Championship Relegation Battle Special
One of the more bizarre quirks of the random fixture computer is that sometimes it throws up weekends like this. With time running out in the race to survive the drop in the Championship, all of the league’s bottom six teams played each other this Easter Monday across three crucial matches. With teams around you guaranteed to drop points, making sure you weren’t one of them was vital for all of these sides coming into this round of fixtures, so much so that they all ended up drawing. While the points gap hasn’t moved, these results still have a massive bearing on how the rest of the season will pan out. Let’s break down this Monday’s action, see how it all unfolded and take a peak at everyone’s run-in to decide who has a shot at escaping the dreaded drop to League One and who should start to panic. Bromley away ole ole.
Watford 1-1 Charlton
Charlton are, for all intents and purposes, probably safe. Probably. 50 points tends to be the golden standard for safety and the Addicks are just a point shy with 5 games, including a more than winnable home match against Sheffield Wednesday, remaining. It’s a fantastic achievement for Nathan Jones and his side, as many had them written off before a ball had been kicked. As League One play-off winners, they were always going to be looked at as one of the weaker sides in the division. Couple that with the financial might of the other promoted sides in Birmingham and Wrexham, and most were certain that Charlton would be sinking back to the third tier at the first opportunity. I don’t want to jinx anything, but they look all-but safe now. The challenge is to build from here and not end up like the previous season’s promotion winners in Oxford and Pompey, who have let the rest of the league leave them behind.
Their trip to Watford was essentially a dead-rubber. With so much traffic between Charlton and the drop, and a significant gap now forming between the Hornets and the play-off places, there was very little riding on the outcome of this particular game.
With the shackles of pressure removed, we were treated to two teams playing without fear. The first half was end-to-end, with both ‘keepers and both sets of woodwork called into action to keep the scoreboard from being updated. Cometh the hour, cometh the man. In the 61st minute, Matty Godden emerged from the substitutes bench for just his 8th appearance of the season. In the 62nd, he stood free in the box to receive a flick on from a long throw onto his chest and volley the ball home for his first goal of the campaign. The almost-forgotten man had put his side ahead on the road and, if they could hold on, almost certainly guaranteed Championship football at The Valley next season.
Watford signed then-teenage Australian Nestory Irankunda from Bayern Munich of all places in the summer, and simply arriving from somewhere so prestigious comes with its inherent pressures. He’s has an up-and-down season, both on and off the pitch, but he’s the sort of player that could really be one to watch next year now he has a full Championship season under his belt. He was lively in this one, driving at defenders and testing the goalkeeper on multiple occasions, as well as crashing a long-range effort off of the crossbar shortly after Godden put the visitors ahead. His reward finally came after 74 minutes. Watford’s star man Imran Louza slid him in behind the defence with an inch-perfect pass down the right. Irankunda took just one touch to set himself before firing his effort low and hard across the ‘keeper and into the net for 1-1.
It finished, as with all the games at the bottom this weekend, as a draw. But while the rest of the genuinely-threatened played out cagey and nervy affairs, this one at least offered plenty in terms of chances and action. Two sides with solid foundations to build upon for next season, both with ambitions greater than mid-table mediocrity. With the change to 8 play-off places from next year, there’s every chance we could see both of these battling at that end of the table in a year’s time.
Blackburn 0-0 West Brom
With the Portsmouth-Oxford match being a the early kick-off, both teams knew that as little as a draw would keep the relegation zone at arms length. It would be disingenuous to accuse these side of happily playing for a draw, I think they’re just both that bad. There were 3 shots on target between them in the whole game, all three failing the visitors’ way, and neither side looked like value for a win. Balázs Tóth in the Blackburn goal did make a good save from a close-range Aune Heggebø volley, but it was hit straight at him. Besides that, it was a match to forget for two teams having seasons to forget.
Both West Brom and Blackburn should be far to big to be dragged into the relegation battle, but here they are. Managerial changes for each of them have rejuvenated their form as of late and opened a gap up to the bottom three, their fans will be hoping this season is a wake-up call to their respective hierarchies that the way they’ve been managing their clubs cannot continue. I think that’s much more likely in the vast of West Brom, who have shown willingness to invest that has just been misplaced. Blackburn’s struggle with their ownership has been long-running and well documented, and it seems like they’re sleepwalking to an inevitable relegation back to the third tier. After losing managers and players in their droves, maybe a near miss with relegation can shock them into corrective action.
Sheffield Wednesday 1-1 Leicester
Another side that knew the result from the early kick-off, and knew how much it benefitted them, was Leicester. With Pompey and Oxford drawing, this was the perfect opportunity for the former Premier League champions to drag themselves out of the bottom three and start to put points between themselves and their rivals. It’s been a horrible season for the Foxes, with 6 points deducted for financial irregularities and some fairly tight self-imposed transfer restrictions in place to stop it going any further. Not that they’d get much sympathy from their hosts, who have had 18 points stripped from them and have had to manage with half a squad of children as their few remaining players of any quality are sold for next to nothing. All Leicester had to do was beat a despondent Sheffield Wednesday side that are already relegated, still in negative points, have won just once all season, and have a mammoth -57 goal difference. And they couldn’t even do that. Surely those few Leicester fans who still had the capability to feel hope have lost it now.
Jerry Yates bundled home the opener after just 2 minutes, taking his tally up to 4 goals in his last 7 games. For a team like Wednesday, they’re practically Messi numbers. The real star of the show for the Owls, however, was their crowning jewel in goal, Pierce Charles. The 20 year-old ‘keeper is already a full Northern Ireland international, and he has gained plenty of experience this year stuck in the worst Championship side of all time and facing more shots than most goalies do over the course of 3 or 4 seasons. He is a superstar, and almost certainly going to move for big money to an ambitious side in the summer. A long career at the top awaits. He saved a mammoth eleven shots on goal against Leicester, including a fantastic double save and one from point-blank range. The woodwork did its bit, as did some characteristically poor finishing from Leicester as they again struggled to create anything of quality and began to resort to shooting on sight. The Foxes did eventually break Wednesday’s resolve, Jordan Ayew burying his effort into the bottom corner from just outside the area with 84 minutes on the clock, but they were unable to muster up a winner.
Drawing against Wednesday may as well be losing, especially for a team in Leicester’s predicament. With points proving hard to come by, and time running out, a visit to Hillsborough is about as close as it comes to a gimme at this level. With some of their relegation rivals still to face off against the bottom side, Leicester have done themselves no favours by failing to take advantage of their opponent’s struggle. If you can’t beat them, can you beat anyone?
Portsmouth 2-2 Oxford
The biggest game at the bottom was held at Fratton Park as second-bottom Oxford traveled down to the south coast to face a Portsmouth side that are just a point ahead of them and teetering on the edge of the drop zone themselves. A win for Pompey would put clear air between themselves and the bottom three, a draw would open the door for Leicester to put both of them under the line with a win at Wednesday, and an Oxford win would see them leapfrog their hosts to a position of safety going into the final few weeks. The pressure was on as the TV cameras rolled into town, and they knew their relegation rivals were watching intently to see how both these sides faired in the day’s early kick off. Safe to say, they didn’t disappoint.
That is, of course, unless you’re a Portsmouth or Oxford fan. They definitely disappointed you in that case.
The chat around the game has largely been marred by the decision made to send off Connor Ogilvie in the 17th minute. Pompey were 1-0 up at the time thanks to a lovely finish from birthday boy Keshi Anderson, and Fratton Park was rocking. Ogilvie took a heavy touch and lunged both-footed to try and atone for his error and keep possession. He ended up going through the back of the onrushing Stan Mills and bringing him to ground without making contact with the ball. It’s a tricky one, it’s probably an orange card in the end. It was a pretty soft red but, if I was an Oxford fan, I would feel aggrieved if he walked away with only a booking. At the end of the day, the decision was made and Pompey had to see out the rest of the game down to ten.
They made it all the way through the first half with their lead intact before Brodie Spencer stabbed home a rebounded effort from close range to bring the scores level on 48 minutes. Spencer himself probably should’ve seen red, too. He brought down Terry Devlin as the Portsmouth full-back was driving forwards after only just receiving a yellow, but the referee didn’t issue a second. Wether the incidents were too close together and the referee just lost his nerve, or if he somehow believed the trip was accidental, it was an appalling decision once again from an official at this level.
The clock ticked on and Portsmouth held firm until there were just ten minutes to play, and Will Lankshear gave Oxford the crucial lead with a close-range header. It was a lovely finish, and that should’ve been that as far as the result was concerned, but ten-man Pompey thought otherwise. Just 5 minutes later, Andre Dozzell was free in the box to tap home a cut-back to restore parity and end the game 2-2. Just how someone playing on a team with a man disadvantage is allowed that much room in the box late on, we may never know.
A draw in those circumstances is a terrible result for both. Pompey desperately needed to beat Oxford at home, with game against Middlesbrough, Ipswich, and Coventry to come, as well as a six-pointer at home to Leicester, Oxford was their last “easy” game. They finish the season against Stoke and Birmingham, who have nothing to play for, but have proven this year to have significantly more quality than this Portsmouth team at their disposal.
For Oxford, failing to beat a relegation rival who have ten men for the majority of the game is unforgivable, especially at this late juncture. If, when it all shakes out, Oxford miss out on survival by 1 or 2 points, this will be the game they live to regret.
As It Stands
18th: Charlton, 41 PL, -11 GD, 49 PTS
19th: Blackburn, 41 PL, -12 GD, 47 PTS
20th: West Brom, 41 PL, -14 GD, 45 PTS
21st: Portsmouth, 40 PL, -17 GD, 42 PTS
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22nd: Leicester, 41 PL, -9 GD, 41 PTS
23rd: Oxford, 41 PL, -15 GD, 41 PTS
24th: Wednesday, 41 PL, -57 GD, -5 PTS
The Run-In
As they all drew there was no movement in the actual league table, but these results will end up being significant.
Leicester failing to beat free-three-points Wednesday is massive for those around them, particularly Pompey and Oxford who would’ve both been in the bottom three had they won. Wednesday still have the U’s and West Brom to play, and if both of those can redeem their free win voucher it could end up being a result that costs Leicester dearly.
The draws at Blackburn and Portsmouth keep things tight and interesting going into the final few games, nobody is quite safe in this group and nerves may start to get the better of some of them.
Key Fixtures
Saturday 18th April:
Portsmouth vs Leicester
Sheffield Wednesday vs Charlton
Saturday 25th April:
Oxford vs Sheffield Wednesday
Saturday 2nd May:
Blackburn vs Leicester
Sheffield Wednesday vs West Brom
Every team in this bunch has a tricky fixture list going into the final few weekends. Everyone except for Oxford play 2 of the current top 6, and they still have to face 4th placed Millwall and Derby and Wrexham in 8th and 7th respectively. It won’t be easy to pick up points against the good sides and especially not when they play each other, as this weekend has proven so clearly. They’ll all be targeting the games against the mid-table teams that have very little to play for. These teams are still much better than the bottom six, but might have one foot on the beach when it comes to final few games. Who will have the bottle to drag themselves to safety? Will Oxford and Pompey fall back to League One after coming up together? Or will we see a former Premier League champion or two make the dramatic drop to the third tier? Will Sheffield Wednesday go down? Yes, they will.