Championship. Results, Reviews and Table for 2008/9

[johntheclaret]

Watched this game tonight Jabber. Derby actually scored the equaliser on 94mins 38secs. there was 4 minutes of added time so they couldn't have left in much later.

Not a good result though JTC. At least we won overnight to get our season half way back on track.....

Can't see us making the playoff spots

After last season and the horrid start to this one, I reckon mid table and a Carling Cup run is good solidification.

Cutting Savage loose would free up some wages for a bit of extra quality.

Think you pretty much spot on the McA. Was suprised that Jewell has kept his job for this long but to be honest I can't see them doiing too much with him in charge. He did ok at Wigan but he had a hell of a lot of financial muscle behind him. not sure Derby have the same coin to spend.

[devilsadvocate]

Burnley had their first slip up for a while at home to Barnsley, going down 2-1. Maybe it was the loss they had to have before the League Cup run continues. (Lets hope not! )

Reading and Cardiff shared the points - Adam Federici scored in the 90th for Reading. Classic effort by Federici, whi's been on fire for Reading lately. He's looking decent as Schwartzers replacement in the next couple of years.

[Dirko]

Reading and Cardiff shared the points - Adam Federici scored in the 90th for Reading. Classic effort by Federici, whi's been on fire for Reading lately. He's looking decent as Schwartzers replacement in the next couple of years.

I'd assume this was from a corner or set piece and not general play ? Any footage would be good !

[johntheclaret]

The 25th Of December is a special date in the calendar, doubly so in the the land of Claret and Blue. Not only does it denote the birth of Christ, it also denotes the death of the Clarets season.

As on cue, the Clarets started the festive season with an abject display that let a pretty poor Barnsley side watlz of with all 3 points. So what is it with Burnley and the 25th of Decmber. 5 Boxing Day defeats in the last 6 years, that will no doubt be followed by another loss on Sunday that's it, season ended.

The directors will then go about cashing in on our best players, this year it will be McCann, Eagles, and MacDonald, two of whom we only bought at the start of the season, and we will see another season fade away.

Just as disappointing is the sight of 17,000 fans who rocked up with high expectations only to see such a pathetic dispay that sure as eggs is eggs, those extra 6,000 walk on fans won't be back.

We (NVM) entertained customers from Barnsley today, did the usual ground tour and generally had a good time with them. I was chatting to one of them about Jamie Cureton being at the Tykes on loan, and how he had been a prolific scorer against the Clarets over the years, so as a joke my customer decided to put a couple of quid on him to score 1st. It was meant to be a joke bet as they thought Cureton was crap. I went for the usual 'McCann to score 1st' bet.

Here comes that bloody fate again. I guess I should have known it, as McCan scored the equaliser to wipe out Curetons strike. Cureton was crap but he still managed to pop up with the 1st goal that set Barnsley on their way.

Burnley are a better side than Barnsley, but they just decided to play Tyke football instead of their own pass and move game and that was that. So why did we decide to play the long ball to Patto who is 4 foot tall up against man mountain Moore is beyond me as true to form the bloody thing just keep coming back. Eagles looked like he was still suffering from the Xmas Turkey blues as he missed two golden opportunities at 1 - 1 to put Barnsley to the sword.

Finally, it wouldn't be football if the ref wasn't to get a mention. For some inexplicable reason he decided that he didn't like the multiball system and prompty went round the 4 sides of the field telling the ball boys, no more. The players remonstrated with him, Owen Coyle remonstrated with him but you know what ref's are like. Within two minutes, a wayward Barnsley shot ended up in the away fans who promptly decided to keep the ball. So much for stopping the multiball system, you idiot. Barnsley took every advantage and spent most of the 2nd half time wasting for every throw in, free kick and goal kick.

What a shite day. Bollocks............................... Ho bloody Ho

[johntheclaret]

So, as folornly predicted, the Clarets would lose at Donny. Club captain Caldwell was sent off after committing a penalty, Donny went 2 - 0 up and we got the usual "consolation" goal.

Same ol same ol. Suddenly the thought of parting with $2,000 to spend a week in London watching the Clarets doesn't seem good business at all.

You might say I should have known better as Burnley always fold after Christmas. Call it blind optimism that this year was going to be different, but to coin that well known phrase "a fool and his money are easily parted". They got one bloody right.

Happy bloody New Year

[johntheclaret]

Fri 26th Dec & Sun 28th Dec

Results

Burnley 1-2 Barnsley
Charlton A 2-2 QPR
Crystal P 3-1 Norwich C
Ipswich T 0-1 Birmingham
Nottm For 2-4 Doncaster
Plymouth A 2-0 Southamptn
Preston NE 2-0 Derby Co
Reading 1-1 Cardiff C
Sheff Wed 1-1 Blackpool
Swansea C 0-0 Coventry C
Watford 2-4 Bristol C
Wolves 1-1 Sheff Utd

Round UP

Wolves remain seven points clear at the top of the Championship despite being held to a 1-1 draw at home to Sheffield United.
Defender Neill Collins gave Wolves a 19th-minute lead at Molineux but it was cancelled out just three minutes later by James Beattie, whose side slipped to eighth place.

Second-placed Reading failed to take advantage of Wolves' result, although they were grateful for a 1-1 draw with Cardiff as they needed a last-gasp equaliser from goalkeeper Adam Federici.
Michael Chopra looked to have won it for the visitors in the 89th minute, only for Federici to salvage a point in a dramatic finish.

Birmingham are now level with Reading after James McFadden's 39th-minute penalty gave them a 1-0 win at Ipswich.

Fourth-placed Burnley lost ground as they suffered a 2-1 home defeat by Barnsley, with Burnley midfielder Chris McCann scoring at each end.

Crystal Palace climbed to sixth after Jose Fonte bagged a first-half double in a 3-1 home win against Norwich, sub Danny Butterfield making it safe at the death.

Preston are level on points after a 2-0 home victory over Derby, Sean St Ledger scoring in the first half before Jon Parkin claimed his third goal in four games.

Nick Bailey equalised twice for struggling Charlton as they battled back for a 2-2 draw at home to QPR, who remain ninth.

But Paul Heffernan (2), Martin Woods and Richie Wellens were on target for Doncaster as they cruised to a 4-2 win at Nottingham Forest to leapfrog Charlton and go level with Forest.

Plymouth climbed into the top half after Rory Fallon and Luke Summerfield (penalty) scored each side of the break as the Pilgrims savoured a 2-0 home win over local rivals Southampton.

Nicky Maynard's first-half double set Bristol City on course for a 4-2 win at Watford, with Marvin Elliott adding their third and sub Dele Adebola sealing it late on.

Alan Gow's 48th-minute penalty was cancelled out shortly after by Bartosz Slusarski as Sheffield Wednesday came back for a 1-1 draw at home to Blackpool.

Elsewhere, Coventry claimed a goalless draw at Swansea, who remain in 10th place.

Results

Sunday 28th December 2008
Barnsley 1-1 Preston NE
Birmingham 0-0 Swansea C
Bristol C 1-0 Crystal P
Cardiff C 1-0 Plymouth A
Coventry C 2-0 Sheff Wed
Derby Co 0-1 Ipswich T
Doncaster 2-1 Burnley
Norwich C 2-3 Nottm For
QPR 0-0 Watford
Sheff Utd 3-1 Charlton A
Southamptn 1-1 Reading

Round Up

Reading lost to Southampton at the Madejski Stadium in November and they were unable to exact revenge at St Mary's. Shane Long had to snatch a 1-1 draw for Steve Coppell's men after David McGoldrick broke the deadlock.

Birmingham failed to move above Reading as they were held by Swansea. The Welsh side claimed their eighth successive draw as the game ended 0-0 but Roberto Martinez will feel his players might have forced victory after David Murphy was dismissed for Blues.

Having climbed off the foot of the table on Boxing Day, Doncaster provided their supporters with more festive cheer as they defeated high-flying Burnley 2-1 at the Keepmoat Stadium, with the key moment arriving just before half-time as Brian Stock made it 2-0 from the penalty spot after Stephen Caldwell had been sent off.

Nottingham Forest also boosted their survival hopes as Matt Thornhill, Lewis McGugan and Robert Earnshaw found the target in their 3-2 win over fellow strugglers Norwich.

Cardiff jumped to fourth as they claimed a 1-0 triumph against Plymouth thanks to Jay Bothroyd's late goal.

Stephen Quinn struck twice as Sheffield United came from behind to see off bottom club Charlton 3-1 and clamber back into the top six.

Queens Park Rangers remain just below the play-off places after Watford turned in a resilient performance to grind out a goalless draw at Loftus Road.

Preston are also hovering outside the top six after drawing 1-1 at Barnsley, with Ross Wallace cancelling out Jamie Cureton's opener.

In-form Crystal Palace suffered a surprising 1-0 loss at Bristol City as Nicky Maynard grabbed the decisive goal after just two minutes.

Coventry returned to winning ways with a 2-0 success against Sheffield Wednesday, to rise into a more secure mid-table position and leave the Owls in 13th place.

Ipswich beat 10-man Derby in the final day of the game courtesy of Jonathan Walters' early strike.

Table

Teams P GD PTS
1 Wolves 25 24 57
2 Reading 26 29 51
-----------------------
3 Birmingham 26 11 51
4 Cardiff 26 11 44
5 Burnley 26 5 43
6 SheffUtd 26 12 41
------------------------
7 Preston 26 4 41
8 CPalace 26 10 40
9 QPR 26 -1 38
10 Ipswich 26 7 35
11 Swansea 26 3 35
12 Bristol C 26 -2 34
13 SheffWed 26 -12 34
14 Coventry 26 -2 33
15 Plymouth 26 -2 33
16 Barnsley 26 -4 32
17 Blackpool 25 -7 30
18 Derby 26 -9 29
19 Watford 26 -6 27
20 Norwich 26 -10 26
21 Nott'm Forest 26 -12 24
---------------------------
22 Doncaster 26 -14 24
23 Southampton 26 -18 23
24 Charlton 26 -17 19

[johntheclaret]

Sat 10th Dec

Results

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

Round Up

Wolves missed the chance to extend their lead at the top of the Coca-Cola Championship as they fell to a 3-1 defeat against Preston at Molineux.
Wolves had their lead cut to four points after Reading beat Watford 4-0 on Friday night but two goals from Stephen Elliot and one from Sean St Ledger condemned Mick McCarthy's men to just their second home defeat of the season.
Wolves were gifted the lead after 20 minutes when Preston goalkeeper Andy Lonergan inexplicably kicked straight to Sylvain Ebanks-Blake who ran unimpeded from just outside the area to slot under the embarrassed Preston stopper.
Preston levelled four minutes later through Elliot and then shocked the Molineux faithful by taking the lead on the stroke of half-time when St Ledger tapped in from close range after Jon Parkin's header had come back off the bar.
Parkin then had a goal disallowed before Alan Irvine's men gave themselves a two-goal cushion thanks to Elliot, who turned home a miscued Chris Sedgwick shot from close range just after the hour.

Billy Davies began life as Nottingham Forest manager with a 2-0 win over bottom side Charlton at the Valley.
Davies' side defied early pressure to race into a two-goal lead thanks to Nathan Tyson and Robert Earnshaw.
Tyson tapped home from close range after 34 minutes before Earnshaw capitalised on a poor Matthew Spring backpass to sneak in and beat Robert Elliot two minutes later.
Charlton rarely threatened in the second half and Forest held steady for the win, which moves them three more points away from the relegation zone into 20th.

Sheffield United moved into fourth by beating Norwich 1-0 at Bramall Lane.
United boss Kevin Blackwell left out Stoke transfer target James Beattie but his absence was not felt by the Blades, who pressed their opposition from the off.
The home side took the lead after 17 minutes when Danny Webber found the unmarked Darius Henderson at the back post to head past David Marshall.

Dexter Blackstock scored a late goal to rescue a point for QPR in their match with 10-man Coventry at Loftus Road.
Stephen Wright was shown a straight red card for high tackle in the first half but Coventry defied their numerical disadvantage to go ahead thanks to a superb 25-yard free kick from Danny Fox 17 minutes from the end.
Blackstock raced on to a long ball from Radek Cerny to head past Keiren Westwood in injury time, though, to seal a 1-1 draw.

Barnsley were left to rue missed chances at Oakwell where they lost 1-0 to Southampton.
The Tykes dominated the first half and had a Jon Macken effort ruled out for offside before the visitors stole all three points with a David McGoldrick header 14 minutes from time.

Pablo Counago's second-half header denied Sheffield Wednesday their first win in six at Portman Road.
Steve Watson headed Wednesday ahead just after the break but Counago met Gareth McAuley's cross after 66 minutes to level the scores and earn Ipswich a point.

Nigel Clough's first game in charge of Derby, a trip to Cardiff, was a victim of the weather, as were Blackpool v BirminghamDoncaster v Bristol City and Plymouth v Crystal Palace.

Swansea ended their nine-match winless run by defeating Burnley 2-0 at Turf Moor in the day's late match.
The main talking point of the match came in the 35th minute when referee Michael Oliver controversially sent off Burnley's Michael Duff for a foul on Jason Scotland in the box.
Duff appeared to win the ball in the challenge but Oliver dismissed Duff and Scotland picked himself up to power the penalty past Brian Jensen.
Scotland put the result beyond doubt with his 11th goal of the season five minutes before time to move the Swans within six points of the play-offs.

If anyone saw it, the duff sending off was outrageous. Bloody outrageous I tells ya. Another case of the ref wanting to be the star of the show in a televised game. when the **** are the FA going to sort this crap out.

Table

Teams P GD PTS
1 Wolves 27 22 58
2 Reading 27 33 54
-----------------------
3 Birmingham 26 11 51
4 SheffUtd 27 13 44
5 Cardiff 26 11 44
6 Preston 27 6 44
----------------------
7 Burnley 27 3 43
8 CPalace 26 10 40
9 QPR 27 -1 39
10 Swansea 27 5 38
11 Ipswich 27 7 36
12 SheffWed 27 -12 35
13 Bristol C 26 -2 34
14 Coventry 27 -2 34
15 Plymouth 26 -2 33
16 Barnsley 27 -5 32
17 Blackpool 26 -7 31
18 Derby 26 -9 29
19 Watford 27 -10 27
20 Nott'm Forest 27 -10 27
21 Norwich 27 -11 26
---------------------------
22 Southampton 27 -17 26
23 Doncaster 26 -14 24
24 Charlton 27 -19 19

[devilsadvocate]

Swansea ended their nine-match winless run by defeating Burnley 2-0 at Turf Moor in the day's late match.
The main talking point of the match came in the 35th minute when referee Michael Oliver controversially sent off Burnley's Michael Duff for a foul on Jason Scotland in the box.
Duff appeared to win the ball in the challenge but Oliver dismissed Duff and Scotland picked himself up to power the penalty past Brian Jensen.
Scotland put the result beyond doubt with his 11th goal of the season five minutes before time to move the Swans within six points of the play-offs.

If anyone saw it, the duff sending off was outrageous. Bloody outrageous I tells ya. Another case of the ref wanting to be the star of the show in a televised game. when the f*** are the FA going to sort this crap out.

I read the match report which said the Duff red was totally outrageous and overzealous.
It's rubbish that a dodgy ref can have such an influence on a sides fortunes with the Clarets looking to push on to cement a top 7 spot.

[RoosterMarty]

JTC I bet you almost wish your pitch was frozen as well.... I was hoping you would knock off bloody Swansea as well.

Also just on that, you or DA might be able to tell me what happens when the game is called off. Do the supporters get told at the game? Do they try and get it out on the radio etc as early as possible to stop so many turning up or do they leave it til the last minute to postpone the match?

[devilsadvocate]

JTC I bet you almost wish your pitch was frozen as well.... I was hoping you would knock off bloody Swansea as well.

Also just on that, you or DA might be able to tell me what happens when the game is called off. Do the supporters get told at the game? Do they try and get it out on the radio etc as early as possible to stop so many turning up or do they leave it til the last minute to postpone the match?

JTC will be able to give you a more accurate answer, but my understanding is that they generally tr to make a decision as late as possible because it's such a pain in the ass to re-schedule a fixture. I think they keep the gates shut and if they do decide to play, will have a late k-o to allow the fans time to get in and seated. JTC will know for sure though.

[johntheclaret]

JTC I bet you almost wish your pitch was frozen as well.... I was hoping you would knock off bloody Swansea as well.

Also just on that, you or DA might be able to tell me what happens when the game is called off. Do the supporters get told at the game? Do they try and get it out on the radio etc as early as possible to stop so many turning up or do they leave it til the last minute to postpone the match?

It's the ref who decides if they can play or not Marty.

He will do a pitch inspection as early as possible so it can be announced before most of the travelling fans set off. Unfortunately, if you are travelling from Plymouth to Doncaster, they would have to do an inspection about 9 hours before kick off.

The ref judges if play is likely at all depending on the state of the pitch and the weather forcast. If feels. after a morning inspection (say 10:00), that if the weather improves or insn't going to deteriorate, then he might decide to inspect it at lunch or even right up to kick off. Bear in mind that the ref's responsibility lies with the players safety and not with the travelling fans.

If he fels that conditions will be dangerous for play (either waterlogged, or frozen for example, he will call it off, but to be fair to most of them, they try to let the game go on if they can and try to get any postponements made early. It is then up to the club to get the news out. The local radio will already have a man at the ground so it is usually announced locally almost as it happens and it then advertised throughouot the morning up until kick off. I think any postponements would also be sent to a news agency where they the news is distributed across the major sports radio network and the main sports TV channels, Sky, BBC, ITV.

Hope this helps Marty. As for the Swansea game. trust me it was bloody cold that night (-4 0r -5 ish) made worse by the fact that there was nothing happening on the pitch to raise your temperature. Crap game, crap night.

[johntheclaret]

Swansea ended their nine-match winless run by defeating Burnley 2-0 at Turf Moor in the day's late match.
The main talking point of the match came in the 35th minute when referee Michael Oliver controversially sent off Burnley's Michael Duff for a foul on Jason Scotland in the box.
Duff appeared to win the ball in the challenge but Oliver dismissed Duff and Scotland picked himself up to power the penalty past Brian Jensen.
Scotland put the result beyond doubt with his 11th goal of the season five minutes before time to move the Swans within six points of the play-offs.

If anyone saw it, the duff sending off was outrageous. Bloody outrageous I tells ya. Another case of the ref wanting to be the star of the show in a televised game. when the f*** are the FA going to sort this crap out.

I read the match report which said the Duff red was totally outrageous and overzealous.
It's rubbish that a dodgy ref can have such an influence on a sides fortunes with the Clarets looking to push on to cement a top 7 spot.

That report was bollock DA. perfectly good, well timed tackle. Cleared the ball which actually then rebounded off whathisname. The right decision shouuld have been a goal kick. Absolutely nothing wrong with the tackle, nothing at all. I even jumped up and shot inside to catch the replay on Sky. Shite decision.

[Dirko]

JTC I bet you almost wish your pitch was frozen as well.... I was hoping you would knock off bloody Swansea as well.

Also just on that, you or DA might be able to tell me what happens when the game is called off. Do the supporters get told at the game? Do they try and get it out on the radio etc as early as possible to stop so many turning up or do they leave it til the last minute to postpone the match?

The Cardiff / Derby game was called off 2.5 hours before kick off. Ridiculous. Cardiff have no under soil heating and apparently the pitch has been frozen most of the week. Fair drive from Derby to Cardiff and a lot of Derby fans are pi55ed off about the lateness of the call...

[devilsadvocate]

I read the match report which said the Duff red was totally outrageous and overzealous.
It's rubbish that a dodgy ref can have such an influence on a sides fortunes with the Clarets looking to push on to cement a top 7 spot.

That report was bollock DA. perfectly good, well timed tackle. Cleared the ball which actually then rebounded off whathisname. The right decision shouuld have been a goal kick. Absolutely nothing wrong with the tackle, nothing at all. I even jumped up and shot inside to catch the replay on Sky. Shite decision.

Sorry mate, the report I read was saying that Duff shouldn't have been sent off and that the ref got it totally wrong.

[RoosterMarty]

Thanks lads for explaining the postponements.

I do realise the ref makes the call and it does come down to player safety, sometimes they would surely know that the game won't go ahead even though they give it every chance. Pity those Derby fans who did make the trip to Cardiff where the game was never going to go ahead.

I was looking forward to the Bluebirds winning as well... could have been world champs then if you think that Derby beat Man Utd who won the World Club Cup recently.....

[Bully]

JTC I bet you almost wish your pitch was frozen as well.... I was hoping you would knock off bloody Swansea as well.

Also just on that, you or DA might be able to tell me what happens when the game is called off. Do the supporters get told at the game? Do they try and get it out on the radio etc as early as possible to stop so many turning up or do they leave it til the last minute to postpone the match?

The Cardiff / Derby game was called off 2.5 hours before kick off. Ridiculous. Cardiff have no under soil heating and apparently the pitch has been frozen most of the week. Fair drive from Derby to Cardiff and a lot of Derby fans are pi55ed off about the lateness of the call...

what about in the premier league, wasnt blackburn spose to play fulham at fulham? and called off just before the game started? that is a drive for nothing

[johntheclaret]

JTC I bet you almost wish your pitch was frozen as well.... I was hoping you would knock off bloody Swansea as well.

Also just on that, you or DA might be able to tell me what happens when the game is called off. Do the supporters get told at the game? Do they try and get it out on the radio etc as early as possible to stop so many turning up or do they leave it til the last minute to postpone the match?

The Cardiff / Derby game was called off 2.5 hours before kick off. Ridiculous. Cardiff have no under soil heating and apparently the pitch has been frozen most of the week. Fair drive from Derby to Cardiff and a lot of Derby fans are pi55ed off about the lateness of the call...

what about in the premier league, wasnt blackburn spose to play fulham at fulham? and called off just before the game started? that is a drive for nothing

yeah but they are only b4st4rd fans so it didn't matter

[johntheclaret]

Sort of wrong thread but.....

News tonight Southend v Celski in th e FA Cup. Kick off was 7:45. The ref called the game off at 7:00 because of fog, but the Southend staff and players protested so much that he changed his mind. Hmmmm.

As it happens, the fog lifted any way and Southend was proven right.

As I type this Barratt has just scored for Southend. 1 - 0. Who are ya, who are ya, who are ya.

[johntheclaret]

Sat 17th Jan

Results

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

Round Up

Nicky Maynard grabbed an 87th-minute equaliser as Bristol City fought back from two goals down to claim a 2-2 draw against Coca-Cola Championship leaders Wolves.
Robins goalkeeper Adriano Basso was twice punished for schoolboy errors as the visitors scored either side of half-time through Neill Collins and Matt Jarvis.
Victory would have taken Wolves seven points clear at the top of the table but City hit back in style and no-one contributed more to their fightback than half-time substitute Dele Adebola.
In the 58th minute the towering forward cut the gap with a clinical strike and with three minutes remaining he unselfishly teed up Maynard for a close-range equaliser.

Wolves had been handed a major boost prior to kick-off after second-placed Reading lost 2-0 at Swansea.
The Royals had started the match just four points adrift of Mick McCarthy's team but the Swans took a deserved lead on the stroke of half-time.
The ball came through to Jason Scotland who turned on the edge of the box and slotted a shot past Royals keeper Adam Federici.
Reading were then reduced to 10 men when Liam Rosenior was sent off for a second yellow card when he pulled Nathan Dyer's shirt.
The Swans sealed victory when Scotland capitalised on a long ball and played in Andrea Orlandi who sidefooted home.

Third-placed Birmingham entered the match with Cardiff, who started fifth, with just one win in the last four league games.
It was the Bluebirds who took a deserved lead when Joe Ledley scored with half an hour remaining with a drilled, left-footed shot after a cross by Chris Burke found him on the penalty spot.
Blues were poor in the second half and offered little as an attacking force.
However, they claimed an improbable equaliser when new loan signing Lee Bowyer thumped the ball into the top corner in the last minute.

Sheffield United overcame the loss of top scorer James Beattie with a 2-0 win at Watford.
The Blades had dominated the first half but did not take the lead until the 53rd minute when Nick Montgomery's header found Danny Webber unmarked and the forward smashed the ball home.
Darius Henderson doubled the lead after Greg Halford headed the ball down and found the former Watford man in space to hook it into the net after 67 minutes.

The victory sees United regain fourth spot after being temporarily deposed by Preston who were 2-1 winners over Burnley in the lunchtime kick-off.
Substitute Neil Mellor's 85th-minute penalty gave in-form North End victory after a handball by Clarets skipper Steven Caldwell.
Callum Davidson had put Preston ahead from the spot in the 53rd minute before Burnley substitute Robbie Blake's stunning free-kick drew his side level in the 77th minute.

Crystal Palace failed to close the gap on the top six when they were thumped 4-1 at Selhurst Park by Ipswich.
Home keeper Julian Speroni misjudged Owen Garvan's shot as the visitors took the lead halfway through the first half and David Norris then smashed the ball into the net to put the Tractor Boys 2-0 ahead.
Alan Lee quickly pulled one back for Palace which was initially disallowed before consultation between the referee and his assistant saw the decision overturned.
Kevin Lisbie hit a shot which Speroni got a hand to but could not keep out and Clint Hill's headed own goal saw Town claim an emphatic win.

In the big match at the other end of the table Doncaster claimed a vital 2-1 win at Southampton which sees them leapfrog their hosts, and remain in the relegation zone only on a goal difference deficit to Watford.
Rovers went ahead immediately after half-time when Martin Woods took advantage of a static Saints defence to run through and score straight from kick-off.
The visitors doubled their lead through James Coppinger with 10 minutes to go.
The Saints pulled one back right at the end through Marek Saganowski from close range but Rovers held on.

Nottingham Forest pulled further away from the drop zone when they beat Plymouth 2-0 in Billy Davies' first home game in charge.
Rob Earnshaw put Forest ahead after he met Lewis McGugan's cross.
Forest doubled the lead through Paul Anderson who smashed Nathan Tyson's cross into the goal in the 52nd minute.

However, Nigel Clough did not have the same joy on his debut as Derby boss when QPR won 2-0 at Pride Park thanks to goals by Wayne Routledge and Mikele Leigertwood, both in the first half.
Marcus Tudgay claimed a double and Francis Jeffers scored his first goal in more than a year as Sheffield Wednesday claimed a crushing 4-1 victory over Charlton who are seemingly headed for relegation.
On-loan Darren Potter put the Owls ahead on his debut with a long-range shot with Tudgay doubling the lead with a close-range header in the 39th minute.
Jeffers then struck, Matthew Spring pulled one back for the Addicks four minutes from time but Tudgay restored the three-goal advantage with a last-minute penalty in a convincing triumph.

Coventry came from behind to beat Blackpool 2-1 at the Ricoh Arena.
DJ Campbell put the visitors ahead with his first goal for the club before Guillaume Beuzelin and Michael Mifsud sealed victory for the hosts.

Norwich sealed a vital 4-0 victory over Barnsley in the week that saw manager Glenn Roeder sacked.
All the goals came in the second half with Wesley Hoolahan putting them ahead after rounding the keeper.
Jamie Cureton, who has just returned from a loan spell at Oakwell, doubled the lead with a lob.
A Sammy Clingan penalty two minutes from time and a Darel Russell goal sealed victory.

Table

Teams P GD PTS
1 Wolves 28 22 59
2 Reading 28 31 54
-----------------------
3 Birmingham 27 11 52
4 SheffUtd 28 15 47
5 Preston 28 7 47
6 Cardiff 27 11 45
-----------------------
7 Burnley 28 2 43
8 QPR 28 1 42
9 Swansea 28 7 41
10 CPalace 27 7 40
11 Ipswich 28 10 39
12 SheffWed 28 -9 38
13 Coventry 28 -1 37
14 Bristol C 27 -2 35
15 Plymouth 27 -4 33
16 Barnsley 28 -9 32
17 Blackpool 27 -8 31
18 Nott'm Forest 28 -8 30
19 Norwich 28 -7 29
20 Derby 27 -11 29
21 Watford 28 -12 27
---------------------------
22 Doncaster 27 -13 27
23 Southampton 28 -18 26
24 Charlton 28 -22 19

[RoosterMarty]

I hate Bowyer.