Middlesbrough pay for profligacy again as Ipswich close gap

Middlesbrough 1-1 Bristol City
Sheffield Wednesday 0-2 Ipswich

If you had watched the demolition at QPR last Sunday, you would barely believe the way the next two games have gone for Middlesbrough.

Having put the Hoops to the sword at Loftus Road, they have followed it up with just a point from very appealing-looking home games against Charlton and Bristol City. A total of 53 shots across them resulted in just one Leo Castledine goal on Saturday, which was cancelled out late on by Adam Randell’s header.

Boro will probably be looking forward to getting back on the road next Saturday at Blackburn. They have won five of their last six away, and scored seven goals in the last two of those.

“Of course, it hurts to concede when we did, but in my role, you have to look at the performance and the things we are doing well,” said boss Kim Hellberg after the game. “I think that the way we play is the most important thing to talk about.”

Performances are important, but we are at the results end of the season. And a damaging few days have handed the impetus to the chasing pack.

Mainly Ipswich Town. Who found a way past Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday to close the gap as all around them faltered. They are now two points behind Boro with a game in hand.

This promotion race is going to the wire.
Simeon Gholam

Millwall suffer unexpected painful blow in promotion race

Millwall 1-2 Blackburn

In May 2023, Millwall capitulated from 3-1 up at half-time at home to Blackburn to lose 4-3 and agonisingly miss out on a play-off place on the final day of the season.

Almost three years on, Blackburn have hit Millwall’s promotion hopes with a second-half turnaround at the Den again.

With the Lions 1-0 ahead against their bottom-half opponents, they looked primed to capitalise on Middlesbrough’s second slip-up of the week with a fifth win in a row. Never mind the play-offs, second and an automatic spot beckoned.

But Zak Sturge’s controversial sending-off – “It’s not a red card” said Mike Dean on Soccer Saturday – proved the turning point.

With Ipswich and Middlesbrough their next two opponents, automatic promotion is still – incredibly – a possibility for Millwall and a play-off spot remains highly likely given the 11-point gap to seventh.

But this was a painful – and familiar – blow in their pursuit of promotion to the Premier League.
Peter Smith

Rare home defeat won’t concern Coventry

Coventry 1-2 Southampton

Coventry’s six-game winning streak came to an end with a rare home defeat to Southampton, but they won’t be concerned by the manner of the loss.

Frank Lampard’s side racked up 19 shots against the Saints, who are now 12 unbeaten and powering towards the play-offs, and were ultimately undone by Kuryu Matsuki’s fortunate winner.

It summed up a luckless day for Coventry in which Southampton goalkeeper Daniel Peretz made five saves, including a superb stop to deny Liam Kitching the opener in the first half.

The hosts responded well to falling behind to Flynn Downes’s tap-in at the start of the second half and went on to control the second half, yet failed to take their big chances.

Victor Torp’s late penalty gave Coventry hope and Brandon Thomas-Asante squandered a golden chance deep into added time to rescue what would have been a valuable point.

Middlesbrough conceding a stoppage-time equaliser to Bristol City would have eased Coventry’s pain after only their second home defeat of the season.

“We shouldn’t get too down about it,” said Lampard, and Coventry are still in pole position to reach the Premier League.
David Richardson

Wrexham bounce back with crucial win in play-off race… but Southampton are going nowhere

Wrexham 2-0 Swansea

Just as it looked like the door might have been opened for the chasing pack when Wrexham lost at home to Hull City in midweek, they bounced back brilliantly on Friday night.

Arthur Okonkwo was exceptional in goal as they beat Swansea, which would have done him the world of good after his remarkable blunder in the reverse fixture cost Wrexham dearly.

He made a brilliant save from Zan Vipotnik early on to keep things goalless, before Nathan Broadhead opened the scoring shortly afterwards.

So who can realistically catch them now? Southampton are the main chasers, and they proved they are going nowhere in the race as they won at Coventry a day later.

It was just the second time this season the Sky Blues had been beaten at home, to show how impressive a win it was.

A huge midweek is to come… Wrexham travel to Watford on Tuesday, while Southampton host Norwich on Wednesday.
Simeon Gholam

Leicester show fragilities again as they plunge further into trouble

Leicester 1-3 QPR

Confidence is fragile at Leicester City. This latest defeat will cast huge doubts on Gary Rowett’s ability to steer the club clear of back-to-back relegations.

A visit of QPR – winless and scoreless in four – provided a perfect opportunity for the Foxes to build on a crucial midweek victory over Bristol City.

Things look good following Jordan James’ thumping finish from range. But their collapse within 15 minutes to a side who had failed to score in nearly seven hours of football will be deeply concerning to Leicester supporters.

The lack of response was equally telling. By full-time the King Power stadium was half empty. Ten years ago, this club lifted the Premier League. A decade on, they face a huge battle to avoid playing in League One next season.

An unexpected victory for QPR breathes life back into a season which was threatening to implode. Julien Stephan can be proud with the spirit shown by his patched up side.
James Savundra

Stoke back to winning ways as Manhoef steals the show

Stoke 3-1 Watford

It was a dominant win for Stoke as they returned to winning ways. They controlled the game right from the off, dominating possession and forcing Watford onto the back foot.

They made that control count finally when Million Manhoef scored, capping a lively start from him. He later doubled their lead, with another well-taken goal.

Watford got a goal back through Nestory Irankunda, but any hopes of a comeback were short-lived as Sam Gallagher struck for the Potters.

Stoke have fallen away from play-off contention, but it was a welcome win for them. Just a second in 12 games.

For Watford, boss Ed Still admitted after the game that the failure to convert the chances they created was a massive source of frustration. This game could have also spelled the end of their own play-off hopes.
Kyle Walker

All Championship weekend results

Friday

Saturday