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In the Championship - Tight at the top
They did go in front through a Diomansy Kamara penalty but the main talking point after the game was referee Uriah Rennie's decision not to take any action against Geoff Horsfield after an elbow. It was a clear red card offence but incredibly Rennie didn't even show the loan striker a yellow.
A strange refereeing decision dominated the game of the day at the Stadium of Light when home side RK Sunderland went in front with what could only be described as a controversial penalty decision awarded against a Derby defender. Billy Davies was bemused, but there again he would be, but so was Roy Keane who admitted he had no idea why Martin Atkinson had given his side the spot kick.
Derby had three chances to equalise, they all fell to youngster Giles Barnes, and having missed two easy ones he got the third with an exquisite piece of skill. It wasn't enough though, the bombardment from the home side eventually paid dividends with a last minute winner from Liam Miller who was promptly booked for his celebrations. That decision at least was understood.
When Leeds visited Wearside recently their assistant boss Gus Poyet chucked a spare ball on to halt an attack from the home side. Leeds tried it again on Saturday at Wolves but it didn't work. This time the travelling supporters tried it but even though the ball reached the pitch the referee ignored it, allowed play to continue, and Wolves scored the only goal of the game through Michael Kightly.
It was no more than they deserved, they had outplayed the league's bottom club and could have won by a much more convincing scoreline and it left Poyet admitted after the game that there was little else they could do now to improve things.
Their next game is at Birmingham and the Blues fell to what was the shock result of the weekend, going down 2-0 at Hull. Having fallen behind to the oldest goal of the day as Dean Windass (37) converted a pass from 33-year-old Ray Parlour, Birmingham went on an afternoon of self destruction.
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Another referee making decisions was Trevor Kettle at Cardiff, twice pointing to the spot in the first few minutes of the second half. Cardiff had taken the lead just before half time, doubled it from the spot before Preston came back with a penalty of their own. Kettle correctly saw both fouls but got no help from his assistant who was bang in line to see that Preston should have been getting a free kick just outside the box.
Cardiff in the end were easy winners and I wonder just what the Preston fans are thinking after Paul Simpson admitted a number of times last week that his side are 'fighting above their weight'. As we know full well, it is not what football supporters want to hear.
George Burley took on his old club Ipswich and it was all over in the first minute as Southampton's Marek Saganowski headed in a free kick from Gareth Bale. Many fans were still taking their seats and they weren't to see another goal. This was Ipswich's sixth game without a goal.
Luton fell to defeat at Crystal Palace and ended the game with ten men after Richard Langley was sent off for a second bookable offence. Incredibly Luton are not appealing against it, not as though they should, but they are very Blackburn like when it comes to red cards and seem to appeal as a matter of course.
Not as though manager Mike Newell agreed with the decision to send him off, he felt the referee had got the first yellow card wrong although said he couldn't disagree with the second card. He also felt his side played well but they lost the game to two Clinton Morrison goals with their consolation coming from a Mark Hudson own goal.
Bottom club Southend went in front at Sheffield Wednesday but soon found themselves having to come from behind. They did with a Freddy Eastwood goal and thought they'd got themselves a point until Steven MacLean converted a last minute penalty to give the Owls all three points.
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Ian Holloway returned to QPR, got a good reception, and thought his side was coming home with all three points even though they hadn't played well. He hadn't figured on Richard Beeby who incredibly allowed a QPR equaliser despite the most easily spotted fouls on the goalkeeper, and then incensed Holloway further by sending off his long haired midfielder called Lilian, yellow carding him twice for dissent.
"I wouldn't have complained if QPR had got all three points if they had stuck in one of the chances they created, but I did not like the one they got," Holloway said. "The referee should have disallowed it. The foul on the keeper was blatant. Everyone in the ground saw it and I think even the referee will realise he has got it wrong." Welcome to the world of Richard Beeby.
Last night the weekend programme came to an end with a surprise win for Barnsley in front of the television cameras. They beat Stoke 1-0 at the Windy City with a goal from Istvan Ferenczy but it was a win that came following a performance from the home side that could only be described as inept.
There are a couple of rearranged games tonight. Birmingham will be looking to get back to winning ways against bottom club Leeds whilst Luton and Norwich, two sides currently below the Clarets, clash at Kenilworth Road.
The big games at the weekend are in the West Midlands. Saturday sees West Brom entertain RK Sunderland whilst the day after Birmingham play host to Cardiff. Whatever the results, that fight for promotion is far from over.
The Weekend Results | |
Friday 23rd February | |
Cardiff 4 Preston 1 | . |
Saturday 24th February | |
Colchester 0 Burnley 0 | QPR 1 Plymouth 1 |
Crystal Palace 2 Luton 1 | Sheffield Wed 3 Southend 2 |
Hull 2 Birmingham 0 | Southampton 1 Ipswich 0 |
Leicester 1 West Brom 1 | RK Sunderland 2 Derby 1 |
Norwich 1 Coventry 1 | Wolves 1 Leeds 0 |
Monday 26th February | |
Stoke 0 Barnsley 1 | . |
The Weekend Stats | |
Biggest win | Cardiff 4-1 v Preston (home) |
Total goals scored | 27 |
Player scoring most goals | Michael Chopra (Cardiff) |
Highest Attendance | 36,049 - RK Sunderland v Derby |
Lowest Attendance | 4,934 - Colchester v Burnley |
Total Yellow Cards | 35 |
Total Red Cards | 3 |
Most cards in a game | Stoke v Barnsley (6Y) |
The leading scorers (league only) | |
21 | Michael Chopra (Cardiff) |
19 | Diomansy Kamara (West Brom) |
17 | Robert Earnshaw (Norwich) Grzegorz Rasiak (Southampton) |
15 | Chris Iwelumo (Colchester) |
14 | Jamie Cureton (Colchester) Gary McSheffrey (Birmingham) |
13 | Steve Howard (Derby) |
12 | Kenwyne Jones (Southampton) David Nugent (Preston) Rowan Vine (Birmingham) - all 12 goals with Luton |
11 | Alan Lee (Ipswich) Kevin Phillips (West Brom) |
10 | Freddy Eastwood (Southend) David Connolly (RK Sunderland) Andy Gray (Burnley) Barry Hayles (Plymouth) |
9 | Chris Brunt (Sheffield Wed) Carlos Edwards (RK Sunderland) - 6 with Luton |
8 | Nicklas Bendtner (Birmingham) Dexter Blackstock (QPR) Brian Howard (Barnsley) Iain Hume (Leicester) Steven MacLean (Sheffield Wed) Clinton Morrison (Crystal Palace) Marcus Tudgay (Sheffield Wed) |
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 |
27h Jan | 3 - Michael Chopra - CARDIFF v Leicester |
17th Feb | 3 - Andrew Surman - SOUTHAMPTON v Barnsley |
Disciplinary Record (all games) | |||||
| Club | Y | R | Club | Y | R |
| Barnsley | 62 | 5 | Luton | 46 | 6 |
| Birmingham | 58 | 6 | Norwich | 58 | 4 |
| Burnley | 60 | 7 | Plymouth | 75 | 4 |
| Cardiff | 50 | 8 | Preston | 54 | 4 |
| Colchester | 37 | 1 | QPR | 66 | 1 |
| Coventry | 70 | 1 | Sheffield Wed | 59 | 4 |
| Crystal Palace | 39 | 1 | Southampton | 44 | 1 |
| Derby | 77 | 3 | Southend | 57 | 3 |
| Hull | 67 | 3 | Stoke | 62 | 3 |
| Ipswich | 86 | 6 | RK Sunderland | 48 | 4 |
| Leeds | 76 | 3 | West Brom | 83 | 4 |
| Leicester | 65 | 3 | Wolves | 51 | 4 |
The Week's Fixtures | |
Tuesday 27th February | |
Birmingham v Leeds | Luton v Norwich |
Friday 2nd March | |
Derby v Colchester | . |
Saturday 3rd March | |
Barnsley v Norwich | Luton v Wolves |
Burnley v Crystal Palace | Plymouth v Stoke |
Coventry v Hull | Southend v Leicester |
Ipswich v QPR | West Brom v RK Sunderland |
Leeds v Sheffield Wed | . |
Sunday 4th March | |
Birmingham v Cardiff | . |
Monday 5th March | |
Preston v Southampton | . |