Robbie Neilson hailed Aaron McEneff after the midfielder came off the bench to inspire Hearts to an absorbing Scottish Cup quarter-final victory over St Mirren.Just 26 seconds after being introduced in the second half, the Irishman restored Hearts’ lead after Saints had fought back from two goals down. He then set up Ellis Simms for the fourth goal in the 4-2 victory.McEneff has been restr...Full Story »

Blackpool manager Neil Critchley said his players had to sacrifice their egos and suffer without the ball in a narrow 1-0 win over Swansea at Bloomfield Road.Gary Madine’s fourth-minute header was enough to give the Seasiders a third league win in a row, and a fifth in six home games.Blackpool are 12th, moving within six points of sixth-placed Luton, and Critchley said that despite their o...Full Story »

Alex Neil said Sunderland are giving themselves a platform to win promotion after their 2-0 win over bottom club Crewe.The Black Cats were searching for inspiration for 84 minutes at the Stadium of Light, then Dan Neil scored a stunning goal, with fellow substitute Patrick Roberts adding a second four minutes later.It was a frustrating watch for the home fans at times but Neil says that three cl...Full Story »

Gillingham boss Neil Harris was pleased to see his side’s work on the training ground pay dividends as they secured a valuable victory at relegation rivals Doncaster.The Gills claimed all three points at the Eco-Power Stadium courtesy of a Charlie Kelman header inside the first minute.The 20-year-old’s header came from a long throw and Harris says the tactic was a necessary one as he...Full Story »

Sunderland boss Alex Neil was relieved that his attempts to turn a defeat into victory against struggling Fleetwood worked out after the 3-1 win at the Stadium of Light.After hitting half-time a goal down courtesy of Ellis Harrison’s 28th minute opener, Neil went into the dressing room at the break and decided to change things.He introduced Jermain Defoe and Lynden Gooch for the second hal...Full Story »

Blackpool boss Neil Critchley paid tribute to his side’s camaraderie and hopes their late victory over Stoke can help catapult them into the Championship play-off places by the end of the season.The travelling Tangerines, who ended an eight-match run without an away win dating back to October, were fortunate not to be behind before snatching an 86th-minute winner through Josh Bowler.Stoke ...Full Story »

Hearts boss Robbie Neilson admitted in 25 years in football he had never experienced anything like the catalogue of injuries that decimated his team during Saturday’s cinch Premiership draw with Dundee United at Tannadice.The Jam Tarts had to make five changes because of injuries during the pulsating 2-2 match with Gary Mackay-Steven, Cammy Devlin, Alex Cochrane, John Souttar and Nate Atki...Full Story »

Sunderland manager Alex Neil was left to rue missed chances as his side could only draw 0-0 with struggling Charlton.The Wearsiders slipped out of the League One play-off places after they were unable to find a winner in London.Despite the setback, Neil believed his side played better in the first half than they did during last week’s stunning 3-0 win at Wigan.He said: “I think we de...Full Story »

Hearts manager Robbie Neilson was relieved that a contentious penalty decision did not cost his side victory as he branded Aberdeen’s Lewis Ferguson a ‘diver’.The Jambos were 2-0 up and cruising when the Dons were awarded a 70th-minute spot-kick after Ferguson fell in the box as he tried to go past Nathaniel Atkinson. The midfielder took the penalty himself and saw it saved by ...Full Story »

Alex Neil hailed his Sunderland players, who ‘rose to the physical challenge’ of travelling to Sky Bet League One high-flyers Wigan and came away with a 3-0 victory.Bailey Wright gave the Black Cats the perfect start when he nodded home Alex Pritchard’s free-kick inside two minutes.And a brace of penalties from Ross Stewart – one in either half – gave the visit...Full Story »

Blackpool boss Neil Critchley must decide whether to bring back Marvin Ekpiteta for the Championship clash with Reading on Saturday.The defender is struggling with a neural problem connected to his back and was left out of the midweek defeat by QPR.Critchley began with an unfamiliar 5-4-1 formation against Rangers but could revert to a 4-4-2 after seeing his side beaten by 10 men.James Husband i...Full Story »

Under-fire Robbie Neilson insists Hearts’ current slump must be placed in perspective.The Jambos boss has been heavily criticised by sections of the team’s support after a run of four cinch Premiership games without a win, the latest a 2-1 defeat away to St Johnstone.While Neilson admits they have not been good enough in suffering back-to-back league defeats against the bottom two of...Full Story »

Blackpool manager Neil Critchley was unhappy with referee Darren Bond’s “unbelievable decision” after his side were denied what he believed was “a stonewall penalty” in their 1-1 Championship draw with Cardiff.Tangerines right-wing Josh Bowler was sent tumbling in the Bluebirds box after 66 minutes under a challenge from midfielder Ryan Wintle, who had only just ret...Full Story »

Stoke manager Michael O’Neill called his side’s 2-2 result at home to Birmingham a “bad draw” as the Potters lost ground on the play-offs.Despite an early warning sign after in-form Birmingham striker Lyle Taylor struck the post inside two minutes, the Potters found themselves trailing when 17-year-old Jordan James notched his first senior goal.The visitors’ lead pr...Full Story »

Second-half goals from Joel Bagan and Mark Harris enabled Cardiff to make it back-to-back home wins as they beat Coventry 2-0Three days on from notching his first goal for the club, 20-year-old wing-back Bagan opened the scoring in the 72nd minute and Harris sealed the win three minutes from time.Back at the ground where a week earlier they had put four goals past relegation rivals Peterborough ...Full Story »

Walsall caretaker boss Neil McDonald admitted the Saddlers were relieved to “stop the rot” after a 1-0 victory over Tranmere halted a run of seven successive League Two defeats.That run had cost rookie head coach Matt Taylor his job in midweek but Conor Wilkinson’s late penalty settled a drab affair to earn Walsall a first win in two months.Victory also gives them some breathin...Full Story »

Alex Neil insists Sunderland cannot afford to drop more points in the League One promotion race after his first game in charge ended in a 1-1 draw at AFC Wimbledon.Alex Pritchard rescued a point for the Black Cats with a second-half free-kick and cancelled out Luke McCormick’s first-half penalty.Neil was only appointed as head coach on Friday but saw Sunderland’s winless run extend t...Full Story »

Stephen Robinson and Neil Harris praised their side’s efforts after a hard-fought draw between League One strugglers Morecambe and Gillingham.Ryan Jackson looked like he was going to give Gillingham a vital three points with a long-range effort 17 minutes from time before Jon Obika levelled the scores.Morecambe manager Robinson said: “We totally dominated from start to finish with 70...Full Story »

Blackpool boss Neil Critchley will be hoping to have Richard Keogh available for the visit of Bournemouth on Saturday.The 35-year-old central defender was substituted in the 65th minute of the Tangerines’ 1-1 draw with Coventry in midweek with a calf issue but Critchley is hoping he is fit enough for the weekend.Defender Jordan Gabriel and winger CJ Hamilton were rested in midweek and are ...Full Story »

Blackpool boss Neil Critchley hailed Coventry the best team his side have played this season after holding the Sky Blues to a 1-1 draw at The Coventry Building Society Arena.Former Coventry striker Gary Madine opened the scoring for the Tangerines before top goalscorer Viktor Gyokeres levelled things before half-time in the Sky Bet Championship clash.“I thought Coventry were excellent, esp...Full Story »