Five talking points from the EFL weekend including a rare win for Barnsley

Gabriel Sutton
14 February 2022

Domingos Quina celebrates scoring for Barnsley vs QPR

EFL pundit Gab Sutton has his say on the action from the weekend.

Miracles do happen - after a run of six straight league defeats, and a 13-game winless run, Championship strugglers Barnsley have won a football match.

Ordinarily, a side that has a paltry 17 points from 30 games would be doomed to the drop, but circumstances elsewhere mean, remarkably, Tarn still have an outside chance of survival.

Peterborough have taken just one point from their last seven league games, Reading have lost eight in succession while Derby had 21 points deducted, meaning Poya Asbaghi's side are only five points off safety.

Will they do it? Unlikely, but the additions of Amine Bassi and Domingos Quina offer hope.

Birmingham complete emphatic double over Luton

Birmingham's 2021/22 campaign has been broadly unremarkable.

In fact, without the aforementioned issues with the Championship dogfight, Blues fans might be looking over their shoulders.

And yet, Lee Bowyer's side have still been able to embrace the two meetings with play-fff chasers Luton, winning a thumping 5-0 at Kenilworth Road back in September before defeating the Bedfordshire outfit 3-0 in Saturday's return fixture.

A steward entered the field of play to retrieve one of the stray tennis balls hurled onto the pitch by home fans protesting against the BSHL regime, when the Hatters were about to cross a ball, which boss Nathan Jones listed as a factor behind the game's change of momentum: although it probably had more to do with his side being second-best from that point on.

Birmingham look stronger for the signings of athletic defender Teden Mengi, midfield technician Juninho Bacuna, wide dribbler Onel Hernandez and clinical forward Lyle Taylor. Retaining two or three looks a key priority for the summer ahead.

Some would say playing Luton every week next season would be great, too.

Cheltenham a step closer to safety

Cheltenham Town celebrate beating Luton Town

The last two months have tested Cheltenham's resolve.

Michael Duff's side went 11 league games without a win and while they had been competitive in lots of those encounters, including against good sides in Plymouth Argyle, Oxford and Wigan, it's difficult to stay positive on a long barren run.

The Robins, though, were able to, coming from behind to secure a 2-1 victory over Sunderland, prior to Saturday's 2-0 win against Fleetwood.

Defensive continuity, which had been a big part of Cheltenham's rise in League Two, had been difficult in the first half of their League One campaign due to Ben Tozer's exit, followed by injuries to Charlie Raglan and Will Boyle.

More recently, though, Raglan and Boyle have found form and fitness for the Cotswolds club either side of Mattie Pollock, who looks one of the brightest young defenders in League One in a well-drilled side.

Duff's troops now have the insurance of a nine-point buffer to the drop zone, with a game in hand on 21st-placed Morecambe, putting them in a great position to secure their third-tier status.

Bolton couldn't, could they?

Bolton were as low as 19th in League Two on 29th January 2021, before - somehow - going on to win automatic promotion last season thanks to a run of 16 wins from their remaining 22 games.

After a promising January with the arrivals of goalkeeper James Trafford, energetic wing-back Marlon Fossey, technical midfielder Aaron Morley and persistent centre-forward Dion Charles, the Trotters are hopeful of a similar surge into contention.

Ian Evatt's side have taken a whopping 19 points from the last 21 available and are now eight points off the play-offs with 15 to play.

Ipswich have three points more than the Lancashire club having played one game more, so if we are considering Kieran McKenna's side to be top six challengers, then why not Bolton?

Reed returns for resurgent Robins

Louis Reed made his return to Swindon Town against Scunthorpe

A five-match winless run, including a 3-0 defeat at Tranmere, had left Swindon fans concerned about their side - having been in the promotion mix all season - slipping out of contention.

They, though, had not banked on the impact of Louis Reed's return, after the ex-Chesterfield man missed three games in the winless streak.

Reed can run games from the heart of midfield with delightful class and grace, while his passing range is sublime. The 24-year-old was a crucial factor in their 3-0 victory over Scunthorpe.

Head coach Ben Garner should be credited, too, not just for switching from the usual 3-5-2 to a more impactful 4-3-3, but also for handing a more advanced role to Ellis Iandolo - so often Town's utility man - who thrived with a more creative remit.

On this evidence, Swindon are right back in the play-off shake-up... if they ever left it.