Championship. Results, Reviews and Table for 2008/9

[johntheclaret]

I got to work today and it was 0-0 between Cardiff and Blackpool.. then Whittingham and McCormack (again) score.. beautiful stuff.

Could we see Burnley and Cardiff in the playoffs this season?

Nice, I like that thought. Depth of squad will be the prob Marty.

[johntheclaret]

Tuesday 28th October

Results

Bristol City 0 Sheff Utd 0
Burnley 1 Reading 0
Cardiff 2 Blackpool 0
C.Palace 1 Nottm Forest 2
Derby 3 Norwich 1
Doncaster 0 Barnsley 1
Ipswich 1 Charlton 1
Preston 2 Watford 0
QPR 1 Birmingham 0
Sheff Wed 0 Plymouth 1
Southampton 1 Coventry 1
Wolves 2 Swansea 1

Round Up

A Sylvan Ebanks-Blake brace saw Wolves go back to the top of the Championship after beating Swansea 2-1 at Molineux.
Mick McCarthy's side went ahead when Ebathe powerful striker scored on the stroke of half-time.
The Swans then equalised four minutes after the break when Darren Pratley netted with a low right-footed effort from the edge of the box.
But Ebanks-Blake sealed the three points on 57 minutes with a glancing header from a Carlos Edwards cross.

Previous leaders Birmingham went down 1-0 to ten-man QPR at Loftus Road.
Mikele Leigertwood was sent off for the hosts just before half-time for a tackle on Lee Carsley.
But they claimed the points thanks to a superb strike from Samuel Di Carmine that found the top corner on 54 minutes.

High-flying Cardiff beat Blackpool with two late goals at Ninian Park to move into third in the table.
Peter Whittingham nodded home from close range on 83 minutes and Ross McCormack curled in a fine free-kick three minutes later to give Dave Jones' side the win.

Burnley overcame Reading at Turf Moor courtesy of Robbie Blake's crisp low strike nine minutes from time - the Clarets move fifth.

At the other end of the table, Nottingham Forest hauled themselves off the bottom after winning 2-1 at Crystal Palace.
Chris Cohen put Forest ahead with a free-kick from the right on 28 minutes that eluded everybody and curled home. Substitute Shefki Kuqi equalised with a long range effort for the Eagles on 75 minutes, but Forest claimed a crucial win thanks to Matt Thornhill's scrambled 81st minute goal.

Doncaster now prop up the league after losing 1-0 to Barnsley in the South Yorkshire derby at the Keepmoat Stadium.
Jonathan Macken scored the only goal of the contest with a close range effort on 42 minutes.

Paul Jewell's Derby proved too strong for Norwich with a 3-1 victory at Pride Park moving them to tenth in the table.
Paul Green netted his fifth of the season in the 14th minute, while Rob Hulse then doubled the lead on 29 minutes when heading home a Nathan Ellington cross.
John Kennedy reduced the deficit on 64 minutes before substitute Przemyslaw Kazmierczak restored the two-goal advantage.

Former Owl Steven MacLean came back to haunt Sheffield Wednesday as he netted from close range midway through the first-half to hand Plymouth a 1-0 triumph at Hillsborough.

Ipswich missed a penalty in their 1-1 draw with Charlton at Portman Road.
Owen Garvan put the hosts ahead with a free-kick in the 37th minute, but the Tractor Boys wasted a golden opportunity to double their advantage when Pablo Counago's 69th minute spot-kick was saved by Nicky Weaver after a Kelly Youga handball.
They were made to pay when Nick Bailey scored the equaliser for the Addicks on 82 minutes.

Preston bounced back from consecutive defeats with a 2-0 success over Watford at Deepdale. Billy Jones forced home a Ross Wallace cross on 43 minutes to open the scoring, before Wallace added a second on 68 minutes.

Southampton and Coventry drew 1-1 at St Mary's, Clinton Morrison equalising 15 minutes from time after David McGoldrick had put the hosts ahead seven minutes previously.

Bristol City and Sheffield United played out a goalless draw at Ashton Gate.

Table

Team Home W D L F A Away W D L F A Pts GD
Wolverhampton 14 6 0 1 17 8 4 1 2 16 14 31 11
Birmingham 14 6 0 1 9 2 3 3 1 9 7 30 9
----------------------------------------------
Cardiff 14 4 2 1 11 6 2 5 0 7 5 25 7
Reading 14 6 1 0 21 4 1 2 4 8 11 24 14
Burnley 14 4 2 1 10 7 2 3 2 9 11 23 1
Sheff Utd 14 4 3 0 10 2 2 1 4 6 6 22 8
-----------------------------------------------
QPR 14 5 1 1 12 6 1 3 3 2 6 22 2
Bristol City 14 2 4 1 10 7 3 2 2 6 5 21 4
Plymouth 14 3 1 3 10 8 3 2 2 8 8 21 2
Derby 14 3 2 2 9 7 2 3 2 9 9 20 2
Swansea 14 3 4 0 12 5 2 1 4 6 12 20 1
Preston 14 5 0 2 11 8 1 2 4 5 9 20 -1
Ipswich 14 2 3 2 10 8 2 3 2 11 8 18 5
Blackpool 14 2 3 2 9 10 2 3 2 4 6 18 -3
Sheff Wed 14 4 2 1 9 3 1 1 5 6 21 18 -9
Coventry 14 3 2 2 9 8 1 3 3 7 9 17 -1
Crystal Palace 14 3 2 2 8 4 1 2 4 8 12 16 0
Norwich 14 3 2 2 11 8 1 2 4 5 11 16 -3
Watford 14 3 2 2 12 11 1 1 5 8 12 15 -3
Charlton 14 3 1 3 11 11 1 2 4 3 7 15 -4
Barnsley 14 3 2 2 9 5 1 1 5 2 11 15 -5
------------------------------------------
Southampton 14 1 3 3 6 9 2 1 4 6 13 13 -10
Nottm Forest 14 1 3 3 5 8 1 0 6 6 15 9 -12
Doncaster 14 1 2 4 2 7 1 0 6 5 15 8 -15

[Dirko]

Get in Rams !!

Przemyslaw Kazmierczak...but a vowel !!

They call him....Bob.

[johntheclaret]

Saturday Nov 1st

Results

Cardiff 1 Wolves 2
Bristol C 1 Reading 4
Burnley 2 Norwich 0
Sheff Utd 2 Plymouth 0
Ipswich 2 QPR 0
Doncaster 0 Swansea 0
Preston 2 Southampton 3
Watford 3 Blackpool 4
C Palace 1 Sheff Wed 1
Charlton 1 Barnsley 3

Round Up

Wolves opened up a four-point lead at the top of the Coca-Cola Championship after stunning Cardiff in the opening stages to triumph 2-1 at Ninian Park.
Chris Iwelumo and Sylvan Ebanks-Blake took advantage of poor defending by Dave Jones' men to leave them 2-0 up after just eight minutes.
Bluebirds' Ross McCormack pulled a goal back but their search for an equaliser was in vain as Wolves' rearguard stood firm.
Both sides had half-chances to add to their tallies in the second half but the contest lacked the ferocious pace of the opening 45 minutes.

Elsewhere, under-pressure Charlton boss Alan Pardew saw his team drop into the bottom three as they lost 3-1 to Barnsley.
The Addicks fell behind after just three minutes at The Valley as Jon Macken struck before adding a second 14 minutes later.
Darren Moore piled on the misery for Pardew six minutes before the break and Mark Hudson's 75th-minute reply proved too little, too late for the hosts.

Reading made up ground at the top with a 4-1 win at Bristol City as Kevin Doyle helped himself to two more goals.
Doyle opened the scoring after 14 minutes and saw Noel Hunt add a second before netting again two minutes after the break.
Kalifa Cisse made it 4-0 after 54 minutes and the Royals' afternoon was spoilt only by Stern John's last-minute consolation.

Chris Eagles struck twice as Burnley also enjoyed a good afternoon by beating Norwich 2-0 at Turf Moor.
The Clarets were frustrated in the the first half but former Manchester United winger Eagles changed the game with a quickfire double in the 55th and 60th minutes.

Blackpool claimed a dramatic win as Gary Taylor-Fletcher and Alan Gow scored in the last five minutes to secure a 4-3 success at Watford.
Gow's last-gasp effort, two minutes into injury-time, gave the Seasiders the lead for the first time at Vicarage Road.
Watford had led three times through Will Hoskins, Grzegorz Rasiak and Tommy Smith but Blackpool equalised each time with Keith Southern, Ben Burgess and Taylor-Fletcher scoring before Gow won it.

In another thriller, Southampton completed a stunning comeback from 2-0 down to beat Preston 3-2 with a late David McGoldrick goal.
Billy Jones and Stephen Elliott put Preston in front late in the first half but Saints rallied through Alex Pearce and Andrew Surman before McGoldrick snatched victory.

James Beattie tucked home a 49th-minute penalty and then doubled his tally eight minutes later as Sheffield United beat Plymouth 2-0.

A Jon Stead double saw Ipswich beat QPR by the same scoreline while bottom side Doncaster claimed a point by holding Swansea to a goalless draw, though they could have won had Paul Heffernan converted a late penalty.

Ben Watson's 54th-minute spot-kick for Crystal Palace ensured a 1-1 draw with Sheffield Wednesday, who had led since Leon Clarke's seventh-minute effort.

Table

Teams P GD Pts
1 Wolverhampton 15 12 34
2 Birmingham 14 9 30
--------------------------
3 Reading 15 17 27
4 Burnley 15 3 26
5 Sheff Utd 15 10 25
6 Cardiff 15 6 25
---------------------------
7 QPR 15 0 22
8 Ipswich 15 7 21
9 Swansea 15 1 21
10 Bristol City 15 1 21
11 Plymouth 15 0 21
12 Blackpool 15 -2 21
13 Derby 14 2 20
14 Preston 15 -2 20
15 Sheff Wed 15 -9 19
16 Barnsley 15 -3 18
17 Crystal Palace 15 0 17
18 Coventry 14 -1 17
19 Norwich 15 -5 16
20 Southampton 15 -9 16
21 Watford 15 -4 15
--------------------------
22 Charlton 15 -6 15
23 Nottm Forest 14 -12 9
24 Doncaster 15 -15 9

[devilsadvocate]

Burnley 2 Norwich 0

Chris Eagles struck twice as Burnley also enjoyed a good afternoon by beating Norwich 2-0 at Turf Moor.
The Clarets were frustrated in the the first half but former Manchester United winger Eagles changed the game with a quickfire double in the 55th and 60th minutes.

And that, my friend, caps a magical week of football.

Absolute magic.

[johntheclaret]

Sunday 2nd Nov

Result

Derby 1 Nottm Forest 1

Round Up

Manager Paul Jewell was left fuming after referee Stuart Attwell denied Derby a last-gasp winner in their 1-1 draw with 10-man Nottingham Forest.
There was a dramatic finish to the first East Midlands derby for almost four years as the Rams were awarded a 93rd-minute penalty for handball against Luke Chambers - moments before Miles Addison headed the loose ball into the net.
Former Derby goalkeeper Lee Camp pulled off a superb save from Nacer Barazite's spot-kick before Addison headed home from a Barazite corner.
The 25-year-old Attwell, who has been nominated to the Fifa list by the FA despite awarding Reading's 'ghost goal' against Watford in September, cut short Derby's celebrations though.

It was difficult to spot where a foul had been committed although Attwell attempted to explain the decision to Jewell after the match. "I spoke to the referee and he said it was a push but he is just guessing isn't he? Three or four of our players went for the ball and he says he has seen a push," said Jewell. It must have been an optical illusion if it is. If you can't see that it is a goal you shouldn't be on the pitch refereeing. It was a great header and a great corner," he added. "We work on set-plays all week because they can win you games. You get one and you score from it, but it gets chalked off. As for the penalty, I'm not sure it is even a penalty first and foremost. The penalty miss was our fault, but I'm not even sure their lad should have been sent off either. This referee is supposed to be the next best thing since sliced bread, refereeing in the Premier League at 25 years old. He's taken off the Premier League to get his confidence back and they give a game of this magnitude which to me is wrong. We should have had an experienced Premier League referee who could have handled the situation."

The Rams had battled back after falling behind to an own goal by substitute Emanuel Villa in the 55th minute.
The Argentinian striker drew Derby level 11 minutes later then Forest's Lewis McGugan was shown a straight red card with 14 minutes left for a full-blooded challenge on Paul Green.
Although they were then denied a last-gasp winner, Jewell felt there were positives from his side's performance.
"We didn't play great, I think the occasion got the better of some of us," he added. But if you raise your game in a local derby when you're losing and not playing well, it shows you've got some fighting spirit and commitment."

Forest boss Colin Calderwood was also unaware why Addison's goal was disallowed but felt the visitors were due a call in their favour and were worthy of a draw. "What he saw to disallow the goal I don't know," he said. "If there's any relief, I'm thankful for that, but that's the first decision we've had go for us. We've had plenty go against us so far this season. The minimum we deserved was a point. Until the equaliser they didn't look as if they were going to score. It wasn't a penalty but we're glad it was given. They followed up and it ended up in the net but Lee Camp and all the defenders had stopped anyway. We got ourselves entrenched in the box and we've got to defend corners and wide free-kicks better than we have done."

[johntheclaret]

Monday 3rd Nov

Result

Birmingham 0 Coventry 1

Round Up

Coventry City picked up their first win in 23 years at St Andrews after a resilient performance against Birmingham.
After having a goal disallowed, Birmingham were left incredibly frustrated as Chris Coleman's side managed to hold off a late surge to earn their second away win of the season.
Alex McLeish seemed furious as Birmingham fell to their second defeat in a week in controversial fashion.

Table (Top)

Pos Team P Pts
1 Wolverhampton Wanderers 15 34
2 Birmingham City 15 30
---------------------------------
3 Reading 15 27
4 Burnley 15 26
5 Sheffield United 15 25
6 Cardiff City 15 25
--------------------------------

[devilsadvocate]

Whoa, just saw this result and

The Championship is outstanding.
If ONLY the Beeb had rights to show more games free to air!

[johntheclaret]

Here's a bit more on that Sunday re

Thanks to The Sporting Life

ATTWELL SET TO MEET HACKETT

Referees' chief Keith Hackett will meet with Stuart Attwell on Tuesday to discuss the Warwickshire official's handling of yesterday's game between east midlands rivals Derby and Nottingham Forest.

Attwell, 25, became the Premier League's youngest ever referee when he took charge of the 1-1 draw between Blackburn and Hull at Ewood Park in August, but he has since hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons.

He awarded the infamous 'phantom goal' in Watford's 2-2 draw against Reading at Vicarage Road in September, and he is under the spotlight again after a string of contentious decisions at Pride Park on Sunday.

Attwell ruled out a late Derby goal, instead awarding the hosts a penalty, which was subsequently saved by Forest keeper Lee Camp.
He then disallowed what looked like a legitimate injury-time goal for the Rams when midfielder Miles Addison headed home from a corner.
Attwell also sent off Forest midfielder Lewis McGugan in the 74th minute for a foul on Paul Green when a yellow card would arguably have sufficed.

Derby boss Paul Jewell criticised the young official in his post-match interviews while Forest manager Colin Calderwood also admitted he was left agog by some his decisions.

Hackett will assess Attwell's performance at Pride Park tomorrow and hopes this latest set-back in his fledging career will not affect the 25-year-old's confidence or reputation.

"I wasn't at the game and I haven't had chance to see it either, but there was an assessor at the game and we await his report," Hackett said.

"That, together with the ProZone statistics available from Pride Park, will be used when we have a meeting with him tomorrow. At that meeting we will talk about the game in question.

"We will sit down, myself and another senior referee, with Stuart and review the game on a minute-by-minute basis and analyse every decision. But that is typical of what we do with all referees, it is the process we go through."

Hackett added: "As I said, I was not at the game but I have read and heard some of the reports in the media and I am concerned by their content. But it is the life of a referee, I'm afraid. Stuart is a good referee and that will not change over night. Hopefully it won't affect him. We have sports psychologists in place to help officials and offer them individual management."

[Dirko]

******* disgraceful performance. Derby should have had the three points, but for the shocking effort by the ref.....

Hell when the Forest gaffer, says he's unsure why a goal was disallowed, it makes you realise what a dick this bloke is....

Also boooo to the CCC for not having an experienced ref for what would be one of the biggest games in the CCC regular season.
Not too many rivalries in the CCC to match that of Derby v Forest, and they put some incompetent git in...

[johntheclaret]

A deep, deep wound Jabber.

[Dirko]

A deep, deep wound Jabber.

Not as bad as my cousin in law. They emigrated from Burton upon Trent to Adelaide about 8 years ago (hence my Derby
following as they bought me a shirt, before that I just used to follow the league without a side), and I spoke to him Sunday night about the game. He recalls many a time when crossing the bridge to get to Forest, the Forest crew waiting to smack the shit out of 'em.

Has a huge passion in hating Forest, and his stories, and recollections dating back from when his Dad used to go to games
(cousin in law is 52, his old man 85), really fires him up and get's the bristles standing on end.

My passion stems from him, and the passion he carries for the contest. I would love to get over there and watch a game
between the two sides (Pride Park only), as it's meant to be something special....

He's been a member of DCFC since he was born ! And his old man has been a member for 70 years !! Fantastic stuff......

[johntheclaret]

We have the same senario when it comes to b4st4rd rovers. I will tell you a few tales when I see you next.

[hazza11]

Monday 3rd Nov

Result

Birmingham 0 Coventry 1

Round Up

Coventry City picked up their first win in 23 years at St Andrews after a resilient performance against Birmingham.
After having a goal disallowed, Birmingham were left incredibly frustrated as Chris Coleman's side managed to hold off a late surge to earn their second away win of the season.
Alex McLeish seemed furious as Birmingham fell to their second defeat in a week in controversial fashion.

Table (Top)

Pos Team P Pts
1 Wolverhampton Wanderers 15 34
2 Birmingham City 15 30
---------------------------------
3 Reading 15 27
4 Burnley 15 26
5 Sheffield United 15 25
6 Cardiff City 15 25
--------------------------------

Two bad losses in a row for the blues, I am starting to get scared.
Bent is getting too much game time, he is hopeless!
Hopefully O'Connor is back soon, we miss him.

[johntheclaret]

Sat / Sun 8th & 9th November

Results

Saturday Action
Wolves 2 Burnley 0
Nottm Forest 1 Birmingham 1
Reading 3 Derby 0
QPR 1 Cardiff 0
Southampton 0 Bristol City 1
Plymouth 2 Charlton 2
Coventry 0 C Palace 2
Sheff Wed 1 Doncaster 0
Norwich 2 Preston 2
Blackpool 0 Ipswich 1
Barnsley 1 Sheff Utd 2

Sunday Action
Swansea 3 Watford 1

Round Up

Wolves extended their lead at the top of the Coca Cola Championship to six points after beating Burnley 2-0 at Molineux.
The star of the show for Wolves was top scorer Michael Kightly who struck either side of half-time to seal his side's seventh home win of the season.
Kightly opened the scoring after latching onto a Graham Alexander cross to tap home from close range on the half-hour mark.
The England Under-21 forward then sealed the win after a delightful one-two with Sylvain Ebanks-Blake with 16 minutes left.

Birmingham lost ground on the league leaders after they could only manage a 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.
Forest found themselves behind on 13 minutes when James McFadden tapped home from close range after a Liam Ridgewell free-kick.
Forest battled back to earn a deserved point through James Perch who struck after a Wes Morgan flick on seven minutes into the second half.

QPR caretaker-manager Gareth Ainsworth led his side to a 1-0 victory over Cardiff in an ill-tempered match at Loftus Road.
Ainsworth had to wait until the 79th minute to see his side score when Gavin Mahon headed home a Peter Ramage cross to break the deadlock.
The visitors ended the match with nine men after Miguel Comminges and Darren Purse both saw red.

Reading are now just one point behind Birmingham after they cruised to a 3-0 win over Derby at the Madejski Stadium.
League top scorer Kevin Doyle struck twice in seven second-half minutes to seal all three points for Steve Coppell's men after Noel Hunt opened the scoring after 20 minutes.

James Beattie bagged a brace as Sheffield United beat Barnsley 2-1 in the South Yorkshire derby at Oakwell.
The former Everton man gave United the lead after 20 minutes before securing the win with five minutes left from the spot.
Barnsley hit back through Kayode Odejayi while Ugo Ehiogu and Anderson De Silva were sent off on 28 minutes after an off the ball incident.

Leon Clarke gave Sheffield Wednesday a 1-0 win over rock-bottom Doncaster in the other South Yorkshire derby of the day at Hillsborough.
The striker headed home his second goal in two matches after latching on to a Etienne Esajas cross just before half-time.

Emile Mpenza's last-gasp goal denied under-fire Charlton boss Alan Pardew his first win in six as they drew 2-2 with Plymouth at Home Park.
Mathias Doumbe put Plymouth ahead before Kelly Youga and Andy Gray put Charlton on the verge of victory before substitute Mpenza stole a point for the hosts.

Neil Mellor struck late to grab a point for Preston as they drew 2-2 with Norwich at Carrow Road.
Chris Brown had put Preston ahead early on then Norwich hit back through John Kennedy and Leroy Lita but Mellor's 18-yard strike levelled the scores with 10 minutes left.

Goals from Clint Hill and Ben Watson gave Crystal Palace a 2-0 win over Coventry at the Ricoh Arena while David Norris scored the only goal of the game at Bloomfield Road where Ipswich beat Blackpool 1-0.

In the evening kick-off, Bristol City earned a 1-0 win at Southampton thanks to Lee Johnson's second-half goal.
Johnson's smart 18-yard finish after 51 minutes proved enough for Gary Johnson's side - who also saw Michael McIndoe miss a 19th-minute penalty - to take all three points.
The defeat leaves Southampton just a point above the relegation zone and without a home win since September. City move up into ninth.

Table

Teams P GD PTS
1 Wolves 16 14 37
2 Birmingham 16 8 31
-----------------------
3 Reading 16 20 30
4 SheffUtd 16 11 28
5 Burnley 16 1 26
6 Cardiff 16 5 25
-----------------------
7 QPR 16 1 25
8 Ipswich 16 8 24
9 Swansea 16 3 24
10 Bristol C 16 2 24
11 Plymouth 16 0 22
12 SheffWed 16 -8 22
13 Derby 16 -1 21
14 Preston 16 -2 21
15 Blackpool 16 -3 21
16 CPalace 16 2 20
17 Coventry 16 -2 20
18 Barnsley 16 -4 18
19 Norwich 16 -5 17
20 Charlton 16 -6 16
21 Southampton 16 -10 16
---------------------------
22 Watford 16 -6 15
23 Nott'm Forest 16 -12 11
24 Doncaster 16 -16 9

[johntheclaret]

Sat / Sun 15th & 16th Nov

Results

Barnsley 2-1 Watford
Birmingham City 3-2 Charlton Athletic
Bristol City 2-2 Nottingham Forest
Cardiff City 2-1 Crystal Palace
Coventry City 0-1 Plymouth Argyle
Derby County 3-0 Sheffield Wednesday
Doncaster Rovers 1-0 Ipswich Town
Norwich City 2-3 Swansea City
Queens Park Rangers 1-2 Burnley
Sheffield United 0-2 Reading
Southampton 1-2 Wolverhampton Wndrs
Blackpool 1-3 Preston North End

Round Up

Wolves cemented their place at the top of the table, while Birmingham prevailed in a five-goal thriller. Elsewhere, Reading remain in the hunt for an automatic promotion spot after a third consecutive victory and Burnley enjoyed further success in the capital.

It is, though, Wolves who continue to set the pace in the Championship, with Mick McCarthy's side making hard work of a 2-1 victory over 10-man Southampton.

Birmingham ensured that they remain in second place after a topsy-turvy encounter with Charlton, the Blues eventually grinding out a 3-2 win, but they are still six points off the summit.
Kevin Doyle was once again among the goals for Reading as the Royals continued their impressive recent form with a 2-0 victory over Sheffield United at Bramall Lane.

Burnley were in action in West London for the second time in the space of four days and, having seen off Chelsea in the Carling Cup in midweek, were celebrating again as they took all three points in a 2-1 success at Queens Park Rangers.

Cardiff brought their recent slump to a halt as they saw off Crystal Palace 2-1 at Ninian Park, consolidating their place inside the top six.

Swansea remain on the fringes of the play-off places but did their promotion hopes no harm as they scored three times in the space of five minutes, either side of the interval, to secure a 3-2 win at Norwich.

Paul Jewell's Derby were Saturday's most comprehensive victors, with the Rams cruising to a 3-0 rout of Sheffield Wednesday on home soil.

Watford's misery continued as they let a one-goal lead slip in a 2-1 defeat at Barnsley, while the Hornets' rivals towards the foot of the table Nottingham Forest missed out on a much-needed win away at Bristol City as they were held to a 2-2 draw.

Coventry and Plymouth looked to be heading towards a drab stalemate for much of the afternoon, but Craig Noone's late strike for the Pilgrims saw the points heading back to Home Park.

Saturday's evening contest then saw Doncaster upset in-form Ipswich as they claimed a 1-0 win at the Keepmoat Stadium.

Table

Teams P GD PTS
1 Wolves 17 15 40
2 Birmingham 17 9 34
----------------------
3 Reading 17 22 33
4 Burnley 17 2 29
5 SheffUtd 17 9 28
6 Cardiff 17 6 28
----------------------
7 Swansea 17 4 27
8 Bristol C 17 2 25
9 Plymouth 17 1 25
10 QPR 17 0 25
11 Ipswich 17 7 24
12 Derby 17 2 24
13 Preston 17 0 24
14 SheffWed 17 -11 22
15 Barnsley 17 -3 21
16 Blackpool 17 -5 21
17 CPalace 17 1 20
18 Coventry 17 -3 20
19 Norwich 17 -6 17
20 Charlton 17 -7 16
21 Southampton 17 -11 16
----------------------------
22 Watford 17 -7 15
23 Nott'm Forest 17 -12 12
24 Doncaster 17 -15 12

[devilsadvocate]

Bugger. Great chance for the Clarets to really close the gap on the Royals today with them going down the Southampton 1-2. Unfortunately Burnley could only manage a point against bottom place Doncaster at Turf Moor.

Looking forward to your wrap up JTC. Hope your arthritis is OK mate.

[RoosterMarty]

There were no early EPL games last night so they had Plymouth vs Cardiff on, I didn't actually realise this as I was having a few drinks with some lads... and when I finally flicked it on we were already 2-0 down.

Chopra pulled one back (probably in an offside position) and he could have had another one.. but it finished 2-1 unfortunately.

[johntheclaret]

Sat 22nd Nov

Results

Wolves 2 Blackpool 0
Reading 1 Southampton 2
Charlton 2 Sheff Utd 5
Preston 2 Barnsley 1
Ipswich 2 Derby 0
Watford 3 QPR 0
C Palace 4 Bristol City 2
Burnley 0 Doncaster 0
Sheff Wed 0 Coventry 1
Plymouth 2 Cardiff 1
Nottm Forest 1 Norwich 2
Swansea 2 Birmingham 3

Round Up

Wolves restored their six-point lead at the top of the Coca-Cola Championship after overcoming Blackpool 2-0 at Molineux thanks to a double strike from Chris Iwelumo.
The Scotland striker struck either side of half time to give Mick McCarthy's side their third straight home win and condemn Blackpool to their third successive defeat.
Wolves took the game to the visitors right from the start and their pressure paid off after 30 minutes when Iwelumo rifled home a right-foot drive from just inside the box.
Iwelumo, who played for Scotland in their 1-0 defeat to Argentina in midweek, then tapped in a Michael Kightly cross on 66 minutes to pick up his 13th of the season and put more light between his side and Birmingham, who won 3-2 at Swansea on Friday.

Reading's unbeaten home run was ended by Southampton who ran out 2-1 winners at the Madejski Stadium thanks to a Bradley Wright-Phillips double.
Wright-Phillips met a brilliant Lloyd James cross at the back post to give the Saints a surprise lead before he doubled their advantage with a 20-yard bullet on 49 minutes.
Jimmy Kebe pulled one back for Reading eight minutes later after Kelvin Davis spilled a Kevin Doyle shot but the Saints held on to pick up their first win in three.

Charlton were pummelled 5-2 by Sheffield United at The Valley in a game which led to manager Alan Pardew leaving the club.
James Beattie got the Blades on their way with his eighth of the season before Linvoy Primus put the Addicks back on terms.
Gary Speed put the visitors ahead before Matthew Kilgallon added another in first-half injury time with a delightful lob. Kelly Youga's own goal then put United 4-1 up before Stephen Quinn screamed a left-foot volley past Nicky Weaver for United's fifth.
Hameur Bouazza then got a consolation for the Addicks, who now drop into the relegation zone.

Paulo Sousa's life as QPR manager got off to a terrible start with a 3-0 hammering by Watford at Vicarage Road.
Tommy Smith and Darren Ward put the Hornets ahead before Lee Williamson's long-range effort on 45 minutes killed off QPR who had Fitz Hall sent off late on for a bad challenge on Will Hoskins.

Crystal Palace picked up their first win in seven by hammering Bristol City 4-2 at Selhurst Park.
John Oster, Sean Scannell, Craig Beattie, Jose Fonte were on target for Neil Warnock's side while Dele Adebola and substitute Nicky Maynard bagged for City.

Preston picked up their seventh home win of the season after overcoming Barnsley 2-1 thanks to goals from Richard Chaplow and Sean St. Ledger.

Doncaster played out a goalless draw with Burnley at Turf Moor while Plymouth ran out 2-1 winners over Cardiff at Home Park thanks to goals from Emile Mpenza and Paul Gallagher.

Strike partners Paulo Counago and Jonathan Walters scored for Ipswich as they beat Derby 2-0 at Portman Road while Sheffield Wednesday suffered only their second home defeat of the season as they went down 1-0 to Coventry thanks to a Clinton Morrison strike.

In the day's late game, goalkeeper David Marshall produced a string of top-drawer saves to earn 10-man Norwich an unlikely 2-1 victory in their clash with fellow strugglers Nottingham Forest.
Marshall kept the visitors on level terms before Chris Cohen's own goal with 17 minutes remaining gifted Glenn Roeder's men their first win in five games and left Forest rooted to the foot of the table.
Paul Anderson had earlier capitalised on an unfortunate slip by Marshall to cancel out Matthew Pattison's opener.

Table

Teams P GD Pts
1 Wolverhampton 18 17 43
2 Birmingham 18 10 37
-------------------------
3 Reading 18 21 33
4 Sheff Utd 18 12 31
5 Burnley 18 2 30
6 Cardiff 18 5 28
-------------------------
7 Plymouth 18 2 28
8 Ipswich 18 9 27
9 Swansea 18 3 27
10 Preston 18 1 27
11 Bristol City 18 0 25
12 QPR 18 -3 25
13 Derby 18 0 24
14 Crystal Palace 18 3 23
15 Coventry 18 -2 23
16 Sheff Wed 18 -12 22
17 Barnsley 18 -4 21
18 Blackpool 18 -7 21
19 Norwich 18 -5 20
20 Southampton 18 -10 19
21 Watford 18 -4 18
-----------------------------
22 Charlton 18 -10 16
23 Doncaster 18 -15 13
24 Nottm Forest 18 -13 12

[johntheclaret]

Barnsley 3 Burnley 2

I was so pissed with their 2nd goal I Spilt bbeer on my laptopso now the keyboard is f$T%ked

report tomorrow