Championship: Ipswich held but go top; Saints grab late win, big victory for Birmingham

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It looked like Southampton were going to go the same way of the top three in the Championship and fail to win this weekend before Flynn Downes popped up with a late, late, LATE winner against Watford.

The Saints are back in action Tuesday when they face Preston in one of the two games in hand they have on third-placed Leeds and league leaders Ipswich.

If they're to have any chance of gatecrashing those automatic spots they're going to have to win.

Meanwhile, Saints' local rivals Portsmouth will secure promotion to the second tier if they avoid defeat by Barnsley on the same night.

We'll have live coverage of that and all the other action in Leagues One and Two that night from 19:30 BST.

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Southampton manager Russell Martin, speaking to BBC Radio Solent: "Ultimately, it's been a very good day. I'm really annoyed that it took until the 97th minute to win, after the start we had. But it's my job not to be too emotional about results.

"I told the players that we couldn't come off it for one second and, at 2-0, we came off it again. At 2-1, we had a lot of really good opportunities to kill the game – but they had too many.

"There were a lot of tired players from both teams in the second half, in the heat. I think we were the better team and deserved to win.

"I said to the players that we have a chance to feel the emotion we felt in the 97th minute 10 times over, for the fans, players and staff – as long as we don't take our foot off the gas at any point. It's cost us too many times. It's my job to be relentless with them.

"There will be lots of twists and turns and we need to take care of ourselves. Fortunately today, we did. It took until far too late but I'm delighted with that moment, to see the fans and the staff, the players on the bench and the people on the pitch enjoying that."

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West Bromwich Albion must be comfortable with their fifth spot in the table but a 1-0 defeat by Sunderland saw rivals Norwich close the gap to just one point, with Hull City, who beat QPR 3-0, also looming in the background.

Boss Carlos Corberan has been speaking with BBC Radio WM on the deficiencies that caused his team to falter.

"I think that we have lost that game because we didn't manage well three aspects that game," Corberan said.

"You want to dominate the game, you want to win the game, but once you have decided to win, another thing is you need to have the intelligence to know how to play that game.

"It's true that they didn't create any chances but, at the same time, we were forcing too many balls in behind that didn't help us to stretch them enough.

"We need to know how to play when we have one yellow card because it's not the same as when you play without.

"And the last aspect that we lost that game is because we conceded one goal in one set piece situation that we could have avoided."

A red card for forward Brandon Thomas-Asante in the 43rd minute also caused a headache for Albion, but Corberan was happy with his team's hard effort.

"Against this team, playing with one player less is difficult for the level of play that they have, for the time they have the ball, but I saw the team competing until the end," he added.

Nahki Wells' 100th-minute penalty denied Huddersfield a win that would have moved them out of the relegation zone.

Instead, they remain in the bottom three one point below 21st-place Birmingham and Terriers defender Tom Lees believed the late awarding of the penalty was harsh on his side.

"There's not much you can say," he told BBC Radio Leeds.

"You can't even say we were hanging on and all the usual stuff that we're throwing points away from a winning position.

"We felt comfortable, it was a decision out of nothing which I don't think needed making that has cost us.

"I realise that people will go down and there's probably a bit of time to add, but it getting given on 98 minutes... we look back on it and it's harsh."

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Middlesbrough manager Michael Carrick, speaking to BBC Radio Tees: "Ipswich are a good team and they made us work for it today. The boys did ever so well and put in a hell of an effort.

"On another day, a point here would be pretty good. We're looking to win games now - there's no hiding from that - and we didn't manage it today, but we came close. We possibly should have won it, with the chances we had.

"We handled it pretty well and scored a good goal. We grew into the game. In the second half we were a lot better defensively and had chances on the break. We've come to the teams around the top and done well all season.

"There's still a lot to play for, so it doesn't change what we do. It's something to build on for the Leeds game [on Friday]. It's a big game at this stage. They've got something else going on, which doesn't really bother us and won't.

"Manu [Latte Lath] looked lively. He had moments where you thought he could create something. He did a lot of work that was unseen, really, and got his goal with another header. I'm delighted for him.

"The fans have been unbelievable since I came here. The away fans have travellled in numbers and supported us. We've given them a little bit to shout about but it would have been nice if we'd taken our opportunities at the end. They've been fantastic."

Stoke manager Stephen Schumacher told BBC Radio Stoke:

"Obviously everyone knew the importance of this game and if we were to lose it they would have gone level on points with us and would be building momentum.

"It was dead important that we stood up to their physicality today, we watched them on Tuesday night and we spoke about how they changed their style at half-time and went really direct and the crowd played a huge part.

"We were expecting that and we picked a team to withstand that, in the first half we came under intense pressure but thankfully we stood up to it.

"Daniel made one brilliant save and they hit the bar which we got a bit of luck from and we got in at half-time level which was good.

"We fell behind but once again the team showed brilliant character to come back into it and get something, it was so important."

Coventry boss Mark Robins was so angry with his players he says he could have swapped his entire team at half time in their 3-0 humbling at St Andrew's.

"I could have taken everyone off at half time. There was just nothing. It was a non-performance," he told BBC CWR.

"We were second best to everything.

"When you are fighting for your lives at the bottom of the division, you know that this is going to be a tough game.

"When you have got a situation that we are in, where we are trying to get into the play-offs, you expect a response and we didn't have enough of a response.

"The energy, the way that we think, the way that we were making mistakes from a tactical point of view - where we start to move into spaces - is just foreign to me."

I would love to have been a fly on the wall for that half-time team-talk!

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Birmingham City hammered Coventry 3-0 to move out of the Championship relegation zone.

Blues had fallen to a lacklustre 1-0 home loss by Cardiff in midweek and interim boss Gary Rowett said his side had to have some frank conversations after the defeat by the Welsh side.

"I think it had a little bit of everything. That was the nice bit about it," Rowett told BBC Radio WM:

"We spoke a few home truths after Wednesday, and in fairness, it was the players that mainly led that.

"What I tried to do today is pick a team that I felt would go and put that out onto the pitch.

"We limited them to very few clear-cut chances. It allows us to then go and show the quality we have got in the final third and I thought we did that really well.

"It certainly shows the level we can perform to."

Ipswich moved top of the league despite dropping points in their draw with Middlesbrough at Portman Road.

Tractor Boys boss Kieran McKenna felt his side had enough chances to win the match and open up a three-point lead at the Championship summit.

"I thought it was an excellent performance, I thought it was a terrific game with two good teams," he told BBC Radio Suffolk.

"I thought we were the better team on the day, but Middlesbrough are very good and they cause you problems.

"We had enough chances to win the game for sure, but we didn't.

"But it's another point on the board and they're all hard fought and hard won, especially at the end of a period like this."

Southampton defender Kyle Walker-Peters, speaking to BBC Radio Solent: "We're delighted. We're well aware of the teams around us, so it's a big three points. We are still a bit disappointed with how we let Watford back into the game.

"I don't think it's anything tactically. It's more down to intensity and running. You take your foot off the gas a bit more when it's 2-0 – we definitely did today, rather than trying to make it three or four. We gave Watford some confidence and got punished."

On second-placed Leeds losing at home to Blacburn in the early kick-off: "We knew. We were watching it. Regardless, you want to win - but it's an extra incentive. We want to chase the guys ahead of us.

On hosting Preston on Tuesday: "We're taking it a game at a time and we'll see where we end up. We know how tough it was going there. We'll prepare as best we can and we need three points, nothng less. Hopefully I score against them again."

Speaking after his sixth-placed side's win at Preston, Norwich manager David Wagner told BBC Radio Norfolk:

"Unfortunately we had to wait but we had the feeling we deserved the goal and deserved the win.

"Performance wise we were very mature, very calm and very composed with the amount of pressure the opponent's manager put on this game.

"It was important to keep our heads cool and keep the crowd low, the way the players executed that were great.

"We were always in control, we defended super super well, we gave them almost nothing apart from set pieces, so the performance was top and I'm over the moon about the result and clean sheet.

"In possession we looked quite composed and calm, yes we didn't executed so many clear-cut chances but we always looked in control."

It was a very good day for Newcastle United.

The Magpies walloped Tottenham 4-0 to boost their hopes of a top-six finish and, in far less pressing news, Leeds' defeat by Blackburn means they will retain their record as the last Championship team to go a whole season unbeaten in front of their own fans for another year.

Newcastle achieved the feat in 2009-10 as they won the second tier title under Chris Hughton.

What a difference a week makes!

If someone had said last Saturday morning that the top three teams in the Championship would pick up one win between them over the next eight days I don't think any of us would have believed it.

That's how it has panned out though, with Ipswich, Leicester and Leeds combining for a record of one win, three draws and five defeats since the start of last weekend.

Give us your thoughts on the Championship promotion race on #bbcefl, via WhatsApp on 03301231826 or text 81111 (UK only, standard message rates apply).

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It was a disappointing day for Leeds United as their shock 1-0 defeat by relegation-threatened Blackburn saw them miss out on the chance to top

They're now three games without a win after a first home reverse of the season.

"When you face a side like Blackburn with a player like Szmodics, he showed the quality which we didn't show today and he needed just one chance to score," boss Daniel Farke told BBC Radio Leeds.

"So many balls went through the box, but you also need to show the quality to put the ball in the net.

"If you don't score you have so much more risk. There is also a danger there will be one moment for your opponent and they can score. It's pretty disappointing and frustrating for us.

"We didn't put the ball into the net. If you don't score, you can't win the game."

Leeds have only scored one goal in their last three Championship games but Farke puts no blame on his players for their lack of scoring prowess.

"It's up to me if we don't score - to find solutions. I have to work with them so that in the next game we create more chances," he added.

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After their devastating 5-0 defeat at Bristol City on Wednesday, Blackburn Rovers boss John Eustace said that it was the "togetherness" of his team that allowed them to bounce back with a shock 1-0 win over title contenders Leeds.

“We’ve got a quality team. Wednesday was a bit of a blip. It’s very evident that we’re difficult to play against," Eustace told BBC Radio Lancashire.

“The only way you get success is if you stick together. We had a really rough time on Wednesday but the togetherness we showed - everyone thought we’d come here and lose - was tremendous.”

Blackburn are the first away team to win at Elland Road this season and it's an achievement that has given them a five-point cushion from the relegation zone.

“I’m very proud. The effort the boys have given me since I came in has been outstanding," Eustace said.

“Without the ball we had a gameplan. We knew they’d take more risks as the game went on and it was a fantastic bit of play to score the goal.

“It’s important that we keep working hard, sticking together, and we’ve got three massive games coming up and know we still need points."

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Fourth-bottom Birmingham are the big winners at the wrong end today, their 3-0 win over Coventry made all the sweeter by moving them a point clear of Huddersfield, who are above Sheffield Wednesday on goal difference after Bristol City denied the Terriers victory with a last-minute penalty.

Stoke's point at Hillsborough and QPR's thrashing at Hull leaves both clubs three points above the drop zone with superior goal differences.

Blackburn's stunning win at Leeds in the early kick-off and Millwall's victory at home to Cardiff mean they are within sight of confirming safety, while Plymouth are four points above the bottom three thanks to their win at home to Leicester last night.

Relegated Rotherham are 21 points adrift of second-bottom Wednesday after suffering their 28th defeat of the campaign.

Three games left to play for each team. Still so tough to call in terms of the final two for whom the trap door beckons.

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Ipswich's draw with Middlesbrough takes them to the top but aren't these three making hard work of it!

Southampton's late winner against Watford moves them within six points of third-placed Leeds with two games in hand - count them out at your peril, this is very much a four-horse race for two spots.

Norwich stay sixth with a vital 1-0 win at Preston, while Hull's convincing win against QPR means they keep pace in another race that could go the distance.

Ipswich are top of the table again.

But they had to fight hard for this one against a Middlesbrough side who were equal to the fight.

Both sides traded blows all game and their keepers earned their corn with some acrobatic saves to keep it level.

Middlesbrough are technically still in the play-off race. With performances like their last nine games, they’ll be ruing that poor start to the season which may be the factor as to whether they get the final place.

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Let's take a quick look at what today's dramatic action has done to the table at both ends.

Give this post a thumbs up if you're happy with your side's result today and down if you are... not happy.