LEAGUE LEADERS WEST Bromwich Albion were held to a 0-0 draw by Birmingham City this afternoon, as the Championship resumed following a three-month hiatus.
Irish international Scott Hogan, on loan from Aston Villa, headed the game’s best chance straight at Sam Johnstone with six minutes left.
“I’m not happy but even the table looks better now”, said Baggies boss Slaven Bilic.
“Every game is a potential three points, I’m disappointed with the result and that we didn’t get it but there were a lot of positive things considering it was our first match back.
“Of course it was a missed opportunity and I’m not happy with the result, I’m disappointed with the result.
“We deserved to win and we did enough to win. You have to be good enough in the final product. The number of shots and crosses we had were extremely high.
“It comes down to sharpness, you need matches to get sharp. Everything else was there and there are a lot of positive things.”
The result means Leeds United can leapfrog Albion and go three points clear at the league summit if they beat Cardiff City tomorrow.
Elsewhere, Blackburn Rovers placed themselves in the race for the play-offs with a come-from-behind 3-1 win at home to Bristol City.
The results sees Rovers move to within a point of sixth-placed Preston, who were held 1-1 by bottom-of-the-table Luton Town. Nottingham Forest remain fifth, following a 1-1 draw away to Sheffield Wednesday, for whom Connor Wickham scored a dramatic, 93rd-minute equalier.
At the bottom of the table, Charlton Athletic earned a crucial 1-0 win at Hull to clamber out of the relegation zone at the Tigers’ expense. Hull are now in the bottom three by virtue of their inferior goal difference to Middlesbrough, who lost 3-0 at home to Swansea earlier today.
Barnsley gave themselves hope of escaping trouble with a 1-0 win over QPR, and they sit four points from safety.
Huddersfield are only a point clear of the drop after a 2-0 home defeat to Wigan, for whom Irish international Anthony Pilkington was on the scoresheet.
Michael O’Neill, having recovered from Covid-19, saw his Stoke City side draw 1-1 at Reading, meaning they stay two points clear of the relegation zone.
Meanwhile, a hat-trick from teenager Louie Sibley earned Derby County a 3-2 win away to Millwall.
Additional reporting by Press Association
