The Championship season continued with the latest round of games played during midweek.
Brighton’s win over Birmingham took Albion back to the top of the Championship – Newcastle’s victory over Burton changed that on Wednesday.
Already relegated Rotherham are set to be joined by Wigan and, as it stands, Blackburn.
Here’s a round-up of the Championship action from the other games.
Results
Tuesday 4th April 2017 – CHAMPIONSHIP
Aston Villa 1-0 Queens Park Rangers 19:45
Barnsley 0-0 Cardiff City 19:45
Brentford 2-0 Leeds United 19:45
Brighton & Hove Albion 3-1 Birmingham City 19:45
Derby County 4-2 Fulham 19:45
Ipswich Town 3-0 Wigan Athletic 19:45
Preston North End 5-0 Bristol City 19:45
Rotherham United 0-2 Sheffield Wednesday 19:45
Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-0 Nottingham Forest 19:45
Reading 3-1 Blackburn Rovers 20:00
Wednesday 5th April 2017 – CHAMPIONSHIP
Huddersfield Town 3-0 Norwich City 19:45
Newcastle United 1-0 Burton Albion 19:45
Aston Villa will rue the poor spell midway through Steve Bruce’s spell as boss so far, but for this Villa would have been challenging for promotion after a seventh win in eight was secured over QPR. This 1-0 Villa Park defeat made it back-to-back losses for the R’s.
Barnsley remain in 13th with Cardiff a place and a point behind them following a 0-0 draw at Oakwell.
A first half double saw Brentford to a 2-0 win over Leeds – a third straight victory – at Griffin Park to keep the Bees well placed to challenge for the top 10. The Whites’ second defeat in four days has seen sixth placed Sheffield Wednesday close to within a win and Fulham, who missed the chance to close the gap when beaten, only five points back.
Brighton’s early goal set them on their way to a 3-1 win over Birmingham that took Albion two points ahead of Newcastle at the top of the Championship – 10 points clear of third place Reading. Despite a sixth game without a win the Blues remain six points above the relegation zone.
A hat trick from David Nugent saw Derby to a 4-2 win over Fulham to keep the Rams’ outside chance of making it into the play-offs alive. This iPro Stadium loss for the Cottagers saw them drop out of the top six at the expense of Sheffield Wednesday.
Ipswich’s first win in nine – many had been drawn though – was secured at Portman Road when struggling Wigan were beat 3-0. The Latics’ fourth straight defeat keeps them second bottom and seven points from safety with just six games to play.
Preston’s bid for a play-off spot is still on following the 5-0 thrashing of relegation threatened Bristol City. North End are five points behind sixth place Sheffield Wednesday. The recent revival has now seen back-to-back defeats for the Robins, leaving them just a point and a place above Blackburn.
Rotherham’s first game since relegation was confirmed went the same way as the previous eight – the Millers were beaten for a ninth game in a row. Promotion chasing Sheffield Wednesday’s 2-0 win at the New York Stadium – a first in five – on the other hand took the Owls above Fulham and back into sixth.
A fifth straight win – it’s now six unbeaten – was secured by Wolves with this 1-0 victory over Nottingham Forest taking Paul Lambert’s side 11 points clear of the relegation zone. Forest’s first defeat under Mark Warburton means the Reds remain just two points above Blackburn, who hold the third and final relegation spot.
Reading’s 3-1 victory over Blackburn strengthened the play-off bid. Rovers have now lost back-to-back games under Tony Mowbray but remain just a point from safety.
Midway through the second half at the John Smith’s Stadium it was still nil nil but three goals in seven minutes saw Huddersfield to a 3-0 win over Norwich – ending the Canaries’ slim hopes of a play-off place once and for all? Town returned to third closing the gap on second place Brighton to nine points, with a game in hand.
After a penalty ‘goal’ was controversially ruled out it looked as if it could be a night of frustration for Newcastle? However, the winner came midway through the second half – Matt Ritchie, he had that earlier penalty disallowed when the referee ‘misapplied’ the rules to Dwight Gayle’s encroachment into the box, fired in from 20 yards – to see off Burton 1-0 at St James’ Park. This win took the Magpies back to the summit ahead of Brighton, the Brewers are four points above the relegation zone.
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