Category: Championship League

• Canaries coach compares 22-year-old to young Erling Haaland

• Australian’s red-hot form is boost for Tony Popovic before World Cup

Australian striker Mo Touré has earned comparisons to a young Erling Haaland, after he bounced back from a missed penalty to continue his sizzling goalscoring run with a ninth goal in just 10 games since joining English Championship side Norwich.

Touré’s fourth goal of the week, following a second hat-trick of his short Norwich career on the weekend, was a rocket that went in off the underside of the bar and set up a 2-1 win over Derby County.

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Ten years on from lifting the Premier League trophy, Leicester have been relegated to League One after a 2-2 draw with Hull confirmed back-to-back relegations for the club.

The result leaves the Foxes, who were deducted six points in February for a financial rules breach, seven points adrift of fourth-bottom Blackburn with just two games to play and destined for the third tier for the first time since the 2008-09 season.

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• Sky Blues are champions after 5-1 rout of Portsmouth

• Millwall leapfrog Ipswich; Southampton fluff lines

Ephron Mason-Clark scored a brace as Coventry clinched the Championship title with a convincing 5-1 victory over Portsmouth.

Haji Wright opened the scoring before Mason-Clark pounced on an error from Nicolas Schmid just 90 seconds after the break, which was compounded by Regan Poole’s own goal three minutes later.

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Jack Clarke fired home an 87th-minute penalty to save a point for Ipswich in a pulsating 2-2 draw with their promotion rivals. Jarred Gillett awarded the spot-kick when he adjudged Adilson Malanda had tugged the substitute George Hirst in the box.

Middlesbrough, who are on a seven-match winless run, went ahead through David Strelec only for Kasey McAteer to equalise five minutes later. The visitors took the lead through Tommy Conway but Clarke’s spot-kick meant a point apiece.

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• Foxes plunge closer to League One with latest defeat

• Millwall go second; Southampton win maintains surge

Ibane Bowat’s second-half goal was enough to give Portsmouth a crucial 1-0 win at home to their relegation rivals Leicester as the Foxes plunged a huge step closer to League One. Bowat’s scruffy 63rd-minute strike from a corner earned Pompey a third straight win, leaving them one victory from staying up.

It is now one win in 17 for Leicester, whose demotion to the third tier 10 years after winning the Premier League could be confirmed as soon as Tuesday night, when they host Hull.

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Bobby Thomas’s header guided Coventry to the promised land and denied a spirited Rovers

The teams take to the field at Ewood Park. It’s all Coventry, the Jolly Boating song ringing out. It’s a bit more sparse in the home end, despite efforts from those in Warwickshire to get hold of tickets. The hill behind the Darwen End may well be full of Sky Blue, too.

Frank Lampard’s advice to his players: “Stay calm in your heads but not in your legs.”

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Kieran McKenna’s team face a crunch clash with Middlesbrough but charging Southampton loom large

At the end of July, Ipswich and Middlesbrough reached an agreement. If the Boro midfielder Hayden Hackney agreed personal terms he could join the Suffolk club, freshly relegated and awash with ready funds, for a Championship record fee of around £20m. Kieran McKenna knew he would be getting the best schemer in the division if his target said yes; a player who could make the difference in a 46-game grind. Perhaps with half an eye on Premier League interest, Hackney heard Ipswich out but turned the transfer down. He would end up staying on Teesside and propelling an often exhilarating promotion chase.

There is little chance of a mutually beneficial outcome when the sides meet at Portman Road on Sunday. Hackney has missed the past four games with a calf injury and it is unclear whether he will be ready in time for a game of potentially seismic consequence.

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• Saints just three points off second after 3-0 home win

• Ipswich slip to 2-0 defeat at battling Portsmouth

Southampton have moved just three points off automatic promotion after a 3-0 victory over Blackburn, coupled with Ipswich’s 2-0 defeat at Portsmouth.

The hosts extended their unbeaten run to 18 games in all competitions with a comprehensive victory at St Mary’s, secured by first-half goals from Cyle Larin and Ryan Manning and a late strike from Cameron Archer.

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• Points penalty would affect this season’s total

• West Brom are 20th, two points above relegation zone

West Bromwich Albion insist they have complied with the EFL’s financial rules despite fears of a points deduction for the relegation-threatened Championship side.

The Daily Telegraph reported on Monday that the EFL’s Club Financial Reporting Unit (CFRU) filed a compliance report to West Brom over a breach of the loss limits for the 2024-25 season under profitability and sustainability rules (PSR). Under guidelines, sanctions would be applied in the season after breach. That would mean if a points penalty were imposed, it would affect West Brom in the current campaign, with the club 20th in the Championship, two points above the relegation zone.

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Wrexham missed the chance to move within a point of the Championship playoff places after they suffered a 2-0 defeat by Birmingham at St Andrew’s. The visitors’ hopes of an unprecedented fourth straight promotion were dealt a massive blow after they were beaten for a second consecutive match which leaves them four points behind sixth-placed Hull with four games to play.

After their 5-1 defeat by Southampton, Wrexham have now suffered back-to-back defeats for the first time since August. Phil Parkinson, the Wrexham manager, said: “We’ve had a tough week this week. But we’re not down and out yet. It’s not over yet.

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• Controversial penalty sparks 2-0 Ipswich win at Norwich

• Bottom-side Wednesday draw 0-0 at leaders Coventry

Ipswich gave their hopes of automatic promotion a massive boost by recording a hard-fought 2-0 win over Norwich at Carrow Road, while Coventry must wait for another day after being held 0-0 at home by Sheffield Wednesday.

Ipswich moved into the top two, with at least a game in hand on their nearest rivals, as first-half goals from Jaden Philogene, with a harsh penalty, and George Hirst completed a long overdue double over their East Anglian rivals.

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• Sanction for financial breach has led to a relegation fight

• Leicester now ‘fully focused’ on final five games of season

Leicester have announced defeat in their appeal against a six-point deduction for breaching English Football League financial rules. An independent commission imposed the sanction on Leicester in February, which dropped the club from 17th to 20th in the Championship.

They appealed against the decision and have subsequently fallen to 22nd, a point adrift of safety with five fixtures remaining. It is very possible the club, currently managed by Gary Rowett, could be relegated to League One a decade after winning the Premier League.

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Southampton continued their Championship charge as they thrashed Wrexham 5-1 to replace the Welsh side in the playoff places.

Fuelled by their stunning weekend FA Cup quarter-final triumph over Arsenal, Tonda Eckert’s in-form side flew out of the traps at Stōk Cae Ras with early goals from Kuryu Matsuki and Flynn Downes, having already hit the woodwork twice.

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• Results elsewhere favour Frank Lampard’s side

• Norwich deal blow to Millwall’s promotion push

Coventry crept closer to promotion to the Premier League despite an off-colour display in a goalless draw at Hull.

Setbacks for promotion rivals Millwall and Middlesbrough meant a win for Coventry would have moved them to within two points of guaranteeing a return to the top flight for the first time in 25 years. While the Sky Blues were second best for large spells at the MKM Stadium and fortunate to avoid defeat, they retained their 12-point lead at the top of the table.

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Jack Rudoni came on to score twice and edge Coventry a little closer to a Premier League return

2 min: Van Ewijk looks long for Simms. Clarke intercepts. Then Esse hassles Ward down the left and forces the first corner of the match. Coventry have scored 24 goals from set pieces this season, the division’s best … but this one comes to nothing.

Derby get the ball rolling. The CBS Arena roaring.

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