Patrick Bamford marked his first Leeds start of the season with the opening goal in a 3-0 win over struggling Birmingham at Elland Road.

It was far from the sort of free-flowing attacking football Leeds have been known for at home this season but it did not need to be against a fairly toothless Birmingham side.

The victory ended a run of two successive defeats for Daniel Farke’s side and increased the pressure on under-fire Birmingham boss Wayne Rooney, whose team continue to struggle at the wrong end of the Championship table.

Leeds claimed the lead just after half an hour as Bamford met a Dan James cross from the right with a perfectly timed header.

James doubled the home side’s lead in first-half stoppage time when his shot deflected past Birmingham goalkeeper John Ruddy.

Crysencio Summerville picked his spot for the third midway through the second half.

Dion Sanderson got in to block a Bamford shot as the home side threatened inside the first five minutes and was again in the right place to end a run by Georginio Rutter.

Birmingham were using the right wing to good effect and smart link-up play between Jay Stansfield and Oliver Burke almost saw the latter escape into open space and a run on goal.

Leeds were indebted to Joe Rodon’s covering interception to end a Siriki Dembele run behind the defence.

Summerville’s shot forced Ruddy into the game’s first real save after 25 minutes and James’ follow-up was blocked by Emmanuel Longelo.

Bamford opened the scoring with a well-placed header after 34 minutes as a James cross from the right picked out the striker and he rose above the Birmingham defence to head home.

Rodon again tidied up at the back to cut off Stansfield’s run as Birmingham tried to hit back on the break.

Ruddy got down to hold a James shot but was left helpless as the same player saw his stoppage-time effort deflect in off Lee Buchanan.

Leeds’ third-choice goalkeeper Kris Klaesson saved a Dembele shot to maintain his side’s two-goal advantage to the interval.

Birmingham should have pulled a goal back early in the second half as Dembele set Juninho Bacuna free with a pass on halfway. The finish was lacking as his chip over Klaesson was off target.

Ivan Sunjic fired just off target as Leeds failed to clear a corner before Bamford’s shot came back off the post and James’ follow-up hit Buchanan in the face with nearly an hour gone.

Leeds scored their third when Rutter set Junior Firpo away down the left and he pulled the ball back for Summerville to pick his spot from 12 yards.

Ruddy’s fingertip save denied Ethan Ampadu an injury-time fourth in what turned out to be a comfortable win for Leeds.

Carlisle moved off the bottom of the League One table after coming from behind to beat Port Vale 2-1 .

Jon Mellish scored the winner in the third minute of stoppage time after Jordan Gibson’s penalty in the 80th minute cancelled out Ben Garrity’s opener just after half-time.

The hosts had the better of the first-half chances and nearly broke the deadlock in the 11th minute when Sean Maguire was denied by Connor Ripley.

Ripley produced another excellent save in the 38th minute, getting his fingertips to Gibson’s effort.

Moments later, Carlisle defender Sam Lavelle stepped out of defence and laid the ball off to Taylor Charters who advanced and shot narrowly wide.

Gibson’s acrobatic attempt went over shortly after the restart as the Cumbrians carried on where they left off, but they soon found themselves behind as Garrity got on the end of Ethan Chislett’s low cross into the box for his ninth league goal of the season.

Maguire came close to scoring an equaliser almost immediately, but he turned Gibson’s cross just wide.

Down at the other end, Gabriel Breeze palmed away a powerful effort from James Wilson and recovered quickly to block Chislett’s follow-up.

Gibson brought Carlisle level with 10 minutes of normal time remaining, sending Ripley the wrong way from the penalty spot after Jack Robinson was fouled in the area.

And the home fans were sent into raptures in the dying moments as Mellish headed home Robinson’s cross to secure all three points.

Ricky Jade-Jones scored in stoppage time to give Peterborough a dramatic 3-2 win at rival League One promotion hopefuls Derby.

Derby made a dream start with Tom Barkhuizen crossing for James Collins to head past Fynn Talley after only 22 seconds.

But Peterborough hit back in the ninth minute when Kwame Poku got away on the right and picked out Harrison Burrows who found the bottom-left corner from 15 yards.

Peterborough’s pace and movement was unsettling Derby and Ephron Mason-Clark and Jade-Jones missed good chances.

Both teams looked a threat and after Collins headed straight at Talley, Joel Randall forced Joe Wildsmith into a diving save in the 42nd minute.

Posh had another chance in the 50th minute but Randall fired over from eight yards.

Derby took advantage 10 minutes later when Hector Kyprianou handled a free-kick in the area and although Collins’ penalty was saved, he headed in the rebound.

But Peterborough equalised in the 84th minute through Poku’s header and Jade-Jones pounced from close range in the third minute of added time to snatch the points.

Skipper Shaun Hutchinson struck an added-time winner to give Millwall a 1-0 Championship victory over Bristol City in a drab contest at Ashton Gate.

The centre-back went forward for a corner from the right deep into five minutes of stoppage time and, when City failed to clear, thumped a sweet left-footed volley past Max O’Leary from 12 yards.

It was enough to settle a poor quality game in which both sides struggled to create meaningful openings.

That did not worry the 600 travelling Millwall fans, who celebrated wildly at the final whistle after seeing their team continue their recent run of good results.

Both sides adopted an unadventurous approach in a drab first half, which was bereft of clear-cut chances.

Jason Knight headed wide from a Matty James corner after 11 minutes for City before producing the one save of note from Matija Sarkic.

The Millwall goalkeeper did well to dive to his right and get a firm hand to Knight’s 17th-minute downward header.

Striker Tom Bradshaw had the visitors’ only first-half goal effort when his low 22nd-minute attempt was blocked by centre-back Rob Dickie.

Andreas Weimann hit twoshots wide for City, but for all their possession Liam Manning’s side lacked tempo to their attacks and a telling final ball.

The last 15 minutes of the half were played out without a scoring opportunity and there was little to encourage supporters of either team on a cold afternoon.

Millwall threatened at the start of the second period. Ryan Leonard saw a low drive blocked by George Tanner and Murray Wallace sent a powerful header over the bar.

Manning responded with two substitutions after 54 minutes, sending on Mark Sykes and Taylor Gardner-Hickman for Weimann and James.

Still Millwall pressed and Wallace was wide with another header as the match finally showed signs of warming up.

Visiting boss Joe Edwards made his first change after 62 minutes, with Aidomo Emakhu replacing Duncan Watmore.

If anything, the play became more scrappy, with passing errors on both sides. O’Leary made his first save after 76 minutes, dealing comfortably with a Brooke Norton-Cuffy header.

City lost Sykes to injury a minute later, Harry Cornick replacing the substitute.

There was still no bite to their attacks and a goalless draw looked certain until Hutchinson’s dramatic late contribution.

CJ Hamilton sealed a valuable 2-0 win for Blackpool over Lincoln after Oliver Casey had set them on their way at Bloomfield Road.

The Seasiders have picked up 29 points at home in the 2023-24 season, more than any other team in Sky Bet League One so far this season.

The best chance early in the game fell to Lincoln’s Alex Mitchell, but he volleyed well over.

Casey headed Blackpool in front after 28 minutes following Karamoko Dembele whipped in a free-kick.

The goal put the hosts firmly in the ascendancy. Owen Dale cut inside and saw an effort deflect over and James Husband’s header hit the top of the crossbar.

Blackpool came out firing in the second half looking to close the game. Both Callum Connolly and Dale saw efforts well saved by Luke Jensen, and Dembele blazed one over after breaking clear with just the goalkeeper to beat.

Lincoln probed late on, but failed to create any real chances as Blackpool’s defence held firm before Hamilton wrapped up the points in stoppage time.

Reading moved out of the League One relegation places for the first time since early September with a hard-earned 3-2 home win over fellow strugglers Exeter.

Top scorer Harvey Knibbs gave Reading an early lead but Exeter defender Zak Jules soon levelled with a fierce long-range effort.

Royals regained the lead in the second minute of first-half stoppage time when Alex Hartridge clumsily nodded into his own net.

Though Dion Rankine made it 2-2 in an ebb-and-flow second half, Femi Azeez rifled in the Reading winner with 13 minutes left.

Reading went ahead in the ninth minute, with Sam Smith supplying the pass for Knibbs to run on to and lob past keeper Vili Sinisalo.

It was Knibbs’ 11th goal of the season in all competitions.

But City equalised in the 18th minute when former Royals youngster Jules latched on to a loose ball and thundered home from 20 yards for his first goal for the club.

With the break only seconds away, Knibbs capitalised on loose Exeter defending to cross, only for Hartridge – under pressure from Smith – to head past team-mate Sinisalo.

City responded to draw level again, in the 68th minute, when Rankine poked home after a frantic scramble in the home area.

But Reading hit back nine minutes later, Azeez beating Sinisalo with a well-struck low drive, to stretch their unbeaten run to six matches.

Leyton Orient completed an excellent Christmas period with a 2-0 League One victory at Cambridge.

The visitors enjoyed the better of the first half, going close after 15 minutes when Theo Archibald’s corner was flicked wide by Tom James.

Archibald found space to fire a shot from distance which came back off the crossbar with Jack Stevens beaten, before Daniel Agyei broke through and was denied by Stevens at his near post.

The closest Cambridge came was when a corner was cleared to Danny Andrew, who curled an effort off target on his weaker foot.

Orient’s pressure paid off nine minutes after half-time when Jubril Okedina made a mess of clearing a Max Sanders corner and the ball fell to the unmarked Jordan Brown, who slotted home from a central position.

That lead was doubled only three minutes later when Agyei dispossessed Okedina and ran clear before firing in through the legs of Stevens to score his first goal for the club and make it seven points from the O’s three unbeaten festive fixtures.

Coventry’s climb towards the Sky Bet Championship play-off places continued as they claimed a 3-1 win at Middlesbrough.

The Sky Blues beat Boro in last season’s play-off semi-finals, and they enjoyed another successful day at the Riverside thanks to a double from the in-form Tatsuhiro Sakamoto and a close-range finish from Haji Wright.

Josh Coburn opened the scoring for Middlesbrough in the first half, but the hosts were unable to make the most of their early superiority as Coventry stretched their unbeaten run to seven matches.

Middlesbrough went into the game on the back of a morale-boosting win at Huddersfield on Friday night, and Michael Carrick’s side dominated the early exchanges, carving out a succession of good chances.

Isaiah Jones must have thought he had scored when he raced on to Morgan Rogers’ fourth-minute through ball and rounded goalkeeper Brad Collins, but while his shot from an acute angle was heading in, back-tracking centre-half Bobby Thomas produced a superb flicked clearance as he raced towards his own goalline.

Jones had another decent effort blocked by Jake Bidwell a few minutes later, before Collins denied Sam Greenwood with a scrambled save down to his left. The ball broke to Rogers, but his follow-up effort was blocked by a combination of the Coventry goalkeeper and Luis Binks.

It felt like only a matter of time before Boro scored, and the deadlock was duly broken in the 31st minute.

Jones crossed from the right-hand side, and having been restored to the starting line-up after scoring as a substitute at Huddersfield, Coburn made it two goals in four days with a powerful header.

Coventry had not threatened at all at that stage, but just four minutes after falling behind, the visitors struck back to equalise.

Thomas’ header from a corner was saved by Tom Glover, but Lukas Engel’s clearance only found Sakamoto, and the Japanese winger threaded a fine low finish through a crowded box.

Collins made good saves from Greenwood and Engel to keep the scores level at the break, and Coventry should have claimed the lead when Ellis Simms hooked over from the edge of the six-yard box in the early stages of the second half.

A minute later, however, and the Sky Blues were celebrating making it 2-1. Simms’ shot from Callum O’Hare’s cross was saved by Glover, but when the ball rebounded to the striker, he slipped a square pass to Wright, who was left with the simple task of tapping home from close range.

Coventry were much the better side in the second half, and they added a third goal in the 69th minute.

Bidwell crossed from close to the byline, and Sakamoto stole in at the back post to net his second goal of the game with a close-range header.

Sakamoto almost claimed a hat-trick with 10 minutes remaining, but his low shot from inside the area cannoned against the base of the post.

Riviere D’etel ran away with the John & Chich Fowler Memorial EBF Mares Chase for Gordon Elliott at Fairyhouse.

The seven-year-old was one of five contenders in the race and a 100-30 chance, as Willie Mullins’ Allegorie De Vassy was the 8-13 favourite.

On testing ground, there was no contest, however, and it was Elliott’s runner that won by an unchallenged 33 lengths under Jack Kennedy.

“She’ll probably be very hard to place, I’d say going right-handed really suited her and Jack said she loved the ground,” said Elliott.

“Jack said she stayed very well and we’re delighted with her.

“I don’t know where I’ll go with her but I’d love to go right-handed.”

When asked if that would rule out Cheltenham, Elliott added: “It wouldn’t be out of the question, I’ll talk to Noel (Moran, owner) and see what they want to do, but it just might not be the right place for her.”

Mollys Mango returned to winning ways for the same trainer in the Wishing Everyone A Healthy 2024 Mares Hurdle.

The six-year-old started the campaign in winning form at Thurles but was pulled up last time at Wexford.

She was still the 2-9 favourite at Fairyhouse and certainly looked to be back on song with a 17-length success under Kennedy.

“Jack said she gave him a good feel again, she was disappointing the last day in Wexford but she gave him a good feel there today,” said Elliott.

“We’ll probably come back here in three weeks’ time for the Solerina, try and see if we can get a bit of black type.

“She didn’t turn up for whatever reason the last day, maybe we ran her back too soon.”

Elliott completed a treble when Staffordshire Knot landed the Jump Into January @ Fairyhouse (Pro/Am) INH Flat Race under Harry Swan at 9-4.

Mullins’ I Will Be Baie made a winning hurdles debut in the ITM Irish Stallion Trail 12-13 January Maiden Hurdle.

The six-year-old is a point-to-point and a bumper winner and set off at 11-8 under Paul Townend, jumping fluently to secure a two-and-three-quarter-length success over Elliott’s odds-on favourite My Trump Card.

David Casey, Mullins’ assistant, said: “It was great, he did it well and jumped well.

“We weren’t sure how he’d handle the heavy ground but Paul said he went through it okay. He said he won well.

“He won his point-to-point well and jumped well throughout. Hopefully, we’ll find a race for him in a few weeks and see where we go from there.

“The runner-up was a decent winner of a bumper and had a bit of jumping experience on his side, he set a nice standard and I thought it was a good performance.”

Mullins had another winner on the card with Nick Rockett, successful by seven lengths as the 2-7 favourite in the McInerney Beginners Chase.

“He was good. He improved a little bit from his first run, he obviously jumped very well,” said Casey.

“He did what you’d hope he would do, with natural progression, today.

“Paul (Townend) was very happy and said he was comfortable everywhere.

“He’ll get further, that was two-five today and he’d have no issue getting a trip. He’s a good, relaxed horse and jumps very well. The boss will make a plan now.”

Karl Thornton had a double on the day as Don’t Talk took the Tote+ Pays You More At Tote.ie Handicap Hurdle at 9-2 and Mighty Oak Lad won the Fairyhouse Membership 2024 Handicap Hurdle at 7-2.

“That’s nice. There wasn’t much pace on, and he’s a good jumper, so Donagh (Meyler, jockey) lobbed away in front,” said Thornton of the latter performance.

“He said he made a mistake at the first in Thurles and his race was over, everything was happening a bit quick for him around there, as he’s a big old horse.

“I’d say he’s definitely suited by a bigger track. I’d say he’ll stay hurdling, we’ll give him a couple more runs and see if he can improve again.”

Of Don’t Talk, the trainer commented: “He did it well. Danny (Gilligan) gave him a good ride and everything was straightforward, he seemed to improve from the last day. We thought he had.

“They get caught eventually (by the handicapper) but he’s definitely improving and he jumps a fence well.

“The horses were sick all last year, we just tried to change things around a bit and everything seems healthy now. When they are healthy, you can make a plan, but when they aren’t, you can’t do anything.”

Teenage star Luke Littler is just two wins away from becoming world champion after continuing his amazing Alexandra Palace journey.

The 16-year-old has taken the World Championship by storm and became the youngest ever semi-finalist by beating Brendan Dolan 5-1 in the last eight.

It was a new year but the same brilliance from the precocious Littler, who is on the cusp of producing one of the greatest sporting stories of all time.

A semi-final against 2018 winner Rob Cross is next up before a likely meeting with Michael van Gerwen in the final, but Littler is a genuine contender to lift the Sid Waddell Trophy on Wednesday.

The debutant has already proven he is ready to compete on the biggest stage after taking out UK Open winner Andrew Gilding and his hero Raymond van Barneveld on his way to the last eight and he maintained that form against Dolan.

The Northern Irishman had beaten former world champions Gerwyn Price and Gary Anderson but could not live with Littler, who finished with an average of 101.93 to thrill his adoring fans inside Ally Pally.

This performance will only heighten Littler’s celebrity status. His exploits have already transcended the world of darts, with the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) coming under increasing pressure to hand him a place in the forthcoming Premier League.

He warmed up for his match by sharing a box at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with England international James Maddison to watch Spurs’ Premier League match with Bournemouth on Sunday, while he has had pictures and exchanged messages with a host of other top footballers.

But it is his darts that continue to do the talking and he was in complete command again on Monday.

Dolan took out 101 in the opening leg to break Littler’s throw, but from then on it was one-way traffic.

Littler went about his business in his usual manner and eased into a 4-0 lead.

A whitewash was on the cards, but Dolan took out 118 to finally get on the board.

It was just a stay of execution, though, as Littler came back to see out a memorable win.

Celtic have seen two players called up to Japan’s Asian Cup squad but not top goalscorer Kyogo Furuhashi.

Daizen Maeda and Reo Hatate have both been included in the squad.

Hatate has not played since suffering a hamstring injury on October 25 but was back on the bench for Celtic’s win over Rangers on Saturday.

Japan open their Qatar campaign against Vietnam on January 14 and finish the group stage on January 24. Sixteen teams go into the knockout stages ahead of the final on February 10.

South Korea pair Oh Hyeon-gyu and Yang Hyun-jun are also going to the tournament.

Jungle Boogie proved the toughest of the field in taking the Savills New Year’s Day Chase for Henry de Bromhead at Tramore.

Six contested the Grade Three event run over two miles and seven furlongs on heavy ground and the winner was not especially popular as a 10-1 shot.

Under Darragh O’Keeffe the 10-year-old was headed two out, but as the race neared its conclusion stamina came to the fore and Jungle Boogie displayed plenty to rally and win by a length from Classic Getaway, the 2-5 favourite.

The win initiated a big-race double for the De Bromhead team, with Bob Olinger on the scoreboard in the Relkeel Hurdle at Cheltenham.

“He was very good. Henry said to jump out and make the running on him,” O’Keeffe said.

“He jumped very good bar the fence at the top of the hill the first time, he just got under it. I kind of gave him a squeeze and he kind of put down on me.

“Other than that he jumped really well and kept at it well. I’m delighted to win this race, especially after having three seconds earlier on.

“When I saw Danny (Mullins) coming to me, I thought ‘not again!’.

“Thankfully my lad rallied and got back going again. He wasn’t beaten that far the last day against the best of the two-milers in Ireland and he stayed on really well.

“For a horse that wants a trip, he travels really well. I’m delighted to get that with him now and I’m very grateful to connections for giving me the spin on him.

“I said to the lads afterwards that the track was plenty tight for him, as he is a big, big horse. Thankfully he got the job done and it’s a nice race to win.”

Joseph O’Brien’s Boldog was a convincing winner of the David Flynn Construction Maiden Hurdle at 5-1 under J J Slevin.

The six-year-old was a bumper winner for Stuart Crawford and got off the mark at the first opportunity for his new stable with a five-and-a-half-length win.

“Good performance, actually. He coped well with the ground, and his bumper runs were decent enough last year,” Slevin said.

“He’s going to be a staying horse. He was fine until halfway down the back when he took off.

“It was going to be hard for him to win doing that, but he stuck it out well. Joseph is having a great season with his jumpers, and it’s nice to have this one for Simon and Isaac (Munir and Souede, owners).

“Daryl (Jacob, retained rider) is in Cheltenham today so I’m lucky I got to step in.”

Bynx (6-1) took the Jimmy Shanahan Memorial Handicap Hurdle for Martin Hassett and Sean Flanagan in a three-and-a-half-length triumph.

“She’s been fierce unlucky. A few times things didn’t go our way, but, as I said to Sean, when in doubt, call on Flanagan. He gave her a masterclass. I know it looks simple but he got the fractions spot-on on that ground,” Hassett said.

“She’d probably win more but she’s hard on herself at home. When she comes racing, she switches off.”

Willie Mullins’ Stoke The Fire made light work of the Ryans Cleaning Services Maiden Hurdle under Danny Mullins as the 5-6 favourite.

A dual-purpose campaigner who was second on the Flat four times in a row last year, the five-year-old has been purchased by Middleham Park Racing and is their first runner with the champion trainer.

His hurdling bow was a great success as he crossed the line 15 lengths ahead of his nearest rival.

“We’ll stoke the fire tonight!” Mullins quipped in relation to the weather conditions.

“He did it well and jumps well for a Flat horse. I was very happy with how he handled that ground for a Flat horse as well. Hopefully it’ll be the start of something.

“It’s Middleham Racing’s first runner for us and I’m not sure where I’m going to go with him now, we’ll see. We’ll get home and plan something for him.

“He’ll probably mix it between hurdles and Flat racing.”