Cardiff City, Huddersfield Town and Stoke City all secured impressive home wins in the latest Championship game-week. While wins for the Bluebirds and Potters applied pressure on the top six places, the Terriers ended a run of eight games without a win by dominating the division’s tightest defence.
Cardiff City, Huddersfield Town and Stoke City Impress in Latest Championship Game-Week
Bluebirds Maintain Pressure on Championship Play-Offs
Cardiff continued their brilliant turn of form since Mick McCarthy took charge with a scintillating performance and a subsequent 4-0 victory against Preston North End.
The home side took the lead after just two minutes, with Kieffer Moore netting his 14th goal of the season from the penalty spot. Josh Murphy consolidated his sides lead by adding a second a minute after half time, firing into the bottom corner with his weaker left foot. Marlon Pack added a third in the 70th minute, capitalising on a defensive mix-up and seemingly killing the game off before second-half substitute Mark Harris completed the victory
With Bournemouth losing, the Bluebirds are just three points below the play-offs and are now the division’s most in-form side. For Preston, they are again as far from the play-offs as they are from the relegation places and are beginning to struggle once again.
Huddersfield Town Shock Division’s Clean Sheet Specialists
Carlos Coberan’s Huddersfield put an end to their recent torrid form with a 4-1 win against a Swansea City side, who had only conceded 16 goals prior to their visit to Yorkshire.
Fraizer Campbell gave the hosts the lead in the 22nd minute, before Conor Hourihane‘s free-kick levelled the scoring in the 45th minute. Four minutes into the second half, Lewis O’Brien regained Huddersfield’s advantage, firing low past Freddie Woodman with a powerful effort from 25 yards. Duane Holmes then scored twice in three minutes to secure the three points, with the first a clinical finish from inside the area, following a well worked Terriers move. The second was a stunning strike from outside of the area, with his effort finding the top corner.
A win for Huddersfield distances the club from the relegation zone, with the Championship drop emerging as a real possibility in recent weeks. For Swansea, they missed an opportunity to regain a spot in the automatic promotion places, but remain just a point from second place, with two games in hand.
Stoke City Cruise to Victory Against Luton Town
Stoke ended a run of nine games without a win during midweek, before recording a second victory in quick succession, beating Luton Town 3-0.
Nick Powell scored the opening goal of the game in the 2oth minute, tapping into an empty net after Steven Fletcher capitalised on some poor defending from Luton captain Sonny Bradley. The former Manchester United midfielder added his second in the 63rd minute, heading in from Joe Allen‘s deep cross into the box. Fletcher then scored the easiest goal of his career with 15 minutes to go, passing the ball into the net, following a defensive error from Glen Rea.
Despite their poor record before their two latest wins, the Potters are just four points from the play-offs and they will be hopeful of securing top six status in the coming weeks. For the Hatters, they have now only scored three goals in eight games and a relegation scrap could very well be on the cards.
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