FOOTBALL-ENGLAND-Cole, Harding, and Forde score in mid-week action.

LONDON -- Three players with ties to the Caribbean netted goals in mid-week English league matches, but only one of them were able to coax their sides to win.

League 1 top-scorer Devante Cole, the son of former England striker Andy Cole, whose parents hail from Jamaica, helped Barnsley to formalise a 3-0 win against a spirited Shrewsbury and enabled his side to close the gap in the standings on second-placed Oxford United.

At the same time, Shaq Forde, the teenaged son of former Barbados international Fabian Forde, netted a dramatic stoppage-time equaliser, and Leyton Orient earned a 2-2 draw in an incident-packed League 1 match against Northampton Town.

Meanwhile, discarded Jamaica international Wes Harding scored an early gift for manager-less Millwall before Blackburn Rovers came storming back to clinch a 2-1 win in the English Championship.

At Oakwell: Cole nearly grabbed a 10th goal of the season when he went on a mazy run that set off inside his own half, but after twisting defenders inside and out, his eventual strike - from a little inside the box - sailed inches wide of the near post.

He did get to the double-figure mark in the 75th minute, when he latched onto a through-ball from Max Watters before comfortably placing the ball beyond Marko Marosi one-on-one for a result that left the Tykes two points behind Oxford.

Earlier, Herbie Kane opened the scoring from the spot in the 19th minute after the Reds were awarded their first home penalty since March 2021, and Callum Styles added a second only four minutes later when he received a pass from Cole after a counter-attacking move down the right.

At Sixfields: Orient took a first-half lead when Rob Hunt scored his first goal for...