A missed opportunity for the Bluebirds with a draw against Charlton meaning that the advantage over seventh is now just one point.
It was a game which lacked action and you would be forgiven for struggling to remember anything that happened during the game. There was one shot on target throughout the whole game and that came from Cardiff’s Albert Adomah in the second half. Joe Ralls played the ball to him and his low shot was saved by Dillon Phillips.
Both teams struggled to create clear-cut chances with the majority of the efforts half chances. Junior Hoilett fired over on the turn in the second half after a cross found him in the box.
The game was delayed during the first half after Cardiff’s Robert Glatzel clashed heads with Charlton’s Sam Field. They both received lengthy treatment before being forced off the field.
It was a shame to see Glatzel go off. It was his first start since the return of football, having scored on both his substitute appearances in the games so far. Unfortunately he didn’t get the opportunity to show he deserves to start regularly and he was replaced by Callum Paterson.
City should’ve gone after Charlton from the start but they struggled to get any sort of rhythm going. A victory could’ve consolidated our place in the top six, but Derby are now only one point behind us after their 1-0 win at Preston.
Our next game is going to be massive. It is the Severnside Derby against Bristol City, who have faltered since recently. We must return to winning ways if we are serious about finishing the season in the play-offs.
While the point is frustrating for Cardiff, it may feel valuable for the Addicks, who keep their three point cushion over the bottom three. They take on Millwal next, who are still fighting to keep their hopes of a top six finish alive.
There were some big results across the division. At the top, Leeds went a goal behind to Luton through a goal from Harry Cornick but Stuart Dallas scored the equaliser with the game finishing 1-1. It is a huge result for Luton who are still hoping to avoid relegation. They are four points off safety.
But with Leeds dropping points, West Brom closed the gap to one point with a 3-0 victory at Sheffield Wednesday. A penalty from Charlie Austin and two goals from Matheus Pereira kept their advantage over Brentford in third.
The three teams just behind the automatic places all won. Brentford comfortably beat Reading 3-0 through goals from Bryan Mbeumo, Josh Dasilva and Joel Valencia. They remain five points off West Brom. Reading will be hoping that they don’t get dragged into the relegation battle as they are six points above the bottom three.
Nottingham Forest overcame Bristol City 1-0 through a goal from Tiago Silva. As I have said already, Bristol City are falling away from the top six.
Fulham went behind in the first minute against QPR through a goal from Jordan Hugill. But goals from Harry Arter and Cyrus Christie gave them the victory. Forest and Fulham are both on 67 points, two points behind Brentford. QPR are in mid-table after an inconsistent season.
Millwall and Swansea came up against each other at the Den with both teams still fighting for a place in the top six. The game finished even with an own goal from goalkeeper Bartosz Bialkowski cancelling out Mason Bennett’s first half goal. Swansea are four points off Cardiff, with Millwall a point further back.
In another clash between two teams in play-off contention, a fantastic free-kick from Wayne Rooney gave Derby the victory over Preston at Deepdale and in the process it moved the Rams, who are in-form, up to seventh. Preston need to pick up some form after being out of sorts recently.
Blackburn dropped points again, this time losing 2-0 at relegation-threatened Barnsley. Conor Chaplin and Jacob Brown scored the goals for the Tykes to overcome Blackburn, who had striker Ben Brereton sent off for challenge on Kilian Ludewig. Blackburn are five points off the play-offs while Barnsley are three points from safety.
Wigan continued their fine form since the break with another victory, this time a 3-0 win over Stoke who need to start picking up points soon if they are hoping to be playing Championship football next season. Kieran Dowell scored the opening goal and Kal Naismith added another for the Latics. They are now seven points clear of the relegation zone and Stoke who have dropped to the 22nd.
However, Wigan have now gone into administration and the EFL have decided that they will be deducted 12 points. The sanction will be applied this season if they finish outside the bottom three, or next season if they do finish in the bottom three. This has come one month after a change of ownership. It was inevitable that this was going to happen to a club in the EFL ever since the country went into lockdown due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
There was a huge game between Hull and Middlesbrough, two teams who are fighting against relegation. Both teams scored in the first ten minutes. Britt Assombalonga fired in a penalty in the fourth minute before Herbie Kane equalised with a brilliant free-kick four minutes later. It looked like it was heading for a draw, but Mallik Wilks had other ideas, firing in during stoppage time to give the Tigers a huge win and hand Neil Warnock his first defeat as Boro boss. Both teams remain in the fight.
The last game to cover was between Birmingham and Huddersfield and the final score was slightly surprising as it was so one-sided. Karlan Grant, Fraizer Campbell and Elias Kachunga scored for the Terriers to give them a 3-0 victory and help them climb out of the relegation zone. It was a massive win for them. Birmingham, on the other hand, need to make sure they don’t get dragged into trouble.
And that is it for that set of fixtures and it was another matchday full of action in the Championship.
The results:
Millwall 1-1 Swansea
Barnsley 2-0 Blackburn
Cardiff 0-0 Charlton
Reading 0-3 Brentford
QPR 1-2 Fulham
Leeds 1-1 Luton
Wigan 3-0 Stoke
Preston 0-1 Derby
Birmingham 0-3 Huddersfield
Nottingham Forest 1-0 Bristol City
Sheffield Wednesday 0-3 West Brom
Hull City 2-1 Middlesbrough
Cardiff City Daily 