Blackpool 2 Leicester 1
Ian Holloway, the Leicester City manager, criticised his team after their inconsistency returned in this dismal defeat. Leicester had lost only once in their previous seven league games to climb away from danger, but Blackpool’s first win in five matches took them above Leicester and left Holloway’s men two places above the relegation zone. “We didn’t turn up for 45 minutes and I’m absolutely fuming,” he said. “I’m sick and tired that we take one step forward and then two back. We need to get back-to-back wins and we haven’t done that all season, which is a disgrace for a club this size.”
However, Simon Grayson, the Blackpool manager, hailed his team’s efforts after picking up a valuable win. “At this stage of the season, all that matters is results, so we’re delighted to get the three points,” he said.
Goalscorers: Blackpool: Taylor-Fletcher 3, Dickov 90 Leicester: Howard 62
Colchester 2 Sheffield Utd 2
Advertisement
Bryan Robson, the Sheffield United manager, insists that he is not feeling the pressure, despite his team managing only a draw away to Colchester United, the bottom club. David Carney’s goal earned the visiting team a point after they had fallen behind to second-half strikes from Kevin Lisbie and a deflected free kick by Johnnie Jackson after Luton Shelton’s opener. Robson said: “The players are right behind me and I don’t feel under any pressure. We’re not winning games that we deserve to win and we’re not killing teams off when we have the chances to.”
Geraint Williams, the Colchester manager, said that he was satisfied with a point but felt that his team could have taken all three. “The game could have gone either way, but I felt that if any team was going to win it, it would be us,” he said.
Goalscorers: Colchester: Lisbie 46, Armstrong 64 (og) Sheffield Utd: Shelton 45, Carney 66
Coventry 4 Barnsley 0
Iain Dowie was vindicated in his decision to reject offers for Leon Best after the striker’s two goals helped Coventry City to a convincing win. Coventry finally picked up their first points of the year thanks to an outstanding performance by Best, a player who looked set to leave the club for Nottingham Forest a week ago, and the Coventry manager felt that his determination to keep hold of the 21-year-old was justified. “I never wanted to sell Leon, he knows that,” Dowie said. “He put in a 90-minute display today and Barnsley found him too hot to handle.”
Advertisement
Simon Davey, the Barnsley manager, said that he was glad that his team did not have to play Dowie’s side very often. “They seem to be a bit of a bogey side at the moment,” Davey said. “Thank God we don’t play them every week.”
Goalscorers: Coventry: Best 37, 84, Gray 70, Tabb 75
Crystal Palace 1 Southampton 1
Stern John earned Southampton an unlikely draw and denied Crystal Palace a return to winning ways in a dour match. The Trinidad & Tobago striker cancelled out James Scowcroft’s goal as Southampton earned a fifth successive draw on the road. There was little quality on show from teams with supposed promotion aspirations, but the match came to life when Scowcroft struck, with Ben Watson twice hitting the woodwork for Palace before John snatched a draw for the managerless visiting team.
Scowcroft’s goal was created by Neil Danns, who was signed from Birmingham City last week. He found Scowcroft, who turned in the area and unleashed a clinical strike. But John was on hand to salvage a point for Southampton when he slid home Andrew Surman’s cross from the left.
Advertisement
Goalscorers: Crystal Palace: Scowcroft 73 Southampton: John 84
Norwich 1 Preston 0
Glenn Roeder paid tribute to his players after this win, which moved Norwich City eight points clear of the relegation zone. A superb strike by Darel Russell, the midfield player, took rapidly improving Norwich to within seven points of a play-offs position and had Roeder singing the praises of the men who have turned around the club’s fortunes since he took over in October. “From where we were at the end of October, to be eight points clear of the relegation places now is a magnificent achievement and I can’t praise the players highly enough,” the Norwich manager said. “We have moved up to 38 points and that’s down to a mixture of hard work, good play and tremendous team spirit.”
However, Alan Irvine, the Preston North End manager, felt hard done by and said: “To have lost the game like that is very harsh.”
Goalscorer: Norwich: Russell 90
Advertisement
Plymouth 0 Hull 1
Dean Windass, the Hull City striker, scored his eleventh goal of the season to give Phil Brown’s team a deserved win. The industry and composure of Windass illuminated an otherwise poor match as teams harbouring promotion ambitions cancelled each other out for the most part at Home Park.
Luke McCormick, the Plymouth Argyle goalkeeper, had produced a string of decent saves to deny Fraizer Campbell on several occasions during a tepid opening 45 minutes before Windass struck on the stroke of half-time. The veteran striker prodded home a cross by Sam Ricketts as Hull secured a victory that lifts Brown’s men to within a point of the play-offs pack. Hull have been beaten only once in their past eight Championship matches, while Plymouth are yet to win in the league in 2008.
Goalscorer: Hull: Windass 45
Scunthorpe 1 Charlton 0
Advertisement
Nigel Adkins, the Scunthorpe United manager, could not hide his delight after his team shocked Charlton Athletic at Glanford Park and boosted their survival chances. Martin Paterson’s twelfth goal of the season midway through the second half lifted Scunthorpe to within a point of the safety positions in their first home win since September 18.
“We’ve worked hard and I’ve always said that you can’t fault the players for their efforts,” Adkins said. “We put our heads in where the boots were flying. I have total belief in all the players and I am very proud of what they have achieved.”
Alan Pardew, the Charlton manager, said that it was “hard to watch” as his team slipped to defeat after Yassin Moutaouakil’s hashed clearance handed Paterson his chance.
Goalscorer: Scunthorpe: Paterson 63
Sheffield Wed 1 Ipswich 2
Jim Magilton, the Ipswich Town manager, was “chuffed to bits” after his side clinched their first away win of the season in the league thanks to Alan Lee’s second-half header from Alex Bruce’s cross. Earlier, Marcus Tudgay had cancelled out a thunderbolt early goal from Alan Quinn, on his return to Hillsborough. “I thought we deserved the three points,” Magilton said. “We’ve got to use this now as a springboard for bigger and better things. I believe we can get in the play-offs.”
Brian Laws, the Sheffield Wednesday manager, was unhappy with his side. “Conceding the early goal put us on the back foot,” Laws said. “We started sluggishly and continued that way, which is very disappointing. We’re in trouble at the bottom and we need to improve. We’ve got to get that spark back.”
Goalscorers: Sheffield Wed: Tudgay 15 Ipswich: Quinn 4, Lee 71
Stoke 2 Cardiff 1
Tony Pulis, the Stoke City manager, still feels the need to beef up his squad after his team reinforced their promotion credentials with this victory, ending Cardiff City’s nine-match unbeaten run. Stoke’s run of only one defeat in 14 matches has put them within striking distance of the automatic promotion places. An own goal by Roger Johnson and a penalty by Ricardo Fuller were enough to earn Stoke victory, with Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink replying for the visiting team. Pulis said: “I would still like to bring in more quality. When you look at Cardiff’s bench, it was very strong and we need to match that sort of strength in depth.”
Dave Jones, the Cardiff manager, said: “We are a bit wounded and upset to see our run end, but I didn’t think we played as well as we have done.”
Goalscorers: Stoke: Johnson 39 (og), Fuller 57 (pen) Cardiff: Hasselbaink 63
Watford 3 Wolves 0
Tommy Smith’s rapid-fire double gave Watford their first home win in the league since October and lifted Adrian Boothroyd’s team back into the automatic promotion places.
Watford took the lead after 59 seconds when Steve Kabba headed his first goal for the club, from a long throw, before Smith scored twice in two second-half minutes to seal victory. Bristol City’s defeat away to Queens Park Rangers meant that the three points put Boothroyd’s men firmly back in the frame for an instant return to the top flight and erased any regrets over the sale of Marlon King, their top scorer, to Wigan Athletic.
The visiting team struggled to find the attacking force that helped them to a 4-1 win in the FA Cup fourth round against the same opponents the previous weekend, but were a threat until Smith’s brace.
Goalscorers: Watford: Kabba 1, Smith 76, 78
West Brom 2 Burnley 1
Tony Mowbray, the West Bromwich Albion manager, hailed Roman Bednar, the inform striker, after he fired the league leaders to victory over Burnley. Bednar, who is on loan from Heart of Midlothian, scored his eleventh goal in 15 matches to strengthen Albion’s position at the top of the table. The home team fell behind to a strike by James O’Connor, but Bostjan Cesar’s first goal since his arrival on loan from Marseilles last summer, coupled with Bednar’s strike, earned Mowbray’s team their first league win in three matches. Mowbray said: “Roman is a typical centre forward. He is big, strong, fast and brave. He scores goals and he has a great humility about his personality.”
Owen Coyle, the Burnley manager, said: “We will lick our wounds and come back stronger for it. We can be a potent force.”
Goalscorers: West Brom: Cesar 26, Bednar 60 Burnley: O’Connor 3