Championship round-up: Norwich go top again, West Brom win first game following Darren Moore sacking, Preston beat Middlesbrough

Championship round-up: Norwich go top again, West Brom win first game following Darren Moore sacking, Preston beat Middlesbrough
It’s been a busy night on the Championship, with matters at the top and bottom of the division being addressed.Below you can see a round-up of Wednesday’s action from English football’s second tier.Emi Buendia’s double helped Norwich return to the top of the Sky Bet Championship with a 3-2 win over Hull.6

Buendia helped secure Norwich’s spot back at the Championship’s summit

The Argentinian’s brace at Carrow Road helped Norwich secure a fifth consecutive win that takes them two points clear of Leeds.The Canaries were boosted before kick-off when it was announced that head coach Daniel Farke had signed a new contract to keep him at the club until June 2022.Farke was celebrating as early as the 11th minute when Marco Stiepermann’s solo effort gave Norwich the lead.Buendia soon tapped home a second from close range, but Marc Pugh halved the deficit just before half-time.6

Daniel Farke’s men march on once more

Norwich’s two-goal cushion was restored when Buendia struck again on the hour, and the Canaries held on for a precious victory despite Chris Martin’s late strike.West Brom beat Swansea 3-0 in their first game since the sacking of Darren Moore.6

Moore was sacked with West Brom in fourth place

Jimmy Shan was in caretaker charge as the fourth-placed Baggies claimed a first league home win since Boxing Day.Chris Brunt (19), Mason Holgate (54) and Jay Rodriguez (85) were on target as Swansea were left to rue an extraordinary penalty miss with the score at 1-0.Bersant Celina slipped as he took the 40th-minute spot-kick and scuffed the ball only a couple of yards before Albion cleared.6

Celina missed this penalty in comical fashion

Fifth-placed Middlesbrough lost 2-1 at home to Preston as Daniel Ayala was sent off for the second time in five games.Ashley Fletcher’s deflected drive gave Boro a 32nd-minute lead, but Ayala was shown a straight red card after the restart for his sliding tackle on Brandon Barker.Paul Gallagher curled home the resulting free-kick and Jayden Stockley’s 81st-minute header extended Preston’s unbeaten run to 11 games.Derby moved back into the play-off places following a goalless draw at home to Stoke.6

Lampard’s men failed to fully take advantage of Middlesbrough’s defeat to Preston

Duane Holmes and Harry Wilson both struck the frame of the goal as Stoke claimed a fifth draw in six games.Aston Villa won 3-1 at Nottingham Forest with John McGinn netting a brace for the visitors.The two sides drew 5-5 at Villa Park in November and there were two more goals inside the opening seven minutes.Jack Colback gave Forest a third-minute lead, but McGinn’s double put Villa ahead within quarter of an hour.6

Dean Smith’s men are two points off the play-offs

Kourtney Hause’s close-range second-half effort confirmed Villa’s rise above Forest into eighth spot.Millwall eased their relegation worries with a 2-0 victory at Birmingham.Ben Thompson scored twice in the first half as the Lions ended a run of four straight defeats.Semi Ajayi scored a last-gasp winner as relegation-threatened Rotherham beat QPR 2-1 at Loftus Road. Ajayi put the Millers ahead with a superb strike before Bright Osayi-Samuel equalised five minutes from time.But Ajayi rose to score a header deep into stoppage time and Rotherham, although still in the bottom three, are now level on points with Reading and Wigan.

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