IRELAND INTERNATIONAL JAMES McClean was on target with the opening goal as Stoke City boosted their Championship survival hopes with a much-needed win this afternoon.
The Potters were 3-1 victors over fellow tier two strugglers Charlton Athletic, with McClean tapping home the first goal of the afternoon with 28 minutes on the clock at the bet365 Stadium.
The Derry native was in the right place at the right time to grab his sixth goal of the season, after Nick Powell headed Sam Clucas’ corner into his path at the back post.
Tom Ince and Powell scored the other Stoke goals in the second half, while Ireland defender Nathan Collins was on the bench.
Josh Cullen started for Charlton, whose equaliser came from Ben Purrington before City pulled away to take all three points after the break. The win extends Michael O’Neill’s side’s unbeaten home run to six games, and lifts them above the Addicks into 20th place — five points above the Championship bottom three
Elsewhere, Alan Browne and Sean Maguire helped Preston North End to a 2-1 win away to Wigan Athletic, while Joe Rafferty was an unused substitute.
Derby County secured their first away win since the opening day of the season, with Tom Lawrence’s late effort sealing a 3-2 victory for Phillip Cocu’s charges over Swansea City. Jason Knight started for Derby.
Hull City and Reading played out a scrappy 1-1 draw at the Madejski Stadium, but in one instance of Irish interest, Sean McLoughlin made his Hull debut and looked comfortable throughout.
Meanwhile, Huddersfield were 2-0 winners over QPR as they moved six points clear of the relegation zone. Conor Masterson started for QPR, while Ryan Manning was on bench.
Fulham edged past Blackburn by the minimum, with Aleksandar Mitrovic’s 20th goal of the season the difference there. Ireland’s Cyrus Christie was among the Fulham substitutes.
Darragh Lenihan started for, and captained, Blackburn — he scored an equaliser but it was disallowed after he was deemed offside — while Derrick Williams was on the bench.
Elsewhere there were wins for Brentford and Cardiff City, and Barnsley and Sheffield Wednesday shared the spoils. Nottingham Forest and Leeds United are curently going head-to-head in the later kick-off.
Championship results in full below
- Wigan Atheltic 1-2 Preston North End
- Barnseley 1-1 Sheffield Wednesday
- Blackburn Rovers 0-1 Fulham
- Brentford 3-2 Middlesborough
- Huddersfield Town 2-0 QPR
- Luton Town 0-1 Cardiff City
- Reading 1-1 Hull City
- Stoke City 3-1 Chalton Athletic
- Swansea City 2-3 Derby County
- Nottingham Forest 1-0 up against Leeds United at time of publishing.
The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!
