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Coventry reclaimed their spot at the top of the Championship with a 2-0 victory over Blackburn.
Frank Lampard’s side had slipped to second in the table after Middlesbrough’s victory over Ipswich on Friday night, but goals from Victor Torp and Brandon Thomas-Asante took them back to the summit. Liam Kitching should have made it three near the end but he headed over from inside the six-yard box.
Sorba Thomas made the difference as Stoke beat Wrexham 1-0 to end a run of four league games without a victory and move up to third. The Wales international settled the contest in the 36th minute when his cross from the left found its way into the net, taking his goal tally for the season to four since signing from Huddersfield in the summer.
Having followed up a loss to QPR with three consecutive draws, the win was an important one for Mark Robins’ side and leaves them three points outside the automatic promotion places. Defeat for Wrexham, meanwhile, saw them remain in 18th and now on a four-match winless run having drawn their previous three games 1-1.
Mikey Johnston’s fine first-half goal and a second-half Isaac Price strike helped West Brom move back into the top six as they beat Preston 2-1 at The Hawthorns. The former Celtic winger Johnston scored from 25 yards before Price’s fourth of the campaign saw off in-form Preston. Paul Heckingbottom’s side were five games unbeaten going into this match but conceded at crucial times, though did score a consolation courtesy of Michael Smith.
Alex Neil fears Millwall’s Massimo Luongo faces a long spell on the sidelines after being taken off on a stretcher during the 2-1 win against the midfielder’s former club QPR. Luongo, who spent four years with the R’s, suffered what looked like a serious knee injury on his return to Loftus Road, marring an otherwise excellent day for the Lions.
Femi Azeez put Millwall ahead after 36 minutes and Rangers, who had not lost in six matches, faced an uphill task once Mihailo Ivanovic doubled the visitors’ lead in first-half stoppage time. Rumarn Burrell scored an 85th-minute goal for QPR but they were unable to find an equaliser.
Neil has had to contend with a number of injuries so far this season, with goalkeeper Steven Benda missing the London derby after joining the casualty list. And the Scot admitted that summer signing Luongo, 33, looks likely to be out for some time.
Neil said: “I always think when a player goes down, especially a senior player, and he doesn’t really move and you start bringing things on to carry him off, it’s never a good sign. He’s planted his foot and turned and his knee went the opposite way. We’ll get a scan on Monday and see how that looks. I’m disappointed for him.”
Sheffield United moved off the bottom with a 1-0 victory over Watford at Bramall Lane. Callum O’Hare was the match-winner, poking into an empty net just before the hour to secure a first home win of the campaign for the Blades. It meant Javi Gracia lost in his first game back in charge of the Hornets since the sacking of Paulo Pezzolano.
Sheffield Wednesday replaced their city rivals at the bottom after a 2-1 loss at Charlton, with Owls goalkeeper Ethan Horvath sent off in second-half added time. It capped off a miserable week for crisis-hit Wednesday, who are set to be served with a winding up petition by HMRC. Sonny Carey and Reece Burke scored for the Addicks in a dominant first period but Jamal Lowe cut the deficit to set up a nervy finale.
Hull brought Birmingham’s proud 29-game unbeaten home league record to an end with a dramatic 3-2 victory. In a feisty encounter, the Tigers became the first team to emerge from St Andrew’s with all three points since Cardiff in April last year.
Sergej Jakirovic’s side were helped when home defender Jack Robinson was dismissed after picking up his second yellow card for dissent just before the hour.
And both clubs are likely to be asked to explain themselves following a four-minute stoppage towards the end of the first-half after both benches and players were embroiled an ugly melee.
Norwich’s miserable record of losing every home match this season continued as Bristol City came away with a hard-fought 1-0 victory. A well-taken goal from Mark Sykes midway through the second half was enough to condemn the Canaries to a sixth successive reverse at Carrow Road to pile more pressure on Liam Manning, the former Robins manager.
It was a first win in five for the visitors while the hosts are now looking anxiously over their shoulders after another lacklustre display, although it might have been different but for two excellent saves from Radek Vitek in the second half.
Gary Rowett saluted the part played by midfielder Brian De Keersmaecker in Oxford’s 1-0 win over Derby. De Keersmaecker’s brilliant pass set up winger Stan Mills to score his first goal of the season as the U’s chalked up a first home win in the league this season.
Rowett said: “Stan was excellent. We felt we could cause them a problem down that side. But it was a brilliantly weighted pass from Brian for the goal – he fires it into Stan’s path. It was an excellent performance. We moved the ball really well, we moved the ball through them and around them and created lots of good opportunities – 19 shots and they’ve had six shots with one on target. That tells you the story of the game.”
Will Still reckoned he must have “squashed a cat” after his luckless Southampton side dominated Swansea but were held to a 0-0 draw. Saints had 21 shots and hit the post twice, but could not find the back of the net as their winless run at home stretched to four matches.
“I can’t believe we haven’t won that,” said Still. “I’m delighted with the performance and the quality of what we did. We reduced a really good team to hardly anything. I don’t think a team can play any better and not score a goal. I don’t know what karma or bad luck there is. I don’t know if I’ve squashed a cat. It’s ridiculous.”
Leicester host Portsmouth in today’s late kick-off.
