Bothroyd walking on air for still-rising Sky Blues

Cup competitions: A spur to excellent form or a distraction from the serious business of the League? Discuss. Coventry City, who crushed Third Division Rushden & Diamonds in the Worthington Cup to the tune of 8-0 on Wednesday, proved the former proposition when they beat Gillingham 2-0 at Priestfield Stadium. Jay Bothroyd, who scored two in midweek, put the Sky Blues ahead a minute into the second half with a left-foot finish after coming on as 15th-minute substitute.

Gary McAllister, the Sky Blues' player-manager, saw it coming. "You always fancy Jay to score when he cuts in on the right with the ball on his left foot. He's got a lovely array of finishes and when he gets a chance he hits the target." So did David Pipe, who scored Coventry's second. They move up to sixth.

"It was a very pleasing performance," McAllister admitted, "I thought as a team we showed a bit more know-how. It's about myself and my team adapting to this division. When we get in front we've got to protect the result."

Another striker in rip-roaring form is Nottingham Forest's David Johnson, who scored both goals as Paul Hart's side won 2-1 at Millwall. His total for the season is 15. "He's been absolutely superb this year, earning goals that do not fall on a plate for him," Hart glowed "He's getting his rewards for the hard work he put in in the summer when he trained throughout without a day off."

Stoke City's Chris Iwelumo has also put in extra training, according to his manager, Steve Cotterill, and he scored the Potters' late equaliser against Crystal Palace in the 1-1 draw at the Britannia Stadium. Dele Adebola's first League goal for Palace put them ahead. " I could see Dele's confidence return against Cheltenham [a 7-0 cup rout] in midweek," his manager Trevor Francis said.

Derby County, piqued by an embarrassing 2-1 home defeat by Second Division Oldham, stormed into a 2-0 lead over Walsall at Pride Park, Malcolm Christie scoring in each half. But Steve Corica gave the Saddlers hope with a goal just after the hour and, despite having Danny Hay sent off, they grabbed a point with a 2-2 draw when Zigor Aranalde kept his nerve to equalise from the penalty spot deep into injury time. John Gregory, the Rams' manager, blamed his side's inexperience. "At 2-0 up the game should have been over but we gave the ball away needlessly all over the pitch. The last 30 seconds was a disaster."

Burnley have shaken off their early season torpor to move into the top half of the table thanks to a 3-1 win over woeful Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough. "I have always had this saying that strikers get you the sack," said Terry Yorath, the Owls' manager, giving a different view of the power of goalscorers. "We've got people capable of scoring, but if they are not doing that that we can't win games."

The defeat keeps Wednesday anchored in the bottom three, four points above Grimsby who lost 3-0 to visitors Reading. "I am not going to criticise individuals because we have another game on Tuesday night," Paul Groves, the Mariners' player-manager, decided, "but we have to address our home form and up the tempo of our game."

The day's most predictable result was the 1-1 draw shared by Bradford and Preston at Valley Parade. It was the Bantams' fifth draw in six home matches and North End's seventh draw in 12 games.

But back to cup form. Oldham, Derby's conquerors, beat Swindon 1-0 to go top of the Second Division while third-placed Wigan, who had knocked out West Brom, drew 2-2 with second-placed Cardiff City, Robert Earnshaw on target twice for the Welsh side.

Finally, having served a year as manager of Third Division Exeter City, John Cornforth was sacked yesterday evening after the 1-0 home defeat by York City, which saw the Grecians slip to 21st.