Gameweek six of the Championship was played out this weekend, and as the division starts to take shape, we gain more of an idea of who will be up there come the end of the season, and those who will be struggling towards the bottom.
Norwich had the difficult task of travelling to Cardiff, as they looked to continue their unbeaten run since the opening game loss to Wolves. When they fell two goals behind within 25 minutes, their prospects of getting something out of the game grew slimmer. However, a reinvigorating team talk from Neil Adams, and the introduction of Cameron Jerome changed the game after the break. He offered pace and power up front, and before long the had equalised through goals from Martin Olsson and Wes Hoolahan. Cardiff crumbled under the momentum of Norwich, and defender Michael Turner bundled in the third, before Jerome capped off a wonderful performance, rounding the keeper and scoring. That victory meant the Canaries flew up the table to second - going well.
The battle between Blackburn and Wigan was always going to be an interesting game, however it took a whole 51 minutes before we saw any goals. That was mainly due to Ivan Ramis who wasted the chance to score a penalty, blazing it way over. James Perch put Wigan ahead, but they retained their lead for just two minutes, when Marshall equalised for Blackburn. Jordan Rhodes made it 2-1 shortly after; momentum once again playing a key part. In the 82nd minute Blackburn’s first goalscorer found another, sealing the victory for the Rovers.
Nottingham Forrest played out a 1-1 draw with Derby in a game which kept the home side at the top of the table, while the visitors slip into 12th. Derby did well to find a goal through Best after Assomabalonga had put Forest ahead on 72 minutes.
Fulham’s apocalyptic season continued as they were battered 3-0 at the hands of Reading, with Murray scoring two, before Blackman finishing the job off. The three goal deficit certainly didn’t help their goal difference tally, which now registers as -10, not to mention their points tally which remains on a dismal 1 point. To make things worse, they have to travel to league leaders Nottingham Forrest on Tuesday so the likelihood of then crawling off the bottom seems very small.
Newly promoted Brentford found a fourth win out of the last three games at home to Brighton this weekend; the London side took the lead with goals from Odubajo and Gray. Brighton showed a fair amount of resilience, bringing the game back to 2-1 with a volley from Greer, but a second half goal from Douglas meant they fell two goals behind once more. Holla made it 3-2 but Brighton couldn’t find an equaliser - Andrew Crofts even hit the post in the final few moments. Consequently, Brighton sit in at 17th.
Across the rest of the Championship we saw Ipswich beat Millwall 2-0, and Huddersfield lose at home to Middlesborough 1-2. The latter was decided by a 90th minute penalty from Leadbitter - Huddersfield will be especially disappointed having equalised just four minutes earlier.
Continuing the late goals theme, Rotherham scraped a draw at Bournemouth after Jordan Bowery’s injury time header. Elsewhere, Birmingham and manager-less Leeds drew 1-1, while Buyens’ penalty for Charlton meant they edged past Watford 1-0.
Finally, goalless draws between Blackpool and Wolves, and Bolton and Sheffield Wednesday let the weekend down in terms of goals. However, they may prove to be important points for the two home sides who are both struggling: 23rd and 22nd respectively.