Championship Matchday 36 Review

Cardiff closed to within three points of Sky Bet Championship leaders Wolves, for a short time, after a 2-1 home win over Barnsley.

Callum Paterson opened the scoring on 31 minutes, and on-loan Liverpool midfielder Marko Grujic doubled the lead early in the second half. Oliver McBurnie, on loan from Swansea, pulled a goal back on the hour.

Aston Villa remain third after a 3-0 win at bottom club Sunderland. Lewis Grabban headed in against his old club on 34 minutes and James Chester nodded home a second from a corner just before the break.

An own goal by Sunderland midfielder Bryan Oviedo in the 66th minute completed the rout.

Fulham continued their own promotion charge with a 3-0 win over Sheffield United at Craven Cottage, where on-loan Newcastle frontman Aleksandar Mitrovic scored twice.

Mitrovic bundled in a low cross on 31 minutes for his fourth goal in as many games, and added another well-taken effort just before the break.

Tom Cairney knocked in a third after 61 minutes as Fulham made it 14 Championship games undefeated.

Derby, beaten by Fulham on Saturday, were held to a 1-1 draw at QPR. The Rams went ahead on 38 minutes through Andreas Weimann, but Massimo Luongo headed in an equaliser with just three minutes left.

New Birmingham boss Garry Monk had a 39th birthday to forget as his first match in charge ended with 1-0 defeat by former club Middlesbrough at St Andrew's. Patrick Bamford's close-range finish on 39 minutes proved enough for Boro, who are into sixth while Blues remain in the bottom three.

Burton remain in trouble after a 2-0 home defeat against Brentford. The Bees went ahead on the hour through an own goal from Burton captain Kyle McFadzean and Ollie Watkins scored a second with 10 minutes left.

Hull are also looking over their shoulders after losing 2-1 at home to Millwall. The Lions swept ahead inside the opening minute through George Saville and Jake Cooper then headed in from a corner on 33 minutes.

Substitute Abel Hernandez, in his first appearance since August after injury, pulled a goal back with 11 minutes left.

The game at the Madejski Stadium saw relegation-battlers Reading and Bolton draw 1-1. Mo Barrow's fine solo goal opened the scoring on 32 minutes, before former Royals frontman Adam Le Fondre bundled in an equaliser on the stroke of half-time.

Preston dented Bristol City's play-off hopes with a 2-1 win at Deepdale. Alan Browne's chip broke the deadlock on 20 minutes, before City equalised through Famara Diedhiou's header on 67 minutes.

North End, though, were soon back in front when Sean Maguire finished off a counter-attack. Robins defender Aden Flint was then sent off in stoppage-time for a stray arm in the penalty area.

Martyn Waghorn scored twice as Ipswich won 2-1 at Sheffield Wednesday. Striker Waghorn put the visitors ahead on 51 minutes, but Owls substitute Lucas Joao levelled after 69 minutes.

Waghorn, though, had the final say when he clipped in an angled free-kick with seven minutes left.

Norwich and Nottingham Forest played out a goalless draw at Carrow Road.

Wolves won 3-0 at Leeds to restore their six-point lead at the top of the Sky Bet Championship on Wednesday. Romain Saiss, Willy Boly and substitute Benik Afobe all scored as Wolves ended their three-game winless run and got their title bid back on track.

Leeds, meanwhile, now have just one win in six games under Paul Heckingbottom and stay 13th in the table, nine points off the play-off places.



Garry Monk's first game as Birmingham City boss ended in defeat by his former club Middlesbrough at St Andrew's.

The hosts started brightly, with Craig Gardner and Maikel Kieftenbeld forcing saves from Boro keeper Darren Randolph.

But Blues fell behind when Patrick Bamford turned in Adama Traore's inswinging delivery from the left.

Sam Gallagher was unable to convert the hosts' best two chances after the break, firing wide from a tight angle before heading off target late on.

Monk, who won 12 of his 26 games in charge at the Riverside before being sacked in December, was assisted by Pep Clotet after former Blues assistant Lee Carsley left the club earlier on Tuesday.


Two second-half goals helped Brentford keep their Championship play-off hopes alive and deepen Burton Albion's relegation worries.

After a goalless first half, the Bees took the lead after the hour when Kyle McFadzean turned Ollie Watkins' cross into his own goal.

Watkins doubled Brentford's lead late on, cutting inside before rolling a scuffed shot into the bottom corner. Burton have now lost 13 of their home Championship matches this season.

The Brewers' poor form at the Pirelli Stadium was further underlined as they failed to register a single shot on target against their opponents.

Nigel Clough's side stay 23rd, three points from safety, while Brentford are 10th and five points off the top six with 11 games left to play.


Cardiff City resisted a strong revival from lowly Barnsley to cut Wolves' lead at the top of the Championship to thre

e points. Callum Paterson's rebound and Marko Grujic's fine 20-yard strike gave the hosts a comfortable 2-0 advantage.

But a goal from Oli McBurnie, on loan from Swansea, swung the momentum in Barnsley's favour.

The visitors pressed for an equaliser but Cardiff held on for a fifth straight win.

Barnsley stay 21st in the Championship table, two points above the relegation zone, while second-placed Cardiff continue to breathe down the necks of the division's pace-setters.


Two Aleksandar Mitrovic goals helped Fulham cruise past play-off rivals Sheffield United at Craven Cottage.

Mitrovic, who is on loan from Premier League Newcastle, opened the scoring after connecting with a Ryan Fredericks cross with half an hour played.

The Serbian then combined with Stefan Johansen to add a second before the break - his fifth goal in four games.

Fulham captain Tom Cairney added a third in the second half following a swift counter-attack.

The Whites have taken 29 points from 11 league games in 2018 to remain in contention for automatic promotion, having completed a league double over the Blades following a 5-4 win at Bramall Lane in November.

Slavisa Jokanovic's side are fourth, five points behind second-placed Cardiff.

Conversely, this result means Chris Wilder's United have now lost four of their past seven league games.

The south Yorkshire club drop to ninth in the Championship table, three points off Middlesbrough in sixth, having played a game less than the Teessiders.


George Saville's goal inside the opening minute sent Millwall on their way to victory at Hull to keep the Lions in touch with the play-offs.

The midfielder met Lee Gregory's backheel to prod home from close range to score his eighth goal of the season.

Jake Cooper doubled the visitors' lead, meeting a corner at the back post to send a looping header into the net.

Abel Hernandez poked in for Hull 10 minutes before the end but Nigel Adkins' side remain in danger.

Neil Harris' side held on and have now gone 10 games unbeaten in the Championship - the second-best run in the division - to move within six points of the play-offs with 10 games remaining.


Mid-table pair Norwich City and Nottingham Forest played out a goalless Championship stalemate at Carrow Road.

The Canaries have drawn five successive Championship matches - their longest sequence of draws since 1994.

Ben Brereton and Matty Cash missed chances for Forest, whose keeper Costel Pantilimon kept out three first-half efforts from Norwich's Josh Murphy.

In-form forward James Maddison fired over from the home side's best opportunity of the second period.

Norwich and Forest remain 14th and 15th in the table respectively and appear certain to be playing in Championship football again next season.


Sean Maguire came off the bench to score Preston's winner against Bristol City at Deepdale and keep North End's play-off challenge firmly on course.

Maguire had only been on the pitch for seven minutes when he was played in by Daniel Johnson and held off two defenders to score with a low shot.

His seventh goal of the season restored Preston's lead after Famara Diedhiou had cancelled out Alan Browne's opener.

City's Aden Flint was sent off for an elbow in second-half stoppage time.

The win moved Preston level on points with Robins and to within a point of the play-off spots as they followed up Saturday's victory at Bolton, when Maguire also delivered victory with two second-half goals on his return from a long-term injury.


Massimo Luongo's late equaliser earned QPR a point against Derby and extended the Rams' winless run to six games.

QPR had the stronger early chances, with Matt Smith volleying a shot against the crossbar.

But the hosts fell behind when Andreas Weimann fired in after a clever run and through ball from Kasey Palmer.

Alex Smithies brilliantly kept out Rams defender Curtis Davies' header before Luongo powerfully headed Luke Freeman's free-kick into Scott Carson's goal.

Joel Lynch could have won all three points for the hosts in the final minute of added time, but he was unable to hit the target after being played through on goal.

Derby are now just four points ahead of seventh-placed Bristol City, and their night was worsened by a pair of injuries to key players.


Two goals from Martyn Waghorn gave Ipswich a hard-fought win over Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough.

Mick McCarthy's men would have been behind but for a superb save from Bartosz Bialkowski to keep out Atdhe Nuhiu in a goalless first half.

The deadlock was broken by Waghorn from close range before Lucas Joao equalised for the Owls with a side-foot finish.

Waghorn then curled in a sublime free-kick from the right hand side of the box to seal a second successive win.


Lewis Grabban scored the opening goal against his former club as Aston Villa kept up their push for a top-two finish with victory at bottom side Sunderland.

Grabban, who was on loan with the Black Cats earlier this season, nodded in Albert Adomah's cross at the back post.

James Chester headed in a Robert Snodgrass corner, before Bryan Oviedo turned Conor Hourihane's cross into his own net to round off the scoring.

Villa stay third, four points behind second-placed Cardiff.


Reading and Bolton shared the points at the Madejski Stadium, as both sides did little to ease their Championship relegation worries.

The Royals took the lead through Mo Barrow, following a brilliant solo run and finish from the left winger.

Adam Le Fondre scored against his former club on the stroke of half-time before nearly doubling his tally with a half-volley that flew wide.

The two teams are five points above the drop zone.



Wolves restored their six-point lead at the top of the Championship with a dominant win over Leeds at Elland Road.

Wanderers had previously gone three league games without a victory, their longest winless run of the season.

Two first-half goals came from Barry Douglas corners, with Romain Saiss and Willy Boly heading in from close range.

Diogo Jota struck the crossbar with a thunderous shot before Benik Afobe lobbed onrushing goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell to finish the game.

Substitute Afobe's goal was his first since returning to Wolves on loan from Bournemouth in January.

With 11 matches left to play, there is a 10-point gap between Wolves and third-placed Aston Villa - their opponents at Villa Park on Saturday.

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