Championship roundup: Leicester cruise to win, Rotherham rescue point
Leicester extended their lead at the top of the Championship to 10 points after thrashing struggling Huddersfield 4-1. Tom Cannon scored twice and Ricardo Pereira and Stephy Mavididi were also on the scoresheet as Enzo Maresca’s side continued their seemingly unstoppable march towards promotion back to the Premier League.
Nearest rivals Ipswich were held to a second successive 0-0 draw at 10man Stoke, who had Jordan Thompson sent off for a second bookable offence midway through the second half.
Southampton also had to settle for a point at Norwich after Josh Sargent cancelled out Adam Armstrong’s 70thminute opener, a result which allowed Leeds to close the gap on Southampton to four points with a 3-0 win over Birmingham at Elland Road. Dan James set up Patrick Bamford for the opening goal and scored the second himself in the first-half’s stoppage time, with Crysencio Summerville completing the scoring after the interval to increase the pressure on the visiting manager, Wayne Rooney.
West Brom remain fifth in the table after losing to a 55th-minute Liam Cullen goal at Swansea, while a stunning strike from Alex Pritchard and a first goal for the club from Nazariy Rusyn gave playoff contenders Sunderland a 2-0 win over Preston in the lunchtime kick-off at the Stadium of Light.
A late equaliser from Tom Eaves earned bottom side Rotherham a valuable point against Blackburn in a 2-2 draw at Ewood Park, while Shaun Hutchinson snatched a 1-0 win for Millwall at Bristol City in the second minute of stoppage time.
Coventry beat Middlesbrough 3-1 at the Riverside Stadium, Tatsuhiro Sakamoto scoring twice as the visitors came from behind following Josh Coburn’s opener on the half hour.
The most entertaining game of the day came at Home Park, where Plymouth and Watford saw in the new year with a six-goal thriller. Finn Azaz and Morgan Whittaker put Plymouth 2-1 up after an early goal from Edo Kayembe Ryan Hardie then restoring the home side’s advantage after a superb equaliser from Ismaël Konéin the first half.
Ryan Andrews made it 3-3 shortly before the hour mark and neither side was able to find a winner. Cardiff moved up to ninth with a 2-1 win over struggling QPR, Perry Ng scoring the winner in the 74th minute after Paul Smyth had cancelled out the opener from Dimitrios Goutas.
In the day’s late kick-off, Sheffield Wednesday’s upturn in form continued as they recorded a 3-1 victory against 10-man Hull. Second-half goals from Marvin Johnson, Djeidi Gassama and Josh Windass saw the hosts past their Yorkshire rivals, who had Tyler Morton dismissed in the first half. The result sees Wednesday move up to 22nd and three points from safety.