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Football League Daily - 10-man Forest Hold Q.P.R. in Championship promotion battle
A resolute Nottingham Forest side earned a precious point at Championship leaders Queens Park Rangers on Sunday despite playing the majority of the match with ten men. Radoslaw Majewski's two-footed lunge was deemed worthy of a red card by referee Mark Clattenburg, a decision which looked set to condemn Billy Davies' men (who were trailing to a Tommy Smith goal at the time) to a rare defeat. However, the East Midlanders were not to be denied, and hit back almost immediately - David McGoldrick's fortuitous effort snuck past the wrongfooted Paddy Kenny.
The points may have been shared, but the managerial reactions differed greatly. A frustrated Neil Warnock admitted: “It’s very hard against 10 men. The free-kick for the goal was a schoolboy error.” In contrast, a jubilant Davies sang the praises of his players: “In 70 minutes with 10 men we’ve worked a lot on shape and positional play. That’s great credit to the players. If the season finished tomorrow, they would be heroes.” Forest's point keeps them in touch with second placed Cardiff, while Q.P.R extended their lead atop the Championship table to a healthy six points.
Resurgent Leicester City continued their fine form on Saturday evening with a hard-fought 2-0 victory over Nigel Clough's struggling Derby County. On-loan Everton striker Yakubu set Sven-Goran Eriksson's side on their way to a fourth successive Championship victory, before the highly-rated Andy King netted in first half injury time to secure the points. Had they not endured such a torrid start to the season, Leicester would surely be challenging for automatic promotion now. As it is, they sit just four points outside of the play-offs, a commendable return given their early season failings. Just three points behind them, in 10th place, are Nigel Pearson's Hull City. They racked up another win at the weekend, downing former manager Phil Brown's Preston North End 1-0. Elsewhere, Swansea completed a remarkable turnaround at Middlesbrough, coming back from 1-3 to triumph 4-3.
Gary Megson's first game as Sheffield Wednesday boss ended in disappointment as his side were beaten 2-1 by high-flying Rochdale. The prolific Gary Jones netted his 13th league goal of the season to shoot Dale up to 8th place, just one point off an unlikely play-off berth. For Wednesday, however, the malaise that has surrounded the club this season shows no sign of lifting. Substitute Gary Madine's late header was scant consolation for fans of the Owls, who will be hoping Megson can somehow transform the underperforming yet talented squad into genuine play-off contenders between now and the end of the season.
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