Championship takeaways: Coventry back on track as Millwall advances – analysis of weekend action | Soccer News

Coventry back on track for promotion

Bristol City 0-2 Coventry

And just like that, Coventry City looks inevitable once again. A few weeks ago, they lost a lead and tied a game they should have won.

No more. Bristol City got a goal, but Joel Latibaudiere’s red card suddenly left them down to 10 men.

A month ago, in uncertain circumstances, this would not have been three points for Coventry City. But a few minutes later Haji Wright ran through to make it 2-0.

Shortly after half-time, Adam Randell committed the cardinal sin of restoring equality on the pitch by being sent off.

With 10 games remaining, they are 9 points behind third place. It’s hard to imagine that resulting in anything other than promotion for Frank Lampard’s Sky Blues.
Simeon Gollum

Millwall’s Premier League dream continues

Hull 1-3 Millwall

It appeared to be a one-way street at the MKM Stadium, but despite the run of the game, Millwall dug deep to claim the automatic promotion spot.

After Jake Cooper’s shock opener with Millwall’s first shot of the game was canceled out by Joe Gerhardt, only one team looked set to take the three points.

Hull had a total of 23 shots on the Millwall goal, the most in a Championship season, with two hitting the bar.

Kyle Joseph will also be feeling a bit bad about having his header canceled after a questionable foul in the box in the first half.

Another day, Hull marched towards victory. Instead, Millwall have won seven of their last 10 games.

Beating Ipswich and Middlesbrough to finish in the top two is no mean feat, but the dream of qualifying for the Premier League for the first time in the club’s history remains alive with 10 games remaining.
Patrick Lowe

Ipswich may never be a team that has all their roles this season

Ipswich 1-1 Leicester

Perhaps with 11 games left, it’s time to accept that we won’t be seeing the Ipswich Town team we all expected this season.

That doesn’t mean they aren’t good, but they still have a good chance of finishing in the top two. But every campaign has told the story that eventually the Tractor Boys will hit the ground running and maximize the value the team clearly has.

It’s a story that hasn’t happened yet. We are now in March, but it is still less than the total of each part.

This was highlighted in the 1-1 draw with Leicester, who are in the bottom three, when they should have finished the game. We had an advantage, we had a chance, and we missed a chance.

Now that we were all expecting more, it could be the playoffs.
Simeon Gollum

Hackney is too good for the championship

QPR 0-4 Middlesbrough

Watching Hayden Hackney lead Middlesbrough to a 4-0 victory over QPR felt a bit unfair to the other teams in the division. Not because there is a lack of quality in the Championship, which is definitely not the case, but because Hackney appears to be operating on a different tactical and technical wavelength than the rest of the players on the pitch. This wasn’t just a good midfield performance. It was a mid-table performance at Premier League level.

The headline moment was his goal. Hackney picked up the ball in the box and looked as if he might barely take a step, but he fired a stunning shot into the top corner. It was clean, controlled, and delivered with a casual confidence that suggested he had seen the painting long before others realized it was developing.

That’s how Hackney rolls.

He slowed the pace when Middlesbrough wanted to take control. When the moment came to accelerate through the midfield, he made a pass near the line.

He went into the air when QPR tried to put pressure on him.

And that’s the situation for Hackney right now, making the game look easy for him. It’s not a question of if he will play in the Premier League, but when.
lewis jones

On Wednesday, he refused to throw in the towel despite losing again.

Derby 2-1 Chef Wedo

It was perhaps unsurprising that Derby remained firmly in the play-off contention with a professional win at Pride Park, so it feels like a nod to Sheffield Wednesday to make the most of these words.

I’ve seen far better players in far less hopeless positions throw in the towel given their predicament, but despite a 13-game losing streak in the Championship and 30 games without a win in the league, there was no evidence of that.

Head coach Henrik Pedersen has maintained incredible calm throughout an almost uniquely difficult campaign, cultivating a spirit in a meager squad to remain committed to a frankly outstanding away support despite the chaos and uncertainty overhead. Whatever the players’ motivation on Wednesday, they were intent on regaining their first away points since December.

Unfortunately for them, a resolute and well-organized Derby side stood their ground and moved within three points of Wrexham after goals from Ben Brereton-Diaz and Matt Clarke canceled out former Derby forward Gerry Yates’ equaliser.

But Wednesday’s fight continued, and there may be some units around the country that can take note of this continued act of defiance.
rob jones

Oxford begins to see light at the end of the tunnel

Preston 1-3 Oxford

Matt Bloomfield took charge of Oxford on January 9, with the club perched three points out of the Championship and hungry for a win. Eight of the previous 10 games had been lost or tied.

On 24 January, they defeated Leicester 2–1 at the King Power Stadium, but there were six more games before their next match. The writing seemed to be on the wall. They were facing the risk of relegation.

However, they defeated fellow strugglers West Brom last Saturday and ahead of Friday’s trip to Preston, Bloomfield told Sky Sports: “If we focus on what we can control and continue to improve every day, I believe we can get the points we need.”

In Deepdale they caused a shock. Milutin Osmajic canceled out Michal Helik’s opener to equalize for Preston, but goals from Spurs loanee Will Lankshear and Kiaron Brown turned the game on its head.

It’s the perfect time to secure their first back-to-back wins of the season, and with 10 games remaining, Oxford know what they have to do to extend their stay in the second tier for another season.
Dan Long

Not enough points at Ewood Park

Blackburn 1-1 Portsmouth

Blackburn and Portsmouth are in the middle of a relegation battle with six teams battling to avoid dropping into Sky Bet League One.

Therefore, it is expected that there will be little chance of winning in a match between the two.

Is it because of the high stakes or the lack of quality going forward? It’s almost certainly the latter. It took 84 minutes for the first shot on target, from Conor Ogilvie, to give Pompey the lead.

At that point, John Mousinho’s side were seven points clear of the relegation zone, giving them a comfortable cushion heading into the final week of the season. But Hayden Carter then headed home to give Michael O’Neill’s side another point.

To add insult to injury, Carter is a former Pompey player who made 22 appearances for Fratton Park during his loan spell in 2021/22.

In truth, neither team deserved more than a point and the likes of West Brom and Leicester would have breathed a sigh of relief and delighted when the equalizer hit the net. One point should never be taken lightly in this division, but three points would have been huge.
Dan Long

Full Championship Weekend Results

Friday

Saturday

Sunday