The Championship season continued with the latest round of games played over the weekend.
Newcastle and Brighton both won with the Magpies keeping top spot. Wigan moved out of the bottom 3 with Rotherham, Blackburn and Burton in the relegation zone.
Here’s a round up of the Championship action from the other games played.
Results
Friday 20th January 2017 – CHAMPIONSHIP
Brighton & Hove Albion 2-1 Sheffield Wednesday 19:45
Saturday 21st January 2017 – CHAMPIONSHIP
Queens Park Rangers 1-1 Fulham 12:30
Aston Villa 2-2 Preston North End 15:00
Blackburn Rovers 1-1 Birmingham City 15:00
Cardiff City 1-0 Burton Albion 15:00
Derby County 3-2 Reading 15:00
Huddersfield Town 2-0 Ipswich Town 15:00
Newcastle United 4-0 Rotherham United 15:00
Norwich City 3-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers 15:00
Nottingham Forest 1-0 Bristol City 15:00
Wigan Athletic 2-1 Brentford 15:00
Barnsley 3-2 Leeds United 17:30
A late Brighton goal at the Amex Stadium on Friday gave Albion a 2-1 victory over Sheffield Wednesday – in a game that also saw three red cards – to move to the top of the Championship. Defeat for the Owls was only a second in the last 10 but they retained a play-off place.
This Brighton lead didn’t last long as Newcastle reacted with a 4-0 win against Rotherham to put the Magpies back to the top of the table and leave the Millers stranded at the foot and nine points from safety.
QPR made it four unbeaten – having won the previous three – after a 1-1 draw with promotion chasing Fulham at Loftus Road. The Cottagers’ point saw them miss the chance to close the gap on the top 6.
Aston Villa saw a winless run extended to four when they were held to a 2-2 draw when Preston – with North End unbeaten in four – coming from two down to earn this point at Villa Park.
Blackburn missed the chance to move out of the bottom 3 after a draw with Birmingham. The 1-1 draw at Ewood Park kept Rovers in the relegation zone – on goal difference alone – with the Blues still awaiting a first win under Gianfranco Zola.
Cardiff have now moved closer to midtable than a relegation battle after recording a third successive win to make it four unbeaten. This 1-0 victory over Burton – coupled with other results – meant the Brewers dropped into the bottom 3.
Promotion rivals Derby and Reading shared five goals at the iPro Stadium with the Rams – ending a three game winless run – recording a 3-2 win. The Royals had been ahead before the home side eventually recorded victory.
After losing for the first time in eight Huddersfield reacted positively with a 2-0 win over Ipswich at the John Smith’s Stadium moving them up to 3rd. The Tractor Boys’ recent form dictated a defeat would be seen as indeed it was.
Norwich made it two wins in three when seeing off Wolves – with only a second defeat in the last six under Paul Lambert – at Carrow Road to revive their play-off hopes. The Canaries are now five points from the top 6 with Wolves seven above the relegation zone.
A first win in eight eased the Nottingham Forest relegation concerns but increased those of Bristol City. Forest moved five points above the bottom 3 with the Robins – having lost eight in a row and nine of the last 10 – now only two points clear of trouble.
Having recorded a second successive win Wigan moved out of the relegation zone when beating Brentford 2-1 at the DW Stadium. The Bees have now lost back-to-back games – winning just three of the last 10.
The action was rounded off when Barnsley restored hopes of making the play-offs when running out 3-2 victors at Oakwell against promotion chasing Leeds. The Whites’ first defeat in seven – having won five of them – saw them drop to 4th.
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