In the Championship - Leeds on the brink

Last updated : 01 May 2007 By Tony Scholes
Alan Lee - scored the goal that has almost certainly condemned Leeds to League One football next season
We should start with the promoted teams but we won't, we'll take a look at the bottom end of the league first. That should point us to the game between Southend and Luton at Roots Hall but that will have to wait too. Our first port of call this week is Elland Road and a disastrous day for Leeds that has all but seen them relegated.

I was getting somewhat concerned that our timid defeat there a couple of weeks ago might be enough to see them escape the drop, that this one chance to see them down in the lower leagues might be lost. It certainly seemed so when Richard Cresswell gave them an early lead against Ipswich. For the Ipswich players there was a sign of things to come when some Leeds fans got on to the pitch to celebrate the goal.

A win, and anything but a win for Hull at Cardiff, would see them out of the bottom three with just the one game to go, but just a few minutes into the second half Dean Windass gave Hull the lead and if both sides won it would leave Hull still a point clear.

That's how it looked set to end until two minutes from the end at Elland Road. Hull did win and then former Claret Alan Lee scored an equaliser for Ipswich that has virtually condemned Leeds to a life below the Championship.

Referee Michael Jones, fresh from his battering at Burnley earlier in the week, allowed an extra six minutes. But well into the last of those minutes came another pitch invasion. This one held up the game for over half an hour until the pitch was cleared and then incredibly the referee brought them out to complete the game.

Hull are now three points clear with a goal difference that is nine better than that of Leeds. It would take some shock results to turn that around that would probably bring with it a major FA enquiry.

Leeds will join Luton and Southend in dropping out of the league. Luton were already relegated but won for the first time in twelve games. Southend would have been relegated even if they'd won, with Hull winning, but were soundly beaten. This one is no surprise to me, they were shockingly poor against us recently, and I still wonder how on earth we lost that game.

Sebastian Larsson - thinks he's Maradona after scoring for Birmingham
The game between Barnsley and Leicester also proved to be meaningless in the end. Leicester recorded a second successive away win courtesy of a Neil Austin own goal and with these three points Nigel Worthington was staking his claim for the job on a permanent basis. He looks unlikely to get it no matter what, with Mandaric already talking to others.

Up to the top of the league then, and Sky turned it into a drama with the top three clubs all playing on different days. RK Sunderland started on the Friday with their win against us. That took them to the top but a day later they lost that place again as Birmingham beat Sheffield Wednesday.

It was a tough game for Birmingham against the division's form team, and they had to do it with ten men after Fabrice Muamba was sent off for two bookable offences. Not quite, he was sent off for one bad refereering error and one bookable offence.

Cameron Jerome turned in a rebound from close range but Sebastian Larsson scored the goal of the day to clinch the victory. Good goal it was, but I think Larsson was having something of a laugh comparing himself to Maradona in his post match interview.

That all left Derby under some pressure. Anything but a win at Selhurst Park against Crystal Palace and they would be out of the running for an automatic promotion place, and they didn't get that win. Clinton Morrison put Palace in front and it was almost farcical to see the Derby defenders arguing with each other as an unmarked Mark Kennedy blasted in the second.

There was no punching the air from Billy this time, no job done for him, as his side have now confirmed a place in the play offs whilst Birmingham and RK Sunderland will both go back up at the first time of asking.

They are the only side who have definitely got a place in the play offs, but it is the end of the road for both Sheffield Wednesday and Colchester. Wednesday's defeat at Birmingham means they cannot make the top six now and neither can Colchester after they fell to defeat at Stoke.

Colchester led too after a first half penalty that came following a poor decision when Salif Diao clearly played the ball. Stoke though came storming back to score three times in nine second half minutes through Darel Russell, Mamady Sidibe and Danny Higginbotham and they are only outside that top six on goals scored.

Michael Kightly - scored the second for Wolves in their win against QPR
Southampton are the side claiming that sixth place and they won 1-0 at Norwich with a goal from teenage full back Gareth Bale. Just above them are Wolves who secured a 2-0 home win against QPR with goals from Andy Keogh and Michael Kightly.

In fourth place are West Brom. They won at Coventry in a game that saw two red cards. Coventry's Ben Turner was first to go. This was his second league game of 2007 and his second red card, the earlier one coming in a one game loan spell at Oldham.

West Brom may have won their appeal in midweek over the sending off of Paul McShane but they are a side with a discipline problem and manager Tony Mowbray has slammed Diomansy Kamara who got himself sent off in stoppage time. Paul Robinson got the goal for West Brom in the first half.

That leaves us with Preston. They haven't been outside the top six since last September, or should I say they hadn't, because they certainly are now and the fans are far from happy with some calling for the head of manager Paul Simpson.

They have lost six of their last seven games, and from being real contenders for an automatic spot they now have a fight on their hands to get into the play offs. They lost 2-0 at Plymouth with defender Sean St Ledger doing what he does best. He doesn't like to be made to play out of position and now apparently he's not too keen on the referee giving a penalty when he handles the ball in his own box.

His hand ball led to Plymouth taking the lead from the spot and Barry Hayles scored a late second. I bet it was a long journey home for the fans who will now need to see their side get a good result against Birmingham who are still chasing the title.

The final fixtures are below - all kicking off at 1:00 p.m. this Sunday.

The Weekend Results

Friday 27th April

RK Sunderland 3 Burnley 2

.

Saturday 28th April

Barnsley 0 Leicester 1

Norwich 0 Southampton 1

Birmingham 2 Sheffield Wed 0

Plymouth 2 Preston 0

Cardiff 0 Hull 1

Southend 1 Luton 3

Coventry 0 West Brom 1

Stoke 3 Colchester 1

Leeds 1 Ipswich 1

Wolves 2 QPR 0

Sunday 29th April

Crystal Palace 2 Derby 0

.

The Weekend Stats

Biggest win

Luton 3-1 v Southend (away)
Stoke 3-1 v Colchester (home)
Birmingham 2-0 v QPR (home)
Crystal Palace 2-0 v Derby (home)
Plymouth 2-0 v Preston (home)

Total goals scored

27

Player scoring most goals

no player scored more than one goal

Highest Attendance

44,448 - RK Sunderland v Burnley

Lowest Attendance

10,276- Southend v Luton

Total Yellow Cards

45

Total Red Cards

4

Most cards in a game

Stoke v Colchester (8Y 1R)

The leading scorers (league only)

23

Jamie Cureton (Colchester)

22

Michael Chopra (Cardiff)

20

Diomansy Kamara (West Brom)

18

Robert Earnshaw (Norwich)
Chris Iwelumo (Colchester)
Grzegorz Rasiak (Southampton)

16

Steve Howard (Derby)
Alan Lee (Ipswich)

15

David Nugent (Preston)

14

Andy Gray (Burnley)
Gary McSheffrey (Birmingham)

13

Dexter Blackstock (QPR)
Barry Hayles (Plymouth)
Kevin Phillips (West Brom)
Rowan Vine (Birmingham) - 12 with Luton

12

David Connolly (RK Sunderland)
Iain Hume (Leicester)
Kenwyne Jones (Southampton)
Steven MacLean (Sheffield Wed)
Clinton Morrison (Crystal Palace)

Hat Tricks (league only)

26th Aug

3 - Jamie Cureton - COLCHESTER v Derby

12th Sep

3 - Gifton Noel-Williams - BURNLEY v Barnsley

14th Oct

3 - Kevin Phillips - Ipswich v WEST BROM

29th Oct

3 - Alan Lee - IPSWICH v Luton

28th Nov

4 - Chris Iwelumo - COLCHESTER v Hull

9th Dec

3 - Gary McSheffrey - BIRMINGHAM v Preston

27th Jan

3 - Michael Chopra - CARDIFF v Leicester

17th Feb

3 - Andrew Surman - SOUTHAMPTON v Barnsley

31st Mar

3 - Dean Windass - HULL v Southend

31st Mar

3 - Marek Saganowski - Wolves v SOUTHAMPTON

7th Apr

3 - Jamie Cureton - Southend v COLCHESTER

Disciplinary Record (all games)

Club

Y

R

Club

Y

R

Barnsley

85

6

Luton

68

6

Birmingham

74

9

Norwich

75

4

Burnley

86

7

Plymouth

89

5

Cardiff

62

10

Preston

77

4

Colchester

48

2

QPR

97

1

Coventry

85

2

Sheffield Wed

84

6

Crystal Palace

49

1

Southampton

57

1

Derby

96

4

Southend

79

4

Hull

84

3

Stoke

84

4

Ipswich

106

8

RK Sunderland

63

4

Leeds

98

5

West Brom

99

11

Leicester

83

3

Wolves

68

6

The Week's Fixtures

Sunday 6th May

Burnley v Coventry

Luton v RK Sunderland

Colchester v Crystal Palace

Preston v Birmingham

Derby v Leeds

QPR v Stoke

Hull v Plymouth

Sheffield Wed v Norwich

Ipswich v Cardiff

Southampton v Southend

Leicester v Wolves

West Brom v Barnsley