{"id":584429,"date":"2021-02-21T07:57:28","date_gmt":"2021-02-21T12:57:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/?p=584429"},"modified":"2021-02-21T07:57:28","modified_gmt":"2021-02-21T12:57:28","slug":"cardiff-city-huddersfield-town-and-stoke-city-star-in-latest-championship-game-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2021\/02\/21\/cardiff-city-huddersfield-town-and-stoke-city-star-in-latest-championship-game-week\/","title":{"rendered":"Cardiff City, Huddersfield Town and Stoke City Star in Latest Championship Game-Week"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cardiff City<\/a>, Huddersfield Town<\/a> and Stoke City<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

Cardiff City, Huddersfield Town and Stoke City Impress in Latest Championship Game-Week<\/h2>\n

Bluebirds Maintain Pressure on Championship Play-Offs<\/h3>\n

Cardiff continued their brilliant turn of form since Mick McCarthy took charge with a scintillating performance and a subsequent 4-0 victory<\/a> against Preston North End.<\/p>\n

The home side took the lead after just two minutes, with Kieffer Moore<\/a> netting his 14th goal of the season from the penalty spot. Josh Murphy<\/a> 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<\/a> 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<\/a> completed the victory<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Huddersfield Town Shock Division’s Clean Sheet Specialists<\/h3>\n

Carlos Coberan’s Huddersfield put an end to their recent torrid form with a 4-1 win<\/a> against a Swansea City<\/a> side, who had only conceded 16 goals prior to their visit to Yorkshire.<\/p>\n

Fraizer Campbell<\/a> gave the hosts the lead in the 22nd minute, before Conor Hourihane<\/a>‘s free-kick levelled the scoring in the 45th minute. Four minutes into the second half, Lewis O’Brien<\/a> regained Huddersfield’s advantage, firing low past Freddie Woodman with a powerful effort from 25 yards. Duane Holmes<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Stoke City Cruise to Victory Against Luton Town<\/h3>\n

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<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Nick Powell<\/a> scored the opening goal of the game in the 2oth minute, tapping into an empty net after Steven Fletcher<\/a> capitalised on some poor defending from Luton captain Sonny Bradley<\/a>. The former Manchester United<\/a> midfielder added his second in the 63rd minute, heading in from Joe Allen<\/a>‘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<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Main Photo
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>