
Results:
Charlton Athletic 1 Queens Park Rangers 0
Preston North End 1 Cardiff City 3
Swansea City 0 Luton Town 1
Barnsley 0 Millwall 0
Derby County 2 Reading 1
Birmingham City 3 Hull City 3
Leeds United 3 Fulham 0
Stoke City 0 Middlesbrough 2
Wigan Athletic 2 Blackburn Rovers 0
Round-up:
The Championship action began today with a significant clash in the fight for the final promotion play-off spot, as Preston North End hosted Cardiff City. In the end, it was Cardiff who prevailed as they recorded a 3-1 win, thanks to 3 second half goals from Joe Ralls, Nathaniel Mendez-Laing and Robert Glatzel. As a result, Cardiff have moved into the final play-off spot at the expense of their opponents. As for Cardiff's Welsh rivals, Swansea City suffered a 1-0 defeat at home to Luton Town, who themselves earned a vital 3 points in their bid to avoid relegation thanks to a James Collins goal. This victory enabled Luton Town to move off the bottom of the table, as Barnsley were held to a goalless draw by Millwall. In the relegation battle, Charlton Athletic recorded a second successive 1-0 victory, this time at home to London rivals Queens Park Rangers thanks to a 12th minute goal from Darren Pratley. Derby County kept their hopes of making it into the promotion play-offs alive, as they recorded a 2-1 win at home to Reading thanks to goals from Tom Lawrence and Wayne Rooney, the latter scoring from the penalty spot. Andy Rinomhota bagged what proved to be a mere consolation for Reading. It was match which saw both sides reduced to 10 men, as Tom Lawrence and Matt Miazga were sent off for Derby County and Reading respectively.
In what was a crucial clash in the race for promotion to the Premier League, Leeds United hosted Fulham. In the end, Leeds recorded a resouding 3-0 triumph thanks to goals from Patrick Bamford, Ezgjan Alioski and Jack Harrison. As a result, Leeds moved to the Championship summit at the expense of West Bromwich Albion, who yesterday were beaten 1-0 away at Brentford - and it is fair to say that Fulham's automatic promotion chances have been drastically reduced, if not killed off entirely. Wigan Athletic continued their impressive run of form which has seen them move out of the relegation zone, as they recorded 2-0 win at home to Blackburn Rovers thanks to two late goals from Lee Evans and Michael Jacobs. In their battle to avoid relegation, Hull City blew away a 2-0 lead to draw 3-3 away at Birmingham City. Goals inside the opening quarter of an hour from Josh Magennis and James Scott helped Hull race into a two-goal lead, before goals in the first 15 minutes of the second half from Gary Gardner and Dan Crowley brought the score back to 2-2. Herbie Kane put Hull City back in front in the 67th minute, before Gary Gardner bagged his second goal of the game in the 88th minute to salvage a point for Birmingham. Neil Warnock could not have wished for a better start to his tenure as Middlesbrough manager, as his new side recorded a 2-0 win away at relegation rivals Stoke City thanks to goals from Ashley Fletcher and Marcus Tavernier either side of the interval.
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