SHEFFIELD UNITED HAVE moved up to third place in the English Championship, aided by another goal from Republic of Ireland international David McGoldrick.
The 31-year-old striker took his tally for the season to nine — including four in his last five outings — by opening the scoring for the Blades in a 3-0 win away to Wigan Athletic.
McGoldrick’s form could see him recalled to the Irish squad under new manager Mick McCarthy, who signed the Nottingham-born player during his time at Ipswich Town.
He won the last of his six caps for the Boys in Green in a friendly defeat to Mexico in June 2017, but Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder revealed recently that McCarthy has been keeping tabs on McGoldrick since he began his second spell as Ireland boss.
“Mick’s looking to get David back in there, it seems,” Wilder said. “He said he’s watched him at Brentford recently and, even though I didn’t think he was at his best there, he thought he’d done really well. Obviously with their history, he knows what the lad can do.”
A third win on the trot has seen Sheffield United overtake West Bromwich Albion, who fell to a 2-1 defeat at Blackburn Rovers. In fact, the top three in England’s second tier before this round of fixtures all failed to win this afternoon.
Despite coming from behind with a numerical disadvantage to take a second-half lead, leaders Leeds United lost 4-2 at Nottingham Forest. Veteran Irish striker Daryl Murphy — who retired from international football in 2018 — was among the goals for Forest against a Leeds side who lost Kalvin Phillips to a 42nd-minute red card.
Leeds remain on top with a two-point cushion as Norwich City were unable to fully capitalise on their slip-up. The Canaries needed an 83rd-minute equaliser from Timm Klose to earn a 1-1 draw away to Brentford. Elsewhere, Callum O’Dowda scored for Bristol City as they recorded a 2-0 win at Stoke City.
In League One, Ronan Curtis scored the decisive goal — his ninth of the campaign — as Portsmouth stretched their lead at the top to five points with a 2-1 victory over AFC Wimbledon. Eoin Doyle found the net for the fourth time in five games in Bradford City’s 3-0 defeat of Accrington Stanley.
English Championship results
- Aston Villa 2-2 Queens Park Rangers
- Blackburn Rovers 2-1 West Bromwich Albion
- Brentford 1-1 Norwich City
- Derby County 1-1 Middlesbrough
- Hull City 6-0 Bolton Wanderers
- Ipswich Town 2-3 Millwall
- Nottingham Forest 4-2 Leeds United
- Reading 1-4 Swansea City
- Rotherham United 2-1 Preston North End
- Sheffield Wednesday 1-1 Birmingham City
- Stoke City 0-2 Bristol City
- Wigan Athletic 0-3 Sheffield United
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