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Liam Manning apologised after a 2-0 defeat to Hull condemned his Norwich side to a seventh straight home defeat of the season. The Canaries faded after a bright start and second-half goals from Joe Gelhardt and Darko Gyabi left them still stuck in the Championship relegation zone after 13 games.
There were protests from the home fans at the final whistle, with Manning the target along with the club’s sporting director Ben Knapper, prompting the former to make a swift exit to the sanctuary of the dressing room. He admitted later that he should have faced the music.
“That was poor of me and I apologise for that,” he said. “Sometimes the disappointment gets the better of you, and I didn’t want to go out there and antagonise people, but I was wrong not to go on the pitch. Of course I’m hurting, it’s not nice and I don’t like it. I know it’s unacceptable to lose the number of games we have. I can look at myself and say I am giving everything to turn it around but I know something has to change and there will be discussion about it.”
Martí Cifuentes was also angry after seeing his Leicester side suffer a third successive league defeat with a 2-0 loss to Blackburn at the King Power Stadium. Two goals from Andri Gudjohnson handed Rovers a deserved victory, completing back-to-back wins, and brought a hostile reaction from Foxes fans at the final whistle.
Supporters chanted “You’re not fit to wear the shirt” as the players appeared to be cajoled by Cifuentes to face them at the final whistle. That was accompanied by boos after a poor display from Leicester, who have now won just once in nine league games.
Cifuentes said: “It was disappointing and I understand the fans are frustrated. I wanted us to get closer to the supporters after the game, it’s about staying together. The fans have the right to be angry when we lose. But I can tell them that even the most committed Leicester fan in the world is not as angry as I am at the moment. We need to be better.”
Lewis Dobbin struck again as Preston beat Southampton 2-0 to heap more pressure on Saints manager Will Still. The Lilywhites bounced back into the playoff places with their first consecutive league wins since the opening two matches. Aston Villa loanee Dobbin’s first-half rebound set them on their way before Mads Frokjaer-Jensen added gloss in the 94th minute. Southampton have won just twice at home since the start of last season and hover just three points above the relegation zone. They were booed off at the end of the match.
Substitute Przemyslaw Placheta struck an equaliser deep into stoppage time to earn a 2-2 home draw for Oxford against in-form Millwall and deny the Lions a fifth successive league victory. Alex Neil’s men looked to be heading to another three points when Placheta hit a low 15-yard left-footed shot on the turn just inside Max Crocombe’s near post. Thierno Ballo had headed the Lions in front in the 11th minute, Cameron Brannagan levelled right on half-time, and Jake Cooper restored the visitors’ lead in the 66th minute.
Rob Edwards suffered a dismal return to Vicarage Road as Watford shocked high-flying Middlesbrough with a clinical 3-0 victory. Sacked by the Hornets after just 10 league games, of which he lost only two, Edwards returned to a frosty reception at Vicarage Road. His side dominated for long spells, but Edwards finished being serenaded by the home supporters taunting him about the score after Imran Louza’s opener was added to by Luca Kjerrumgaard’s double.
Divin Mubama struck a first career hat-trick as Stoke thrashed Bristol City 5-1 at the Bet365 Stadium. The England Under-21 international had not scored since August but hit a first-half double before completing his treble after the break. Million Manhoef and Junior Tchamadeu also scored for Mark Robins’ side, who leapfrogged the visitors into the playoff spots. Mark Sykes scored Bristol City’s consolation in the closing stages.
Charlton extended their unbeaten run to four matches but dropped out of the playoff zone after a 1-1 draw against Swansea. Charlie Kelman’s first goal for the Addicks broke the deadlock in the 46th minute at The Valley. But Swansea merited at least a share of the spoils with Adam Idah making their pressure tell shortly after the hour.
George Hirst and Marcelino Núñez scored twice as Ipswich stormed to a 4-1 victory at QPR. Hirst opened the scoring after barely a minute at Loftus Road before Rumarn Burrell equalised midway through the first half. Both Núñez’s goals were from free-kicks, with the first restoring the visitors’ lead at the start of the second half. Hirst made it 3-1 after 57 minutes and Núñez added a fourth seven minutes later to seal a resounding win for the Suffolk side amid speculation linking their manager Kieran McKenna with Celtic.
Birmingham recorded their biggest victory since returning to the Championship as three set-piece goals helped them to a 4-0 win over lacklustre Portsmouth. Chris Davies’ side took the initiative early on through Paik Seung-ho and further strikes in the second half from Tomoki Iwata and Christoph Klarer gave them breathing space before Keshi Anderson added a late fourth. The hosts were even able to shrug off Jay Stansfield’s fifth-minute penalty miss as John Mousinho’s side suffered an afternoon to forget at St Andrew’s.
A brilliant Carlton Morris hat-trick earned Derby an impressive 3-1 win against struggling Sheffield United at Bramall Lane. A header from a Joe Ward corner, a smart dinked finish and then a clinical penalty saw Morris take home the match ball and make it three wins on the bounce for the Rams. Callum O’Hare pulled one back but it was too little, too late for United, who defended poorly and suffered yet another disappointing home defeat.
Henrik Pedersen predicted a brighter future for Sheffield Wednesday after the bottom club battled to a 0-0 draw against West Brom at the Hawthorns. Wednesday took their points tally to minus five by ending a run of four straight defeats with a first clean sheet in seven, and they were backed by a big away following.
Pedersen said he was excited about the potential of the club now that administrators have taken over from the former owner, Dejphon Chansiri, to try to find a buyer. “To feel this atmosphere from the fans, it’s been a great week,” said Pedersen. “This togetherness is a good pointer towards the future. We have a fantastic club and have been in a difficult situation – and still are – but the perspective now is that the future is brighter.”
