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West Brom leapfrog Leeds at top of Championship
LONDON, Jan 12, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Leeds were knocked off the top of the
Championship table following a 2-0 defeat at home to Sheffield Wednesday on
Saturday as West Brom returned to pole position.
Former Leeds boss Garry Monk thwarted his ex-employers as Jacob Murphy and
Atdhe Nuhiu hit late goals.
Jack Harrison missed two good chances and Patrick Bamford had a goal ruled
out for offside as Leeds enjoyed the better of the first half.
But they found the second half tougher going as Wednesday successfully
stifled their creativity.
And Wednesday were given their rewards when Murphy beat Kiko Casilla from a
narrow angle.
Nuhiu wrapped up the points deep into stoppage time after Adam Reach teed
him up.
It left Leeds six points ahead of third-placed Brentford in the race for
automatic promotion.
“This is a situation we have seen before,” said Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa.
“We have to learn if we have weak points in the performance in the match.
We didn’t risk losing the ball in our half during 85 minutes. In this time we
created chances to try to make a difference.”
An own goal by keeper Sam Johnstone denied West Brom victory but Slaven
Bilic’s side still returned to the top of the Championship following a 2-2
draw with Charlton at the Valley.
The Baggies twice took the lead, first through Kenneth Zohore and then
through Hal Robson-Kanu at the start of the second half after Josh Davison
had levelled.
But they failed to claim a first win in five league games when Charlton
equalised again when the ball deflected into the net off Johnstone after the
goalkeeper had pushed Tom Lockyer’s 76th-minute header against a post.
“It’s very frustrating that we have conceded a couple of goals from set-
plays,” said Bilic whose team have one-point lead over Leeds.
“And if you do that, it is unlikely you are going to leave the field
unpunished.
“It can happen once, OK. But it can’t happen as often as it has been. They
didn’t outplay us but you can lose any game in the Championship.”
Brentford kept the pressure on the top two with a comprehensive 3-1 win
over west London rivals QPR.
The goals were scored by from Said Benrahma, Bryan Mbeumo and Ollie
Watkins.
Ivan Cavaleiro’s first-half goal gave Fulham a 1-0 victory at Hull while
Duane Holmes’ stoppage-time equaliser earned Derby a 2-2 draw and prevented
Middlesbrough from making it five Championship wins in a row at the Riverside
Stadium.
Barnsley beat Huddersfield 2-1 and there were also wins for Birmingham and
Bristol City.
Blackburn drew 1-1 with Preston and it was the same scoreline in the match
between Reading and Nottingham Forest.
The game between Stoke and Millwall ended goalless.
BSS/AFP/MSY/0945 hrs