Championship talking points: Promotion is now Ipswich's to lose with Southampton's relentless run continuing

Automatic promotion is now Ipswich’s to lose

It wasn’t a pretty performance from Ipswich but showing the character to fight back after going behind twice against Middlesbrough could be the game fans look back on come the end of the season.

The pressure was on Kieran McKenna’s side after Millwall’s 2-0 win against QPR. Ipswich had fallen out of the top two and were staring defeat in the face. Should the scoreline have stayed 2-1 at Portman Road, Boro would have moved level on points with the Tractor Boys as we approach the final few games of the season.

Instead, they cling onto a place in the top two and with a game in hand on their rivals, an automatic promotion place is now theirs to lose across the final four games.

Jack Clarke’s penalty, albeit a controversial one given the light contact from Adilson Malanda on George Hirst, was more than just a goal to rescue a point. It showed Ipswich can bounce back not only when it matters, but when they are some way off the standards they have shown to get to this point.

Those are often the games upon which promotion campaigns are built.
Patrick Rowe

Southampton’s relentless march continues

Swansea 1-2 Southampton

Can anything stop Southampton right now? The answer seems to be no.

Trailing at Swansea, a side with an imperious record at home under Vitor Matos, they still found a way to battle back and take the three points.

A seventh victory on the bounce for the Saints in the league.13 wins now and three draws in 16. And that doesn’t even take into account their remarkable run to the FA Cup semi-final.

A play-off place is assured, and second may still be within their sights. Which could lead to some problems this week in terms of team selection, as they host Bristol City in the Championship on Tuesday night ahead of their blockbuster FA Cup semi-final against Man City at the weekend.

Will Tonda Eckert ring the changes? Judging by the way that Bristol City folded against Norwich in the second half on Saturday, he may well be able to take the risk.
Simeon Gholam

Hull leave the play-off door ajar again

Hull 1-1 Birmingham | Wrexham 2-0 Stoke | Derby 1-0 Oxford

Once again, Hull City drop points from a winning position and the vultures are circling.

They looked like they were on their way to victory against Birmingham after Joe Gelhardt’s goal, but Tomoki Iwata hit back.

It is four without a win now for Hull, three of which they have led. And wins for Wrexham and Derby mean this battle for the final play-off spot could well go to the wire.

Wrexham, themselves, recovered from a couple of poor results with an important and comfortable win over Stoke. While Derby battled their way past Oxford United.

Three points separate the trio from sixth to eighth, and all face midweek away days on Tuesday night. While Derby head to in-form Norwich – who admittedly have nothing to play for – Hull and Wrexham head to Leicester and Oxford respectively. Two sides currently fighting for their future in the Championship. Intrigue awaits.
Simeon Gholam

Leicester slip closer to the mire

Portsmouth 1-0 Leicester

Ten years after winning the Premier League, Leicester are surely heading to the third tier of English football. It’s a sad state of affairs at the King Power; only basement club Sheffield Wednesday have collected fewer points in the Championship since the turn of the year.

This latest defeat, a limp 1-0 failure at Portsmouth, did nothing to suggest the Foxes are capable of staging a revival remarkable enough to avoid the drop. The manner of the performance, in fact, did the opposite. Such consternation appeared to be accepting of the inevitable.

The fight has left these Leicester players, or at least it seems that way. They created three big chances at Fratton Park and contrived to fluff them all. Individuals with international pedigree, some with vast Premier League experience, looked totally devoid of all confidence and conviction.

“I thought we showed a lack of toughness to do the basics,” said Gary Rowett afterwards. And now his side can be relegated as early as Tuesday when they host Hull. How has this happened to a club with the highest wage bill in the division?

Leicester are facing a brutal truth: their situation is going to get far worse before it can begin getting any better.
Laura Hunter

All Championship weekend results

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Showcase