Advertisement
Macauley Boone scored the winner as Leeds were beaten by Charlton. Daniel Hambury
title race

West Brom take Championship top spot, Leeds crash

A second defeat of the season leaves Marcelo Bielsa’s side two points off the summit.

WEST BROMWICH ALBION manager Slaven Bilic saluted Nathan Ferguson for inspiring a 2-0 win at QPR that sent his side to the top of the Championship after Leeds suffered a 1-0 loss against Charlton on Saturday.

Ferguson was outstanding at left-back and scored his first goal for West Brom to put them ahead seven minutes into the second half at Loftus Road.

The 18-year-old strode forward from his own half and sent a right-footed strike past QPR keeper Joe Lumley.

Matheus Pereira also scored his first Albion goal, the on-loan Sporting Lisbon man netted with a late free-kick to seal the victory.

Former West Ham manager Bilic, who worked with England midfielder Declan Rice at the east London club, was full of praise for Ferguson and believes he is destined for a similar bright future.

“Nathan has a mentality that reminds me of Declan Rice,” Bilic said. “He’s only 18 on paper but his mind is 25 or 27 — he’s not a kid. He’s only a kid in a positive way in that he’s not afraid to take the ball forward and have a shot.

“It’s our job to keep him humble but there’s no doubt that he has an extremely bright future and a great career in front of him.”

Albion are unbeaten in seven matches and were much the better side at the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium as they moved one point clear of second placed Swansea.

“This is the best performance that we played so far,” Bilic added.

queens-park-rangers-v-west-bromwich-albion-sky-bet-championship-the-kiyan-prince-foundation-stadium Nathan Ferguson (right) was the star man for West Brom. EMPICS Sport EMPICS Sport

“Straight from the start we were on the front foot. They didn’t have a sniff.”

Andy Yiadom scored a last-minute equaliser as Reading salvaged a 1-1 draw that denied Swansea a return to the top of the table.

Yiadom’s unstoppable strike ended Reading’s three-game losing streak in the league after Borja Baston’s third minute header put Swansea in front.

Swansea’s winless run has extended to four matches in all competitions.

Macauley Bonne marked his first Championship start with the goal that earned Charlton a surprise win at home to promotion-chasing Leeds.

Bonne, a summer signing from Leyton Orient who had previously made just two substitute appearances in the league, bundled home as Charlton manager Lee Bowyer got the better of the team he played for from 1996 to 2003.

Leeds had been knocked off top spot on Friday by Nottingham Forest’s 3-2 win at Stoke and were pushed down to fourth as Charlton joined them in the play-off places.

Fifth placed Preston stretched their unbeaten run to six league games in a 3-3 draw with Bristol City at Deepdale.

Sheffield Wednesday manager Garry Monk returned to his old club Middlesbrough for a 4-1 win that lifted them up to seventh.

At the other end, second bottom Huddersfield remain without a win following a 1-1 draw with 10-man Millwall.

© AFP 2019  

The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!

Your Voice
Readers Comments
2
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic. Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy here before taking part.
Leave a Comment
    Submit a report
    Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
    Thank you for the feedback
    Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.

    Leave a commentcancel