lads enjoy it and I am asking Liam (McLaughlin, Shrewsbury analyst) for results and then thankfully a few of them have gone our way.”

Carlisle’s best effort came from Dan Butterworth, who won the ball high up before gliding past a host of Shrewsbury defenders only to be denied by Marko Marosi.

The result leaves them rooted to the foot of the League One standings, 16 points adrift of safety.

Carlisle manager Paul Simpson said: “Really disappointing obviously to come away with nothing from the game. It was a game of few big moments but we were on the wrong side of the big moments today.

“We have probably had three opportunities where we should have done better for their goal.

“We have had a couple of really good chances that we weren’t able to finish, one right at the end of the first half and another from a set-play.

“I think it was a game that was there if we shown a bit more quality in the final third but unfortunately we have come out on the wrong side of it again.

“The biggest difference for me today was when we got into that final third we didn’t show that qualiti. We didn’t find the right passes, crosses or whatever it might be.”

Charlton boss Nathan Jones was left less than impressed with the state of the Fleetwood pitch after their 1-1 draw.

Blustery conditions made it difficult for both sides but Ryan Graydon came off the bench to salvage a point for battling Fleetwood as his 84th-minute strike cancelled out Alfie May’s opener at Highbury.

“It was just brutal really, a brutal game,” reflected Jones.

“The conditions and the pitch made a spectacle very hard out there.

“There was a lot of honesty out there, but very little quality so a point was a fair result.

“I don’t think a Football League pitch should be like this. For whatever reason it is, I don’t want to comment too much on it. But it made any kind of footballing game very difficult. The wind took away any chance of a spectacle.

“It’s one of those things, it’s EFL football. It was a brutal game today.

On the goal the Addicks conceded late on, he added: “We lost a runner, lose a challenge then another challenge and they tap it in off the post. I’m really disappointed because there were four things we could have done better.

“The manner of the goal was very disappointing. It was probably an even result, but when you lead going into whatever minute it was you expect to see it out and we didn’t.”

It was a goal which denied the London club all three points, though they stretched their unbeaten run to eight games.

But for the Cod Army it could be a precious point in their survival bid.

They are five points off safety and boss Charlie Adam was left wanting more.

He said: “If you look at what we did again, we created three or four big chances.

“The impact of the subs did a good job again. I’m really pleased for Ryan to get the goal, it was the least that we deserved from that game.

“We will go away, dust ourselves down and look back on it with real frustration in terms of not winning the football match.

“I believe we had the best chances in the game so it’s frustrating. But I’ll say it again, we’ve closed the gap and that’s all you can do.

“It’s disappointing but all we can do is look forward to the games that we have left.”

Rob Edwards promised Luton would continue to fight for their Premier League lives after Luke Berry’s late goal salvaged a 1-1 draw against fellow strugglers Nottingham Forest at the end of a “challenging week”.

After watching his side throw away a three-goal half-time lead against Bournemouth in midweek to lose, the 41-year-old was facing a six-point gap to Forest opening up in his team’s bid to dodge relegation, following Chris Wood’s neat first-half finish.

Instead they rallied and hit back in the 89th minute though substitute Berry, pouncing to lash home from Reece Burke’s header, as Luton kept within three points of the visitors, who themselves were denied what would have been just a second league win of 2024.

“The way the game was going, really pleased in the end,” said Edwards. “It’s been a challenging week, to say the least.

“Everyone’s going through stuff, everyone gets knocked down, everyone gets disappointments. It’s about how you deal with it, how you react. This group has shown that is how you react.

“They’ve got so much character. No matter what is thrown at us, they’ll keep going. It doesn’t mean we’re always going to get points. We’re not always going to play well. But they’ll always keep going and keep fighting. I love them for that.”

Berry has now scored in all four divisions of the EFL for Luton since making his debut in League Two in 2017.

He also netted in the National League whilst at Cambridge, giving him the rare distinction of having scored in each of England’s top five leagues.

The 31-year-old came on for Jordan Clark with five minutes of the game to go, to make only his sixth appearance in the league this season.

Luton are facing an injury crisis with nine players unavailable to Edwards from the start, Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu and Alfie Doughty also having to be withdrawn with knocks.

“It’s a brilliant story, to score in all five,” said Edwards of Berry’s feat. “Special moment for him, for the club. He’s a club legend with what he’s done for this club.

“He’s come on quite a lot this year, maybe eight times or so. He’s been close on a number of occasions to something. We’re thankful today that in an important game, he finished it really well.

“It’s difficult for us with a full group to be competitive in this league, never mind with what we’re missing at the moment.

“I love the group that are available and fit at the moment, but to have nine senior players out and two more go down today, it’s difficult for us. There are so many people playing out of position.”

Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo reflected on a game that his team should have wrapped up before Luton’s late fightback.

“I think we dominated the game, we controlled it,” he said. “We knew how hard it is to come here. We created a lot of chances.

“Credit to Luton, but we should have finished the game earlier with the chances that we had.

“I’m disappointed because I think we did enough to take three points today. Let’s wait and see what’s going to happen. We keep on going, keep on fighting. We’ll look at the table. Nine games to go, nine finals to play.

“There’s a lot of football to be played. No team can say they’re totally fine.”

Des Buckingham was hungry for more goals despite efforts from Ciaron Brown and Josh Murphy earning Oxford a 2-0 win at Port Vale that moved them into the play-offs.

Brown’s 16th-minute strike lashed the U’s into the lead, before Murphy’s cross-shot nestled in the far corner to settle the scoring four minutes into the second half.

Billy Bodin had an early effort swept off the line and the visitors had two penalty shouts waved away, as they dominated proceedings throughout.

Oxford had chances late on to add gloss to the scoreline – Will Goodwin and Murphy fluffing their lines with the goal gaping. Baylee Dipepa came closest to a late consolation for Vale, firing into a crowd of bodies.

Speaking to BBC Radio Oxford, visiting boss Buckingham said: “Another three points to back up Saturday. We asked for a reaction but not an overreaction.

“We controlled the game for most of the game and it was an excellent performance and a fully deserved three points.

“If we’re being critical, we should score more. We’ve done enough to come away with the win. That’s the important thing.

“We changed the formation. We wanted to get at these and attack them. We needed to react from Tuesday’s defeat to Bolton. Game by game we’re seeing how important every game will be. We spoke about going on our own run of form. Six points out of the last nine is done now. All the players shone today.

“It’s important we got another three points and back in the play-off spots. We now have a 12-day international break to get ready for another couple of games and see how many points we can get from that.”

Speaking to BBC Radio Stoke, Port Vale boss Darren Moore said: “Two set-plays, two goals to concede which were very disappointing. That’s the most frustrating aspect of it. I thought we started the game really well.

“We had Oxford on the back foot but after quarter of an hour, the first goal seemed to rock us a bit. That gave them confidence and the ability to start stringing passes together. I needed to make a double substitution and that seemed to stem the tide a bit.

“The second goal gave us a mountain to climb. We huffed and puffed after that. We had a couple of half-chances but nothing fell to us in the box.

“You don’t want to lose games. I want to be open. I’m disappointed, the boys are disappointed. But I have to say to them, while the maths are still there, we have to keep going. We need to get ourselves up, dust ourselves down and be prepared for a real tough game at Burton next week.”

Derby head coach Paul Warne applauded goalkeeper Joe Wildsmith for his part in a crucial 1-0 victory over League One promotion rivals Bolton.

Wildsmith made several outstanding saves before Kane Wilson’s header settled a tense contest at a packed Pride Park.

Bolton will look back on several moments, notably when Jon Dadi Bodvarsson’s 17th-minute header was brilliantly saved by Wildsmith.

Bodvarsson was again denied by Wilsdmith early in the second half and George Thomason saw his curling shot in the 64th minute turned behind.

Wildsmith’s reactions were rewarded when Wilson scored with Derby’s first effort on target in the 78th minute, clinching a victory that took County four points clear of Bolton with seven games to play.

Warne said: “Joe pulled us out, we congratulated him after the game which is unheard of, managers congratulating goalkeepers, but he pulled off two unbelievable saves.

“One in the first half from a header, as soon as the cross came in I just thought it was going to hit the net so that’s a great save and one in the second half as well, so Joe has been part of a decent team performance.

“We just had enough to win. There wasn’t anything in it really. Joe made two great saves and it always felt like it was going to come down to one set piece. In really tight games a set piece goal can win you it and today it did.

“If I was in the other dressing room I’d be disappointed that I wasn’t leaving with a point because I thought the game probably was a draw, but to win and keep a clean sheet is crucial.”

Bolton manager Ian Evatt is not giving up hope of earning automatic promotion.

“It’s not over, there’s a lot of football to be played, we have to stay calm and keep the faith,” he said.

“Nobody in the stadium could agree that Derby deserved to win the game. We were completely dominant. I think it was the first time in our final third second half with the corner and we’ve conceded a poor goal.

“I’m proud of the way the players played, obviously the result matters and it makes it more difficult for us, but there’s loads of football to be played and a long way to go.

“We had the better chances, their keeper is probably man of the match which speaks volumes. Football isn’t fair sometimes, but the most important thing for us is to keep believing.”

Barnsley head coach Neill Collins was left frustrated as his promotion-chasing side were held to a 0-0 draw by League One strugglers Cheltenham.

The Tykes had numerous chances to break the deadlock but could not find a way through a resilient Cheltenham side who are fighting for survival.

The draw prevented Barnsley from moving up to fourth and they now sit seven points behind the automatic promotion places.

Collins said: “I don’t think the players did an awful lot wrong. We’re really frustrated because obviously it’s a game at home that we expect to win.

“It felt right up until the 96th minute that we could score.

“It’s hard to be too critical because I think on another day we get that first goal and we go on and win the game.

“(We’ve got) a couple of lessons to learn. We’re all frustrated but I think what probably makes it feel worse is we just had that disappointment here last week (a 5-1 home defeat to Lincoln) and we wanted to put it right today.”

On regular captain Jordan Williams dropping to the bench, Collins said: “Jordan’s played more football than anyone in our team.

“I felt today we needed the extra height at the back to deal with aerial balls. Then (at) right wing-back, I felt Corey (O’Keefe) deserved the opportunity because I think he’s been good.”

Cheltenham head coach Darrell Clarke was pleased with the result, which edged his side to within four points of safety.

“Clean sheet, point at a tough, top-six team to come up against,” Clarke said.

“They ask you a lot of questions in different variations of the game and we defended our box well at times. We had a couple of opportunities as well.

“We’ve had a lot of illness, a lot of injury in the camp and the boys dug in well to gain that point.

“It wasn’t pretty on the eye at times. We didn’t have enough control, for me.

“We had to dig in, we had to defend. But like I said, the lads are putting their bodies on the line.

“The lads were on their last legs at the end there.

“We huffed and we puffed, couldn’t quite get that goal but a clean sheet away at Barnsley, against a team that scores a lot of goals is pleasing.”

Clarke picked out the performance of 39-year-old defender Curtis Davies.

“That experience in the backline helps us at times just to settle things down,” Clarke added.

“I’ve forgotten the amount of balls he headed out the six-yard-box for us, which is why he’s in there and he’s important for us. A great lad.”

Ross County interim manager Don Cowie was in no doubt how important their three points against Hearts will be in the club’s battle to avoid relegation this season.

A double from Simon Murray led the way for the Staggies in a 2-1 victory over the Jambos, who are still sitting comfortably third in the table.

While County remain in the play-off position, the result did move them 10 points clear of Livingston at the foot of the table – and kept them within reach of both St Johnstone and Aberdeen, who they play next.

“Any three points is massive,” said Cowie.

“We were playing against a very good team, comfortably third in the league for a reason, but I’m proud of the group for standing up to that and getting three points.

“I’ve been a little bit disappointed with the way we’ve responded after half-time in games, especially at home, so it was just a case of making sure they came out flying and ready in the second half.

“We expected a reaction from Hearts, so getting a second goal was vital.

“Hearts are an excellent team. Beating them here has to give us confidence going into the last eight games of the season.

“We’ve taken eight points at home, and I’m really happy with that, but now we’ve got to transfer that to away games because we’ve got two very tough games coming up.”

Jambos boss Steven Naismith, meanwhile, was frustrated over VAR’s involvement in the match.

Video referee John Beaton recommended an on-field review to Grant Irvine when Lawrence Shankland was deemed to be in the way of County keeper George Wickens from an offside position at a free-kick, which Stephen Kingsley sent into the back of the net.

“When the free-kick goes in, there are 15 minutes to go so I’m confident we would score again,” Naismith said.

“I thought that was a poor decision, and it was a big moment. I don’t understand why it was chalked off.

“The fourth official said that the goalie had to look around Shanks to see the ball, but I think it’s a really poor decision.

“We could have done better in the game, and what cost us was poor defending. How we defended gave us a big challenge as the game went on.”

Bristol City boss Liam Manning chose ‘not to waste his energy’ talking about the officiating after he watched his side suffer their fifth defeat in six Sky Bet Championship matches as they lost 2-0 at play-off chasing West Brom.

Tom Fellows opened the scoring for the Baggies in the 45th minute, before captain Jed Wallace doubled the hosts’ advantage within five minutes of the second half commencing.

City’s players – including goalkeeper Max O’Leary – took exception to the manner of the opening goal, claiming Albion forward Grady Diangana had blocked O’Leary’s view from an offside position. The goal stood and left Robins players and Manning himself bemused.

“You waste your breath on him [referee Tom Nield] to be honest,” he said. “I thought the ref was really poor all game, so I don’t want to waste my energy talking about him.

“I thought the lads all left it out there. We kept trying to play but we just lacked quality in the final third. We need to keep working and improving on that.

“The big thing today was belief. When you’ve had a tough time, believing in the work you do…too often when we go behind we don’t respond well enough. That’s for us to look at but you can see the work that has been done.”

City are 14th, having fallen away in the play-off race, and away supporters at The Hawthorns voiced their frustrations at the full-time whistle having seen their side win just twice on the road since October.

“I can only control what I can,” Manning replied, when asked about his job security.

“You need to have an element of realism. We’ve recruited, made a change mid-season. We have shown we can make progression despite having sold two players to the Premier League last season.

“We want the fans with us, it helps us and it brings us energy at times.

“I turn up, do my best every single day. You can see what the plan is on the pitch, but we need players to step up at key times.”

West Brom, meanwhile, tightened their grasp on fifth position and strengthened their pursuit of the play-offs with this victory.

Manning’s counterpart Carlos Corberan, who has transformed the club’s fortunes since his appointment in October 2022, was only left to rue the margin of victory, which he believed ought to have been greater because of the chances his side created following Wallace’s finish.

“I think that we should have scored the third one, if we were to say it was comfortable. In these types of games, a goal in the last moments can change the feeling,” he said.

“We needed to be constant more than patient, to insist on the things that we needed to do.

“When the opponent is defending and being well organised, you need to disorganise them to create the chance. When you start to do that, positive things can happen – but so can mistakes that give opportunities to them.

“In general we managed some moments in attack well, in some moments no. The same in defence.

“There are things that (we) need to do better to be more dominant in the game.”

Hibernian manager Nick Montgomery praised his players for producing a “real professional performance” as they climbed back into the cinch Premiership top six with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Livingston.

The Leith side had the game all but wrapped up inside 22 minutes after Jordan Obita, Myziane Maolida and Adam Le Fondre found the target.

It was a long afternoon for the Lions as they slipped 10 points adrift of Ross County at the foot of the table.

Montgomery, whose team are now two points clear of seventh-placed Dundee, who face Rangers on Sunday, said: “That was an enjoyable afternoon – three points, three goals and a clean sheet, a real professional performance in a game everyone expected to win.

“We were playing a Livingston team who are really fighting hard for Davie Martindale, you could see that, and they fought in the second half to keep us out, kept battling right to the end.

“I’m probably a bit disappointed we didn’t get a couple more goals. But we have to be pleased with the result after a tough week, a long trip home from Ross County after a tiring game on a soft pitch.

“It’s always nice to be in the top six. But we can’t get carried away with what could be, what should be.

“We go into that break now on the back of six games undefeated. We have to take that momentum into the break, recover a few boys, get a few back from injury, and give everything we can between now and the end of the season.”

Obita got Hibs up and running after five minutes when he tapped in before Maolida swept home a second from close range two minutes later.

Le Fondre made it three when he got on the end of an Elie Youan cross.

Livingston’s preparations for the game had been hampered by a bug which forced boss Martindale to cancel training on Tuesday.

And he admitted some members of his team were still feeling the effects of illness at Easter Road.

Martindale said: “I’m not trying to make excuses for the players or for me because I take full responsibility.

“But we had to shut the club this week due to flu. That wasn’t an ideal start to the week.

“There were two or three boys with it you’ve asked to play.

“It was painful in the first 20 minutes.”

Watford interim manager Tom Cleverley thinks there is a bright future for the club after the Hornets secured a 1-0 victory over Birmingham.

Cleverley was announced as interim boss after the sacking of Valerien Ismael and got off to a winning start thanks to Emmanuel Dennis’ 44th-minute goal.

Dennis pounced on a mistake from the hosts to fire the ball past goalkeeper John Ruddy for what ultimately proved the match-winner at St Andrew’s.

Cleverley said the victory was what he dreamt of in the build-up to the game but praised Birmingham for their performance.

“It’s exactly what the doctor ordered and it’s what I dreamt of last night,” Cleverley said.

“It wasn’t as perfect as it sounds, and we will address some of the problems we faced but I think if the players play with that much desire and heart to stop the ball going in our goal, and we know the quality our team possesses, there’s a bright future in us.

“I came to their game Tuesday and saw them in quite a flat way but today I thought they were excellent, so credit to us for winning the game.”

Cleverley praised his back four in being an integral part of claiming the three points and striker Dennis for scoring the winning goal.

“I can’t praise the back four enough, two academy products, and (Ryan) Porteous was the old head of the four and Dan (Bachmann) was called on a few times, a few more than I like and that’s my job to organise that better,” Cleverley added.

“The main thing today was the result and that back four deserves a big pat on the back.

“We know that (Emmanuel) Dennis has that explosive burst so as a defender you may think you are comfortable on the ball but then he appears from nowhere.

“We spoke to the players, we thought we’d create chances through high regains today and we didn’t win as many balls as we liked but the one that mattered went in.”

Birmingham assistant manager Mark Venus said he could not fault the effort of his players.

“I can’t protect the players for Tuesday, but I can protect them today, I thought they gave everything on the pitch,” Venus said.

“We talk about missing a little bit of quality, that was evident again today, but as far as energy, intensity, desire, purpose and team spirit, that was all there today.”

Venus says his players need be more ruthless in front of goal as they failed to score for a third successive league match.

“We have to finish better, let’s see it as it is, we have to finish better and we have to put the ball in the net,” Venus added.

“We have to raise our quality, we have to do better all those things, all the other things were all there today.”

Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna said his side’s performance was “outstanding” from the first minute to last in their 6-0 mauling of Sheffield Wednesday.

Omari Hutchinson and substitute Ali Al-Hamadi both struck twice while Nathan Broadhead and Cameron Burgess were also on the scoresheet as the Tractor Boys recorded their biggest win of the season.

The victory also saw Ipswich climb back into second place in the Championship, two points ahead of Leeds who host Millwall on Sunday.

McKenna said: “I thought it was an outstanding performance from pretty well first minute to last minute in all phases of the game. We showed our identity, our style, our culture, the group.”

“It was probably the relentless of it. I think some of the football was outstanding, our pressing against a well set-up team but probably the way we kept going because at 3-0 sometimes the second half can be flat and the game can fizzle out, but we came into today with a real determination to deliver a performance first and foremost, not to think about the scoreline, the points or anything like that.

“I think the mentality to keep going in the way that we did was really very, very good.”

Hutchinson, who McKenna said was “excellent”, opened the floodgates in the 15th minute and strikes from Burgess and Broadhead saw Ipswich firmly in control at half-time.

Hutchinson added a subline fourth soon after the restart before Al-Hamadi netted two late goals to wrap up an emphatic win.

For Wednesday, a second successive defeat – having previously clamed five wins in six – leaves them still deep in trouble near the foot of the table, but it might have been a different story had they made the most of early chances for Anthony Musaba and Djeidi Gassama.

Owls manager Danny Rohl, whose side are two points from safety, wants the defeat against a team that was “on fire” to be a lesson for the Yorkshire outfit

He said: “A big defeat and a bit disappointed.

“When I come to such a place I never go and say I’m scared of any opponent, I always want to try something.

“I think today (showed) why we are in our position and Ipswich are where they are.

“The whole picture from Ipswich today, the facilities, the pitch, the team, I think they chose a big, big direction where Ipswich want to go.

“I think this is good to see and I look at the development of this team here and of this manager who I have a big, big respect for, it’s outstanding.

“For us it’s about learning from this game.

“We come here and it was the reason why I played maybe our best four offensive players in front instead of a back five because I want to be brave, I want to create good, good ball-winning situations, to have good transition moments.

“But I think they (Ipswich) were on fire and really deserved the whole picture today.”

Wycombe boss Matt Bloomfield hailed January signing Matt Butcher’s brilliance after his second-half brace sealed a 2-0 win over Northampton.

Butcher’s double – his first goals for the club – also completed a hat-trick of victories for Wycombe, although he waited until the 69th minute to break the deadlock.

Bloomfield insists the win is a wider reflection on Wycombe’s positive direction, though he remained fully focused on Sky Bet League One despite the fact they have a Wembley final against Peterborough next month.

He said: “As soon as I heard a whisper he (Butcher) was available I knew we had to get him.

“He’s been fantastic since coming to the football club and exactly what we needed.

“There’s been a lot of exciting news lately. There’s been too much talk of Wembley for my liking because I want to focus on these league games.

“The board have been amazing in their support and the hard work behind the scenes to provide better times ahead for this football club.

“I always felt our performances weren’t far away and now the work the boys have put in all season is being rewarded with wins.

“It was a stop-start first half, but in the second we found a spark and fresh energy.

“The boys that came on off the bench did that for us and that’s their job.

“I’m really pleased with the performance and the result. We’ve started to get the results that our performances have deserved.”

In contrast, one win in seven games makes for poor reading in the latter part of Northampton’s season.

Boss Jon Brady insisted he does not want the defeat to signal an end to his side’s campaign as their dismal recent form leaves little to fight for.

He said: “I said to the boys I think it’s a mindset. I don’t want the season to drift, I want to finish strong.

“The game was scrappy. You come to Wycombe and you know you’ll have to battle and fight.

“I thought there was nothing in the game until the first goal and it was a very soft goal, as was the second.

“We come away very frustrated on the day.

“The second one was looped into the back corner and it should be saved, but there you go.

“We had little half chances, but not much more than that. The differences are in both boxes. We shouldn’t concede those two goals.

“Even if we aren’t scoring at the other end, we should come out of that game 0-0.

“We got ourselves in a good position, but we need to be better and get our edge.

“I feel that we’ve lost our edge in our mindset and our play as well.”

QPR head coach Marti Cifuentes admits he was “disappointed” not to secure victory as his side had to settle for a goalless draw against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.

Neither goalkeeper had much to do throughout the afternoon and the biggest chances of the game fell to the visitors, with their best opportunity falling to Chris Willock in the 87th minute.

Sinclair Armstrong played a low ball to the unmarked Willock in the box, but goalkeeper Anthony Patterson made a superb save and Cifuentes believes his side provided enough to at least score one goal.

“The game was more or less what we wanted, we didn’t allow Sunderland to get a shot on goal for 95 minutes,” the QPR boss said.

“I don’t think we created as much as we would have liked, but maybe enough to get a goal, or at least two goals. I think Patterson was great in saving two situations.

“(They were) very good saves, but overall very disappointed about not getting the victory.”

QPR had chances from Ilias Chair and Lucas Andersen in the first half, but the introduction of Armstrong after the break provided more spark.

He was denied three times by Patterson in the second half and Cifuentes hailed the forward’s importance to the team.

Cifuentes said: “It was a game where we were thinking the whole week if he should start the game or not.

“When he comes on as a sub he has a great impact in these games with the big pitch, perhaps the defensive lines who try to play higher on the pitch and I think he did a great job.”

A point ended Sunderland’s run of six successive Sky Bet Championship defeats, but they were unable to threaten the QPR defence much throughout the match.

The injury-hit Black Cats had half-chances from Adil Aouchiche and Dan Neil, but interim head coach Mike Dodds believes his side showed “no real quality” in the match.

“People are going to say it’s a point and it stops the chain of events we’ve had for the last six games, but the performance I was really disappointed with,” Dodds said.

“Both first half and second half I felt we huffed and puffed but had no real quality in the game.

“I’ve got to keep working with them, they’re a group that need help. A large part of that responsibility is myself.

“I think you will naturally get some help when you get bodies back, but I thought that was a real naive performance.

“I think in the last four games I’ve sat here in probably three of them and tried not to spin positives, but tried to look at pockets of the game which I really liked.

“There wasn’t a huge amount that I liked about that game.

“We’re going to have some bodies back for Easter weekend, everyone can see that will be a huge boost for the group.”

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers hailed the “excellent” Kyogo Furuhashi after the recalled striker scored and provided an assist in a 3-1 win over St Johnstone.

The Japanese forward also had two goals disallowed for offside as Celtic moved back to the top of the cinch Premiership, at least until Rangers face Dundee at Dens Park on Sunday.

Furuhashi has been unable to replicate the prolific form he showed under Ange Postecoglou last season but was back in the team following three consecutive substitute appearances and took his tally to 16 this term.

He headed home a 40th-minute opener after beating goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov to Nicolas Kuhn’s cross and then set up the German winger to score in the opening minute of the second half. He also hit the crossbar and generally looked to be at peak sharpness.

“Adam (Idah) has been very good when he came in and that is what Kyogo and every player needs,” Rodgers said. “They need competition.

“But I thought he was bright, his movement was good. Sharp.

“He was very brave at the first goal. He makes a run and comes back onside and obviously some strikers would maybe move their head out of the way with the keeper coming through but he didn’t and he scored the goal.

“And it was a great cross for the second one. He was excellent.”

Kuhn netted his second goal for Celtic and continued to impress following a fruitful first start at Parkhead against Livingston last weekend.

“I think you are starting to see a little bit of why we brought him here,” Rodgers said. “He’s very quick.

“It was just hard for him when he came in, struggling with his teeth and everything medically. But he has shown now that he has his strength back up and he’s training really well.

“He obviously puts in a great cross for the first goal and you see his speed for the second one.

“We always want our wingers to get in the box. He got himself in there and scored a fantastic goal.”

Substitute James Forrest added a third and Alistair Johnston was denied a goal by a marginal offside call after Connor Smith had pulled one back for Saints, after Celtic defender Cameron Carter-Vickers had gone off for a rest.

Rodgers said: “I thought from the start of the game there was a great feeling in the stadium and from the crowd.

“The players started the game well and I thought overall it was a very good performance.

“The only downside was when I made all the changes our pressing went a little bit passive and that gave them a little bit more time on the ball than we would have wanted.”

Saints manager Craig Levein admitted his side could not produce the complete display they needed to get another result at Celtic Park, having drawn in August.

“Our defensive display was really good,” Levein said. “Losing the goal early in the second half was a killer blow but in the first half we restricted Celtic to very few opportunities.

“When we had the ball we just coughed it up every time. It seemed to be constant that we turned the ball over and invited Celtic to have another attack. That was the frustrating part.

“It was about half-an-hour until Celtic had their first shot on target. We restricted them to the wide areas and managed to block any shots and crosses.

“But if you continually give the ball away to a team as good as Celtic, you’re going to be facing attack after attack.”

Levein lost midfielder Sven Sprangler to a knee injury midway through the first half.

“It looks like Sprangler has opened his medial ligament,” he said. “I’ve no idea if he will be out for weeks or months.”

Norwich manager David Wagner felt his team were hitting consistent form at the perfect time as they continued their push for a Championship play-off spot with a comfortable 3-0 win away at relegation-threatened Stoke.

Josh Sargent, Gabriel Sara and Ashley Barnes all got their names on the scoresheet as the Canaries made it six wins from their last nine matches.

Victory keeps the Canaries in sixth place – the fourth and final play-off spot – but they are now three points clear of seventh-placed Hull having played a game more.

“One thing is the numbers (the scoreline), but the other thing is the performance,” Wagner said. “I think it was another very, very good performance away from home.

“The guys looked super sharp, super solid defensively, super aggressive and, with the ball, they played some wonderful football, scored great goals and had chances for more.

“They have a lot of confidence at the moment. They’re brave on the ball as well – everybody knows what he has to do and likes to do.

“Obviously, this is why I’m absolutely delighted with what I’ve seen and the shift which the players put in.”

The win comes on the back of a 5-0 home victory over Rotherham last weekend and also ends a run of four league away games without picking up all three points.

“To be fair, I think that we’re able to score (plenty of) goals. We’ve known this more or less from the beginning of the season,” Wagner added.

“But to consistently do it and to do it away from home as well, is always important at this stage of the season.

“Every win – home or away – is super, super important and the players are in good form.

“They do enjoy playing football together. They do enjoy fighting together for every inch, and trying to keep the ball out of the net. And this is exactly what they do now consistently, home or away.

“Obviously, away, there haven’t been so many wins like at home, but performance wise, I think consistently now in recent weeks or months I can say they’ve done it on a very consistent and high level.”

Defeat for Stoke, who had come into the match in confident mood on the back of two wins from their last three games, leaves them just two points clear of the relegation zone.

Manager Steven Schumacher was bitterly disappointed with his team’s display.

“At the end of the day, we lost the game because they were better than us and we weren’t good enough in too many areas of the game,” he said.

“We didn’t do what we have been doing well in the last couple of games.

“I felt we were a little bit too passive – it took us 78 minutes to make a tackle, which is not going to get you any results against a team as good as Norwich.

“We weren’t close enough, we weren’t aggressive enough and when we did have the ball, we gave it back to them a bit too cheaply as well.”

Schumacher was particularly concerned about his side’s response to going behind.

“Once we’ve conceded the first goal, we just don’t see any sort of reaction from the lads,” he added. “It’s like we freeze and everybody goes in their shell – that can’t happen.

“Even if you go a goal down you’ve got to respond and try and do something about it.”