Sheffield Wednesday, Rotherham United and Brentford all starred in the latest Championship game-week in fixtures that impacted both ends of the division.
Sheffield Wednesday, Rotherham United and Brentford Star in the Championship
Sheffield Wednesday Inflict Further Damage on Declining Cherries
Sheffield Wednesday earned a vital three points on the South Coast with a 2-1 win against an AFC Bournemouth side who are now hanging on to the final playoff spot.
The visitors were gifted the lead moments before half-time, when Chris Mepham carelessly gave possession away in his own area, allowing Callum Paterson to squeeze the ball under Asmir Begovic rather unusually. However, Bournemouth regrouped well and started the second half on the front foot, winning a penalty in the 66th minute, after Sam Surridge was brought down by Sam Hutchinson. Junior Stanislas fired home the subsequent spot-kick – a goal that saw the entire balance of the game shift with the Cherries in the ascendancy. But, it was the relegation-threatened Owls who scored an eventual winner in the 90th minute, when Jordan Rhodes headed in from Kadeem Harris‘ inch-perfect cross.
Bournemouth’s fourth consecutive loss ended Jason Tindall’s short tenure at the helm and leaves the Cherries in a vulnerable sixth position. They will be very concerned by the chasing pack forming just behind them. For Wednesday, the win took them to within three points of Nottingham Forest in 21st and could prove to be a vital result in the long run.
Millers Comfortably See Off Fellow Strugglers Derby County
Sheffield Wednesday’s victory over Bournemouth the night before piled the pressure on Rotherham United, who had dropped a place to 23rd. However, the anxiety of dropping a place seemingly spurred the Millers on to produce one of their best performances to date, cruising to a 3-0 win over Derby County, who just cannot escape a relegation battle.
Both sides squandered early chances to take the lead, but the deadlock was finally broken in the 76th minute when Michael Ihiekwe tapped home from inside the six-yard box. Michael Smith made it two, five minutes later, poking in Matt Crooks‘ clever cross into the box. Substitute Ryan Giles sealed the victory in the 88th minute, firing low past David Marshall after a fine solo run from the January signing.
Victory for Rotherham sees them just two points below Birmingham City who occupy 21st place, and the Yorkshire club still have two games in hand. Derby also sit on the same points as the Blues and have played the same amount of games too, meaning a Rotherham win in any of their two games in hand, would push them out of the relegation zone and above both of their relegation rivals.
Brentford Come Out Victorious in Five-Goal Thriller
The Brentford Community Stadium is becoming a venue for high-scoring affairs as the Bees extended their unbeaten run to 19 in a 3-2 win over play-off chasing Bristol City.
Zak Vyner opened the scoring for the Bees after just three minutes, with the centre-back converting from Jack Hunt‘s free-kick. The Bees were then level in the 27th minute, with Sergi Canos volleying home after Tariqe Fosu‘s driven effort was palmed straight into the path of the Spanish winger. The hosts took the lead in the 50th minute, when Ivan Toney netted his 20th goal of the season, after brilliant work from Fosu on the right-wing. Saman Ghoddos added a third in the 65th minute, finding the back of the net after his first effort had hit the crossbar. Nakhi Wells added a late consolation goal when he latched onto Tyreeq Bakinson‘s clever through ball, but Brentford hung on to a very important win.
The three points for the Bees see them leapfrog Swansea City into second place, and now sit just four points below Norwich City at the Championship summit with a game in hand. The Robins’ sixth straight away defeat means that they remain three points off the play-off positions, and will be looking forward to three home games in their next four fixtures.
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