Category: Watford

Championship: Rotherham stun Sheffield United as Watford reach top six | Championship


Sheffield United were denied the chance to go top of the Championship after South Yorkshire rivals Rotherham triumphed at Bramall Lane for the first time in 42 years.

Ben Wiles scored the decisive first-half goal after Chiedozie Ogbene drifted into the box and found the Millers captain unmarked to coolly turn the ball home.

Enda Stevens had the ball in the back of the net before the break as the Blades searched for a leveller, but the scrambled effort was ruled out for offside.

Viktor Johansson kept a fierce John Egan shot out early in the second half and dealt with a late Oli McBurnie effort, while substitute Billy Sharp also headed wide for a Blades side that failed to take anything from a game they dominated.

Josh Ruffels scored his first two goals for Huddersfield – including an audacious winner – as the Championship’s bottom side overcame high-flying QPR 2-1 at Loftus Road.

Lyndon Dykes had taken just 81 seconds to put the hosts ahead in his 100th appearance for the club, with the opener coming just moments after Seny Dieng kept Danny Ward out in a one-on-one at the other end.

The Terriers were quick to respond as the frenzied early pace of the game continued, with Ruffels levelling with a powerful finish into the top corner. The defender decisively beat Dieng again with a hooked overhead finish from the top of the box before the break.

Huddersfield’s Josh Ruffels celebrates after beating QPR
Huddersfield’s Josh Ruffels celebrates after his two goals helped beat QPR Photograph: Zac Goodwin/PA

Luton manager Nathan Jones says he will speak to Southampton about their managerial vacancy on Wednesday, but has insisted that a move to the Premier League club is “not a done deal”.

Speaking after Tuesday’s 2-0 loss at Stoke City, the Welshman said it was a “wonderful honour” to be approached and added: “I hope the fans understand why I’m going for the chat because it’s a different world in the Premier League. I want to be there one day, whether that’s with Luton or with someone else. It’s just an opportunity to go and chat and to find out if it is right for me.”

Jones’ side conceded twice inside the first 13 minutes, both goals coming from left-wing crosses by Morgan Fox. Nick Powell arrived late in the box to head in the opener before Tom Lockyer, under pressure from Liam Delap, diverted into his own net.

Joao Pedro’s double was enough for a victory over Reading that sent Watford into the Championship playoff places. The Brazilian forward scored a goal in each half to give the Hornets a sixth win in 10 games since Slaven Bilic took charge.

Pedro calmly converted from the spot after he had been fouled by Ovie Ejaria as Reading failed to clear a Watford corner. And he wrapped up a deserved victory with a controlled half-volley past substitute goalkeeper Dean Bouzanis late on.

Michael Carrick’s outstanding Middlesbrough dominated Blackpool to claim a 3-0 victory at Bloomfield Road and leap four places to 16th.

Rejuvenated Boro went ahead following Isaiah Jones’ 15th-minute strike and never relinquished control. Carrick’s team scored the second goal their superiority merited when Marcus Forss crashed in a penalty three minutes after half-time.

The excellent Chuba Akpom converted Ryan Giles’ low 65th-minute cross for his fourth goal in four games to end any lingering doubts over the outcome.

Boro, who were winless in their opening six away games this season, have now won three out of four on the road following this emphatic success. Carrick has taken seven points from four games since his appointment last month.

Liam Rosenior was impressed with what he saw from Hull in the 3-2 win at Cardiff despite only having three training sessions with his new team. The former defender took over the Tigers last week and has picked up four points from his first two games.

Having dominated the first half in the Welsh capital, Hull only had a fourth-minute goal from Dimitrios Pelkas to show for their efforts. The boos from the Cardiff fans as the team left the field for half-time showed what they thought of the performance.

Callum Robinson then scored 90 seconds into the second half before crossing for Gavin Whyte to head the home side ahead. But Regan Slater fired in two goals in as many minutes to steal the show to give Rosenior his first win at Hull.

Troy Deeney’s late goal saw Birmingham City claim a point from an entertaining 2-2 draw with Swansea City. Swansea had looked set for a comeback victory having fallen behind to Scott Hogan’s early header.

Olivier Ntcham’s fine 20-yard drive brought the visitors level at St Andrew’s before a rare goal from Swansea captain Matt Grimes. But veteran Blues skipper Deeney struck from point-blank range to salvage a point for John Eustace’s side.

Coventry continued their recent revival as they registered a third consecutive Championship win by beating out-of-form Wigan. The Sky Blues pressed for the opener and were rewarded as the game wore on as Gustavo Hamer fired home a deflected shot. Thelo Aasgaard headed Max Power’s delivery straight at Coventry keeper Ben Wilson as Wigan pushed for a leveller but Viktor Gyökeres pounced on Josh Eccles’ ball to wrap up the win late on.

Championship roundup: Burnley leave it late while QPR draw with Norwich | Championship


Goals in added time from the substitutes Manuel Benson and Halil Dervisoglu saw Burnley again come from behind to win as they beat Rotherham 3-2. The Millers appeared to have pulled off a stunning away win as goals from Ben Wiles and substitute Chiedozie Ogbene twice edged them in front, with Jay Rodriguez providing Burley’s reply.

But the Yorkshire side finally succumbed after Bramall was dismissed for two yellow cards in the 75th minute, setting up Benson for another late rescue act. The Belgian had stepped off the bench to provide a goal and an assist and turn around Saturday’s game against Reading, and this time he curled in a lovely effort in the first minute of added time before playing a part in Dervisoglu’s winner in the 10th minute of stoppage time as the Clarets extended their unbeaten run to 16 games.

Norwich and QPR sharing the spoils in an entertaining goalless draw between two promotion contenders. There were plenty of chances at both ends, with both goalkeepers making excellent stops to keep the scoreline level.

The woodwork also came into play on three occasions, the last of them. coming from the last kick of the game from the home captain Grant Hanley. Teemu Pukki also hit a post for the home side, while Chris Wilcock followed suit for Rangers as the game ended in a draw and kept the fourth-placed visitors two points clear of their opponents.

Sunderland midfielder Alex Pritchard’s first goal since February helped consign his old club Huddersfield to a 2-0 home defeat. Ex-England under-21 international Pritchard struck early in the second half and the on-loan Manchester United winger Amad Diallo wrapped up matters in the sixth minute of stoppage time to leave Huddersfield anchored to the bottom of the Championship table.

Defeat also meant that the Terriers are now without a league win against the Black Cats in nine contests – a sequence stretching back to 1986. Sunderland are 12th in the table with 24 points.

Patrick Roberts crosses for Alex Pritchard to score Sunderland’s opening goal against Huddersfield.
Patrick Roberts crosses for Alex Pritchard to score Sunderland’s opening goal against Huddersfield. Photograph: Ian Horrocks/Sunderland AFC/Getty Images

Watford made it back-to-back away wins as they beat Cardiff 2-1 to move up into the playoff places. It was a fourth win in a row at Cardiff for the visitors and a fifth win in eight games under their new manager Slaven Bilic.

The Hornets replaced Swansea in sixth place with goals from Francisco Sierralta and Ismaïla Sarr completing their fightback after Cédric Kipré had given the home side the lead.

Josh Tymon’s goal just after the hour mark was enough to give Stoke an important 1-0 victory at fellow strugglers Wigan. With the two sides having slipped to third and fourth-bottom respectively after Tuesday’s matches, the stakes were high.

Stoke broke the deadlock just after the hour mark. Tymon driving through the left channel and smashing the ball under the exposed Jones. Wigan immediately went all in, sending on the strikers Josh Magennis and Charlie Wyke for Nathan Broadhead and Darikwa. But they were unable to really lay a glove on the Stoke defence and it needed a mixture of Jones and Whatmough to desperately clear the ball as Stoke threatened a second in the closing stages.

Birmingham and Millwall played out a dull goalless draw at St Andrew’s in which the visitors showed the bulk of the meagre attacking flair and intent on show. The point keeps Millwall ninth, two points off the Championship playoff places, while Birmingham slip one place to 13th.

Championship roundup: Cardiff make it easy for Swansea, Watford near play-offs | Championship


Russell Martin felt that the Cardiff forward Callum Robinson was guilty of making an “easy mistake” for the seventh-minute red card that allowed Swansea to continue their dominance of the South Wales derby.

Ollie Cooper and Michael Obafemi were on target as Swansea ran out comfortable 2-0 winners to secure a sixth win in eight derby meetings. Cardiff have won just once in that time and their fate on Sunday was sealed when Robinson reacted to Ben Cabango’s early nudge by throwing the ball in to the face of the Wales defender.

“We were helped with the early red card,” Martin, the Swansea manager, said. “It was something we spoke to our players about – especially the young ones in the team – to not get involved in any of that. Thankfully for us, one of their players did. It’s a really easy mistake to make when the atmosphere is like this in such a big game.

“Then, it was about sticking to our game plans more than ever and not changing anything. I really liked us and we should have scored more goals than we did.”

Cardiff’s third successive defeat leaves them 20th, two points above the relegation zone, and their interim manager, Mark Hudson, had no complaints over Robinson’s red card. “It’s about having controlled aggression in moments during a game,” he said.

“It’s something to learn from and I can only focus on the players who were on from seven onwards. They stuck in, fought for the club, fought for the badge, and fought for each other, which is all you can ask.”

Swansea’s seventh win in nine games lifted them to fourth in the Championship, three points adrift of the leaders Queens Park Rangers.

Ismaïla Sarr scores
Ismaïla Sarr scores Watford’s fourth goal against Luton. Photograph: Steven Paston/PA

Watford have moved to within three points of the Championship play-off places after thrashing their neighbours Luton 4-0 at Vicarage Road.

First-half goals from Keinan Davis and William Troost-Ekong set the tone and the visitors’ doom was sealed when the goalkeeper Ethan Horvath gifted João Pedro a third, with Ismaïla Sarr completing the rout. The substitute Gabriel Osho saw red late on for a dreadful challenge on Ken Sema to complete a dismal derby day for Luton.

“It was a derby game so not only a great three points but a great performance from start to finish,” Watford’s manager, Slaven Bilic, said. “We should have scored more goals, collectively there was togetherness and second balls we didn’t match them, we beat them. The front guys were absolutely amazing, they destroyed them.

Luton’s manager, Nathan Jones, revealed a sickness bug had ruined his preparations. The captain, Sonny Bradley, started but had to come off at half-time, the substitutes Luke Berry and Dan Potts were too ill to come on and the midfielder Henri Lansbury was absent altogether.

“We never gave ourselves a chance,” Jones said. “They just caught us on a bad day. Congratulations to Watford and apologies to the fans as we didn’t want them to go through that.”

Luton remain ahead of Watford by a place and a point, and Jones was philosophical that a seven-match unbeaten run had come to an end. “Let’s not lose perspective, we have been on a wonderful run,” he said.

“We are not in the worst position, it’s just that today hurts because of who they are and the manner. We will have to get it out of our system.”

Championship roundup: Dykes sends QPR top, Middlesbrough thump Wigan | Championship


Lyndon Dykes scored twice as Queens Park Rangers moved to the top of the Championship with an easy 3-0 victory against 10-man Cardiff at Loftus Road. Dykes struck a 19th-minute penalty after Jack Simpson was shown a straight red card for bringing down Sinclair Armstrong, then doubled his side’s lead before the break.

Kenneth Paal added a third to make it four wins from five for QPR, whose manager Michael Beale is set to hold talks with Wolves over their vacancy this week.

The impending arrival of Michael Carrick as new manager inspired Middlesbrough to a thumping 4-1 win at Wigan, despite the hosts grabbing a 34th-minute lead through Will Keane. Isaiah Jones equalised just before the break and second-half strikes from Duncan Watmore, Hayden Hackney and a Chuba Akpom penalty left Middlesbrough in full control.

Burnley missed the chance to leapfrog local rivals Blackburn into top spot as they were held to a 1-1 draw at Birmingham. Johann Berg Gudmundsson belted the visitors in front in the 74th minute but they were denied a third straight win when Scott Hogan equalised six minutes later for the hosts.

Sheffield United also missed the chance to go back to the summit as they saw their winless streak extend to five games after a 1-0 defeat at Coventry. The home side pushed throughout and got their reward three minutes from time when Martyn Waghorn converted a penalty to lift Coventry off the bottom of the table.

Goals from Ryan Longman, Greg Docherty and Regan Slater saw Hull end a run of two straight losses with a 3-1 win at Blackpool, who had equalised through Kenny Dougall. Tom Bradshaw scored a first-half hat-trick as Millwall cruised to a 3-0 victory over Watford at the Den.

Championship roundup: Bruce under pressure as West Brom slip into bottom three | Championship


Emil Riis piled the pressure on Steve Bruce as Preston extended West Brom’s winless Championship run to seven games. In a lively start, Riis converted Álvaro Fernández’s seventh-minute cross.

Grady Diangana might have levelled almost immediately for the visitors and Jed Wallace and Okay Yokuslu both went close before the break, and although West Brom enjoyed the better of the second half, they were unable to find a way past North End keeper Freddie Woodman as they slipped into the bottom three after a 1-0 defeat.

Ben Cabango struck eight minutes into stoppage time as Swansea came from behind to win 2-1 at Watford. Cabango made the decisive intervention on a night when a problem with the officials’ communications system saw 17 minutes of added time signalled and 21 played at the end of the game.

Ismaila Sarr’s 34th-minute goal handed the Hornets the advantage at the break, but the Swans were level within seven minutes of the restart thanks to Olivier Ntcham, and Cabango took full advantage when he got his head to Ryan Manning’s late cross.

Óscar Estupiñán’s first goal in six games handed managerless Hull a comeback victory over Wigan. Will Keane had headed the Latics into a 14th-minute lead, but his effort was cancelled out within seven minutes when Dimitrios Pelkas struck.

However, it was left to the Colombian Estupiñán to claim the points with a 65th-minute header from Callum Elder’s cross.

Chuba Akpom’s first-half strike ensured caretaker Middlesbrough manager Leo Percovich’s big night ended with a 1-0 victory over Birmingham.

Akpom fired the Teessiders, who parted company with Chris Wilder on Monday, into a 23rd-minute lead when he stabbed home from a corner, and they saw out the game to claim their first win in four.

Harry Clarke’s last-gasp header denied promotion-chasing Burnley victory as Stoke bounced back from their weekend nightmare to claim a creditable point.

The substitute Clarke converted Tariqe Fosu’s 87th-minute cross to snatch a 1-1 draw at Turf Moor three days after the Potters’ 4-0 home drubbing by Watford.

Connor Roberts had scored for the home side nine minutes into the second half, but Vincent Kompany’s men saw two points slip from their grasp.

Rotherham and Millwall had to make do with a point apiece as their clash at the New York Stadium ended 1-1. Dan Barlaser put the Millers ahead with a ninth-minute penalty after Jake Cooper had fouled Ben Wiles, but the visitors were back in it three minutes before the break when Zian Flemming smashed a shot into the top corner.