Championship roundup: West Ham go second; Norwich beaten again

Canaries suffer sixth straight loss; Watford beat Charlton

Prefer the Guardian on GoogleNuno Espírito Santo was delighted West Ham finished a “demanding week” by toppling Championship leaders Swansea.

Divine Mukasa’s first-half strike in front of a record Swansea.com Stadium crowd of 20,973 gave the Hammers a 1-0 win and took them into second place and within a point of the league leaders. It was their second success in four days after a 6-0 romp at Lincoln, and ended a week that began with a 1-1 home draw against QPR following Jarrod Bowen’s last-gasp penalty miss.

“We wanted not only to keep the momentum, but to build on it,” said Nuno. “It was a very demanding week in terms of the opponents we had to face, but it finished really well due to the hard work of the boys. The commitment, the unity and the way they played was really good against a very good Swansea side. It was a very intense.”

Kim Hellberg defended his decision to rest Will Lankshear against Cardiff after the division’s top scorer came off the bench to rescue a point for Middlesbrough. Lankshear, who took his tally to 10 for the season in all competitions midweek, was rested him for the visit of the Bluebirds. That selection backfired as Cardiff stunned Boro with two first-half goals from Jack Moylan and Ollie Tanner. Lankshear was then introduced at half-time and inspired a fightback, levelling for Boro with his 11th goal of the campaign after Tommy Conway had halved the deficit.

“You need to manage your players in this league and look into numbers,” said Hellberg. “We have a lot of players that have no pre-season. Will is one of those who came late and has been doing a lot of good things. He’s been absolutely brilliant and sometimes you need to also protect him.”

Liam Millar scored twice as Birmingham beat QPR 3-0 at St Andrew’s. Millar swung the game Birmingham’s way in the 27th minute and then doubled their advantage just after the break. On both occasions he was assisted by Tomoki Iwata while Demarai Gray added the gloss in the first minute of stoppage time by hammering a pull-back by fellow substitute Luis Vázquez into the top corner.

Luke Graham scored his first goal for Stoke as they won 1-0 at Pride Park to pile more pressure on struggling Derby. The Scotland defender headed in a free-kick early in the second half and that was enough to settle a scrappy contest. Derby, who are missing a number of key players, battled away and nearly snatched a point when David Ozoh’s shot was superbly saved by goalkeeper Viktor Johansson.

West Brom completed a stunning comeback after conceding two early goals as they beat Blackburn 3-2. Andri Gudjohnsen had Rovers two up before the break, before Barney Stewart pulled a goal back for Albion. Isaac Price’s penalty levelled it up before the substitute Felix Horn Myhre netted a dramatic winner for the home side a minute from time.

James Bree, Lewis Dobbin and Léo Scienza all squandered chances as Southampton dropped points at home for the first time this season with a 0-0 draw against Bolton. The trio all wasted tap-ins, while Saints were also left bereft by a penalty not being given for a Rúben Rodrigues handball.

Watford lifted the pressure on Alessio Dionisi and quelled their supporters’ rebellion against the owner, Gino Pozzo, with a deserved 2-0 win against a sluggish Charlton. After shipping nine goals in defeats by Burnley and Cardiff, Watford had slumped into the bottom three and the fans had turned their anger on Pozzo. But goals from Luca Kjerrumgaard and the substitute Jordan Zemura extended Charlton’s worrying run to eight games without a win as they were booed off at Vicarage Road.

Dionisi said later his team was “not yet strong enough for the Championship but it’s possible to improve. I’ve been a coach for 14 years and I know when my team stays near my idea. This result is important and tonight I will drink a glass of red wine.”

Portsmouth piled on the misery for struggling Norwich as they made it back-to-back Championships victories with a 1-0 win at Carrow Road. Pompey followed up their midweek victory against Sheffield United with a hard-fought success in East Anglia, with a 51st-minute penalty from striker Marezi settling the issue.

It was a sixth successive league defeat for the hosts and there were calls for the sporting director Ben Knapper to go from frustrated supporters at the final whistle.

Norwich’s head coach, Philippe Clement, had no complaints with his side’s effort – but felt they sometimes failed to see the bigger picture on the pitch.

“I am very disappointed, very frustrated,” he said. “I saw a lot of passion out there, a lot of effort, but not enough overview. It’s about getting the balance right between their hearts and their brains. I understand the frustration of our fans and all I can say is that I will work even harder than I did last season to turn it around.”

Jake Cooper’s scrambled equaliser rescued a point for Millwall as they came from two goals down to draw 2-2 with Lincoln. The visitors looked on course to put Wednesday’s 6-0 home thrashing against West Ham behind them in style when goals from Andrei Coubiș and Rob Street put them in a strong position after 33 minutes at the Den. But Millwall were able to prevent back-to-back home defeats with a much-improved second-half performance, and the visitors were hanging on for a share of the spoils after having Deji Elerewe sent off soon after Cooper’s leveller. Kyrell Lisbie had scored Millwall’s first.

Oliver Arblaster’s early strike and a strong defensive display saw Sheffield United take all three points from a 1-0 victory over Bristol City at Ashton Gate. The visitors took a fifth-minute lead when a headed clearance fell to Arblaster, who connected with a sweet right-footed volley from just outside the box which gave the City goalkeeper Sam Tickle no chance. It proved enough to settle a contest high on endeavour but low on entertainment from which the Blades emerged worthy winners.

Wrexham eased the pressure on Phil Parkinson with a 4-1 win over rock-bottom Preston. Joe Worrall scored his first goal in more than two years and, after Alfie Devine briefly brought Preston level, the former Lilywhites midfielder Ben Whiteman struck next to score his first goal in Wrexham colours. Sam Smith gave the hosts breathing space just before the hour and Kieffer Moore killed it off moments later.

In a week that had seen former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard linked with the manager’s job, Wrexham’s third league win of the season was a vital one as they moved up to 14th. But Preston remain stuck on four points from 11 games, with Graham Alexander having lost his first three games in charge.