Championship
If the worm has finally turned for Nottingham Forest, it’s probably because the wriggly little so-and-so copped an eyeful of Stuart Pearce and fled. So frighteningly passionate was the face-scrunched, fist-clenched celebration with which the Forest manager marked his side’s unexpected upturn of fortune at high-flying Derby, it would have stopped Norman Bates in his tracks, let alone Steve McClaren and company. And that was just when Britt Assombalonga equalised. No more Psycho? Think again.
Still, you can hardly blame him. Saddled with a transfer embargo, forced to deny that his job was on the line after a desperately poor run that had left Forest without a win since November, slated by a fellow former full-back not fit to tie his boots – and, lest we should forget, facing a Derby team looking to chalk up a fifth consecutive victory in all competitions – Pearce must have thought things couldn’t get any worse.
If so, it took about a quarter of an hour for events to prove him wrong. First, Michail Antonio was denied what looked a clear penalty. Then Henri Lansbury put through his own net, leaving pens poised to write the former England full-back’s managerial obituary.
So when Ben Osborn belted home a magnificent injury-time effort to make Forest only the second team this season to leave Derby with three points, steam was always going to be let off. Not that Pearce saw it that way. “I don’t think one result today will excite me a great deal,” he said afterwards. How might a genuinely animated Pearce look? It’s one of those “If a tree falls in a forest, does it make a sound?” things: you just hope you’re never in the vicinity to find out.
Bournemouth made the most of Derby’s inability to extend their winning streak, maintaining their Championship lead after goals from the club skipper Tommy Elphick and Callum Wilson saw them over the line at Rotherham. Eddie Howe will have been relieved to see his side return to winning ways after the home defeat against Norwich last weekend that ended a 14-game unbeaten run.
The result keeps Bournemouth a point ahead of Ipswich, who won 3-1 at struggling Millwall. Noel Hunt struck twice for Mick McCarthy’s side before Freddie Sears marked his arrival on loan from Colchester with a goal. The result will intensify scrutiny of Ian Holloway, the Millwall boss, who has now presided over six defeats in seven games.
Middlesbrough’s Lee Tomlin spared the blushes of team-mate Patrick Bamford, who twice blundered with the goal at his mercy. Tomlin struck twice after the break to clinch a tight contest with Huddersfield. Brentford likewise maintained their playoff challenge with a 1-0 victory at Brighton.
The biggest win of the day came at Watford, where Slavisa Jokanovic’s side steamrollered Charlton in the visitors’ first game since the appointment of the former Standard Liège manager Guy Luzon as head coach. A 5-0 defeat should give Luzon, who was prevented from taking charge of Charlton by work permit issues, some sense of the challenge that lies ahead. Watford remain sixth.
Norwich, meanwhile, made it two wins in two since the arrival of Alex Neil, although the new manager’s reign has been nothing if not eventful. Last week, Neil watched as Norwich were reduced to 10 men before Cameron Jerome claimed a late winner; this week, his side almost squandered a three-goal lead as Cardiff scored twice after the break to set up a tense finale.
League One
Level on points at the League One summit and matching each other step for step, Swindon and Bristol City have the air of dance hall contestants labouring to outdo each other. Characteristically sure-footed, both sides emerged from their latest skirmishes with victory by a two-goal margin.
Swindon won 3-1 at home against Chesterfield, goals from Jack Stephens, John Swift and Andy Williams keeping them top of the table on goal difference. Paul Cook’s visitors remain a point shy of a playoff position.
Bristol City couldn’t quite match that triple salvo, but they made up for it with a solid defensive display. A third successive clean sheet in all competitions provided the platform for Jay Emmanuel-Thomas and Luke Freeman to claim a fourth win on the bounce for Steve Cotterill’s side as Scunthorpe were beaten 2-0.
Carl Baker’s lone strike kept MK Dons six points off the top two, the victory dislodging Preston – over whom Karl Robinson’s side still have a game in hand – from third spot. Rochdale, meanwhile, rose to fifth place with a resounding 4-1 win over Crawley.
At the foot of the table, Yeovil capitalised on defeats for fellow strugglers Crewe, Colchester and Crawley with a 1-0 home win over playoff challengers Bradford. They remain bottom, but are now within three points of safety.
League Two
As in League One, the tale of the top two is one of near symmetry, with Wycombe Wanderers clinging doggedly to a slender advantage over Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink’s Burton Albion. But both teams will be kicking themselves this week after neither was able to capitalise on an unexpected slip by the other.
Away to Bury, Wycombe perhaps had the marginally tougher assignment. Danny Mayor’s first-half strike briefly raised the prospect of a third win in four games for David Flitcroft’s side, but Fred Onyedinma popped up after the break to do what Fred Onyedinma does (since arriving on loan from Millwall, at least). The Nigerian’s equaliser was his third goal in three games.
The stalemate gave Burton a chance to claim top spot, but they too fell behind in the first half. Jed Wallace guided home after Andy Barcham had hit the post, and it was eight minutes from time before the visitors could pull level through Darragh Lenihan.
