Roundup of the latest Sky Bet Championship action as the fights for promotion, play-offs and survival continued to twist and turn.
Leeds, Southampton and Ipswich continued their scrap over the second automatic promotion spot behind runaway leaders – Leicester, whilst Sheffield Wednesday and QPR continued to fight for survival and several teams looked to maintain their play-off push.
Weekend
First-half goals from Finn Azaz and Sammy Silvera saw Middlesbrough stun league leaders, Leicester 2-1 at the King Power Stadium, despite Jamie Vardy’s consolatory goal for the Foxes.
Georginio Rutter set up Wilfried Gnonto’s opening goal before he added a second goal himself as second-placed Leeds won 2-0 at Plymouth.
Third-placed Southampton rebounded from the end of their 25-match unbeaten run with a clinical away win at fifth-placed West Brom, with goals from Ryan Fraser and David Brooks either side of half-time.
Conor Chaplin netted a 35th minute winner for fourth-placed Ipswich in a 2-1 victory at Swansea, having led through Nathan Broadhead before Jerry Yates equalised for the Swans.
Ellis Simms scored his sixth goal of the season as he fired sixth-placed Coventry to a 51st minute winner at Stoke to round out the top six.
Josh Sargent’s brace plus goals from Gabriel Sara and Christian Fassnacht saw Norwich come from behind to beat Cardiff 4-1 at Carrow Road, but the Canaries remain outside of the play-offs on goal difference.
Down in the relegation zone, rock-bottom Rotherham suffered a narrow home defeat to Watford as Yaser Asprilla struck a 58th minute winner for the Hornets.
Ike Ugbo and Anthony Musaba netted first-half winners for second-placed Sheffield Wednesday in a 2-0 victory at Millwall, which moved the Owls to within four points of safety despite Ashley Fletcher’s red card in injury-time.
QPR moved to within one point of safety after Ilias Chair fired in a 41st minute winner at Bristol City.
Elsewhere, Sunderland sacked manager – Michael Beale following a 2-1 defeat at Birmingham City where they led through Jack Clarke, only for Jordan James and Koji Miyoshi to turn the game around for the hosts prior to Tony Mowbray’s temporary break for medical reasons.
Jacob Greaves scored a 94th minute winner for Hull in a 2-1 victory at Huddersfield, having initially scored the opening goal in the seventh minute which was later cancelled out by Jack Rudoni’s 92nd minute equliser.
Quick-fire goals from Robbie Brady and Emil Riis Jakobsen saw Preston snatch a 2-2 draw at home to Lancashire rivals, Blackburn who had led through Sammi Szmodics and Sam Gallagher in a dramatic first-half.
Midweek
Joe Aribo’s late strike couldn’t prevent Southampton missing out on the chance to go second in a surprise 2-1 home defeat to Hull, after Anass Zaroury and Fabio Carvalho struck in the first half for the Tigers who moved up to sixth.
Omari Hutchinson netted a 95th minute winner to lift Ipswich up to third with a 4-3 home win over Rotherham, after Wes Burn’s first-half brace plus Kieffer Moore’s goal put the hosts ahead following Tom Eaves’ second-minute opener before Hakeem Odoffin and Cafu scored for the Millers.
Cedric Kipre, Mikey Johnston and Tom Fellows struck for West Brom in a dominant 3-0 win away at Plymouth.
Cardiff held Blackburn to a goalless draw at the Cardiff City Stadium in a mid-table clash, although the visitors moved up to 16th and six points clear of the bottom three.
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