Friday, March 29, 2024

Championship Review: Fulham end Villa run, Cardiff pounce

SoccerNews in English Championship 17 Feb 2018

357 Views

Aston Villa’s automatic promotion hopes suffered a setback as a 2-0 defeat at Fulham left them outside the Championship’s top two on Saturday.

Ryan Sessegnon continued his fine scoring form to help snap the Villans’ seven-game winning streak in the league, opening the door to Cardiff City to move above Steve Bruce’s men. 

And the Bluebirds made the opportunity count with a slim 1-0 home win over Middlesbrough.

League leaders Wolves, meanwhile, were still able to increase their lead at the top despite being held to a 1-1 draw by the frustrating resilience of Preston North End.

 

SESSEGNON STARS TO SNAP VILLA STREAK

Fulham dented Villa’s automatic promotion chances and enhanced their own with a hard-earned three points at Craven Cottage.

Talented teenager Sessegnon made the breakthrough shortly after the interval – his 12th of the campaign – before Floyd Ayite punished Sam Johnstone’s poor clearance to seal the win.

Slavisa Jokanovic’s side are now four points behind Villa and six shy of Cardiff, who edged out Middlesbrough.

Sean Morrison headed the only goal on 33 minutes to make it three wins in four for Neil Warnock’s men.

 

WOLVES HELD AFTER SENDING OFF

Wolves extended their lead at the summit to 11 points despite being forced to settle for a 1-1 draw at plucky 10-man Preston.

Alan Browne headed in a corner to give the Lilywhites a surprise second-half lead at Deepdale, but their good work came undone on the hour.

John Welsh was dismissed for a second yellow card and that opened the door for the visitors to equalise almost immediately through Helder Costa.

Preston held on to see out a draw that puts them two points behind sixth-placed Bristol City, who visit Leeds United on Sunday.

 

SUNDERLAND SLIP TO JOINT-BOTTOM

Sunderland are now level on points with bottom-placed Burton Albion after Brentford ended a three-match winless run with a 2-0 victory at the Stadium of Light.

Kamohelo Mokotjo and Neal Maupay both scored first-half goals to consign Chris Coleman’s side to back-to-back home defeats.

 

Burton, meanwhile, missed a chance to leapfrog the Black Cats as they drew 0-0 at home to Nottingham Forest.

Birmingham City and Bolton Wanderers both remain two points above the relegation zone following defeats to Millwall and Queens Park Rangers respectively.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

SoccerNews

Soccernews.com is news blog for soccer with comprehensive coverage of all the major leagues in Europe, as well as MLS in the United States. In addition we offer breaking news for transfers and transfer rumors, ticket sales, betting tips and offers, match previews, and in-depth editorials.

You can follow us on Facebook: Facebook.com/soccernews.com or Twitter: @soccernewsfeed.

SHARE OR COMMENT ON THIS ARTICLE

WE RECOMMEND

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This field is required *

Join the conversation!

or Register

Live Scores

advertisement

Betting Guide Advertisement

advertisement

Become a Writer
More More
Top