English Championship Week 8

Southampton and Middlesbrough are joined by another pair of fallen giants at the top as Derby and West Ham close in, with wins in round eight.

Although Southampton and Boro have looked the class of the league so far, while easing into the top two, the latest round of games saw them both drop points. While Southampton had to come from behind to snatch a point at Burnley, Boro could manage only a goalless draw with Ipswich at home. Charlie Austin had scored his fifth goal of the campaign for Burnley before young French starlet Morgan Schneiderlin equalised with ten minutes to go.

As a result, although they remain in the top two, both the Saints and Smoggies are looking nervously over their shoulder as relegated West Ham and Derby hover just behind. Southampton have 19 points, with Boro only ahead of Derby on goal difference with both on 18 points. Sam Allardyce's West Ham have 17 in fourth spot, also tied on points with Brighton, who are fifth.

The top five have lost only five games between them out of the 40 played and already have a  four point gap down to Cardiff City in sixth. It should be an interesting season.

On Friday, former leaders Brighton and Hove Albion had been held to an entertaining 3-3 draw at home, by a battling Leeds United side. Craig Mackail-Smith had scored a double, either side of an Ashley Barnes penalty, to give Brighton a comeback 3-2 lead with just six minutes plus injury time to go. However, league leading scorer, Scot Ross McCormack, promptly netted his second goal of the game, right at the death to give the Yorkshire club a share of the spoils. Andy Keough had given Leeds the lead before McCormack's first goal had put them 2-0 up. With a point each, Albion drop to seventh but United improve to 10th.

On Saturday, in the first of 10 games on the night, Bristol City (Brett Pitman) came back to draw 1-1 with Hull City (Robert Koren) while Barnsley were pegged back at Birmingham City by the same scoreline. Chris Burke had scored to level Jacob Butterfield's opener for the road team at St. Andrews. Coventry and Reading also played out a 1-1 draw at the Ricoh Arena as Gary McSheffrey's opener was matched by Simon Church's equaliser with both goals coming in the first ten minutes.

In the upset of the round, bottom side Doncaster scored their first win of the season, beating Crystal Palace, at home 1-0. Palace's excellent start had been blunted somewhat by recent bad results, but to lose to the division's worst team was an unexpected slump that few, this blogger included, ever saw coming. Welshman John Oster's winning strike quadrupled Rovers' tally of points, however they remain bottom with just four. Palace have now lost three on the trot and drop to 12th. The defeat comes after Palace's impressive win over Middlesbrough in the Carling Cup, midweek.

Portsmouth and West Ham also won by the same scoreline at home with Erik Huseklepp and Mark Noble's penalty giving their sides the points over Blackpool and Peterborough United respectively.

Nottingham Forest were the only away winners of the round recording, a rare away victory at Watford, with Ishmael Miller scoring the winner in the 61st minute. The win was a welcome respite for Forest after their five game winless streak had taken them just one spot above the drop zone. They now rise to 18th, one above Watford.

Derby were the big winners, hammering Millwall 3-0 at Pride Park. Craig Bryson, Jeffrey Hendrick and Steve Davies scored the goals to take Derby back into the top three. Their two game winning streak comes after they had lost two on the trot to slip off the division lead. Milwall drop to 20th and have just one win in eight games.

Cardiff and Leicester drew goalless on Sunday's only game.

Ross McCormack continues to lead the division with eight goals in as many games. Rickie Lambert, remains in second with five.

The next round of games plays out in the shadow of the Champions' League on Tuesday and Wednesday this week.


Full league details are here.