Northern Ireland striker Dale Taylor hit a brace as Blackpool eased their League One relegation worries with a 3-1 home win over Peterborough United at Bloomfield Road at the weekend.
The 22-year-old helped the Seasiders to a fourth straight home victory as they moved four points clear of the drop zone with three games remaining.
The former Linfield player, whose debut season with Blackpool has been severely disrupted due to injury, was making his first start in 2026 and admitted it was great to be back.
“It’s amazing to be back,” he told the club website. “We needed that win today. We came into the match with confidence, and thankfully, that translated onto the pitch, and we picked up the three points.
“I haven’t started too many games, so to come back and score two goals is unbelievable. I felt great today, and hopefully I can kick on and finish the season strong.”
Also on target over the weekend was striker Shayne Lavery, who scored his seventh goal of the campaign as Cambridge United moved back into the automatic League Two promotion places with an emphatic 4-0 win at home to Notts County.
Lavery has struggled with hamstring problems this season, but after being used as a substitute for the last 22 matches, U’s boss Neil Harris gave him his first start since October against promotion rivals Notts County.
Meanwhile, former Northern Ireland U19 international striker Reece Evans made it two goals in two games since his arrival on loan to Torquay United from Reading, when he found the net in the Gulls’ 5-1 victory at Slough Town, a result which sees them move into third place in the National League South.
In the Championship, Pierce Charles was again in majestic form as he kept only his second clean sheet of the season as relegated Sheffield Wednesday held champions-elect Coventry City to a scoreless draw at the Coventry Building Society Arena.
Oxford United remain in the bottom three despite beating Watford 2-0 at home on Saturday, with Ciaron Brown, Jamie Donley and Brodie Spencer all starting the game against the Hornets.
After United won their first game in five outings, 21-year-old Spencer said: “It’s about keeping that level head, not getting too high on the highs and too low on the lows.
“There are a lot of players in the team who have been in this situation before,” he added. “They were able to fight out of it last season, so there's no reason why we can't go on and do it again.”
Elsewhere, midfielder George Saville was celebrating after Luton Town won the Final of the Football League Trophy after defeating Stockport County 3-1 after extra time at Wembley.
In the Premier League, Justin Devenny was an unused substitute as Crystal Palace beat Newcastle United 2-1 at Selhurst Park, and Trai Hume was used from the bench for the final eight minutes of Sunderland’s narrow 1-0 victory over struggling Tottenham Hotspur at the Stadium of Light.
Finally, in Bundesliga 2, loanee striker Callum Marshall weighed in with two assists after playing the final 28 minutes of Bochum’s comfortable 4-1 success at home to Eintracht Braunschweig.
