EFL round-up: Sheffield United and Sunderland take huge steps, Stockport County robbed, and Walsall redemption

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The main part of the season may be over, but the Football League doesn’t stop there, and we’ve got a comprehensive EFL round-up of all the action from the play-offs this weekend.

While the likes of Leeds United, Burnley, Birmingham, Wrexham, Doncaster Rovers, and Port Vale have all been celebrating title wins and promotion recently, other teams still have it all to play for.

The Championship play-offs are, naturally, the main attraction for most neutral fans right now, but the rollercoaster rides of League One and League Two still have plenty to offer, too.

Our team offered up predictions for the play-offs ahead of the games this weekend, but now it’s time to reflect and dissect all the ups and downs from the fixtures in each division from the last few days with our EFL round-up.

• READ MORE: The fans have spoken, Championship play-offs will have a surprise winner with 35% chance of success

Championship play-offs off to a great start for Sheffield United and Sunderland

Bristol City were the most in-form team heading into the Championship play-offs, but they came unstuck against Sheffield United on Thursday night in dramatic fashion.

The Blades were, admittedly, pretty good, as you can tell from our Sheffield United player ratings from the 3-0 win at Ashton Gate.

A controversial red card for Rob Dickie reduced the home side to ten men and really gave United all the impetus they needed to storm to victory, and goals from Harrison Burrows, Andre Brooks, and Callum O’Hare sealed the win.

It will now take a miraculous recovery for Bristol City to turn things around on Monday night at Bramall Lane, while Sheffield United’s play-off record has a great chance of improving this year.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the draw, Sunderland shocked us all by putting their horrific five-game losing streak to bed with a 2-1 win away at Coventry City.

Wilson Isidor gave Sunderland the lead but Coventry equalised a minute later thanks to a Jack Rudoni strike. In the end, a late winner from Eliezer Mayenda gave Sunderland a slender lead heading into the second leg.

Frank Lampard knows the tie isn’t over yet. Still, it will take a big effort to get the better of Sunderland on their home turf on Tuesday night.

One thing’s for sure, you’ll want to watch those Championship play-offs second legs to see how it all plays out.

• READ MORE: Birmingham City make League One history, and now Tom Wagner has his sights set on Championship record

League One play-offs prove VAR is needed in the EFL

Perhaps the most eventful section of our EFL round-up comes with the League One play-offs. The action in the third tier kicked off in chaotic fashion on Saturday, as Leyton Orient hosted third-placed Stockport County.

The two sides played out a 2-2 draw in the end, but the game was full of controversy. Most notably, star striker Charlie Kelman opened the scoring after being a good five yards offside.

The goal stood, prompting calls for VAR to be used in the EFL play-offs at the very least. Dave Challinor was given an explanation with suggestions there was a flick-on from a Stockport player that impacted the play.

Either way, the two sides are level pegging heading into the second leg, which will be played on Wednesday night.

In the other tie, Wycombe Wanderers hosted Charlton Athletic on Sunday evening, and unfortunately, it was a very drab affair ending in a 0-0 scoreline at Adams Park.

Wycombe fans were happy with the organisation shown by their players, with signs of improvement under Mike Dodds. Charlton fans, however, were not pleased with the poor football and the poor performance from the referee, too.

Now, we have to hope for better in the reverse fixture. Hopefully, an early goal will open things up at The Valley. However, Sam Parkin predicts we’ll get more of the same from Wycombe when it comes to setting up so defensively.

• READ MORE: League Two club could become Wrexham 2.0 as US-based consortium now ‘relatively close’ to takeover

Walsall are back on track in League Two play-offs

We conclude our EFL round-up with a look at the action in League Two. There, Walsall, Notts County, AFC Wimbledon, and Chesterfield are fighting it out to escape the fourth tier.

Before the games kicked off, we looked at some statistics that proved Walsall should be successful. At least, that’s what history tells us, with the fourth-placed side in the division usually going on to promotion.

The Saddlers duly delivered on that theory on Sunday, defeating Chesterfield 2-0 away from home. A Taylor Allen penalty got things going, before Birmingham loanee Alfie Chang doubled the lead.

Elsewhere, AFC Wimbledon edged a tight encounter with Notts County, and will take a 1-0 lead into the second leg.