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In the Championship – Controversy at the top
The Sheffield United v Reading game proved to be a cracker that on the balance of play should have gone the way of the home side, but Reading not only kept their unbeaten run going but really should have won it with a late penalty.
It was Sheffield United who went in front when recent signings Ade Akinbiyi and Bruce Dyer linked up for Dyer to score on his debut but the lead lasted only three minutes before Dave Kitson, back in for the unavailable Leroy Lita, brought the Royals level.
From that point Sheffield United should have gone on to win it but they missed chances galore, particularly one from Akinbiyi and the worst of the lot from substitute Steven Kabba. That Kabba miss was late in the game and could have been even more costly as Reading went down and won themselves a penalty.
It looked a very harsh decision by referee Halsey but it mattered not with Paddy Kenny saving Kitson's spot kick. The point though will be better news for Reading than Sheffield United although the Blades lead over third place remains nine points.
If that penalty was controversial, the one at Elland Road wasn’t although it was somewhat harsh for goalkeeper Ben Foster who received a red card for it. That was in the second half but Watford had gone in front with a stunning free kick in the first half from Ashley Young that flew into the top corner giving Neil Sullivan no chance.
But the penalty decision saw them go down to ten men and when Robbie Blake converted the spot kick they were all level. If that red card was controversial then the second one wasn’t that saw the Hornets lose Darius Henderson. He led with his arm against Sean Gregan leaving referee Jones with no choice, the second time in two seasons he has been sent off at Elland Road.
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Down at the bottom, Millwall got a point but it was at a cost as they suffered a thirteenth red card of the season. This one was a bit different too, Paul Robinson brought the Hull player down but then collided with his own keeper. He needed treatment and was eventually stretchered off but the stretcher bearers were halted so referee Probert could wave the red card at him.
Despite the man advantage Hull struggled, but finally took the lead with twelve minutes to go through recent signing from Macclesfield Jon Parkin. But the home side were level within two minutes through David Livermore his first goal of the season.
Millwall need more than draws although this took them a point further away from bottom club Crewe who have now won just five league games since New Year’s Day 2005. I think they must hold the record for the number of times they go ahead in games and lose and this one was another.
Steve Jones put them in front on the quarter hour but Ipswich were quickly level through Alan Lee and went on to win it in the second half with a goal from young substitute Dean McDonald.
It’s still Brighton in the bottom three with Millwall and Crewe, and they were beaten 3-0 at Norwich although it took two very late goals from recent signing Robert Earnshaw to secure the win for the home side.
The bottom three are now five points adrift of Sheffield Wednesday who were beaten at Coventry. The Sky Blues are on something of a good run right now and this latest win has seen them climb into the top half of the table, just above us.
At the turn of the year they looked as though they were in for a relegation battle but five wins in seven games, and the two defeats have come against Reading and Watford, have seen them ensure safety at least for next season. For Wednesday though, that lead over the bottom three could be vital.
Leicester and Derby have also been struggling, and both parted with their managers recently. Leicester have hardly looked back with three successive wins but when these two clashed at the Crisp Bowl this week they took a point each from a 2-2 draw. Leicester led, then Derby led and both times the scores were level again within three minutes. Both could have done with a win but will have been happy with a point each.
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That’s three points from nine games for Stoke but there was some good news for them with the belated return of Sammy Bangoura. The Guinea international might not want to hang around much longer though after he heard that manager Johan Boskamp fancied the idea of kicking him in the balls as punishment for his late return.
It’s all pass and move at QPR these days, new boss Gary Waddock wants to play proper football he says, It got them nothing at Crystal Palace although having gone two behind in the first half hour they did pull one back through Paul Furlong in the second half.
That leaves us with a visit to Luton and that means goals. Only QPR and the bottom three clubs have conceded more away goals than the Hatters, whilst just Crewe have conceded more home goals. And after appearing to be coasting to a win against Cardiff they were at it again.
They led 2-0 and then 3-1 but in the end only an amazing decision by referee Woolmer allowed them to even get a point. There is absolutely no doubt that Cardiff should have had a penalty but they didn’t get one and now I would expect it will leave manager Dave Jones in some trouble after he had to be pulled away from the referee on the pitch at the final whistle.
You see, it isn’t just us that gets bad decisions from referees.
We’ve got a reduced fixture list at the weekend because of the FA Cup – the fixtures are below.
The Midweek Results | |
Tuesday 14th February | |
Burnley 0 Wolves 1 | Luton 3 Cardiff 3 |
Crewe 1 Ipswich 2 | Millwall 1 Hull 1 |
Crystal Palace 2 QPR 1 | Norwich 3 Brighton 0 |
Leeds 2 Watford 1 | Sheffield Utd 1 Reading 1 |
Leicester 2 Derby 2 | Stoke 0 Plymouth 0 |
Wednesday 15th February | |
Coventry 2 Sheffield Wed 1 | Southampton 0 Preston 0 |
The Midweek Stats | |
Biggest win | Norwich 3-0 v Brighton (home) |
Total goals scored | 30 |
Player scoring most goals | Robbie Blake (Leeds) |
Highest Attendance | 25,011 - Sheffield Utd v Reading |
Lowest Attendance | 5,686 - Crewe v Ipswich |
Total Yellow Cards | 32 |
Total Red Cards | 4 |
Most cards in a game | Leeds v Watford (3Y 2R) |
The leading scorers (league only) | |
16 | Marlon King (Watford) |
14 | Cameron Jerome (Cardiff) Dave Kitson (Reading) |
13 | Ade Akinbiyi (Sheffield Utd) - 12 with Burnley |
12 | Kevin Doyle (Reading) Ashley Young (Watford) |
11 | Jason Koumas (Cardiff) Gary McSheffrey (Coventry) |
10 | Dean Ashton (Norwich) Darius Henderson (Watford) Steve Howard (Luton) Andy Johnson (Crystal Palace) Leroy Lita (Reading) |
9 | Robbie Blake (Leeds) Carl Cort (Wolves) David Healy (Leeds) Rob Hulse (Leeds) Steven Kabba (Sheffield Utd) Clinton Morrison (Crystal Palace) Neil Shipperley (Sheffield Utd) |
8 | Dele Adebola (Coventry) Sammy Bangoura (Stoke) Inigo Idiakez (Derby) Dave Nugent (Preston) Steve Sidwell (Reading) Matthew Spring (Watford) Danny Webber (Sheffield Utd) Paul Wotton (Plymouth) |
7 | Chris Brunt (Sheffield Wed) Paul Gallagher (Stoke) Paul Ifill (Sheffield Utd) Phil Jagielka (Sheffield Utd) Garreth O'Connor (Burnley) Michael Ricketts (Burnley) - 5 with Cardiff |
Disciplinary Record (all games) | |||||
| Club | Y | R | Club | Y | R |
| Brighton | 60 | 4 | Millwall | 74 | 13 |
| Burnley | 58 | 5 | Norwich | 58 | 2 |
| Cardiff | 55 | 2 | Plymouth | 50 | 0 |
| Coventry | 73 | 4 | Preston | 57 | 2 |
| Crewe | 30 | 2 | QPR | 67 | 6 |
| Crystal Palace | 71 | 3 | Reading | 34 | 0 |
| Derby | 56 | 5 | Sheffield Utd | 57 | 2 |
| Hull | 44 | 3 | Sheffield Wed | 43 | 1 |
| Ipswich | 45 | 4 | Southampton | 57 | 4 |
| Leeds | 57 | 2 | Stoke | 58 | 7 |
| Leicester | 67 | 4 | Watford | 50 | 5 |
| Luton | 42 | 4 | Wolves | 39 | 1 |
The Week's Fixtures | |
Friday 17th February | |
Luton v Reading | . |
Saturday 18th February | |
Brighton v Watford | Norwich v Derby |
Cardiff v Hull | Plymouth v Coventry |
Leicester v Leeds | Sheffield Wed v Sheffield Utd |
Millwall v Crystal Palace | Wolves v Ipswich |