Championship roundup: Millwall go third; Derby move into playoff places

Millwall climbed to third in the Championship after a dramatic 2-1 comeback victory at struggling Sheffield Wednesday, while Derby County broke into the top-six for the first time this year with a 2-0 home win over Swansea City.

At Hillsborough, Wednesday looked poised for only their second league success of the campaign when Jamal Lowe ended a barren run that stretched back to Boxing Day, sweeping the hosts ahead on the hour mark. The advantage lasted barely ten minutes: defender Cole McGhee inadvertently diverted a cross past his own keeper and, within 120 seconds, Macaulay Langstaff rifled in the decisive goal to complete a swift turnaround. The result keeps Millwall firmly in the automatic-promotion hunt and deepens Wednesday’s relegation fears.

The visitors named former Owls skipper Barry Bannan, who made over 450 appearances in a decade with the South-Yorkshire club, in their starting XI and home fans saluted the veteran midfielder with chants and applause in the 11th minute.

Derby, by contrast, finally turned Pride Park into a happy hunting ground. Rhian Brewster and United States international Patrick Agyemang converted second-half corners to hand the Rams a league double over the Swans and a first home win since New Year’s Day. Paul Warne’s side now occupy sixth spot, the final playoff berth.

Elsewhere in the Championship, Michael O’Neill’s first match as Blackburn boss ended in a confidence-boosting 3-1 success at QPR. Mathias Jørgensen struck either side of Koki Saito’s equaliser and Ryoya Morishita added a third early in the second half to lift Rovers out of the relegation zone and up to 19th. O’Neill paid tribute to caretaker Damien Johnson, who prepared and selected the side, including the productive front pairing of Jørgensen and Andri Gudjohnsen.

In League One, leaders Cardiff stretched their advantage to four points by beating Wycombe 3-1. David Turnbull opened the scoring before Jordan Clark levelled from the spot, yet quick-fire goals from Joel Colwill and Perry Ng just before the break proved decisive. Second-placed Lincoln were eight minutes from a potentially pivotal victory over Bolton when Sam Dalby headed home to secure a 1-1 draw that keeps the Imps three points clear of the chasing pack.

Bradford edged into fifth, swapping places with Huddersfield after a 2-0 defeat of Peterborough; Bobby Pointon and Kayden Jackson netted either side of the interval. Huddersfield slipped to sixth following a late 1-0 loss at Stevenage, Carl Piergianni grabbing the winner.

Reading kept their playoff hopes alive as Jack Marriott’s hat-trick downed Walsall 3-2, while Barnsley and AFC Wimbledon shared six goals at Oakwell, Omar Bugiel scoring twice for the Dons and Scott Banks levelling deep in stoppage time. Plymouth routed Blackpool 4-0, aided by a first-half treble, and Northampton ground out a 0-0 draw at Exeter.

In League Two, Bromley preserved a four-point cushion at the summit despite a 1-1 home draw with Notts County, for whom Jodi Jones cancelled out Matthew Dennis’ own goal. Cambridge replaced Swindon in second after Ben Knight’s brace inspired a 3-1 defeat of Bristol Rovers, while Shrewsbury climbed out of the bottom two by beating Swindon 3-1.

Barrow gave new manager Dino Maamria a winning start as captain Niall Canavan headed the only goal against Colchester, and Harrogate climbed off the foot of the table with a late 1-1 draw at 10-man Chesterfield.