Teemu Pukki scored twice to put Norwich 10 points clear at the top of the Championship as the leaders beat Birmingham 3-1 at St Andrew’s.
Pukki also missed a penalty before Ivan Sanchez’s equaliser for the home side. The Finnish striker had the last laugh with a second and his 17th goal of the season and sixth in his last four games to send the Canaries 10 points clear of Brentford and Watford before they play on Wednesday.
Oliver Skipp made it 3-1 with virtually the last kick. Norwich showed the quality of their finishing after Birmingham – with the worst home record in the Championship – had numerous opportunities to have taken something from the game.
Quick GuideLeague One: Barton’s Rovers sunk by late Wigan winner
Joey Barton’s first game in charge of Bristol Rovers ended in a painful home defeat as Scott Wootton snatched victory for relegation rivals Wigan. Wootton’s 90th-minute winner moved the Latics level on points with Rovers, who levelled through Luke McCormick after Callum Lang put the visitors ahead early in the second half.
The result leaves Barton’s side in the relegation zone after Jack Rudoni’s late goal earned Wimbledon a 1-0 win over Gillingham, and Swindon picked up an unexpected point at high-flying Lincoln. The Robins twice led 2-1 at half-time thanks to Brett Pitman’s strike, but the former leaders hit back through Morgan Rogers.
Peterborough moved to the top of the table with a 3-0 win at Plymouth. Sammie Szmodics, Jonson Clarke-Harris and Jack Taylor got the second-half goals for Darren Ferguson’s side at Home Park. Third-placed Hull were beaten at home by Ipswich thanks to James Norwood’s goal in the 15th minute, while Doncaster‘s trip to Blackpool was rained off.
Sunderland and Portsmouth boosted their promotion hopes with wins over Fleetwood and Oxford respectively. Aiden O’Brien and Max Power earned the Black Cats a 2-0 win, while Harvey White got the only goal for Pompey at the Kassam Stadium. Play-off chasers Accrington lost 2-0 at Crewe, while Ben Watson’s own goal earned bottom club Burton a shock win over Charlton at the Valley.
Nigel Pearson’s Bristol City reign does not really start until Wednesday morning but the new Robins manager could not have wished for a more immediate impact as his presence at the Riverside stadium helped inspire his new side to a 3-1 win over Middlesbrough. City ended a seven-game losing run as they tore the promotion-hunting Teessiders apart, with all three of their goals coming in a 16-minute period in the first half.
Famara Diedhiou scored the first two, heading in Adam Nagy’s cross and firing home a shot from just inside the area, and then set up the third as he flicked on to send Nakhi Wells racing clear of the Boro backline. Dael Fry pulled a goal back for Middlesbrough with 10 minutes left but this was Bristol City’s night as caretaker managers Paul Simpson and Keith Downing signed off in style. Pearson, watching on from the directors’ box at the Riverside, will feel he has plenty to build from.
Derby again enjoyed home comforts as they eased past Huddersfield 2-0 to move further away from the bottom. George Edmundson headed home his maiden goal following his loan move from Rangers before Martyn Waghorn sealed victory with his first goal since October.
It was Derby’s fourth consecutive home win and lifted them above Huddersfield, who started brightly with Fraizer Campbell forcing David Marshall into an outstanding save but ended with 10 men when the substitute Jaden Brown was sent off. But after going behind, they posed little threat as former Derby skipper Richard Keogh, who was sacked by the club in October 2019 following a car accident in which he suffered a serious knee injury, came away empty-handed on his return to Pride Park.
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