It was an eventful night around the second tier of English football but what were the most memorable takeaways from Tuesday’s action?
Tuesday was an eventful night around the second tier of English football, with both thrashings and closely-fought battles galore.
What were the most memorable takeaways from Tuesday’s action?
The ‘Wagner Revolution’ has its first slip
Championship leaders Huddersfield Town lost a hard-fought battle last night against Brighton, bringing their unbeaten run to an end.
Despite making some impressive saves, it was a costly blunder from Liverpool loaner Danny Ward that gifted a victory to the Seagulls late in the second half.
The match looked to be heading for a draw until a soft shot from Anthony Knockaert, who has scored twice against Town previously, rolled out of Danny Ward’s hands in the 80th minute.
It was always going to be a huge ask for the Terriers who perhaps headed to the south coast as underdogs despite their position but Town fans must have been hoping for the point when they made it to the last 10 minutes without conceding.
Luckily for Wagner’s side, they will host a wounded QPR side on Saturday who are fresh from a humiliating 6-0 defeat, so will have the opportunity to bounce back should they be able to rediscover their winning form.
Derby’s woes continue
A season-low crowd was in attendance for the Rams’ clash with Ipswich last night but that didn’t stop them booing the squad when they suffered their third defeat in a row.
Despite dominating possession and recording an astounding 23 goal attempts, Derby were unable to convert their efforts into victory as Luke Varney’s goal in the 53rd minute proved decisive.
After being sacked from Leicester, who are readying for their Champions League debut tonight, Nigel Pearson’s latest side is now sitting 20th in the Championship with just one goal to their name despite being in play-off contention last season.
Leeds United’s win over bottom club Blackburn is not enough to silence Monk’s doubters
Before their victory over Blackburn last night, Leeds United had only one win in their six Championship games, including a morale-crushing defeat at home to rivals Huddersfield Town.
Unsurprisingly, fans and critics have started to question how much longer head coach Garry Monk would last at the club given owner Cellino’s habit of sacking managers in the absence of results.
A loss last night would have surely sealed his fate and it was only thanks to an 86th-minute winner from Kyle Bartley that Leeds managed to better the similarly-struggling Rovers.
But The Times reported this morning that even though they scraped a win on the road last night, Monk’s job was still on the line, reporting that Cellino has “grown tired” of the former Swansea manager.
Barnsley have made their mark on the Championship
Championship newcomers Barnsley continued their stellar form with a resounding 4-0 win on the road over Wolves last night.
Paul Heckingbottom’s side netted three goals in just seven minutes in front of angry home fans to deliver Wolves their worst home defeat in nine years.
Barnsley have been able to carry over the confidence gained from an impressive promotion last season and continue to perform as a cohesive unit that is yielding positive results.
Although it’s early days, such an impressive away win combined with their confident start to the season has to have fans wondering if they can make it back-to-back promotions, a feat last achieved by Southampton in the 2011-12 season.
Newcastle United send a message to the rest of the Championship
Another humiliating win on opponents’ turf came from an in-form Newcastle United who have now won their last five Championship matches after their 6-0 victory over QPR last night.
And as Rafa Benitez warns there’s more to come from his squad, their performance at Loftus Road must be enough to strike fear into the hearts of their next opponents.
Newcastle will host Wolves at St James’ Park this Saturday and after their heavy defeat to Barnsley, that total match goals over 4.5, priced at 6/1, is looking pretty attractive right now.
It’s fair to say that the Magpies have found their stride after a shaky start to the season, and with table-toppers Huddersfield finally losing their first Championship game last night, it’s surely only a matter of time before Benitez’s men sit atop the league.
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