Sky Bet Championship review: Leeds remain five points clear; Fulham net late winner
A review with highlights of Wednesday's action in the Sky Bet Championship, where Leeds remained five points clear of third place.
Results
- Blackburn 0-0 Stoke
- Fulham 1-0 Swansea
- Hull 0-1 Barnsley
- Middlesbrough 0-1 Leeds
- Millwall 0-0 Birmingham
- Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 Charlton
- Reading 0-3 Wigan
Middlesbrough 0-1 Leeds
Leeds have a five-point cushion to third place in the Sky Bet Championship's race for automatic promotion after beating Middlesbrough 1-0 at the Riverside Stadium.
Boro's relegation worries intensified courtesy of this result, which was never in too much doubt once Mateusz Klich had struck his fourth league goal of the season - three of which have been against the Teessiders - on the stroke of half-time.
Middlesbrough had their moments without ever seriously testing the visitors' goalkeeper Kiko Casilla, although they did hit the frame of the goal.
Leeds could have scored more before and after the restart but had to make do with the one - even if Middlesbrough did press themselves.
Fulham 1-0 Swansea
Aleksandar Mitrovic made up for missing an 87th-minute penalty with the added time header that secured Fulham's 1-0 win against Swansea at Craven Cottage.
Mitrovic connected with Aboubakar Kamara's right-wing cross to deliver his side's first win in four games and boost their hopes of breaking into the Sky Bet Championship top two.
But moments earlier it appeared as though the Serb would be the villain when he was denied by Swansea keeper Freddie Woodman after Neeskens Kebano had gone down under a challenge from Swansea's Connor Roberts.
Fulham manager Scott Parker had made no attempt to disguise the importance of this game and Saturday's visit of Preston.
Parker was desperate for his side to move on from their woeful display last time out at Craven Cottage when they slumped to a shock 3-0 defeat against bottom club Barnsley.
And he acknowledged these two games marked an opportunity to put pressure on their promotion rivals.
Reading 0-3 Wigan
Wigan boosted their hopes of avoiding relegation from the Sky Bet Championship with a well-deserved 3-0 victory at Reading.
Lively Wigan thoroughly deserved their 1-0 half-time advantage, gained midway through the period thanks to Kieffer Moore's audacious flick.
Jamal Lowe made it 2-0 in the 67th minute, as Reading struggled miserably in defence and attack, with a clinical strike and Michael Jacobs chipped home the third deep into stoppage time.
Wigan had been in good form, unbeaten in three league games and with only one defeat in six.
They defeated Millwall 1-0 at home on Saturday courtesy of a 57th-minute own goal from Shaun Hutchinson.
Hull 0-1 Barnsley
Barnsley's quest to avoid relegation gained further momentum with a 1-0 victory at troubled Hull.
Gerhard Struber's side remain in the drop zone, but they have now won three Sky Bet Championship matches on the bounce thanks to Cauley Woodrow's first-half goal.
Woodrow cashed in on George Long's dreadful mistake after 42 minutes to claim a 14th league goal of the season.
Barnsley are now just six points adrift of Hull, who have not won in the league for nine games, and were good value for this victory.
Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 Charlton
Substitute Steven Fletcher's stoppage-time goal gave Sheffield Wednesday a 1-0 victory over Charlton for only their second win in 12 Sky Bet Championship games.
Wednesday were the better side, creating a host of chances to score, but a combination of wasteful finishing and an assured performance from opposition keeper Dillon Phillips kept the scoreline blank until Fletcher struck at the death.
With the clock ticking down, Palmer's free-kick was flicked on by Lees and Fletcher headed in from close range with home fans reacting with a mixture of relief and elation.
Blackburn 0-0 Stoke
Blackburn failed to lay a marker down in the race for the top six as they could only draw 0-0 with a stubborn Stoke.
Tony Mowbray's men had a golden opportunity to close the gap on the play-offs to two points after defeats for Bristol City and Preston but, in the first of an Ewood double-header, they were frustrated by a resilient defensive display that involved notable second-half saves from Jack Butland.
The former England goalkeeper made telling contributions to deny Sam Gallagher and the in-form Adam Armstrong as Rovers looked to press home their advantage.
Rovers are still well in the play-off mix but will see this as a missed opportunity, not dissimilar from their pre-Christmas stalemate with Wigan, despite having lost just once in nine matches.
Michael O'Neill's side are closer to the bottom three than they were at the start of the evening, but it may turn out to be a vital point, ending a run that has seen Stoke lose six out of their previous eight on the road.
Millwall 0-0 Birmingham
Millwall and Birmingham played out a hard-fought 0-0 draw at the Den, with the hosts unable to find their way past an inspired Lee Camp.
The Birmingham goalkeeper enjoyed an outstanding evening in south London, producing a string of saves to frustrate a Millwall side that was much better than recent form suggested.
In-form Birmingham should have been ahead within 90 seconds, on-loan Aston Villa frontman Scott Hogan beating the offside trap only to poke just past the far post.
However, despite having just two league wins at home in 2020, Millwall settled into the contest and should have made City, and Hogan, pay for his miss.
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