Category: Championship League

• Coventry 2-1 Millwall, Ipswich 2-0 Bristol City

• Osmajic sent off as Preston beaten at home by Hull

Haji Wright scored the winner for the second time in three days as the league leaders Coventry beat Millwall 2-1 at the CBS Arena. Wright scored an 85th-minute goal against Leicester on Saturday and notched his 10th goal of the season as Coventry made it back-to-back victories.

The on-loan Crystal Palace winger Romain Esse opened his account for Coventry against his former club before Mihailo Ivanovic scored a brilliant equaliser just before the half-hour.

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• Leaders bounce back after trailing at half-time

• Ipswich 3-0 Blackburn; Preston 0-1 Derby

Frank Lampard hailed Coventry’s win against Leicester as “massive” after Haji Wright’s first goal since early October secured a 2-1 victory. Jordan James had opened the scoring for the visitors before Ellis Simms equalised shortly after half-time. Wright came off the bench to grab an 85th-minute winner as Coventry claimed a much-needed three points after a run of two victories in eight.

“It was a massive win because it was a tough match,” said Lampard. “They’re a quality team, you can’t get fooled by their league position because if they turn up and play well they give you problems. They gave us problems in the first half which makes us happier that we had half-time, dealt tactically with the problems and the feeling of the game and owned it in the second half.

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The world of soccer throws up no shortage of questions. In today’s column, we endeavor to answer three of them

As damaging as Sunday’s Spanish Super Cup defeat to Barcelona was for Xabi Alonso’s credibility as Real Madrid manager, the scenes after the game ultimately finished him off. The sight of Kylian Mbappé overriding Alonso, insisting his teammates leave the pitch as the manager requested in vain that they give Barça a guard of honour, summed up an untenable situation.

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• 34-year-old led Minnesota United to MLS semi-finals

• Ramsay appointed head coach after sacking of Ryan Mason

West Brom have named the former Manchester United assistant Eric Ramsay as their new head coach after the 34-year-old guided Minnesota United to the semi-finals of the Major League Soccer play-offs.

Ramsay, 34, took charge of Minnesota in February 2024, his first senior managerial role, after working alongside Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford. He has also worked as an assistant coach for Wales and had spells with Swansea, Shrewsbury and Chelsea, though his playing experience extends only to a short spell with Welshpool Town and international futsal for Wales.

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• Mason was appointed in June on three-year contract

• West Brom 18th in the Championship after latest loss

West Brom have sacked Ryan Mason as their head coach after a stoppage-time defeat at Leicester on Monday left the club 18th in the Championship. It was the team’s 10th away defeat in a row and ended the 34-year-old’s tenure after seven months.

Mason was appointed on a three-year deal after holding a variety of roles at Tottenham, including interim manager and assistant to Ange Postecoglou. West Brom said two members of Mason’s staff, Nigel Gibbs and Sam Pooley, had also left.

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• Match at MKM Stadium called off due to safety concerns

• Visitors insist they ‘were ready and willing to play’

Watford have criticised the decision to call off their Championship match at Hull 18 minutes before kick-off on Sunday – and have claimed they did not agree to the postponement.

The referee, Anthony Backhouse, called the game off due to safety concerns over areas surrounding the pitch while the players were already warming up. The MKM Stadium clash was one of three second-tier fixtures to fall by the wayside due to frozen pitches, while 14 games across Leagues One and Two were also postponed.

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• Ducksch double edges Birmingham to 3-2 home victory

• Middlesbrough up to second after Southampton win

Marvin Ducksch scored twice as Birmingham ended their seven-game winless streak with a 3-2 victory over Championship leaders Coventry.

The former Germany international grabbed a goal in each half as fortunes ebbed and flowed in a derby fixture that delivered drama from the first whistle until stoppage time when visiting defender Bobby Thomas was dismissed. Birmingham led three times but were pegged back twice by Frank Lampard’s side, who have now won just twice in their last eight outings.

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• Philogene and Akpom goals secure 2-1 win over Oxford

• Charlton hold Coventry 1-1; Derby upset Middlesbrough

Ipswich climbed into the automatic promotion places in the Championship following a 2-1 victory over struggling Oxford.

Their success came via first-half goals from leading scorer Jaden Philogene and Chuba Akpom, while Will Lankshear replied for the visitors. Ipswich moved a point above Middlesbrough after they fell to a 1-0 defeat at Derby, while Oxford remain three points from safety.

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Ipswich narrowed the gap on the Championship’s top two with an impressive 2-0 win at Coventry, ending the leaders’ unbeaten home record this season. Jack Clarke opened the scoring after 72 minutes and Wes Burns’ first goal since April 2024 doubled the visitors’ lead 11 minutes later.

The Tractor Boys had started the day 13 points behind Frank Lampard’s team and five behind second-placed Middlesbrough after a run of four away matches without a win.

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• Wrexham roar back to win 5-3; Coventry stretch lead

• Ipswich and Millwall draw; Bristol City beat Albion

Kieffer Moore struck twice against his old club as Wrexham recovered from 3-1 down to beat Sheffield United 5-3 in a late afternoon Boxing Day thriller at STōK Cae Ras. Patrick Bamford had looked like stealing the headlines with a well-taken early double for the visitors but Wrexham powered back to claim their first win in six league outings.

With his short-term contract due to expire on New Year’s Day, Bamford put himself in the shop window as he scored either side of a Tyler Bindon own goal. Callum O’Hare added a third for Chris Wilder’s side but Wrexham responded through Moore and levelled through Ryan Longman. Moore put them ahead for the first time and a Josh Windass penalty completed the fightback.

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⚽ Coventry win as Ipswich, Middlesbrough and Hull are held
⚽ Mo Salah strikes from the spot as Egypt beat South Africa

• Match report: Middlesbrough 0-0 Blackburn Rovers

• Championship round-up: Coventry go eight points clear

Championship: Despite failing to properly get his head to a free-kick aimed towards the far post, Jack Robinson somehow manages to take advantage of some slapstick defending to bundle the ball over the line anyway and equalise for Birmingham City against 10-man Derby County. It’s as scruffy a goal as you’ll ever see but the home fans at St Andrew’s won’t care.

Millwall 0-0 Ipswich Town: It’s half-time at the Den, where the deadlock between Millwall and Ipswich remains resolutely unbroken.

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• Rowett leaves after a year with club two points from safety

• Oxford have one win from their past 10 matches

Oxford have sacked Gary Rowett with the club 22nd in the Championship, two points from safety. The former Birmingham, Derby, Stoke and Millwall manager was appointed on 20 December 2024 and kept the club in the second tier last season.

Oxford’s chairman, Grant Ferguson, told the club’s website: “Gary joined during a challenging period and deserves immense credit for the hard work and leadership that saw us retain our Championship status last season. However, following a disappointing run of results, we have had to take this difficult decision in the best interests of the club.”

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• Coventry manager reacted to Southampton fans’ taunts

• ‘Their fans gave me a bit … I gave them a bit back’

Frank Lampard admitted he was “out of order” after he sparked a post-match melee following Coventry’s 1-1 draw at Southampton. The home supporters had targeted the visitors’ manager with abuse in the latter stages of the match and, after the full-time whistle, Lampard went on to the pitch and repeatedly gestured to them, which led to players reacting.

“I was probably emotional,” said Lampard of his reaction to being called “a shit Steven Gerrard”. “The fans had given me a bit in the last 10 minutes and I went on the pitch to give them a bit back. It was really out of order but I wouldn’t have had as long in this game if I wasn’t sometimes emotional on the pitch, and not a bad bloke off it.

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• Winger’s 65-yard lob helps Foxes to 3-1 win

• Coventry stay top; Boro tighten grip on second

Abdul Fatawu scored from inside his own half as Leicester cruised to a 3-1 win against Ipswich at the King Power Stadium. Fatawu’s remarkable lob from about 65 yards doubled Leicester’s lead two minutes before half-time, after Bobby De Cordova-Reid lashed home from distance on eight minutes.

Leicester sealed the points on 52 minutes when Jordan Ayew converted Ricardo Pereira’s cutback before substitute Jens Cajuste scored for the visitors after an error from goalkeeper Jakub Stolarczyk.

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With the arrival of US hedge funders at Wrexham, there is no pretence any more. This is just another project, as it always was

Tea and cake. Cobble-close streets. Collectivism. Sugar rush. Hollywood fairytales. And also, as of this week, a minority owner with historical links to celebrity paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

Wait! Welsh cakes! Welsh tea! Aggregated tourism benefits. The sloeblack, slow, black, crowblack, fishingboat-bobbing sea. And also, at one remove, historical links to deceased celebrity paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.

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