The Championship - Week 10 review / Week 11 preview

By Andrew Iddon

Week 10 - There was shocks aplenty on Tuesday night with three of the bottom four winning, and the fourth side, Ipswich, missing out on victory only in the last minute. Roy Keane’s Tractor Boys looked like breaking their duck for the season when they found themselves 3-1 up at Sheffield United with 20 minutes left, only for Blades striker Darius Henderson to claim his second of the night before Chris Morgan levelled at the death following a mistake from Ipswich keeper Richard Wright. Jon Walters, Grant Leadbitter and Gareth McAuley looked like they had eased the pressure on Keane after his team’s nightmare start to the season before United came roaring back.

Plymouth succeeded where Ipswich failed by claiming their first win of the season, lifting themselves off the bottom of the table on goal difference in the process. Jamie Mackie and Rory Fallon gave the Pilgrims a two goal cushion at Peterborough’s London Road ground which proved to be enough, Craig Mackail-Smith’s late goal for Posh little more than a consolation. After seven straight defeats, the result will be a tonic for the under-fire Paul Sturrock and his team.

Barnsley caused the surprise of the night by beating high-flying West Brom. With just one previous win to their name, the Tykes were two up by half time thanks to Adam Hammill and an Iain Hume penalty. It was the Canadian’s first goal since his career-threatening skull injury and things got better for Hume and his team when Baggies defender Shelton Martis put through his own net. Chris Brunt pulled a late goal back but could not prevent West Brom going down to their second straight defeat having previously been unbeaten in eight games from the season’s start.

Reading caused an upset at third placed Preston with goals from Simon Church and Jimmy Kebe. Adam Federici was in top form in the Royals’ goal as the home team looked to get back in to the game after the break and he was only beaten by a late Jon Parkin penalty. There was a home defeat as well for the team lying just below North End, with Middlesbrough falling to a late Lloyd Dyer goal. It was a winning return to Teesside for Leicester boss Nigel Pearson who successfully captained Boro in the 1990s.

Cardiff returned to winning ways as they hammered hapless Derby 6-1. Michael Chopra roared back in to goalscoring form, finding the net four times to take his season’s tally to 11 in the league. Tom Cleverley scored his fourth of the season for Watford but could not prevent them falling to defeat against Coventry, with Leon Best netting two, including the winner, for the Sky Blues. Blackpool suffered a rare defeat at Bristol City who have now dropped just two points at home, whilst Nottingham Forest claimed a victory over Scunthorpe thanks to second half goals from Luke Chambers and Dexter Blackstock. Top of the table Newcastle could only draw at home to QPR, coming from behind in the process, and there were goalless draws in the games at Crystal Palace and Doncaster.

Full Results
Tuesday September 29, 2009
Barnsley 3-1 West Brom
Bristol City 2-0 Blackpool
Cardiff 6-1 Derby
Crystal Palace 0-0 Sheffield Wednesday
Doncaster 0-0 Swansea
Middlesbrough 0-1 Leicester
Peterborough 1-2 Plymouth
Preston 1-2 Reading
Sheffield United 3-3 Ipswich
Watford 2-3 Coventry

Wednesday September, 30 2009
Newcastle 1-1 QPR
Nottingham Forest 2-0 Scunthorpe

Week 11 - The search for a first home win since January goes on for Brendan Rodgers’ Reading. The Royals will be buoyed by the midweek win at Preston and face a Middlesbrough side who are in poor form. Rodgers has spoken about wanting to cut his squad down to a more focussed size now that he has had a chance to find out more about his new charges, and his team selections have looked more consistent in recent weeks. Captain Ivar Ingimarsson has returned after a long injury lay off to bolster the defence and forwards Gregorz Rasiak and Simon Church have both found the net in recent games. Winger Jobi McAnuff has looked impressive following his move from Watford and fellow new arrival Brian Howard has settle well in the Reading midfield. Boro have just one point from three games and need to address the slide before the pressure mounts on underperforming manager Gareth Southgate.

Having lost their unbeaten home record to Reading, Preston will look to bounce back immediately against a West Brom side who have entered their first dip in form of the season. The Lilywhites have responded well to missing out in the play offs last season and have been in good goalscoring form with 18 goals from ten matches. They are always tough to beat at home and the midweek loss was something of a surprise. Although it is good to have goals from all around the pitch, one slight weakness is that Preston are shy of an out and out goalscorer who can be relied on week in, week out, though five-goal Neil Mellor is class on his day. Jon Parkin is always a handful and will test a Baggies backline who were outclassed by lowly Barnsley at Oakwell.

One team who do have a regular goalscorer is Cardiff. Michael Chopra’s four goals against Derby have taken him in to double figures already and he has served up a timely reminder of his class with Cardiff having struggled in recent weeks. Joe Ledley is available after a one-match ban for his red card against Sheffield Wednesday. The Bluebirds travel to Watford for whom Danny Graham sits at the top of the club goal chart. The former Middlesbrough youngster has six strikes for the club since his summer move from Carlisle, an excellent return for someone who has never been a prolific scorer at previous clubs.

13 points at home but only three points on their travels is a record that Bristol City will be anxious to address at Newcastle. The Robins have been excellent at Ashton Gate, dropping points just once in the draw with Scunthorpe, yet they have struggled on their travels and are yet to pick up a win. Nicky Maynard is crying out for some support up front as the striker has six of the team’s ten goals. None of his team-mates has more than one, though Maynard himself has found the net with far more regularity at home than away. Newcastle lost their 100% home record in midweek, drawing with QPR, but are yet to drop points in successive games this season.

Week 11 fixtures
Saturday October 3, 2009
Barnsley vs. Ipswich - 15:00
Coventry vs. Leicester - 12:30
Crystal Palace vs. Blackpool - 15:00
Derby vs. Sheffield Wednesday - 15:00
Newcastle vs. Bristol City - 15:00
Peterborough vs. Nottingham Forest - 15:00
Plymouth vs. Scunthorpe - 15:00
Preston vs. West Brom - 12:45
Reading vs. Middlesbrough - 15:00
Sheffield United vs. Doncaster - 15:00
Swansea vs. QPR - 15:00
Watford vs. Cardiff - 15:00

The Championship 2009/10

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