‘Celebrity’ ref leaves Warnock in a rage

NEIL WARNOCK launched a tirade against referee Gavin Ward after MIDDLESBROUGH lost to a 97th-minute penalty at SWANSEA. Boro were seconds away from a point after Sam Morsy cancelled out Andre Ayew’s first-half opener in the 91st minute. But when Jake Bidwell went down under a challenge from George Saville at the death, Ward pointed for a corner before changing his mind and awarding a penalty that Ayew converted. ‘They all want the celebrity status, don’t they?’ Warnock fumed. ‘It’s wrong. My lads have been let down by a team of officials who weren’t good enough today.’ It meant Swansea claimed three important points with a last-minute penalty for the second game in a row and it kept them a point behind second-placed WATFORD. The Hornets beat NOTTINGHAM FOREST 1-0 to claim a sixth win in seven, with Adam Masina’s first-half strike just about enough to claim the three points. With Brentford’s game against Rotherham called off due to a Covid outbreak, NORWICH preserved their 10-point lead at the summit by beating LUTON 3-0. Teemu Pukki scored his 19th and 20th goals of the season before half-time and Todd Cantwell rounded off a seventh straight win for the Canaries late on. Norwich’s seven wins on the spin is matched by BARNSLEY, who climbed into the play-off spots with a 1-0 win over BIRMINGHAM. Daryl Dike fired home an eye-catching top-corner goal just after the break, described by Tykes boss Valerien Ismael as ‘something unbelievable’. It leaves the Blues teetering just three points above the relegation zone. COVENTRY are three points better off after Maxime Biamou’s goal consigned Wayne Rooney’s DERBY to a third successive game without victory. Biamou intercepted a loose pass by Nathan Byrne to run through and score 11 minutes in and had chances to add to his tally. WYCOMBE are 12 points adrift of safety and increasingly resigned to a League One return after a 2-0 defeat at STOKE. Defenders did the damage with Rhys Norrington-Davies and Harry Souttar scoring within five minutes midway through the second half. BOURNEMOUTH are below the top six after they were held 1-1 by