Championship Round-Up - Week 43

Elliot: Scores for Sunderland at Ipswich

The Latics went into the weekend in second place, ahead of third placed Ipswich on goal difference. They have come out the other side clear of their rivals by two points and now know that two wins a draw from their final three games will see the Latics promoted.

Two goals from on loan striker Brett Ormerod were enough to seal all three points in what turned out to be a comfortable win for Paul Jewell’s men.

The only sour point was the refusal of the referee to send wither McCarthey or Tiatto off despite a large number of fouls by the pair after receiving yellow cards.

In the Sunday kick off, Ipswich took on Sunderland and needed to win to keep pace with the Latics. The game was a 2-2 draw with goals from Naylor and Bent for Ipswich with Elliot and Robinson goals sandwiched in between.

Sunderland appeared to have the game sewn up with just five minutes remaining but a Darren Bent strike in the last minute kept Ipswich’s hopes alive.

David Nugent: Eighth Goal for North End since his £150,000 move

Preston North End kept up their impressive recent form with a 3-0 victory over struggling Cardiff City. Second half goals from Nugent (2) and Cresswell kept North End firmly in the play-off zone.

The Bluebird’s meanwhile sit on the brink of relegation. They sit joint on points with Brighton who are in the last relegation spot, and the two clubs are only separated by goal difference.

Derby County faced Sheffield United in the Friday night kick off and were lucky to go home with a 1-0 by all accounts.

Adam Bolder should have been sent off for a two footed lunge on United skipper Chris Morgan. The challenge amazingly went unpunished by the referee. Neil Warnock unsurprisingly was furious and called for Bolder and the referee to be banned.

Derby however have now won four of their last six and look a good bet for the playoffs.

Another side chasing the playoffs, Reading, all but ended Nottingham Forest’s slim hopes of staying up. The Royals won the game 1-0 with Dave Kitson getting the goal, his 19^th of the season.

Forest are now six points adrift of safety with just three games left whilst Reading are four points clear of West Ham in the last playoff birth.

Saturday’s noon kick off ended in a 1-1 draw between West Ham and Millwall. Barry Halyes had put Dennis Wise’s men in front with his strike after just twelve minutes. Marlon Harewood equalised for the Hammers ten minutes before the break, and that’s how that game finished, leaving the Hammers four points outside the playoffs.

Ipswich’s next opponents, Leeds United, faced Wigan’s next opponents, Q.P.R. in a mid-table clash. Neither side had much to play for but pride and the game finished 1-1 with goals from Johnson for Leeds and Gallen for Rangers.

Next weekend, the Tractor Boys travel to Elland Road to face Leeds while the Latics host Q.P.R. in the latest instalment of the promotion race.

Glenn Hoddle’s Wolves side, victors over Ipswich on Monday, faced local rivals Coventry City who face a real threat of relegation. The Sky Blues managed to scrape a point however with a last minute goal from Stern John.

Clarke had initially put the Wolves in front before Gary McSheffrey equalised for Micky Adams men from the spot. Lee Naylor then scored with just ten minutes remaining and felt he had sealed all three points for his side, but Stern John managed a last minute strike to lift Coventry up to 18^th, and two points away from the drop.

Ade Akinbiyi: His first goal at Turf Moor since his £600,000 transfer

Burnley who’s fans are again faced with a season that is petering out into nothingness, took on Brighton who are battling for their lives at the foot of the table.

The game ended in a 1-1 draw. Ade Akinbiyi had put the Clarets in front after 23 minutes but Hammond brought the game level shortly after half time for Seagulls.

Burnley threatened to make the playoffs earlier in the season but a lack of strength in depth and the sale of Robbie Blake has seen their challenge melt away.

Stoke City, another side who threatened to make the playoffs but for a distinct lack of goals, put two past Plymouth yesterday. Jones and Russell goals in the first half were enough for the Potters who certainly have nothing to play for but pride.

Watford managed to take all three points from Rotherham, Heidar Helguson’s first half goal was enough to sink the division’s worst side.

Finally, and Crewe managed to take a point from the Preistfield Stadium against Gillingham. Goals from David Vaughan for Crewe and Nicky Southall for Gillingham meant that neither side came out on top in this relegation six pointer. Both clubs would now appear safe, barring good results from Cardiff and Brighton.

Weekend Results

	Burnley	(1)	1	Brighton & Hove Albion	(0)	1	11,611
	Coventry City	(1)	2	Wolverhampton Wanderers	(1)	2	19,412
	Gillingham	(0)	1	Crewe Alexandra	(0)	1	10,315
	Leicester City	(0)	0	Wigan Athletic	(1)	2	23,894
	Preston North End	(0)	3	Cardiff City	(0)	0	15,141
	Queens Park Rangers	(0)	1	Leeds United	(1)	1	18,182
	Reading	(0)	1	Nottingham Forest	(0)	0	17,905
	Rotherham United	(0)	0	Watford	(1)	1	5,438
	Stoke City	(2)	2	Plymouth Argyle	(0)	0	13,017
	West Ham United	(1)	1	Millwall	(1)	1	28,221

Current League Table

Last game played on Sunday17th April 2005		Pld		Home						Away						Overall						Pts	GD
				W	D	L	F	A		W	D	L	F	A		W	D	L	F	A
1	Sunderland	43		14	4	3	42	20		12	3	7	29	19		26	7	10	71	39		85	+32
2	Wigan Athletic	43		12	4	5	39	14		12	6	4	36	19		24	10	9	75	33		82	+42
3	Ipswich Town	43		16	3	3	48	25		7	8	6	30	28		23	11	9	77	53		80	+25
4	Preston North End	43		14	6	2	43	21		7	5	9	21	31		21	11	11	64	52		74	+12
5	Derby County	42		8	7	6	33	29		12	3	6	31	23		20	10	12	64	52		70	+12
6	Reading	43		13	7	2	32	13		6	6	9	17	24		19	13	11	49	37		70	+12
7	West Ham United	42		12	5	5	35	22		7	4	9	25	29		19	9	14	60	51		66	+9
8	Sheffield United	43		9	7	6	28	22		9	5	7	27	29		18	12	13	55	51		66	+4
9	Millwall	43		11	4	6	31	21		5	7	10	17	23		16	11	16	48	44		59	+4
10	Leeds United	43		7	8	6	27	25		7	8	7	21	24		14	16	13	48	49		58	-1
11	Stoke City	42		11	2	8	22	16		5	8	8	12	19		16	10	16	34	35		58	-1
12	Queens Park Rangers	42		9	7	6	30	25		7	3	10	22	29		16	10	16	52	54		58	-2
13	Wolverhampton Wanderers	43		7	11	3	34	24		5	10	7	30	32		12	21	10	64	56		57	+8
14	Burnley	42		8	7	6	22	19		5	7	9	12	19		13	14	15	34	38		53	-4
15	Plymouth Argyle	43		9	6	6	30	22		5	3	14	21	39		14	9	20	51	61		51	-10
16	Leicester City	41		6	7	7	20	19		4	12	5	24	24		10	19	12	44	43		49	+1
17	Watford	43		5	9	7	24	23		6	6	10	26	34		11	15	17	50	57		48	-7
18	Coventry City	43		7	7	8	26	26		5	5	11	27	42		12	12	19	53	68		48	-15
19	Gillingham	43		10	5	7	21	22		2	7	12	21	39		12	12	19	42	61		48	-19
20	Crewe Alexandra	43		5	8	8	35	35		6	6	10	28	43		11	14	18	63	78		47	-15
21	Cardiff City	42		8	4	9	21	19		3	9	9	22	30		11	13	18	43	49		46	-6
22	Brighton & Hove Albion	43		7	5	9	21	26		5	5	12	15	36		12	10	21	36	62		46	-26
23	Nottingham Forest	43		6	9	6	23	26		2	7	13	15	36		8	16	19	38	62		40	-24
24	[R] Rotherham United	43		2	7	13	17	33		3	6	12	18	33		5	13	25	35	66		28	-31