Stuttering Coventry’s grip at the top of the Championship loosened further as QPR came from behind to beat them 2-1 at Loftus Road. Josh Eccles gave the Sky Blues an early lead but Rangers responded in the second half with Richard Kone’s equaliser and Nicolas Madsen’s winner.
Frank Lampard’s side’s are now level on points with second-placed Middlesbrough, who took advantage by ending Norwich’s winning run with a 1-0 victory at the Riverside.
Norwich had won four in a row in all competitions before visiting Teesside but they were unable to halt Boro’s momentum, as Kim Hellberg’s side made it five straight wins. Hayden Hackney scored the only goal of the game, curling home from distance in the 17th minute, and while Norwich created a couple of decent late opportunities, Boro’s defence held firm.
Coventry have now gone eight away matches without a win, including five defeats. They thrashed QPR 7-1 in August, but Julien Stephan’s team are much-improved since then and showed excellent resolve to claw their way back into the game as their opponents faded.
Lewis Koumas scored four minutes into his Hull debut as they moved within five points of the top after a 1-0 win at struggling Blackburn. The 20-year-old, signed on loan from Liverpool on Friday, was introduced as a 77th-minute substitute and made an immediate impression, clinically slotting home the winner with nine minutes remaining.
Rovers appealed in vain for an offside flag that never came but the move that set up Koumas represented the first moment of quality in a game neither side really did enough to win. However, Sergej Jakirovic’s team were resolute in the face of Blackburn’s pressure in the second half and are up to third after a fourth successive victory.
Quick GuideLeague One: Cardiff held at Burton
Show
League One leaders Cardiff had to settle for a single point after Kyran Lofthouse netted the equaliser for Burton in a 2-2 draw. Jake Beesley opened the scoring in the 11th minute for the Brewers and Alex Robertson handed the visitors the lead with a second-half brace before Lofthouse levelled from a deflected free-kick in the 78th minute. It leaves Cardiff just two points clear of second-placed Lincoln, who secured a 1-0 victory over Wigan, where Jack Moylan netted the first-half winner.
Corey Blackett-Taylor scored the lone goal in third-placed Bolton’s 1-0 win at AFC Wimbledon. Wanderers are level on 52 points with Stockport, who secured a 2-1 comeback victory over Plymouth through Kyle Wootton’s brace. Tyreik Wright left it late but inspired Bradford to a 1-0 victory over Doncaster, while Huddersfield benefitted from Cameron Humphreys’ late winner to beat Peterborough 3-2, and two goals from Davis Keillor-Dunn lifted Barnsley to a 3-1 win over Stevenage.
Mansfield played out a goalless draw with Wycombe, Luton secured a 1-0 home victory over Blackpool, and Rotherham cruised to a comfortable 4-0 victory at Exeter. Northampton remain second from bottom after their 2-0 defeat to Reading, eight points clear of Port Vale, who secured a vital 1-0 victory over Leyton Orient after Kyle John’s second-minute opener remained the game’s only goal. PA Media
Jack Clarke converted a stoppage-time penalty to rescue a point for Ipswich against Preston in a 1-1 draw at Portman Road. The visitors had taken the lead through Lewis Gibson’s scrambled effort but Town’s leading scorer calmly fired past North End goalkeeper David Cornell to prevent his side from falling to their second home loss of the season. There was still time for penalty appeals for fouls and handballs in the Preston box but referee John Busby turned them away as Preston ended their three-match losing run.
Mihailo Ivanovic’s poacher’s goal earned Millwall a 1-1 draw against Sheffield United, who often looked the better side at The Den. The Serbian striker quickly cancelled out Andre Brooks’ opener for the Blades, for whom Callum O’Hare missed two glorious opportunities to earn them three points against the playoff-chasing Lions. Results elsewhere meant being held at home for the first time in four games was not too costly for Millwall, who sit five points clear of seventh-placed Derby.
Phil Parkinson said his Wrexham side had to display some “real moments of quality” after they beat Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 at Hillsborough. Sam Smith’s fourth goal in six league games was enough to see the Red Dragons return to the playoff places after Derby’s dismantling of Bristol City on Friday night.
Parkinson said: “These games are never straightforward. We really had to earn the three points today. We had our chances but so did Wednesday who are playing with real pride and we came here with total respect for them. We had to stay really focused at the back.”
Swansea overcame a poor away record with a convincing 2-0 victory at Vicarage Road that further damaged Watford’s fading promotion push. The Welsh side had picked up just three points out of a possible 18 on the road under new manager Vítor Matos, but were convincing winners with goals from Marko Stamenic and Josh Key.
Watford, by contrast, have not won a Championship match since New Year’s Day and played the final four minutes of injury time with 10 men after Nestory Irankunda was sent off for pushing Liam Cullen to the ground.
Tonda Eckert heaped praise on “ultimate professional” Taylor Harwood-Bellis as the Southampton defender ignored the noise around West Ham’s interest to help the side win 2-0 at Stoke.
Quick GuideLeague Two: Bromley tighten grip at top
Show
Ben Thompson’s hat-trick ensured Bromley tightened their grip at the top of the League Two table with a 4-1 victory at Gillingham. Thompson netted two then Corey Whitley added a third to hand Bromley a 3-0 lead by the 27th minute. Bradley Dack clawed one back for the hosts late in the first half before Thompson completed his hat-trick two minutes after the restart.
Bromley sit six points clear of Cambridge, who are second with 53 points after securing a comfortable 3-0 victory over Oldham. They are one point clear of Salford, who beat Tranmere 2-0, while MK Dons relinquished their first-half lead after Jaze Kabia netted a second-half double to secure Grimsby a 2-2 draw.
Notts County beat Fleetwood 2-1, Walsall played out a 2-2 draw at Chesterfield and Swindon secured a 3-1 victory over Barrow. Colchester suffered a 1-0 defeat at Crewe, Shrewsbury and Barnet ended goalless, Accrington beat Cheltenham 3-1, Bristol Rovers shut out Newport 3-0, and it was a fourth straight defeat for basement club Harrogate, who lost 2-0 at Crawley. PA Media
The 24-year-old joined Saints from Manchester City on loan in 2023, with the move becoming permanent after winning the Championship playoff final at the end of that season. He stayed with Southampton after their relegation, but West Ham have made a reported £12m move to sign him in the final days of the winter window.
Harwood-Bellis’ exceptional pass led to Finn Azaz’s opener at the bet365 Stadium before Flynn Downes wrapped up the victory. “Taylor is an ultimate professional,” Eckert said. “I think you don’t find many like him in the game. The quality to block the noise at the moment. I think he was outstanding today.”
Harwood-Bellis is among a number of Saints players being linked with a move before Monday’s deadline, with Adam Armstrong, a target for Middlesbrough, left out of the squad, as was Cameron Archer, who has been linked with Rangers.
“I think there’s been a lot of noise around a couple of players,” said Eckert. “Let’s see what the next days bring and then I think next week, we are clear on what the team is going to look like for the game coming up on the weekend.”
Andy King conceded Leicester could get dragged into the Championship relegation dogfight as his spell in interim charge started with a 2-0 home loss to Charlton. Sonny Carey and Lyndon Dykes struck for the Addicks before half-time with the Foxes’ cause hugely hampered by a 15th-minute red card for centre-back Caleb Okoli.
The former Italy under-21 international pulled back striker Miles Leaburn as he raced on to Carey’s defence-splitting pass. Jordan Ayew’s 55th-minute penalty hit the post as the Foxes, who saw Hamza Choudhury forced off with a knee injury, were unable to make their stronger start to the second half count.
Asked if the drop was a concern, King, who stepped in after Martí Cifuentes’ sacking on Sunday, said: “Yeah, potentially. I don’t think we can get away from the fact we’re not where we want to be in the table. But let’s try looking up and reversing the momentum, rather than looking down. My remit was to do the Charlton game. I’ve not looked too far past that.
“You work hard all week and the gameplan is ripped up after 15 minutes. Then you lose another senior player when you are short of bodies. We were really, really light.”
Conor Chaplin scored the first goal of his second spell at his boyhood club to set Portsmouth on course for a dominant 3-0 victory over relegation rivals West Brom. Chaplin, who joined Pompey as a six-year-old before returning on loan from Ipswich, opened the scoring before January arrivals Millenic Alli and Ebou Adams gave them comfort. The beleaguered Baggies have won just once in nine matches, have not won on the road since the start of October and sit just three points outside the relegation zone.
Birmingham gave their outside playoff hopes a boost with a 2-0 victory over strugglers Oxford at the Kassam Stadium for their fourth away win of the season. A goal midway through each half inflicted a first defeat on Matt Bloomfield in his fourth game since taking charge at Oxford.
Blues took the lead in the 23rd minute through an own goal by Myles Peart-Harris, who headed Jamie Cumming’s flapped clearance at a Paik Seung-ho free-kick into his own net from five yards. Marvin Ducksch made it two in the 67th minute with a clinical right-footed finish from 22 yards, after substitute Carlos Vicente’s backheel, for his seventh goal of the season.
On Friday night, Derby thrashed Bristol City 5-0 at Ashton Gate to leapfrog their opponents in the table. First-half goals from Rhian Brewster, Ben Brereton Díaz and Bobby Clark were added to by Patrick Agyemang and Lars-Jørgen Salvesen as the visitors recorded a third win in four games.
