Rubén Sellés wants Hull’s ambition to keep rising after an impressive 1-0 win at promotion-chasing Sunderland boosted his side’s fight for Championship survival.
Black Cats goalkeeper Anthony Patterson fumbled Joe Gelhardt’s corner into his own net in the 18th minute and Sunderland were frustrated by an impressive display from the Tigers, earning Sellés’ side a fourth win from their last five away matches. “This was a fantastic job and we had to show character, be good defensively,” said Sellés. “If we keep defending as we do, especially away from home, then we will do well.”
Alan Sheehan had a dream start to his second spell in caretaker charge of Swansea after his side beat fellow managerless side Blackburn 3-0 at home. Goals just before the break from Zan Vipotnik and Myles Peart-Harris – both restored to the starting line-up by Sheehan – gave Swansea a commanding and fully-deserved advantage at the break. Peart-Harris then set up top scorer Liam Cullen for a third in the 62nd minute. Rovers, who had won both of their previous games under caretaker head coach David Lowe, were poor, although Andreas Weimann was twice denied by home goalkeeper Lawrence Vigouroux in the first half.
West Brom climbed back into the play-off places with a 2-0 home win over goal-shy Oxford. Former Oxford loan midfielder Alex Mowatt’s 11th-minute goal and substitute John Swift’s strike deep into second-half stoppage time returned Tony Mowbray’s side to winning ways and moved them up to fifth. Oxford, now six games without a win, have not scored in their last four matches and sit eight points clear of the relegation zone.
Coventry made it three consecutive wins with a 2-1 victory over Preston. Jack Rudoni and Bobby Thomas scored in the first half for the Sky Blues as Frank Lampard’s side continued their pursuit of the play-offs. Will Keane halved the deficit to give Coventry something to think about in the closing stages, but the hosts ended their 17-year wait for a league victory over Preston, spanning 22 matches.
Norwich comfortably saw off Stoke 4-2 at Carrow Road to record their first win in four matches and reignite their bid to reach the play-offs. In-form striker Josh Sargent made it seven goals in six games with a well-taken double, with Lewis Dobbin and a Junior Tchamadeu own goal ensuring a deserved victory. Stoke briefly threatened to make a game of it when Lewis Baker equalised just before the break and the same player netted a late penalty but they were well beaten in the end and remain just five points clear of the relegation zone.
Millwall head coach Alex Neil hailed his side’s resilience after they recovered from missing a late penalty to score a stoppage-time winner at Derby. Josh Coburn saw his spot-kick saved but then netted in the fifth minute of eight added on to snatch a win that keeps the Lions’ play-off challenge on track. There had been few chances and little quality in the game until Coburn made amends at the death, scoring the rebound after goalkeeper Jacob Widell Zetterstrom had saved from George Saville.
Neil said: “I thought it was no more than we deserved. I thought with 10 minutes to go we were the team pushing to try and get the goal. What I think it does show is the resilience of the group. The moment’s gone [the penalty], don’t feel sorry for yourself, get on with the next action and we did.”
Miron Muslic was in a positive mood after his struggling Plymouth side earned a 1-1 draw at home to relegation-rivals Cardiff at Home Park. The Bluebirds swept into a 14th-minute lead through Yousef Salech but they were reduced to 10 men eight minutes after the break when Dimitrios Goutas was sent off. Muhamed Tijani came off the bench to earn a share of the spoils.
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“We have gained another place in the table so we will take the positive from this,” said Muslic. “I have mixed emotions and feelings because I simply think we threw away the first 45 minutes and in our situation, we cannot throw away four-and-a-half seconds. But how we came out of the locker room for the second half was very positive.”
Josh Murphy inspired Portsmouth to a third victory in a row as they eased relegation fears with a 2-1 win over QPR at Fratton Park. Winger Murphy curled in a stunning strike in the 48th minute to break the deadlock before a mazy run ended with him setting up Matt Ritchie three minutes later. Pompey are now nine points above the drop zone as they move to their longest winning streak of the season, with no Championship team earning more home points than Pompey’s 16 in 2025.
QPR’s first defeat at Fratton Park since 1998 only came after Jimmy Dunne set up a frantic finale with a fine finish in the 74th minute, but they stayed 14th.
