Championship: Sheff Utd miss chance to go top, while relegation battle heats up

Sheffield United slipped to 2nd successful the Championship aft going down 1-0 to relegation-threatened Oxford United astatine the Kassam Stadium connected Saturday.

After Burnley had beaten Coventry City 2-1 earlier successful the time to spell to the acme of the league, the Blades knew a triumph of their ain would spot them reclaim apical spot.

However, Siriki Dembele’s first-half onslaught separated the 2 teams, with Gary Rowett’s broadside lifting themselves 4 points wide of the bottommost 3 with six matches to play.

It besides brought an extremity to the Blades’ awesome distant tally – Chris Wilder’s squad had won six consecutive games connected the road, their champion streak successful 132 years.

But the Blades stay successful 2nd aft Leeds United were held to a gully by Luton Town, with Millwall the visitors to Bramall Lane connected Tuesday.

At Ashton Gate, Bristol City moved into the Championship play-offs, climbing to sixth with a 2-1 triumph implicit Watford, all-but ending the Hornets’ hopes of a top-six finish.

The Robins took the pb erstwhile Max Bird pounced connected a gaffe from James Abankwah, with Ross McCrorie tucking location the rebound from Nahki Wells’ effort.

Wells past made it 2-0 successful arguable fashion, firing a debased effort past Egil Selvik for his ninth extremity of the season, though Watford claimed the shot had gone retired successful the build-up.

The visitors hardly threatened to get backmost successful the crippled until substitute Mamadou Doumbia’s neat crook and decorativeness gave his broadside anticipation with 10 minutes left.

But Watford were incapable to find a leveller and slipped 7 points down the Robins, who made the astir of defeats for play-off rivals West Bromwich Albion and Coventry.

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— Bristol City FC (@BristolCity) April 5, 2025

At the other extremity of the table, Ryan Hardie scored doubly arsenic Plymouth Argyle bushed Norwich City 2-1 to adjacent the Pilgrims’ spread to Championship safety.

The triumph – Argyle’s 2nd successful 9 games – saw the hosts determination 4 points from information with six games to play.

Hardie gave the hosts the pb against the tally of play arsenic helium coolly finished with his near ft past Angus Gunn earlier doubling his tally with a curled onslaught from wrong the box.

Josh Sargent needed conscionable 44 seconds of the 2nd fractional to propulsion a extremity backmost arsenic helium blasted past Conor Hazard.

Hardie should person completed his hat-trick, but helium conscionable failed to link with Mustapha Bundu’s transverse from the near successful the 86th minute.

But the Canaries could not find an equaliser arsenic they dropped to 11th place, 8 points disconnected the last play-off spots.

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— Plymouth Argyle FC (@Argyle) April 5, 2025

There was besides a immense triumph for Hull City, with defender Charlie Hughes heading successful a 94th-minute victor astatine Sheffield Wednesday to seal a 1-0 triumph for the Tigers.

Hughes’ almighty decorativeness provided a grandstand extremity to an different dire brushwood which saw the Owls endure a 4th successive location defeat.

Derby County, meanwhile, saw their four-game winning tally came to an extremity arsenic they were beaten 1-0 acknowledgment to Eom Ji-Sung’s precocious extremity successful a mediocre crippled against Swansea City.

Substitute Eom touched location Josh Key’s arcing transverse astatine the acold station arsenic Swansea snatched the points with their archetypal accidental of the day 11 minutes from time.

Plymouth, Luton and Cardiff City marque up the bottommost three, with Derby extracurricular the relegation portion connected extremity difference, with Stoke City and Hull coming adjacent successful the table.