Championship midweek review
West Brom moved top of the Championship table on Tuesday night after title favourites Newcastle suffered a shock defeat at Derby.
The Baggies leapfrogged the Magpies as goals from in-form Roman Bednar and Giani Zuiverloon in either half saw Roberto Di Matteo’s men sink lowly Scunthorpe 2-0.
The win at the Hawthorns took West Brom 59 points, the same number as Newcastle who went down 3-0 to Nigel Clough’s Rams at Pride Park.
Rob Hulse gave the home side the lead on 40 minutes before second half strikes from Kris Commons and Shaun Barker sealed an emphatic win, with Newcastle ultimately surrendering top spot through goal difference.
Meanwhile, Nottingham Forests’ automatic promotion hopes took a knock as they went down 1-0 away to Coventry with Freddy Eastwood’s goal settling the contest.
Cardiff took full advantage of 3rd-place Forests’ slip up by closing the gap between them and Billy Davies’ men to seven points with a game in hand, courtesy of a 2-0 win over basement club Peterborough.
Scottish defender Chris Burke broke the deadlock on the half-hour mark while fellow defender Anthony Gerrard doubled their lead on 78 minutes, ensuring the Bluebirds remain well placed for a play-off finish.
Swansea added to financially-struggling Crystal Palace’s woes by defeating the Eagles 1-0 at Selhurst Park with Finnish striker Shefki Kuqi grabbing the only goal of the game.
Elsewhere, Leicester failed to match the winning ways of their play-off rivals after being held 0-0 at the Walkers Stadium to a sturdy Doncaster Rovers.
Manager Nigel Pearson is likelier to be more disappointed with the injury to Matty Fryatt than the result as the 12-goal striker suffered a broken jaw in the first half.
Middlesbrough played themselves back into contention for a play-off spot with a hard fought 2-1 in over Barnsley taking them to within two points of Leicester, who currently hold the final slot in 6th place.
Chris Killen and Gary O’Neill gave Boro a half-time lead and, despite Hugo Colace pulling one back for the Tykes, Gordon Strachan’s men held on for a vital win.
Rejuvenated Sheffield Wednesday continued their fine run of results with a very professional 2-0 win over Blackpool, who are slipping further away from the play-off positions by the week.
James O’Connor got the Owls off to the perfect start with his 3rd minute finish before former Liverpool midfielder Darren Potter sealed a comfortable win with his effort shortly after the break.
Meanwhile, Watford edged a step closer to safety with a 2-0 win over Bristol City at Vicarage Road courtesy of Heidar Helguson and Martin Taylor, who each struck in the first half.
Preston boss Darren Ferguson, son of Manchester United manager Alex, continued his good work in charge at Deepdale with a creditable 2-1 win over Sheffield United.
Mathew James, on loan from Old Trafford, grabbed the opener with just 10 minutes on the clock before Jon Parkin’s 10th goal of the season sealed the win.
Mark Yeates pulled one back for the Blades with nine minutes remaining to ensure a nervy finish for the home side, but North End ultimately pulled though for the three points.
Problems continue at Loftus Road however, where a 2-1 home defeat to Ipswich sees QPR hovering dangerously above the relegation zone.
David Norris gave the Tractor Boys an 8th minute lead before on-loan Sunderland forward Daryl Murphy doubled the lead shortly before the break.
Jay Simpson got the home side back in the game with around 24 minutes remaining but Roy Keane’s men showed the stability which was lacking earlier in the season to see out the win, which lifts them above Scunthorpe into 20th place.
Elsewhere at the bottom, Reading secured their third win on the spin as Shane Long’s last gasp penalty handed the Royals a 2-1 win over relegation rivals Plymouth.
Long had earlier gave the Royals the lead, but that was cancelled out by Carl Fletcher’s 68th minute equaliser. Long went on to steal the show, however, as he coolly completed his brace from the spot after Hal Robson-Kanu was brought down by Chris Clark inside the area.




