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EFL Championship Good Friday round-up: Sheff Utd leapfrog Leeds back into second, Bolton relegated

Writer's picture: Andrew ZarbAndrew Zarb


Round-up:

In Good Friday's early kick-off, Bristol City's promotion play-off hopes took a hit after being held to a 1-1 draw by struggling Reading after Josh Brownhill's goal cancelled out Yakou Meite's goal which gave Reading the lead.

In another of Good Friday's early kick-offs, Sheffield United got their promotion hopes back on track after beating Nottingham Forest 2-0, thanks in part to the fact that Nottingham Forest played almost the entire second half with 10 men, after Yohan Benalouane was controversially sent-off. Mark Duffy and Enda Stevens ensured that Sheffield United took advantage of playing with a man more to seal a crucial victory. Leeds United (who played later than Sheffield United), the Blades' promotion rivals, failed to respond to the pressure, as they suffered a 2-1 defeat at home to Wigan Athletic, who had the worst record of any EFL team in the division and played for nearly 75 minutes of the match with 10 men. Pablo Hernandez missed a penalty for Leeds United early on, though not long after Patrick Bamford gave them the lead. However, a brace from Wigan's Gavin Massey sealed 3 vital points for the struggling Latics.

In the last of the early Good Friday kick-offs, struggling Millwall were held to a 1-1 draw by mid-table Brentford, with the former being leapfrogged by Wigan Athletic as a result of their shock win against Leeds, though they do still remain outside of the relegation zone. The team just below them in the table, Rotherham United suffered a 4-3 defeat away to Swansea City, with Oli McBurnie grabbing a brace for Swansea, coupled with goals from Barrie McKay and George Byers. In the relegation battle, it was a terrible day for Bolton Wanderers, whose relegation to League 1 was confirmed after goals from Jack Grealish and Tammy Abraham gave Aston Villa a 2-0 win, their 9th in a row. Meanwhile, already-relegated Ipswich Town suffered a 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Preston North End, thanks to a brace from Callum Robinson and another brace from Lukas Nmecha.

Middlesbrough gave their promotion play-off hopes a shot in the arm after they beat Stoke City 1-0 thanks to an early Britt Assombalonga goal. On the other hand, West Bromwich Albion all-but confirmed their place in the play-offs after coming from 2-1 down to beat Hull City, whose own promotion play-off hopes are all-but gone now, thanks to a Dwight Gayle brace. Derby County's promotion play-off hopes took a bit of a hit also as they were held to a 2-2 draw by Birmingham City, recently deducted 9 points for breach of Profitability and Sustainability rules. In a mid-table clash, Blackburn Rovers made it 3 consecutive victories after beating Queens Park Rangers 2-1 thanks to a Danny Graham penalty and a goal from Bradley Dack.

In Good Friday's late evening kick-off, Norwich City were held to a third consecutive draw, this time by Sheffield Wednesday. Arguably Wednesday's goalkeeper, Cameron Dawson, who deputised for Kieren Westwood after he got injured during the warm-up, should have been sent off inside the opening 8 minutes after he handled the ball outside the penalty area, but the referee opted to book him instead. Marco Stiepermann gave the Canaries with a well-drilled shot, however, Dawson possibly should have done better with the shot. Marco Forestieri cancelled out Norwich's lead with a goal of sublime quality, undoubtedly a goal of the season contender. If Sheffield Wednesday's first goal was a thing of beauty, their second was anything but, as striker Steven Fletcher bundled the ball in from barely 2 yards via the use of his arm and knee - a goal which should not have stood. It looked as though Sheffield Wednesday were going to inflict a first defeat on Norwich City since mid-February, though Mario Vrancic popped up in the 97th minute to score an absolutely brilliant free-kick to rescue the home side a point.


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