The Championship - Week 8 review / Week 9 preview
Wednesday 23 September 2009
Week 8 - Separated by just a point at the top of the table pre-game, West Brom and Middlesbrough were a class apart during the match. The Baggies travelled to Teesside and rampaged through the Boro defence, with a Chris Brunt double putting them on the way to a five-goal haul. Brunt’s second was a sensational first-time hit from just inside the opposition half, lobbing home goalkeeper Danny Coyne who had made a hash of a clearance and found himself stranded off his line. Youssouf Mulumbu, Roman Bednar and Jerome Thomas completed the drubbing, with Gareth Southgate’s men never looking like they would get back in to the match.
Kicking off a weekend of highscoring matches was the Steel City derby on Friday evening. Sheffield United exploded out of the blocks and ran in 3-0 leaders at halftime. Goals from Jamie Ward and Darius Henderson and Lewis Buxton looked to have put the game beyond doubt, but in an entertaining but fiery clash - which saw six Blades’ players booked - Wednesday came roaring back through goals from Marcus Tudgay and the influential substitute Etienne Esajas. United held on but they were given a severe scare from an Owls side who barely resembled the team that had crumbled in the first half.
Without a win in the league this season, Roy Keane’s under-performing Ipswich Town found themselves 3-2 up at Doncaster. Former Manchester United trainee Lee Martin looked to have earned the Tractor Boys their first victory after they had twice come from behind, only for another ex-Red Devils player, Quinton Fortune, to hit a late leveller. There was better news for another team searching for their first three points as Darren Ferguson’s Peterborough came from two down at half-time to beat hapless Reading. A Gylfi Sigurdsson inspired Royals looked set for only their second win of the campaign, only for Posh’s star trio of Craig Mackail-Smith, Aaron Mclean and George Boyd to each find the net.
After a surprise midweek win over Newcastle, Blackpool travelled to Nottingham Forest and came away with three points thanks to a Charlie Adam goal, his fourth in five games. The Magpies bounced back from the defeat to Ian Holloway’s Tangerines with a home victory over bottom club Plymouth. A Karl Duguid equaliser gave the Pilgrims a few minutes of hope but Kevin Nolan and Andy Carroll restored normality to proceedings, adding to Steven Taylor’s sixth minute opener as the Tyneside club went second in the league.
The goals were flowing at Deepdale and Vicarage Road, as Preston won by the odd goal in five against Coventry, and Watford drew a six-goal thriller with Leicester. Matty Fryatt hit a first-half double for the Foxes before the Hornets roared back with three goals, only for Dany N’Guessan to equalise in stoppage time. Mark Robins lead Barnsley to their first home point of the season with a goalless draw against Swansea whilst Scunthorpe’s good form continued with a draw at Bristol City. There were also wins for London sides QPR and Crystal Palace.
Full Results
Friday 18th September, 2009
Sheffield United 3-2 Sheffield Wednesday
Saturday 19th September, 2009
Barnsley 0-0 Swansea
Bristol City 1-1 Scunthorpe
Cardiff 0-2 QPR
Crystal Palace 1-0 Derby
Doncaster 3-3 Ipswich
Middlesbrough 0-5 West Brom
Newcastle 3-1 Plymouth
Nottingham Forest 0-1 Blackpool
Peterborough 3-2 Reading
Preston 3-2 Coventry
Watford 3-3 Leicester
Week 9 - Paul Sturrock’s Plymouth host Nottingham Forest on Sunday as they desperately look to haul themselves off the foot of the table. Whether Sturrock will still be in charge by the time the match comes around is questionable, with fans becoming increasingly frustrated having seen their team lose six straight games. Having endured the longest away trip in the Championship to Newcastle at the weekend and travelled home without any points, the mood around Home Park is low and there is the distinct belief that Sturrock has outstayed his welcome. If he is still in place come kick off against Forest, he will know exactly what he has to do if he has any desire of keeping his job - get the three points anyway possible. Forest are without a win in three themselves and have drawn all four games on the road this season.
Blackpool are perhaps the surprise team of the season so far. Having finished 19th and 16th in their two seasons back in the second tier, the Tangerines were not expected to be among the front runners this year. The appointment of Ian Holloway as manager seems to have been a great decision, with Ollie fitting in nicely at Bloomfield Road. His tenure started with four straight draws and has since seen three wins from four games, with just a solitary defeat on the board. Charlie Adam has proved an inspired signing from Rangers, scoring three times in the league and four goals in his last five games in all competitions. Visiting are Peterborough, who showed character to fight back from two down at half-time against Reading to steal a late winner. Darren Ferguson will hope that his team kick on after their first win of the season and start to rise up the table.
Still searching for their first win of the season are Ipswich. Roy Keane’s men have only lost once at home but have been unable to convert the draws in to victories and will not be fancied to end the run with Newcastle the visitors. Keane managed to turn around Sunderland’s poor start to the season a few years ago, leading them to promotion in his first season of football management. The Irishman inherited a struggling side on that occasion and this time he will need to prove he is capable of turning around his own mess. Lee Martin struck his first goal for the club at the weekend and much is expected of the former Manchester United trainee, who has first team experience from a plethora of loan spells while on the Old Trafford books.
Sheffield Wednesday will be buoyed by their second half performance in the Sheffield derby and will look to take the momentum they gained with their brave attempted comeback into the match with Cardiff. Etienne Esajas made his first appearance of the season off the bench against the Blades and was influential in turning the flow of the game. The 24-year-old Dutchman will be in line for a start against the Bluebirds, who have lost three of their last four games after topping the table early on. Esajas’ career at Hillsborough has been interrupted by injury but he showed his quality on Friday night, and together with the in-form Marcus Tudgay, the Owls look dangerous going forward.
Week 9 Fixtures
Saturday, 26 September 2009
Blackpool vs. Peterborough, 15:00
Coventry vs. Middlesbrough, 15:00
Derby vs. Bristol City, 15:00
Ipswich vs. Newcastle, 17:30
Leicester vs. Preston, 15:00
QPR vs. Barnsley, 15:00
Reading vs. Watford, 15:00
Scunthorpe vs. Doncaster, 12:00
Sheffield Wednesday vs. Cardiff, 15:00
Swansea vs. Sheffield United, 15:00
West Brom vs. Crystal Palace, 15:00
Sunday, 27 September 2009
Plymouth vs. Nottingham Forest, 13:15
The Championship 2009/10 Week 1 review / Week 2 preview - August 12
Week 2 review / Week 3 preview - August 18
Week 3 review / Week 4 preview - August 20
Week 4 review / Week 5 preview - August 26
Week 5 review / Week 6 preview - September 2
Week 6 review / Week 7 preview - September 14
Week 7 review / Week 8 preview - September 17
Week 8 review / Week 9 preview - September 23
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