A review of the New Year's Day action in the Sky Bet Championship, where QPR hit six past Cardiff in a convincing win...
Results
- Millwall 3-1 Luton
- Birmingham 2-3 Wigan
- Bristol City 0-4 Brentford
- Fulham 1-2 Reading
- Huddersfield 2-5 Stoke
- Nottingham Forest 3-2 Blackburn
- Preston 0-2 Middlesbrough
- QPR 6-1 Cardiff
- Sheffield Wednesday 0-1 Hull
QPR 6-1 Cardiff
Nahki Wells scored a hat-trick as QPR began the new year with a 6-1 mauling of Cardiff.
The outstanding Bright Osayi-Samuel netted twice and there was also a goal for Ebere Eze in a one-sided match at the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium.
Will Vaulks scored a consolation goal for Cardiff with the final kick of the game.
It all came together for Rangers after a troubled spell in which they lost three of their past four matches and won just two of the previous 13.
It was also a stunning way for Wells to end his drought after nine matches without a goal - a run stretching back to November.
Huddersfield 2-5 Stoke
Stoke sealed a 5-2 win in a topsy-turvy game at Huddersfield to move out of the Championship relegation places.
Michael O'Neill's side had led 1-0 before trailing 2-1, only to come from behind themselves as they moved up to 21st in the table.
Tyrese Campbell's brace added to goals from Sam Vokes, Nick Powell and Lee Gregory - with Town's strikes coming from Steve Mounie and a Danny Batth own goal - to seal a first Stoke win in Huddersfield since 1992.
Nottingham Forest 3-2 Blackburn
Lewis Grabban took his tally for the season to 14 as Nottingham Forest beat Blackburn 3-2 at the City Ground.
Rovers had not tasted defeat in the previous nine meetings between these two sides - and had won three of their last four games on the banks of the River Trent.
They pushed hard to avoid defeat again, amid a nervy finale, but Sabri Lamouchi's side held out for a win that put them level on points with third-placed Brentford.
Joe Lolley had given Forest the lead before Grabban bagged his first from the penalty spot.
A driven finish from Stewart Downing made it 2-1 before half-time, yet Grabban's second gave the Reds some degree of comfort, only for a Joe Worrall own goal to give Rovers hope.
Bristol City 0-4 Brentford
Ashley Williams was sent off after only 13 minutes as Bristol City crashed to a 4-0 Championship defeat by Brentford at Ashton Gate.
The visitors took a sixth-minute lead when Bryan Mbeumo beat former Bees goalkeeper Dan Bentley with a close-range shot after Ollie Watkins had got the better of Jack Hunt and forced his way into the box.
Having been booked along with Watkins for an off-the-ball skirmish after 11 minutes, experienced centre-back Williams was shown a second yellow card two minutes later for a late challenge on the striker.
Said Benrahma doubled Brentford's advantage after 26 minutes, guiding the ball into an empty net after Bentley had kept out shots from Mathias Jensen and Watkins.
Any doubt about the outcome was ended after 82 minutes when man-of-the-match Watkins tapped home a low cross from substitute Jan Zamburek.
Watkins still had time to add the fourth, drilling home a low shot as stoppage time approached after Bentley had done well to parry his header.
Fulham 1-2 Reading
Fulham failed to put the pressure on the Championship's top two after losing 2-1 at home to Reading.
With second-placed West Brom hosting leaders Leeds in the evening kick-off, the Cottagers knew they could move six points behind.
But they were two goals down inside 48 minutes following efforts from John Swift - his third in as many games - and Charlie Adam.
Fulham failed to fight back despite Ivan Cavaleiro halving the deficit on the hour mark, handing the Royals a fourth consecutive win and allowing Brentford and Nottingham Forest to leapfrog Scott Parker's side in the table.
Birmingham 2-3 Wigan
Wigan won away for the first time since April by beating Birmingham 3-2 to heap pressure on Blues head coach Pep Clotet.
Striker Josh Windass, son of former Hull and Bradford striker Dean, scored the first goal for Wigan and had a hand in the other two as Blues' poor run stretched to one win in 12 games.
Kerim Mrabti equalised for Blues but Gary Gardner's own goal and a Cedric Kipre effort moved Wigan from the foot of the table up to third from bottom and to within a point of safety.
Millwall 3-1 Luton
Luton manager Graeme Jones felt the defeat at Millwall summed up his Hatters' struggles on the road this season after a second-half capitulation resulted in a 3-1 loss at The Den.
Sonny Bradley's first-half header had put Luton ahead in their bid to arrest a run of eight successive away defeats in the Sky Bet Championship.
But Millwall fought back after the break, with Tom Bradshaw, Connor Mahoney and Matt Smith stunning the hapless visitors, who remain in the bottom three.
Preston 0-2 Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough's fine festive run continued as an overhead volley from Rudy Gestede and an own goal from Ben Davies secured a 2-0 win at Preston.
Jonathan Woodgate's side have now won all four of their matches during the Christmas programme, alleviating their relegation worries and enabling them to start looking upwards towards the play-off places.
Preston, on the other hand, are stuck in a rut, with their latest defeat coming courtesy of an insipid performance that saw them fail to match Middlesbrough in all areas of the field.
Sheffield Wednesday 0-1 Hull
Jarrod Bowen struck the only goal as Hull began the new decade with a 1-0 victory at Sheffield Wednesday and condemned the hosts to a third straight defeat.
Wednesday had the majority of chances to score but they failed to capitalise on them and Bowen's second-half goal was enough to give Grant McCann's men all three points as they made it eight wins out of their last 14 Championship outings.
