Championship talking points: Middlesbrough gain advantage on Ipswich in promotion race as Millwall keep dreaming | Football News

Middlesbrough turn screw as Ipswich fall short

Middlesbrough 4-0 Preston | Sheff Utd 3-1 Ipswich

With Coventry City not in action until Monday night, promotion attention turned to Middlesbrough and Ipswich on Saturday.

Boro were in action at lunchtime and they put Preston to the sword at the Riverside Stadium, with Tommy Conway building on his midweek goal to score two more in a superb 4-0 win. It is four victories on the bounce now for Kim Hellberg’s side.

They are three points behind Coventry, but more importantly they extended their lead over Ipswich in third to five points. The Tractor Boys have a game in hand, but that will still feel huge.

Ipswich seemed like favourites before the weekend, but a 3-1 defeat at Sheffield United has thrown them off course. This feels like the first big twist in what should be a fascinating race.
Simeon Gholam

South London derby delight keeps Millwall dreaming

Millwall 4-0 Charlton

Millwall’s promotion push is showing absolutely no sign of letting up.

Alex Neil’s men have not lost since December 20, picking up four wins and two draws during that time.

The crushing 4-0 south London derby victory over Charlton – which came courtesy of goals from Caleb Taylor, Luke Cundle, Aidomo Emakhu and a Kayne Ramsay own goal – was certainly the sweetest result of them all.

Nathan Jones’ men offered precious little. But until the second goal, on 81 minutes, they were in with a chance, particularly given Josh Coburn missed a golden opening before the break and Femi Azeez had a goal disallowed after it.

Then the floodgates opened, making sure Millwall’s unbeaten league record against their rivals – which stands at 14 and stretches all the way back to March 1996 – remains intact.

The gap between Neil’s side and Middlesbrough in second is now only six points. With 17 games to play, few will begrudge Lions fans the excitement they are no doubt feeling.
Dan Long

Wednesday legend Bannan bids farewell

Bristol City 2-0 Sheff Wed

So it’s 477 and out for Barry Bannan.

His final shift in a Wednesday shirt ended in defeat, like much of their season, but the result really didn’t matter.

The travelling Sheffield Wednesday fans, who always turn up in their numbers, were there to see their hero one final time. The game will be forgotten, but his tears at full-time will be remembered forever.

A true Hillsborough icon who has taken numerous pay-cuts over the years to ensure the club survived in their darkest moments, and even with a move agreed in principle to Millwall, he wanted to play one final time. Risk of injury? The chance to say goodbye one final time was worth the risk.

Bristol City finally got their first win in the league since the opening day of 2026, and though their performance wasn’t that convincing, now is the time to step on the gas and show their play-off credentials. They limped to all three points in a largely forgettable game.

Anyway, back to the main story, Sir Barry Bannan. He’s now heading to a Millwall side who really do look like a serious team in the promotion picture.

His experience, knowledge and calmness on the ball might just be a masterstroke signing from Neil.

Bannan back in the Premier League? His last appearance was back in January 2015 – and with what he’s been through in his career, who’s to stay he can’t grace the top flight one more time?
Mark McAdam

West Brom off the mark under Ramsay

Derby 1-1 West Brom

The performance wasn’t great, but the result was everything for West Brom and Eric Ramsay. A bundled-in stoppage-time goal from a corner to earn a draw at Derby County on Friday night.

It was their first point at the end of a desperate week for the new man in charge at The Hawthorns, who had been on the end of a late, but deserved, 3-2 home defeat by Middlesbrough in his opener, and then hammered 5-0 by Norwich in midweek – the biggest second-tier home defeat for the Baggies in their history.

Pressure builds quickly in this league, so to get anything to build on is a positive, particularly when it also brought to an end the run of 10 consecutive away league defeats that ultimately spelled the end of Ryan Mason’s tenure.

“It’s a tough week isn’t it? I don’t think anyone can look at my first eight or nine days here and see anything otherwise, and I can’t pretend it hasn’t been difficult, and to have gotten a point tonight was important for the group,” Ramsay said after the game.

“But ultimately I get the most satisfaction from the way we were able to handle that difficulty. From the early stages from my time here we’ve been able to build a sense of unity between staff and players.”

Plenty of work still to do ahead of a massive trip to Portsmouth next Saturday.
Simeon Gholam

Watford will feel a missed opportunity at Blackburn

Blackburn 1-1 Watford

A classic game of two halves at Ewood Park saw Blackburn and Watford share the points, with both sides enjoying spells of dominance.

Watford were excellent early on, pinning Blackburn back with a flurry of corners and taking a deserved lead, but the hosts responded immediately through a set-piece and grew in confidence from there.

The second half belonged to Blackburn, who pushed hard for a winner and went close through Yuki Ohashi, only to be denied by the goalkeeper.

With Watford chasing the play-offs and Blackburn fighting at the bottom, the 1-1 draw will feel like a missed opportunity for the visitors, while the home side will be the happier to take a point.
Kyle Walker

Priske makes Blues debut as spoils shared with Stoke

Birmingham 1-1 Stoke

A point apiece didn’t really do Birmingham or Stoke any favours in the table, however with the away side missing 11 players through injury, Mark Robins made it clear after the game he was happy with the point.

It was a tightly-contested match from start to finish with penalty claims, both sides hitting the woodwork and goals coming after dominant spells from the opposition. It made for an interesting watch for the neutral.

Blues fans got a first glimpse of their new Danish striker August Priske, who scored 18 goals in Sweden before joining on a five-and-a-half-year contract. Some older fans may remember his dad Brian Priske who played for Portsmouth. His presence up front and ability to hold up the ball and turn and get a shot away were all assets Chris Davies praised in his post-match interview.

It will be interesting to see how he beds in for the rest of the season as Blues continue to rule out putting a run together to keep them in touch with the play-offs.
Lynsey Hooper

All Championship weekend results

Friday

Saturday

Sunday