Championship round-up: Swansea stun Watford as Burnley beat Stoke

Swansea 4-0 Watford

Watford’s troubles in front of goal continued as Joël Piroe’s brace helped Swansea to a convincing 4-0 win, with this being the Swans’ first victory in nine attempts.

Three points would have been a welcome tonic for either side heading into the New Year. Swansea hadn’t tasted victory since late October, whilst visitors Watford were keen to bounce back from a disappointing defeat to Millwall last time out.

The Hornets’ issues lie largely in their over-reliance on forward João Pedro, who has been the only Watford player to find the target in any of their last six games. With the Brazilian now facing an extended spell on the sidelines, the visitors predictably struggled to threaten Swansea in a cagey first half that found life shortly before the break.

Piroe scored his seventh of the season as the Swansea marksman latched onto Liam Cullen’s threaded pass and coolly slotted low past Daniel Bachmann.

Despite the Hornets’ first-half shortcomings, Slaven Bilić refrained from making any changes to his side following the break - perhaps showing faith in his side’s record on the road, which has seen Watford bank 10 points from their last four away outings.

A switch to a more attacking front three for the final half-hour failed to have the desired impact for Watford as the game became increasingly fragmented due to a series of niggly challenges preventing either side from building momentum.

The game slipped away from Watford’s grasp in the latter stages as Swansea’s front two struck twice in quick succession.

The visitors were punished after they failed to clear a corner, allowing Cullen to eventually pull the trigger from 12 yards before Piroe struck again, four minutes later, sending a wonderful, curling shot into the bottom corner from the edge of the area.

Three minutes from time, Swansea added a fourth as Joel Latibeaudiere tapped in unmarked at the back post as Watford’s evening unravelled further.

The result lifts the Swans to within a point of the play-off places, whilst Watford’s transition to the Championship continues to be a struggle with their play-off position remaining intact by a fine margin heading into 2023.

Flashscore Player of the Match: Joël Piroe (Swansea City)

Stoke 0-1 Burnley

Burnley secured a fifth successive Championship victory for the first time this season after overcoming a determined Stoke City side to prevail 1-0 at the Bet365 Stadium. 

Vincent Kompany’s table-topping Clarets headed to Staffordshire with the familiar task of aiming to race three points clear of second-placed Sheffield United in the battle for automatic promotion.

Following a minute's applause for one of the game’s all-time greats, Pelé, who sadly passed away on Thursday, the free-scoring Lancashire outfit looked to get into their rhythm and add to their 49 league goals so far this campaign.

Despite some shaky moments at the back early on, Burnley dominated possession against a Stoke side intent on keeping their opponents at bay.

The Potters, unbeaten in their previous three Championship fixtures heading into this game, came under pressure from a corner in the 25th minute, but Ashley Barnes could not direct his back-post header towards goal.

Arijanet Muric later denied Morgan Fox from point-blank range, which left both sides still searching for a breakthrough following a hard-fought opening 45 minutes.

Stoke continued to frustrate Burnley after the interval, which led to Kompany bringing on the Clarets’ top goalscorer Jay Rodriguez and Moroccan international Anass Zaroury in the 51st minute.

The double change made an immediate impact as the visitors began to up the ante. Their perseverance ultimately paid off when Josh Cullen poked the ball home after Stoke failed to deal with Manuel Benson’s initial left-footed strike.

Minutes after falling behind, the home side made three changes of their own in a bid to salvage something from the game. Nevertheless, Burnley pursued more goals, with Josh Brownhill firing a dangerous free-kick over the bar late in the game.

In the end, Kompany’s men held on to move 14 points clear of their arch-rivals Blackburn Rovers in third. Meanwhile, Stoke have now failed to defeat Burnley in their last five H2H league meetings.

Flashscore Man of the Match: Josh Cullen (Burnley)

Norwich 1-1 Reading

Andy Carroll’s late equaliser ensured Norwich City had to settle for a 1-1 draw in their first game after Dean Smith was sacked. Although they failed to hold on for three points, the Canaries extended their unbeaten run in meetings with the Royals to nine games.

The Canaries’ Boxing Day defeat to Luton Town proved to be the final straw for the Norwich hierarchy, who decided to relieve Smith of his duties as manager.

Steve Weaver and Allan Russell were subsequently placed in interim charge, and they saw their side survive an early scare when a Tom Ince free-kick forced Angus Gunn to palm the ball over the bar.

In an exciting opening 20 minutes, Teemu Pukki looked well set to give his side an early lead when he was sent through on goal.

However, his heavy touch allowed the onrushing Joe Lumley to push the ball away from the Finnish striker, and from the resulting rebound, Josh Sargent saw his effort cleared off the line by Tom Holmes, who was making his 100th Reading appearance.

Following a fast start, the two sides began to cancel each other out, ensuring the score remained goalless when the referee blew the HT whistle.

The Canaries began the second period on the front foot, and they were rewarded for their attacking intent in the 54th minute. After a combination of Norwich headers, the ball dropped to Adam Idah, who drilled a low strike past an unmoved Lumley.

Ten minutes after falling behind, Reading went agonisingly close to restoring parity when Lucas João produced a downward header from Tom Ince’s corner, but Gunn’s quick reactions kept Norwich’s narrow lead intact.

Josh Sergeant had the opportunity to effectively wrap up all three points when he was sent through on goal, however, he was denied by Lumley, who dived down low to his right.

The American was made to rue his miss, as Carroll equalised from the spot in the 83st minute following Kieran Dowell’s clumsy challenge on Nesta Guinness-Walker. With neither side able to find a late winner, the spoils were shared, ensuring the two teams remain level on points.

Flashscore Man of the Match: Adam Idah (Norwich City)

Birmingham 0-1 Hull

Óscar Estupiñán’s late goal gave Hull City a priceless 1-0 victory over Birmingham City at St Andrews, as the Tigers ended their four-game winless run to end 2022 on a high.

Neither team came into the game with much confidence, as Birmingham had won just one of their last five matches and Hull were slipping ever closer to the relegation zone.

It was unsurprising, then, that both sides were lacking fluidity in their attacks during a relatively quiet first half. It was the visitors who had more efforts on goal in the early exchanges, with Regan Slater shooting just wide of the left post.

Blues captain Troy Deeney had a good chance to open the scoring shortly after with what would have been his fifth goal against Hull, but his effort on the angle was well saved by Matt Ingram.

Despite their recent struggles, the Tigers had put together a five-game unbeaten run away from home, and they looked the likelier team to take the lead in the first half.

Defender Sean McLoughlin’s effort from Jean Michaël Seri’s free-kick was saved by John Ruddy, before Greg Docherty saw his shot deflected just wide of the left post.

The majority of the second half was a similar story to the first, with clear-cut chances hard to come by for both sides.

Despite their lowly league position, Liam Rosenior’s side looked the more fluid, and thought they had taken the lead with just over 20 minutes remaining when Docherty’s cross picked out Ryan Longman, who headed home, but the assistant’s flag went up for offside.

The Tigers continued to push forward, though, and they got their reward less than 10 minutes later when Cyrus Christie’s cross picked out Óscar Estupiñán, and the forward flicked home from close range for his 10th league goal of the season to send the travelling fans behind the goal into raptures.

John Eustace’s side were unable to find a late equaliser, and fell to a second consecutive defeat which sees them drop one place to 16th. The Tigers, meanwhile, climb up three places and put five points between themselves and the relegation zone.

Flashscore Man of the Match: Óscar Estupiñán (Hull City)