Who needs the EPL or Champions League? This week’s Sky Bet Championship featured two rounds of matches and we’ve managed to condense the best of it right here so there is plenty to talk about and review.
We look at some of the shock results of the week and also how former Premier League side and huge North East Club Newcastle United performed. We focus on rock-bottom Blackburn Rovers and how one man managed to make a marathon trip of over 3000 miles to appear and score for the league leaders!
If that’s not enough, we also have a stat-attack on wasteful Aston Villa. Should they be scoring more than they are?
Town still top – just!
Huddersfield Town maintain their place at the top of the Championship despite losing on the Matchday 7. Their lead has been cut to just a single point after going down 1-0 to playoff hopefuls Brighton Hove Albion. Danny Ward, the Terrier’s goalkeeper made a mess of what should have been a routine save at the near post after a deflected shot from Anthony Knockaert.
This was Town’s first defeat of the season and Manager David Wagner held no hard feelings toward his keeper. “I spoke to Danny and told him there were no complaints from my side. Unfortunately, if a goalkeeper makes a mistake, it’s a goal. But he is strong enough and knows that everyone backs him”
Previous to this, during Matchday 6’s weekend fixtures, Town beat Yorkshire rivals Leeds United 1-0 away at Elland Road to maintain their then unbeaten run. Australian international Aaron Mooy scoring the game’s only goal with a fierce 25-yard strike into the top corner.
It was a remarkable feat given that Mooy had only just recovered from a 3,521-mile return trip to play two World Cup qualifiers for his national side.
Leeds Manager Gary Monk was annoyed that Mooy was still on the field in order to score the winner, suggesting he should have been sent off after a nasty-looking lunge on United’s Liam Bridcutt.
“Two-footed, off the ground and totally out of control.” Said Monk of the tackle. “I don’t want to talk about referees. But if you see that and you can’t tell me that’s a sending off, I don’t know what is. It was a horrendous tackle that he made”
Newcastle are getting it together
This week’s matches saw another fantastic performance from Rafa Benitez’s resurgent team as they defeated Queens Park Rangers 6-0 away from home. Newcastle United are now unbeaten in 5 league games. Their 2-1 loss to Huddersfield town back at the start of August must seem like a dim and distant memory.
Despite the loss of attacking trio Moussa Sissoko, Andros Townsend and Georginio Wijnaldum to Premier league clubs during the summer transfer window, the Geordies still pose a huge threat going forward. They have scored 17 goals and conceded just once in their recent run of games.
Their new signing Dwight Gayle is currently top scorer on 4 goals, with midfielder Jonjo Shelvey popping up with a brace to pile misery on the London-based club. Their manager Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink was gracious despite the heavy defeat.
“It’s hard to take, but I must say that Newcastle are a great team with big players and you could see that.”
The St James’s Park-based club are looking like strong favourites for automatic promotion already but their manager remained calm, “We can still improve. The team was playing well, everybody was pushing and working hard, but you always make some mistakes.”
Stat-Attack - Aston Villa waste too many chances
Former EPL side Aston Villa are struggling for victories in this season’s campaign. It’s no secret that manager Roberto di Matteo and the Villa board are looking for an instant return to the top flight. But while the Villains remain so wasteful in front of goal, that dream seems a long way from being realised.
None of the last 4 games has heralded a single victory. There was a draw and a loss away to Derby and Bristol City respectively back in August. Since then they have then drawn the last 2 home games against Nottingham Forest and Brentford, in which they conceded late goals while in winning positions.
But it is the performance in attacking third that the Villa manager will be most frustrated with. In just 4 games they have racked up a total of 57 shots on goal, 25 of which have been on target, but have managed only 4 goals. 2 of those goals coming in 2 second half minutes against Notts Forest.
Despite featuring in all 7 Championship games and spending over 10 hours on the field so far this season, their centre forward Jordan Ayew is yet to score.
All this leaves them lying in 17th place and Di Matteo is clearly frustrated. "We need to be more clinical in front of goal, we could have scored five on Sunday. We also need to see games out. We just need to win. Win ugly, or attractive. It doesn't matter.”
Coyle under increasing pressure at Blackburn
Blackburn Rovers are still rooted to the foot of the Sky Bet Championship, with only 2 draws from 7 games. Despite it being early in the season, there is increasing pressure on their manager Owen Coyle to produce results soon or face the sack from the North West club.
During matchday 6 this weekend, they managed a 1-1 draw away at Queens Park Rangers. Coyle himself gained encouragement from the performance. “Our first 2 games of the season were very poor, but from there we have progressively got better with each game.”
However, just 3 days later he was lamenting another loss, this time away at Elland Road. Rovers going down 2-1 against Leeds United during matchday 7. The Blackburn manager would have been even more frustrated in the way they lost the game after getting back on level terms with only 15 minutes left in the second half.
The second goal came for Leeds from an unlikely source. Defender Kyle Bartley, on loan from Swansea City, headed home an 86th minute free-kick to send the home support into raptures and leave Coyle a frustrated figure. “I’m keeping very calm because I witnessed the same performance you did at 1-0. We picked ourselves up, scored a wonderful goal and had two fantastic chances to get in front and win the game.”
Brilliant Barnsley make it 3 in-a-row
Who could have foreseen the start that Barnsley have made so far this season? Promoted only last year from League 1 via the play-offs after nearly dropping down to league 2 the season before, no one gave them much chance of survival in the Championship. Yet after 7 games they sit proudly alongside Newcastle on 15 points, 3rd in the table.
They owe a lot of it to their 39-Year-old manager Paul Heckingbottom , who was rightly impressed with his side’s performance after their latest victory, 4-0 away at Wolves. “I'm really pleased. We showed a ruthless attitude and did not sit back at 1-0 and went for a second, third, fourth and in the end it was emphatic and it is down to their application and intensity."
4-0 seems emphatic, but what was more impressive was that the goals were scored within a 20-minute period at the end of the second half. Whether they are able to keep up this impressive run is down to the will of the manager and the belief of the players.
The true test will lie in their next set of games. They are at home to mid-table Reading, then travel to the South Coast to face play-off hopefuls, Brighton. Then struggling Aston Villa come to Oakwell, followed by a tricky trip to Elland Road for a Yorkshire derby against Leeds.
If they can perform to the levels they are currently reaching in the next 4 games, then the Oakwell fans will be turning into Barnsley Believers and start to dream of Premier League fixtures.
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