Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Championship Round-Up

Geoff Brown
Sunday 26 February 2006 01:00 GMT
Comments

Micky Adams' side won a fifth consecutive home match thanks to Dele Adebola's strike seven minutes into the second half. The former Crewe striker collected the ball from Dennis Wise's header to score his ninth goal of the season. "Dele is a handful when he is in that sort of form," Adams said, adding. "We are not even thinking about the play-offs. Our home form really has been the key but away we are lightweight. We need to put that right."

Crewe Alex 2 Brighton 1

Dario Gradi's Crewe came from behind to win for the first time in 17 matches, keeping alive their hopes of avoiding relegation, and dragging Brighton deeper into trouble. The visitors led through Colin Kazim-Richards' header, but a lucky Lee Bell goal levelled - "He looked up, picked his spot, hit it somewhere else and it went in the net," said Gradi - and Stephen Foster headed the winner. "If we had lost we could have virtually said goodbye, it would be mission impossible," he added.

Derby County 1 Plymouth 0

Derby's first win under caretaker manager Terry Westley, who took over when Phil Brown was sacked last month, was fashioned in the second minute when Adam Bolder nodded in. Any chance of an Argyle recovery ended when Paul Connolly was sent off for two yellow cards. "We're nine points clear of the bottom three," Westley said. "I'd like us to stay up by 15 or 20 points, then people can make their own judgements about the contribution I've made."

Hull City 2 Wolves 3

Winning their third match in a row for the first time this season, Wolves moved up to seventh, two points off a play-off place. Jérémie Aliadière, on loan from Arsenal, gave them the lead after 28 minutes. Hull's Stuart Green missed a penalty, but they levelled six minutes after the restart through Leon Cort. Kenny Miller put Wolves ahead again, but a Rob Edwards own goal made it 2-2. A minute from time, Carl Cort's 10th goal of the season gave Glenn Hoddle's side the three points.

Ipswich Town 2 Leicester City 0

This vital win that hauled Ipswich to within five points of the play-offs came courtesy of goals by Owen Garvan and the Jamaican striker Ricardo Fuller, starting his loan spell from Southampton. "It took until half-time for us to get used to what Ricardo Fuller can do," Joe Royle, the Ipswich manager, said. "As he got used to us, we improved and by the end we were playing some super stuff. There will be a lot more to come when he regains match fitness."

Southampton 3 Sheffield Wed 0

Saints eased their relegation worries with a first win in eight games. They led from the 34th minute when Danny Higginbotham fired in a free-kick from just outside the penalty area. Early in the second half, Grzegorz Rasiak's turn and shot made it 2-0, and Kenwyne Jones' header wrapped up the win. "We have had a massive turnaround in personnel," manager George Burley said, "but I think the fans appreciate that the team are really working hard for each other."

Stoke City 2 Millwall 1

The Potters won for the first time in 10 matches, deepening the gloom for Millwall, who now haven't won for eight games and remain rooted in the bottom three. The Lions went ahead after eight minutes, Tony Craig crossing from the right to present leading scorer Ben May with a close range header. Stoke were level seven minutes later, Carl Hoefkens on target from the penalty spot after he'd been fouled. Paul Gallagher, on loan for Blackburn, netted the winner.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in