Wrexham 1-1 Birmingham

Friday night’s game was a meeting between two clubs that have hugely benefitted from recent high-profile American investment. Both clubs are still finding their feet in the Championship, having come up from League One last season. Wrexham had seen a decent return lately, having managed eight points from the last fifteen available. Birmingham have not been quite so successful as of late, losing three of their last five and only managing four points from the last fifteen available.

None of the big-name American boardroom stars for either side were represented at the match, but that may have been a weight off the players’ shoulders. It only took Wrexham 13 minutes to go ahead – Josh Windass’ expert corner delivery was directed towards goal by Max Cleworth, and defensive midfielder George Dobson used his head to steer the ball into the net for his first goal of the season. Big Club were level just 22 seconds after the restart – striker Jay Stansfield charged at the Wrexham defence from the middle of the park, then weighted a perfect through ball for Patrick Roberts to slot home his first goal for the club.

Wrexham sit in 18th, having now drawn their last three games. Birmingham are two places above them in 16th, having only won one match in their last six.

Blackburn Rovers 1-1 Stoke City

Rovers are still looking for a first home win of the season, as a poor 2-1 reverse midweek to Swansea saw their Ewood curse continue. Six points from the last fifteen represents a reasonable return if you assume this season’s aim is solely avoiding the drop, but Valerin Ismael’s men had lost their last two matches. After an amazing start to the season, Mark Robins’ Stoke side have begun faltering in recent weeks. They had only picked up one win in their last five games.

The first half saw Stoke threaten to go ahead within ten seconds, but Rovers’ keeper Toth was equal to Sorba Thomas’ volleyed effort. Rovers had two big chances themselves, with new Icelandic striker Andri Gudjohnsen in particular missing an absolute sitter to put the hosts ahead.  Rovers would rue this missed opportunity, as just four minutes after the restart Stoke would take the lead. A simple ball from Sorba Thomas cut open Rovers’ defence, allowing Million Manhoef to lift the ball over Toth for his third league goal of the campaign. It looked like Rovers would once again face a home defeat, but in the 82nd minute Todd Cantwell made the most of poor defending from Stoke – a scuffed clearance allowed Cantwell to bundle himself into the area and square the ball for substitute Augustus Kargbo to slot home and give Rovers a share of the spoils. Kargbo’s muted celebrations reflected a difficult week for the 26-year-old winger, having had a lot of blame apportioned to him for Swansea’s winner on Tuesday night. It was Kargbo’s first goal for Rovers since joining in January, and will hopefully act to kickstart his Rovers career.

A draw drags Rovers out of the relegation zone, moving into 21st. Stoke’s stuttering form sees them drop to 5th position.

Hull City 1-0 Sheffield United

Just one win in five had seen Sergej Jakirovic’s Hull side begin to slip down the table, with the Tigers’ free-scoring attack being neutralised by their leaky defence. As for Sheffield United, well, fair to say Blades fans are still waiting for Chris Wilder’s re-appointment to bear fruit. They did finally manage a win a couple of weeks ago, but that was immediately followed by yet another defeat.

And defeat they would taste again at the MKM stadium – also yet another match where they would fail to score, keeping their overall goals scored tally at a dismal three. This is significantly less than any other team in the league – the next lowest is actually Rovers, with seven. Wonderful. Anyhow, this match was won by a single goal from Hull in the 30th minute. A long ball out to the flank was then crossed into the area by Lewie Coyle, and a half-volley from David Akintola was deflected into the net. Hull substitute Semi Ajayi did give the Blades a lifeline as he recklessly raked the back of Danny Ings’ heel in the area, giving United a spot kick. Harrison Burrows’ penalty was low and in the corner, but was crucially missing any real power. Hull keeper Ivor Pandur guessed the right way and held onto the ball for good measure. An almighty goalmouth scramble was yet another opportunity that passed Sheffield United by, and it meant that Hull not only won the match, but kept just their second home clean sheet in twenty-six games. With that said, if they were going to keep a clean sheet against anybody right now, it would be Sheffield United.

Three points moves Hull up to 15th, whilst yet another defeat keeps Sheffield United at the bottom of the pile.

Sheffield Wednesday 0-5 Coventry

Not much has changed on the ownership front for the Owls – in fact, very much same old, same old, as once again their players have been paid late. Despite this, they had managed to pick up five points from the last nine available. Coventry have been on fire as of late, unbeaten in the league and having won their last two matches. They knew a win today could well take them to the top of the table.

The Sky Blues are the league’s top scorers, by a massive margin, and they put poor Sheffield Wednesday to the sword here. By the end of this match Coventry had scored a whopping 27 goals from just 9 matches. Ipswich and Bristol City are next, some way behind with 15 goals each. After smashing Millwall 4-0 in midweek, it took Coventry less than three minutes to go ahead in this one. Brandon Thomas-Asante’s header from a corner ricocheted in off Wednesday’s Max Lowe, although Thomas-Asante was credited with the goal. On the ten minute mark a small number of Sheffield Wednesday supporters entered the field of play to protest, making their point to applause from both their own fans and the visitors’. In the 33rd minute Wednesday would lose possession on the edge of their own box, allowing Thomas-Asante to intelligently fire the ball into the bottom corner for his second of the match and fifth of the season. Coventry’s third goal from Hadji Wright, his eighth of the season, was very clearly offside, adding insult to injury for the Owls. The fourth was a simple tap in from Ellis Simms in the 68th minute, and the final goal in the 75th minute saw Sheffield Wednesday fail to clear their lines from an inswinging free kick, and Japanese winger Tatsuhiro Sakamoto took advantage to score his first goal of the season.

Defeat leaves Wednesday in 23rd, whilst this resounding victory was indeed enough to see Coventry displace Middlesbrough at the top of the table.

Bristol City 1-2 QPR

After a solid start to the season, Gerhard Struber has seen his Bristol City side fall away from the playoff places as their form has taken a hit – they came into this match having not won in three. QPR, on the other hand, are very much on the up. Eleven points from the last fifteen available has been an impressive return for the Hoops, and seen them surge up the table.

Things started fairly well for the Robins, going in at half time a goal ahead thanks to a fourth goal of the campaign for Emil Riis. The Danish centre-forward was left unmarked after an overhit ball found Neto Borges at the back post, and Borges placed the ball perfectly on Riis’ head to open the scoring. Poor defending from Bristol City, failing to get the ball clear of their area, allowed QPR substitute Harvey Vale to set up striker Richard Kone to slam the ball into the roof of the net. That was in the 66th minute, and eighteen minutes later the comeback was complete as a hanging cross into the box from Jimmy Dunne met the head of Paul Smyth, whose looping header found the side of the net. Just a second defeat of the season for Bristol City, whilst QPR now have four wins from their last six matches.

Defeat sees Bristol City drop further, now in 10th place. Victory for QPR, on the back of a very impressive run, sees them enter the playoff places in 6th.

Derby County 1-1 Southampton

The Rams have just one win this season, and that was an away victory, so the fans at Pride Park are still waiting to celebrate their team picking up three points at home this season. Will Still’s Southampton side picked up a much needed second win of the season midweek at charitable Sheffield United, but their recent form still read just one win in five games. Of the newly relegated teams, the Saints have been by far the least impressive in the early stages of the campaign.

One has to assume questions are being asked of Saints’ young boss Still as they once again dropped points here. A very early goal in the 7th minute appeared to set Southampton onto the right path. Adam Armstrong somehow managed to run through a mass of Derby players in the area - as if they were holograms or ghosts - and drilled the ball into the corner for his third goal of the campaign. Derby were level five minutes before the break, however. Southampton were caught sleeping as Derby took a throw-in, reacting slowly and allowing Andreas Weimann to dart towards the box and then chip in a dangerous ball for Patrick Agyemang to head home – his first Derby goal. The second half was an open, end-to-end game, but both keepers earned their money and then some by producing multiple excellent saves to keep the score at one-a-piece.

Derby are in 20th position, Southampton sit in 17th.

Millwall 3-0 West Brom

A recent run of one win in their last five matches has seen Millwall begin to drop down the table, with a mixed start to the current campaign. West Brom aren’t too dissimilar, having two wins but also two defeats in their last five matches.

It was the Lions who took total control at the Den, putting their 4-0 home humbling by Coventry behind them as they recorded a resounding and deserved victory here. Millwall’s first goal came in the 18th minute, as a cross from Femi Azeez was prodded into the net by Millwall captain Jake Cooper. Azeez would switch from provider to scorer next, as he hit an incredible long-range curling effort into the far corner of the net to put Millwall two ahead. Zak Sturge wrapped up proceedings in the 72nd minute, with a counter-attack cutting Albion open and allowing left-back Sturge to hammer home his first goal of the season. Post-match Ryan Mason called this his team’s worst performance of the season so far, and it’s not hard to see why.

A win helps Millwall into 8th place, with West Brom falling to 7th after a third defeat in five games.

Portsmouth 1-0 Middlesbrough

Portsmouth have entered into a somewhat concerning run of form as of late, with just two points from their last twelve available, and even suffering the embarrassment of being the only team thus far to be beaten by the division’s crisis-club Sheffield Wednesday. Boro have had an amazing start to the season, but there have been signs of this slowing down, with three draws in their last four games. The division as a whole has been very fond of draws recently, mind.

Warning signs will be flashing even brighter now for Rob Edwards, as his team suffered their first defeat of the season at Fratton Park. In the 23rd minute an overhit cross was picked up by Pompey right-back Jordan Williams – he then passed towards Spurs loanee Yang Min-hyeok, and the South Korean expertly finished for his second goal of the season. Boro failed to make any concerted effort to respond, and this must go down as their most disappointing performance of the season thus far, as they lost their unbeaten record with little more than a whimper.

Portsmouth climb to 14th with a first win in five games. Boro lose top spot, falling behind Coventry and now sitting in 2nd.

Preston 2-0 Charlton

Not many would have predicted such a positive start to the season for Preston North End. Just one defeat in their first nine games meant that the Lilywhites were riding high going into this game. Charlton haven’t been doing too badly themselves, with their last four games yielding a respectable eight points.

After a goalless and frankly dull first half, it was Preston left-back Thierry Small who opened the scoring in the 67th minute. Having moved on a free transfer in the summer from the Addicks, he was predictably booed throughout the contest by the away fans, but had the last laugh – as is so often the case with returning players. Almost like the jeering gives former players extra motivation and may actually be counter-productive. Hmm. Ultimately Charlton only had themselves to blame, as a bungled clearance allowed Small to score a deflected effort which looped over a helpless Thomas Kaminski into the Charlton net. Bournemouth loanee Daniel Jebbison would complete the scoring, sliding in to meet a cross from Alfie Devine and guide the ball home.

Preston move up to the dizzying heights of 4th, whilst Charlton drop back to 13th.

Swansea City 1-3 Leicester City

The Swans have picked up some fairly decent results recently, having lost just one of their last five games. Leicester haven’t been losing much – in fact, they have just one defeat to their name thus far – but four successive draws has seen them slowly drifting away from the automatic spots.

Foxes’ boss Marti Cifuentes had criticised his team after yet another draw in midweek, and his words seemed to have the desired effect as Leicester were ahead in this one after just 13 minutes. Swansea failed to clear a corner, leading to midfielder Jordan James curling in a superb effort from outside the box to give Leicester the lead. This was how it stayed until the 70th minute, when an unnecessary challenge inside the box from Leicester’s Belgian defender Wout Faes gave Swansea the opportunity to equalise from the spot. Adam Idah made no mistake, sending the keeper the wrong way. Refusing to accept yet another draw, the Foxes’ restored their advantage just seven minutes later. The Swansea defence politely allowed Leicester’s dynamic winger Abdul Fatawu to run at them uncontested, and he thanked them by firing the ball into the top corner of the net. A third would follow in the 85th minute, as a Leicester free kick somewhat fortuitously bounced into the right place for defender Jannik Vestergaard to head in from close range.

A rare home defeat for Swansea leaves them in 12th, whilst a return to winning ways for Leicester sees them jump to 3rd – just two points behind Boro.

Watford 2-1 Oxford United

After a below average start to the season, Watford gave themselves a small base to build on, having gotten four points from the last six available. Oxford have been struggling, with just one win from nine games thus far leaving them constantly hovering in and around the relegation zone.

The U’s struggles continued here, as they would suffer their second defeat in three games. The afternoon actually started for them in the best possible way, as they went ahead after just three minutes. A corner was fired into the area, and it sliced off the foot of Watford’s Max Alleyne and into his own net. Unfortunate and largely blameless as far as the young centre-back is concerned, but not the best start for the Hornets. They would, however, turn the game on its head just before the break. In the 45th minute a deep cross was scrambled in by Watford right-back Jeremy Ngakia, despite Oxford keeper Jamie Cumming’s desperate attempts to keep the ball out. In the fourth minute of added time in the first period, Ngakia would score again – this time directly from a corner, as his inswinging attempt befuddled Oxford’s Cumming and went over the line before he could scramble it away. It was Ngakia’s first two goals of the season, and no doubt completely changed Paolo Pezzolano and Gary Rowett’s half-time team talks. No more goals came in the second half, however.

Watford climb to 11th, and Oxford drop back into the relegation zone in 22nd.

Ipswich Town 3-1 Norwich City

Norwich have held somewhat of a hoodoo over Ipswich in recent times, with it having been fourteen long years since Ipswich had last tasted victory in the East Anglian derby. Even during their promotion season two years ago, Ipswich had not been able to beat the Canaries home or away. This was as good a time as any to break that curse, however, as Ipswich had won two of their last three games whilst Norwich had tasted defeat in two of their last four games, drawing the other two.

A slightly nervous opening to the game saw a feeling out process occur for the first half an hour or so, before centre-back Cedric Kipre broke the deadlock. A corner found its way to the Ivory Coast international, and he duly thumped it in to ecstatic celebrations in the crowd. Just two minutes later, however, Ipswich fans’ joy was cut short. Norwich’s Danish attacking midfielder Oscar Schwartau restored parity, with a deflected effort from just outside the box finding its way past Ipswich keeper Alex Palmer. The first half had not seen all of its destined goals yet, though. Nine minutes later Jaden Philogene would once again remind everybody why Ipswich paid £20m for him last season. Allow this man a sight of goal and he will punish you - as Norwich duly found out. Philogene thundered in a spectacular effort from thirty yards – a goal worthy of any derby match – and ensured renewed delirium in the home stands. A fifth goal in four games for Philogene, and one of many powerful goals he’s registered recently. In the 74th minute Ipswich brought on three players, including Chilean midfielder Marcelino Nunez – a former Norwich player bought by Ipswich for £10m in August. The script was written and sure enough, a threaded ball through the centre from Nunez gave fellow substitute Jack Clarke the perfect opportunity to make it 3-1 and put the game beyond Norwich. Of course, it was Nunez’s first assist for his new club. Written in the stars.

A first win against Norwich in fourteen years sees Ipswich move into 9th place, just two points from the playoff positions. A third defeat in four games – and probably the most demoralising of the lot from Norwich fans’ perspective – sees the Canaries fall to 19th. The international break leaves Liam Manning with much to ponder.   

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