By Charlie Elliott
While a large portion of the EFL headed to FA Cup action, those already out of the competition tried to gain ground on those not playing.
Sheffield United went back up to second place in the Championship with a narrow 2-1 victory over Portsmouth, Gustavo Hamer netting the opener for the Blades.
Late drama at The Hawthorns saw West Bromwich Albion snatch their lead back after Sheffield Wednesday initially equalised during injury-time.
In League One, former Premier League player Oliver Norwood showed his class for Stockport County in a 2-1 victory over Barnsley.
Here is my Team of the Week from the last round of action which included plenty of goals.
Lawrence Vigouroux (Swansea City)
Swansea City took a surprising 1-0 victory away to Bristol City with keeper Lawrence Vigouroux making some crucial saves.
The Chilean was equal to everything thrown at him and not only made a few decent saves, but commanded his box and his defence extremely well.
Despite some poor distribution, Vigouroux was the best of the lot in the EFL this weekend.
Paudie O’Connor (Lincoln City)
Mr Consistent in the middle of the Lincoln City defence throughout the whole season, Paudie O’Connor had yet another stellar game despite a disappointing 1-1 draw at home to Cambridge United.
He won the most duels in the match (17), while also completing the most passes and the most tackles.
Overall, the defence stayed firm and a very good strike from James Gibbons was the only blemish on a great defensive performance.
Jack Shepherd (Bradford City)
Young centre back Jack Shepherd has been solid all season for Bradford City and a huge 1-0 win against Harrogate Town keeps his team in the hunt for League Two automatic promotion.
The 23-year-old won 22 duels and four tackles, the most of anyone on the pitch, but he was possibly helped out by the fact he was up against his former teammate Oliver Sanderson.
More impressively, he kept Josh March out as the Harrogate striker could get nowhere near him.
Ellis Iandolo (Colchester United)
Although he played as a left back in this game, Ellis Iandolo slots into this team at left centre back following a very good game in a 2-1 home win against table-topping Walsall.
Constantly being available to play out from the back with and finding himself as the spare man, Iandolo was heavily involved on the ball.
This culminated in an assist for the winner, which in truth he cannot be given too much credit as Owura Edwards did run about 20 yards before cutting in and smashing it into the top corner.
But hey, they all count.
Kian Spence (Barrow)
Barrow and Kian Spence showed the best of themselves in a 3-0 home win against Gillingham.
The right sided player lit it up in the second half with a brace.
His first goal was a lovely half volley from outside the area which looped over the keeper and his second was the exact opposite – a tap-in from a couple of yards out.
A nuisance all day, he also hit the woodwork.
Oliver Norwood (Stockport County)
Norwood is such a classy player and could probably still do a job in the Championship, let alone League One where he actually finds himself.
In County’s 2-1 win against Barnsley, he ran the show in midfield both on and off the ball.
With five tackles and plenty of chances created, everything went through him.
He kept things ticking and was a joy to watch.
Josh Sheehan (Bolton Wanderers)
In an absolute classic, Bolton Wanderers edged past Crawley Town with a 4-3 win at home.
Josh Sheehan was another who ran the show from deep and kept trying to make things happen even when it wasn’t going Wanderers’ way.
He not only scored a late equaliser to make it 3-3, but was heavily involved in the own goal which kept the three points in Horwich.
The Welshman stepped up when it mattered and his team reaped the rewards.
Gustavo Hamer (Sheffield United)
Another week has gone by where Hamer has proven that he is too good for the Championship.
Chris Wilder‘s side climbed back into the top two in the league with a victory over Pompey, as goals from Hamer and Jesurun Rak-Sakyi were the difference at Brammal Lane.
A tidy finish that curled into the back of Nicolas Schmid’s net was made to look effortless by the Dutchman, who glides around the football pitch.
Always involved and looking to make things happen, he was class.
Rushian Hepburn-Murphy (Crawley Town)
It wasn’t to be for Crawley, who as mentioned before came close to victory against Bolton, but Rushian Hepburn-Murphy still deserves a place in this team after a brace.
His goal to open the scoring was a brilliantly curled effort into the top corner from the edge of the box and his burst of pace to neatly finish from a tight angle put them in a seemingly insurmountable 3-1 lead.
A real shame he wasn’t on the winning side as he deserved.
Hakeeb Adelakun ( Salford City)
Salford City got themselves back up into the playoff places in League Two after a comfortable 2-0 home win against Tranmere Rovers.
Hakeeb Adelakun led the line outstandingly and grabbed himself a proper brace to take his tally for the season to seven goals in the league so far.
For most of the game, Adelakun played as a striker who drifted out wide – with both goals coming from the left-hand side.
Lorent Tolaj (Port Vale)
Port Vale may have only got a draw against Swindon Town, but it could have been a lot worse should Swiss striker Lorent Tolaj not have stepped up.
Those who saw him last season at Aldershot Town will know how good of a player he is and his brace may not have included moments of magic that he is capable of, but showed a true instinct for goals.
The late equaliser was hammered home with such composure that is usually reserved for the best of the best.
