Championship roundup: West Brom fight back to avert Barnsley shock
The West Brom head coach Slaven Bilic said his team were caught out playing “sexy football” before they came back to draw 2-2 against Barnsley.
The Baggies rescued a point to remain two points clear at the top of the Championship and deny the Yorkshireman a first win since the opening day of the season.
Cauley Woodrow scored two firsthalf goals to leave Albion facing the prospect of a first home defeat since February. But Bamba Diaby’s own goal after 68 minutes and a header from Matheus Pereira nine minutes from time sealed a comeback and meant it was 16 points the Baggies have saved from losing positions this season.
“Considering everything that happened during the game, especially in the first half, it’s a fantastic point for us,” said a relieved Bilic.
“We were trying to play key balls like assists when the situation was nowhere near ready to play them. We were trying to rush things too much and play sexy football, things like that.”
Leeds could have gone top if the Tykes had pulled off a shock win, but Marcelo Bielsa’s side also had to settle for a 1-1 draw at Preston. Tom Barkhuizen
fired the home side in front at Deepdale and Leeds were grateful to substitute Eddie Nketiah for heading home the equaliser with three minutes remaining.
Sheffield Wednesday were the biggest beneficiaries of none of the top three at the start of the evening managing a win, a 1-0 victory over Stoke lifting them to third in the table. Massimo Luongo scored the only goal just before the interval.
Asked about his side’s lofty league position, the Wednesday manager, Garry Monk, said: “The table means nothing to me and the boys that are here.”
Swansea fell from third seventh after losing 3-0 at home to Brentford. The Bees manager, Thomas Frank, believes his team are building momentum: “We talked about this at the start of the season. New players coming in and finding their way, we knew it would take time to settle in.
The new Millwall manager Gary Rowett watched from the stands as his side drew 2-2 with Cardiff in an entertaining game at the Den.
The visitors took the lead after 12 minutes when Danny Ward headed home from close range but Tom Bradshaw fired in an equaliser just before half-time. Junior Hoilett curled in his side’s second after 57 minutes but Bradshaw levelled for the second time with 13 minutes remaining.
The Cardiff manager, Neil Warnock, was unimpressed. “It is probably the most frustrated I’ve ever been this season, and there have been one or two moments,” he said. “It is scandalous really. I just don’t know what to say.”
QPR and Reading also shared four goals at Loftus Road, where Nahki Wells drilled the home side in front after 29 minutes, only for George Puscas to equalise two minutes later.
A deflected shot from Jordan Hugill put QPR back in front in the second half but Sam Baldock’s 74th-minute tap-in meant the spoils were shared.
Goals were harder to come by at St Andrew’s, where Maxime Colin’s close-range header gave Birmingham all three points against Blackburn in a 1-0 triumph.