Frank Lampard admitted he was “out of order” after he sparked a post-match melee following Coventry’s 1-1 draw at Southampton. The home supporters had targeted the visitors’ manager with abuse in the latter stages of the match and, after the full-time whistle, Lampard went on to the pitch and repeatedly gestured to them, which led to players reacting.

“I was probably emotional,” said Lampard of his reaction to being called “a shit Steven Gerrard”. “The fans had given me a bit in the last 10 minutes and I went on the pitch to give them a bit back. It was really out of order but I wouldn’t have had as long in this game if I wasn’t sometimes emotional on the pitch, and not a bad bloke off it.

“I was very proud of the players and then it got a bit heated. Not every game can we shake hands and smile. I have no problem with their players or fans, this is a very good football club and I have always liked it. They might not have that back for me tonight but that’s fine. I was hyped because of what my players had done. I’m not a robot. I had 10 minutes of that and I think I’m allowed to have a little moment.”

Tempers flare at the final whistle. Photograph: Peter Tarry/PA

Ephron Mason-Clark had given Coventry a first-half lead with a header from Victor Torp’s dink, but they could not hold out as Nathan Wood levelled after the break, following Jay Dasilva’s red card 85 seconds into the second half. The full-back steamed into Welington and smashed into the Brazilian wing-back’s shins with his studs. In the 56th minute Wood nodded in his first Southampton goal from a pinpoint delivery by Adam Armstrong.

Quick GuideLeague One roundup: Lincoln cut Cardiff’s lead at topShow

Lincoln cut Cardiff’s lead at the top of League One with a 2-1 victory at the LNER Stadium. Lincoln climbed above Bradford into the automatic promotion places and now trail Cardiff by three points, albeit having played a game more. Lincoln led through Alex Robertson’s own goal just before the break and, although Perry Ng equalised shortly after the interval, Sonny Bradley’s close-range header secured victory.

Bradford failed to take advantage of Cardiff’s slip as Dom Ballard’s double condemned them to a 2-1 defeat at Leyton Orient. Fourth-placed Stevenage were held 2-2 at home by Burton and Stockport moved level on points with them after a 2-1 comeback success at Mansfield.

Bolton complete the playoff places despite going down 2-1 at Wycombe after Thierry Gale’s opener. Wycombe responded with goals from Jack Grimmer and Armando Junior Quitirna before half-time to end a run of five games without a win in all competitions.

Huddersfield won 3-1 at Rotherham with first-half goals from Lynden Gooch, Bojan Radulovic and Leo Castledine. Ashley Fletcher and Dale Taylor maintained Blackpool’s resurgence with a 2-0 victory at Wigan. Plymouth thrashed Doncaster 5-1 to power out of the relegation zone. Lorent Tolaj hit a hat-trick and Owen Oseni and Xavier Amaechi were also on target as Plymouth – who had trailed early on to a Brandon Hanlan strike – clinched a third straight victory. Exeter saw off Barnsley 3-0 and Peterborough won 1-0 at Port Vale through Harry Leonard’s late effort. PA Media

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QPR thrashed Leicester 4-1 in a nightmare return to west London for Martí Cifuentes. The under-pressure Leicester manager, back at Loftus Road for the first time since an acrimonious exit earlier this year, saw his team concede four goals in a first half his former side totally dominated.

Koki Saito opened the scoring in the second minute, and goals from Richard Kone, Karamoko Dembélé and Amadou Mbengue put the hosts in complete control. Silko Thomas pulled one back – his first goal for Leicester – by thumping in the loose ball after Bobby De Cordova-Reid’s 82nd-minute penalty had hit a post.

Cifuentes said: “It was just a very bad first half – unacceptable for me, for the players, and unacceptable for our fans that travelled here. We didn’t match some of the things that are needed to compete in a game like this, so very disappointed. It’s a really disappointing day.

“Emotionally, it’s a tough one. We need to move on quick. It’s a marathon, we are almost in the middle of the season and we need to pick ourselves up.”

A goal in each half from Emil Riis and substitute Rob Atkinson saw Bristol City end Kim Hellberg’s winning run as Middlesbrough manager with a thrilling 2-0 victory at Ashton Gate. The home side took a 17th-minute lead when Riis drilled a low right-footed shot past Sol Brynn from just outside the box after his first effort had been blocked back into his path. Centre-back Atkinson, back in the squad after injury, doubled the advantage with a close-range header from Scott Twine’s 62nd-minute corner and City defied late pressure to take the points from a game that did credit to both teams.

Bristol City’s Rob Atkinson (right) scores his side’s second at Ashton Gate. Photograph: Jacob King/PA

Norwich conceded an equaliser with seconds remaining to draw 1-1 with Preston at Deepdale. Substitute Will Keane nodded Preston level from close range six minutes into stoppage time after Jovon Makama thought he had won it for the visitors in the 84th minute.

Ipswich climbed up to third in the table with a 3-1 win over Sheffield Wednesday at Portman Road. Cédric Kipré, Jaden Philogene and Jack Clarke were on target for the hosts, with Liam Cooper pulling one back for the beleaguered visitors. But Wednesday, who have been docked 18 points this season but are seemingly moving closer to a takeover, did not look like a team at the bottom of the table as they offered a series of threats throughout.

Oli McBurnie scored for the third successive game since returning from injury to help Hull secure a 1-0 victory over 10-man West Brom at the MKM Stadium. The striker, sidelined for nearly two months due to a calf problem, struck the only goal from the penalty spot seven minutes into first-half stoppage time as Hull moved into fourth place after a third win on the trot. West Brom had Alfie Gilchrist sent off with 15 minutes remaining as they suffered a third defeat in four games.

Millwall remain in the playoff zone despite a 2-0 defeat at Blackburn making it back-to-back losses. Andri Gudjohnsen hit his fourth in his last seven outings in the third minute, and Yuki Ohashi doubled the lead just before the break, taking advantage of a chronic communication breakdown in the Millwall defence.

Blackburn’s Yuki Ohashi celebrates scoring his side’s second goal with Andri Gudjohnsen, the scorer of their first, and Todd Cantwell. Photograph: Lee Parker/CameraSport/Getty Images

Alex Neil was furious with his side’s first-half performance, saying they were “miles off” the standards expected. “In possession and out of possession, we made it so easy for Blackburn. If I could have made more subs at half-time I would have. That’s how frustrated I was with the first half, especially if you look at how far our fans have travelled before Christmas and we serve up that first half. Unacceptable.”

Watford finally found a way through the meanest defence in the Championship to beat Stoke 1-0 with Luca Kjerrumgaard’s second-half goal. The Danish striker was on target in the 74th minute to stretch Watford’s unbeaten home run to nine matches, and they have lost just once in their last 10 home and away.

Sheffield United continued their revival under Chris Wilder as they beat Birmingham 3-0 at Bramall Lane. First-half goals from Tyler Bindon and Gustavo Hamer were followed by another from Patrick Bamford against a team who played more than 70 minutes a man down following the dismissal of Tommy Doyle.

Quick GuideLeague Two roundup: Swindon level on points with WalsallShow

Walsall continue to lead the way in League Two after holding fourth-placed Notts County to a 0-0 draw at Meadow Lane, but Swindon moved level on points after Ollie Palmer’s second-half penalty secured a 1-0 home win against Crawley.

Will Hondermarck struck twice as third-placed Bromley made it seven wins from eight league Two games by beating Grimsby 2-0. Doubles for Aaron Collins and Alex Gilbey inspired MK Dons to a 4-0 rout over struggling Harrogate. 

Salford and Chesterfield remain in the playoff positions after impressive wins on the road. Salford won 3-1 at Barnet with Josh Austerfield opening the scoring before Nnamdi Ofoborh turned the ball into his own net before half-time. Daniel Udoh added a third and the Bees managed a late consolation through Oliver Hawkins. Chesterfield owed their 1-0 success at Shrewsbury to Lee Bonis’ sixth goal of the season just after the hour mark.

Fleetwood are just outside the play-off places after substitute Zech Medley grabbed a late winner in a 2-1 home defeat of Gillingham. Michael Mellon bagged his second hat-trick of the season as Oldham beat Tranmere 3-1. Oldham played the last 21 minutes with 10 men after Mike Fondop was sent off for an off-the-ball clash with Tranmere defender Nathan Smith.

Bottom-placed Newport are five points from safety after another defeat at Colchester, their 14th in 21 league matches. Colchester cruised to a 4-1 win with Kyreece Lisbie, Samson Tovide, Micah Mbick and Jack Payne on the scoresheet, with County having to settle for Sammy Braybrooke’s spectacular 35-yard strike. PA Media

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Portsmouth’s long wait for an away win went on after Derby came back to draw 1-1 at Pride Park. It looked good for the visitors when they took an early lead through Callum Lang, but the hosts levelled on the stroke of half-time when Hayden Matthews turned the ball into his own net. The home side had plenty of possession but failed to create any clear chances until the closing minutes when Patrick Agyemang had a header well saved by Nicolas Schmid.

Charlie Kelman marked his return from injury by scoring the only goal as Charlton beat Oxford 1-0 at The Valley. It was the former QPR striker’s first match back after missing seven fixtures with a hamstring injury. Kelman replaced Isaac Olaofe just after the hour mark and produced a predatory strike from the edge of the box to deepen the relegation concerns for Oxford, who have collected one point from a possible 12. This was Charlton’s first win since 4 November.

Following Friday night’s meeting of the division’s Welsh clubs, Phil Parkinson defended Arthur Okonkwo after the Wrexham goalkeeper’s 90th-minute howler handed Swansea a 2-1 victory. Okonkwo first failed to collect Ethan Galbraith’s free-kick as his punch looped into the air behind him and towards Ben Cabango. The Swansea captain sent a looping header towards goal, and Okonkwo was back in position to make an easy catch by the post, but he dropped the ball and Adam Idah had the simple task of nudging it across the line.

Parkinson said: “It’s a high-profile mistake, but Arthur’s been outstanding. He’s been a colossus of a goalkeeper and he’ll get every bit of support because he’s won us a lot of points over the last few years.”