📈 EFL and FA Cup Review: Rooney waiting; Leeds flying; 11-goal thriller | OneFootball

Two thirds of the Football League were put on hold this weekend with the first round of the FA Cup taking place.

With that in mind, here are our highlights from some thrilling Championship and Cup action.

Championship

Moment of the weekend

It was a case of ‘what might have been?’ for Birmingham this weekend as they came just minutes away from their first win under Wayne Rooney.

Ipswich were the visitors to the midlands with the Suffolk side looking for the three points that would take them to within two of leaders Leicester.

Having not lost a game since August, the odds were heavily in favour of Kieran McKenna’s men getting one over on a Birmingham outfit who had suffered three defeats on the bounce under Rooney.

But with 51 minutes gone at a sodden St Andrews, the Blues were 2-0 up thanks to a Jay Stansfield strike and a Cameron Burgess own goal.

This really was the best Birmingham have played since Rooney’s arrival with right-back Ethan Laird looking particularly impressive.

But Ipswich aren’t second in the Championship by accident and in Marcus Harness have a winger who is in the form of his life.

The 27-year-old scored twice in the final 10 minutes to secure a point for the Tractor Boys and to heap yet more heartache on Rooney.

Notable mentions: Leeds end Leicester’s unbeaten run; West Brom up to fifth with Hull win; Wednesday lose once again

Player of the weekend

It’s fair to say that Georginio Rutter didn’t have the most auspicious start to his Leeds career.

The 21-year-old was signed from Hoffenheim for big money in January but struggled to even get in Jesse Marsch’s squad at the start of the year and failed to score a single goal in the Premier League as the Elland Road side were relegated.

But life in the Championship has been much more pleasing for the France under-21 international who scored his fourth of the campaign in a seismic win on Friday night.

Leeds went to Leicester trying to become only the second side to beat the Foxes this term and did so thanks to Rutter’s second half finish.

.But it wasn’t just the goal that impressed, Rutter led the line brilliantly all night and showed just why that club-record fee wasn’t such a waste after all.

Notable mentions: Sammie Szmodzics (Blackburn); Haji Wright (Coventry); Ryan Fraser (Southampton)

FA Cup

Moment of the weekend

The most eye-catching result of this weekend, and perhaps any weekend up to this point of the season, was Aldershot’s complete demolition of League Two side Swindon.

Aldershot are no mugs, currently sitting in seventh place in the National League, but the way they dismantled the Robins in the first round of the Cup was truly astonishing.

By the hour mark of their trip to the County Ground, Aldershot were a remarkable seven goals to the good, having found the net with every one of their shots on target.

Despite a late flurry in response from Swindon, the Wiltshire side wound up losing 7-4 with their owner feeling the need to release a statement afterwards to apologise.

Aldershot, for their troubles, will now face Stockport in round two.

Notable mentions: Ramsgate into round two for the first time in their history; Cray Valley Paper Mills take Charlton to a replay

Player of the weekend

Stevenage’s game with Tranmere really did have it all.

Seven goals – two of which came in added time – a red card and four separate penalty incidents.

In the end it was Stevenage who ran out 4-3 winners with Jamie Reid becoming the hero of the day with two goals including the winner in the 102nd minute.

Reid has a history of FA Cup heroics for Steve Evans’s side having scored a penalty in their narrow defeat to Aston Villa just a few years ago.

But his legend went to another level this weekend with a goal that will go down in Boro folklore.

Up next for Stevenage is a game against either Port Vale or Burton.

Notable mentions: Jack Barham (Aldershot); Rhys Murphy (Yeovil); Odoh (Harrogate)