Dec 12,2024
Ireland Under-21 prospect Rocco Vata came off the bench to grab a late equaliser as Watford clinched a 1-1 draw at Hull and denied new Tigers boss Ruben Selles victory in his first game in charge.
Vata fired home in the 88th minute shortly after Hull substitute Chris Bedia’s scruffy effort appeared to have clinched former Reading manager Selles a winning start.
The Tigers halted a six-game losing run in the Sky Bet Championship, but they remain bottom of the table and without a win since 1 October.
Watford extended their unbeaten league run to five matches, but the point did little for their play-off hopes as they slipped to eighth.
Rhian Brewster ended a two-year goal drought as Sheffield United returned to the top of the table with a 1-0 win at Millwall in Neil Harris' penultimate game in charge.
Harris will step down as boss after Saturday’s game at Middlesbrough, but could not sign off at the Den on a positive note after Brewster netted for the first time since October 2022.
Brewster tapped in from close range in the 42nd minute to send the Blades, now unbeaten in nine, one point clear of Leeds at the summit.
Alex Mowatt and Karlan Grant scored in each half to end West Brom's run of draws with a 2-0 victory over Coventry and condemn Frank Lampard to his first defeat as boss.
West Brom were building a reputation for being the league’s draw specialists having drawn 10 of their last 11 Championship meetings, but Carlos Corberan’s side finally managed to turn one into a win and extend their unbeaten run to 12 matches.
The Baggies put themselves in position for a first win in over a month when Mowatt’s deflected effort handed him his first goal since September.
West Brom have hit the front and failed to win on five separate occasions before this fixture and they had to weather a second-half storm from Coventry to stop history repeating itself again before Grant’s strike sealed the points with 16 minutes remaining to send them back into the play-off places.
Cardiff remained in the bottom three after a 2-0 defeat at home to fellow strugglers Preston.
Calum Chambers' 48th-minute own goal and Milutin Osmajic’s late tap-in ensured North End claimed their first win in 10 league matches.
QPR moved four points above the bottom three after Sam Field’s double secured a 2-0 victory over freefalling Oxford at Loftus Road.
Field struck twice in 15 second-half minutes to extend the hosts’ unbeaten run to five matches and leave Oxford, without an away win this term, one point above the drop zone after just one win in 14 outings.
