In the Championship – Win number ten

Last updated : 28 December 2006 By Tony Scholes
Chris Iwelumo - two more goals
Those two defeats were their first two home games of the season, but there's not a single point been dropped since and no fewer than thirty goals scored as they have recorded those ten victories. Given that Luton had lost their five previous away games an upset hardly looked to be on the cards and there was never any chance of it in front of a crowd of just over 5,400.

Leading scorer Chris Iwelumo scored in each half and by the time Luton won a penalty with five minutes to go the game was well and truly over for them with the home side having netted four times.

No other side has won ten at home, although West Brom and Preston who met at the Hawthorns are both one behind with the Baggies winning this one to take their total to nine. Just as they had done against us they took an early lead through Koumas, you would think someone somewhere might have caught on to this and stopped him getting these shots in from the left hand side.

Midway through the first half it was two before Preston got their customary penalty and pulled one back. That was when the Lilywhites were reduced to ten men when Danny Dichio was sent off for use of an elbow by Stockport referee Scott Mathieson.

Incredibly the striker appealed with the television pictures hardly supporting his claim and today the FA threw that appeal out, and rightly so. They got themselves level despite being one man down but two goals from substitute Nathan Ellington that both owed a lot to Carlo Nash saw the home side through.

It's taken West Brom into the top six but a long way from their close neighbours Birmingham City who are now, as expected, pulling away at the top. Their lead is already eight points after another victory, this time against QPR. Goals from want away defender Matthew Upson and Cameron Jerome either side of a Lee Cook goal were enough.

When Steve Bruce was under some pressure they were eleven points behind then leaders Cardiff, but they are now eleven points in front of the Welsh side whose recent form is as bad as any side in the division. They've picked up just twelve points from their last thirteen games and the point they won in the home draw against Plymouth was just enough to keep them in the top six.

David Norris - scored both Plymouth goals
David Norris twice scored for the visitors whilst two Steven Thompson goals between them in the space of five minutes early in the second half earned them that point.

Stoke's home defeat against Sheffield Wednesday saw them drop out of the play off places in a game where they could have done with a scoreboard to keep tally of the yellow cards. Premiership referee held up his card no fewer than ten times, and with Wednesday collecting seven of them they will now be fined by the FA. Ten there might have been but how on earth two of them weren't reds is hard to fathom. Wednesday's loan player Wayne Andrews reacted to an awful foul by Lee Hendrie. Both players should have walked and that would have meant Hendrie missing the game against us next Monday.

They didn't, and only Foy will know why, as Stoke conceded only their fifth and sixth goals at the Britannia Stadium all season, and the goals from Steven MacLean and Deon Burton meant Stoke had conceded more than one at home for the first time Grzegorz Rasiak scored twice for Southampton last April.

Rasiak didn't score this week but this was another game where the referee was busy, our old friend Richard Beeby. He sent off Kenwyne Jones, and rightly so, but incensed Southampton when he only yellow carded Palace keeper Scott Flinders when he handled outside the box.

He game ended all square with Chris Baird proving to be both hero and villain. He gave Saints the lead early in the second half but shortly afterwards gave the ball away to Jobi McAnuff who grabbed the equaliser.

Another player sent off was Southend defender Efe Sodje, dismissed by Flood Warden Andy Hall. It was this particular referee who played the game on the underwater Moss Rose seven years ago and sent off Andy Cooke following an incident with Sodje. The player appealed against the red card, but has since withdrawn his appeal, presumably having seen the challenge again.

Southend managed without him at Norwich, the bottom club earning a point in a 0-0 draw. It is becoming quite obvious now that Norwich are a poor side at this level who just happen to have the league's leading scorer. He's got half of their goals this season and without them they really would be in some trouble at the bottom of the league. Delia's boys can start worrying about their Championship future if they decide to cash in when the transfer window opens.

Gus Poyet - decided to double up as a ballboy
There was another dismissal at the Stadium of Light but this was one with a difference. Relegation threatened Leeds lost out in an attack when a ball that had previously gone out of play was returned by someone in the crowd. Referee Salisbury stopped play with two balls on the pitch. At the next opportunity, and with the home side attacking, the same thing happened. This time it was the obnoxious Dennis Wise's assistant Gus Poyet who was immediately sent to the stands.

It did the strugglers no good, they were beaten again against an RK Sunderland side who are moving up the table. That's two points out of the last eighteen now for the Yorkshire club who are slipping deeper and deeper into trouble. The game attracted the biggest crowd in the Championship this season. The 40,116 was the biggest crowd at this level since 47,350 were at the same venue for Sunderland's last game of the 2004/05 season against Stoke.

Conference striker Michael Kightly was on target again for Wolves. On loan from Grays he netted his second goal for the Black Country club, and it was their second in the win at Derby. They are expected to make his move to Molineux permanent in January.

Our next opponents Hull were a goal up against Leicester but were already behind when they lost Danny Coles to a red card for a professional foul. They were without some influential players through injury who are expected to return this Saturday.

Finally, how much longer does Micky Adams have left at Coventry? Earlier in the season he went for the West Brom job, then when he got some stick he said if it continued he would walk away. It hasn't just continued, it's got worse and he was the target for abuse from the home fans as they went down to defeat against Ipswich.

It was assistant manager Adrian Heath doing the talking after the game and he admitted it had been a very poor performance. Anything but a resounding home win against Southend on Saturday could see the exit door start to open for Adams. Those Saturday fixtures, and those for New Year's Day, are shown below.

The Boxing Day Results

Tuesday 26th December

Barnsley 1 Burnley 0

Hull 1 Leicester 2

Birmingham 2 QPR 1

Norwich 0 Southend 0

Cardiff 2 Plymouth 2

Southampton 1 Crystal Palace 1

Colchester 4 Luton 1

Stoke 1 Sheffield Wed 2

Coventry 1 Ipswich 2

RK Sunderland 2 Leeds 0

Derby 0 Wolves 2

West Brom 4 Preston 2

The Boxing Day Stats

Biggest win

Colchester 4-1 v Luton (home)

Total goals scored

34

Player scoring most goals
2

Nathan Ellington (West Brom)
Chris Iewlumo (Colchester)
David Norris (Plymouth)
Steven Thompson (Cardiff)

Highest Attendance

40,116 - RK Sunderland v Leeds

Lowest Attendance

5,427 - Colchester v Luton

Total Yellow Cards

46

Total Red Cards

4

Most cards in a game

Stoke v Sheffield Wed (10Y)

The leading scorers (league only)

16

Robert Earnshaw (Norwich)

15

Grzegorz Rasiak (Southampton)

12

Michael Chopra (Cardiff)
Jamie Cureton (Colchester)
Chris Iwelumo (Colchester)
Gary McSheffrey (Birmingham)

11

Diomansy Kamara (West Brom)
Rowan Vine (Luton)

10

Andy Gray (Burnley)
Alan Lee (Ipswich)

8

Nicklas Bendtner (Birmingham)
Steve Howard (Derby)
Kevin Phillips (West Brom)

7

Chris Brunt (Sheffield Wed)
Freddy Eastwood (Southend)
Barry Hayles (Plymouth)
Iain Hume (Leicester)
Kenwyne Jones (Southampton)
David Nugent (Preston)
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

Disciplinary Record (all games)

Club

Y

R

Club

Y

R

Barnsley

35

4

Luton

30

3

Birmingham

51

4

Norwich

46

3

Burnley

42

6

Plymouth

45

1

Cardiff

36

5

Preston

42

3

Colchester

26

1

QPR

46

0

Coventry

44

1

Sheffield Wed

47

4

Crystal Palace

34

0

Southampton

34

1

Derby

53

2

Southend

40

3

Hull

47

3

Stoke

43

2

Ipswich

68

3

RK Sunderland

37

3

Leeds

57

3

West Brom

63

3

Leicester

48

3

Wolves

36

2

This Christmas/New Year Fixtures

Friday 29th December

Birmingham v Luton

.

Saturday 30th December

Barnsley v Sheffield Wed

Norwich v QPR

Cardiff v Crystal Palace

Southampton v Leicester

Colchester v Wolves

Stoke v Leeds

Coventry v Southend

RK Sunderland v Preston

Derby v Plymouth

West Brom v Ipswich

Hull v Burnley

.

Monday 1st January

Burnley v Stoke

Plymouth v Southampton

Crystal Palace v Norwich

Preston v Derby

Ipswich v Birmingham

QPR v Colchester

Leeds v Coventry

Sheffield Wed v Hull

Leicester v RK Sunderland

Southend v West Brom

Luton v Cardiff

Wolves v Barnsley