Championship wrap: Watford near promotion pack, Burnley lose ground

Watford moved within four points of the Championship promotion places with a 3-0 win at Ipswich Town on Tuesday, while Burnley were held.

Danny Graham scored in his fifth successive match and Watford recorded their fifth straight points result over Ipswich, who remain in 16th following their third straight home loss.

Watford leap to eighth on table, four points away from Nottingham Forest at the edge of the promotion places with nine rounds left in the Championship season.

Troy Deeney had Ipswich reeling when he produced a fine finish to put Watford up 1-0 in the third minute, an advantage they widened when Graham found the net again after 61 minutes.

Don Cowie managed to sneak in a third goal in added time for the visitors, who will look to press their playoff hopes further in the coming weeks against struggling sides Middlesbrough and Coventry City.

Elsewhere, Burley missed an opportunity to draw within one point of Forest when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home by Coventry.

A Jay Rodriguez brace was enough to secure a point for the hosts, who conceded goals to Lukas Jutkiewicz (61) and Gary McSheffery (75) in 14 second-half minutes.

Preston North End ran out 3-0 winners at fellow relegation battlers Scunthorpe United.

Keith Treacy (32), Billy Jones (37) and Iain Hume (43) buried Scunthorpe with three quick goals, leaving the hosts four points adrift of safety following three straight losses.

Bottom-placed Preston are still 10 points away from Crystal Palace in 21st place.

Tue 15 March, 2011

FA Cup: West Ham 5 Burnley 1

West Ham United dispatched Championship club Burnley 5-1 on Monday to set up an FA Cup quarter-final against Stoke City.

German international Thomas Hitzlsperger, who joined West Ham in June 2010 but had been sidelined with a thigh injury since August, opened the scoring with a goal on debut 22 minutes into the fifth-round match at Upton Park.

The 28-year-old former Aston Villa man unleashed a characteristic 25-yard pile-driver to put the English Premier League club 1-0 ahead at half-time.

Carlton Cole doubled the hosts’ advantage three minutes into the second half.

The striker, capped seven times by England, had an initial shot saved by Burnley goalkeeper Lee Grant but was then able to stab the loose ball into the back of the net from close range.

Just two minutes later, Cole had a brace.

Running in behind the Burnley defence and connecting with Mark Noble’s long ball, he fired an impressive half-volley past Grant to make it 3-0.

A minute before the hour mark, debutant Hitzlsperger turned provider when he sent in a corner for New Zealand World Cup defender Winston Reid to head home from six yards out.

The visitors pulled one back in the 71st minute when West Ham goalkeeper Robert Green played a clearance straight into the head of former teammate Tyrone Mears.

The ball fell to Jay Rodriguez, who nodded it into an unguarded net.

But the strike proved no more than a consolation and Freddy Sears completed the rout in injury time with a well-taken individual effort to make it 5-1.

West Ham will now travel to fellow Premier League side Stoke in a quarter-final at the Britannia Stadium on March 12.

Their continued presence in the tournament will go some way to making up for their Carling Cup semi-final exit at the hands of Birmingham.

Nevertheless, the Hammers remain second from bottom in the Premier League and are in serious danger of joining Burnley in the Championship next season.

Tue 22 February, 2011

FA Cup: West Ham 5 Burnley 1

West Ham United dispatched Championship club Burnley 5-1 on Monday to set up an FA Cup quarter-final against Stoke City.

German international Thomas Hitzlsperger, who joined West Ham in June 2010 but had been sidelined with a thigh injury since August, opened the scoring with a goal on debut 22 minutes into the fifth-round match at Upton Park.

The 28-year-old former Aston Villa man unleashed a characteristic 25-yard pile-driver to put the English Premier League club 1-0 ahead at half-time.

Carlton Cole doubled the hosts’ advantage three minutes into the second half.

The striker, capped seven times by England, had an initial shot saved by Burnley goalkeeper Lee Grant but was then able to stab the loose ball into the back of the net from close range.

Just two minutes later, Cole had a brace.

Running in behind the Burnley defence and connecting with Mark Noble’s long ball, he fired an impressive half-volley past Grant to make it 3-0.

A minute before the hour mark, debutant Hitzlsperger turned provider when he sent in a corner for New Zealand World Cup defender Winston Reid to head home from six yards out.

The visitors pulled one back in the 71st minute when West Ham goalkeeper Robert Green played a clearance straight into the head of former teammate Tyrone Mears.

The ball fell to Jay Rodriguez, who nodded it into an unguarded net.

But the strike proved no more than a consolation and Freddy Sears completed the rout in injury time with a well-taken individual effort to make it 5-1.

West Ham will now travel to fellow Premier League side Stoke in a quarter-final at the Britannia Stadium on March 12.

Their continued presence in the tournament will go some way to making up for their Carling Cup semi-final exit at the hands of Birmingham.

Nevertheless, the Hammers remain second from bottom in the Premier League and are in serious danger of joining Burnley in the Championship next season.

Tue 22 February, 2011

Burnley 2-1 Norwich City: Championship Highlights (Video)

no comments by Mad Dog and Glory on February 6th, 2011

Burnley triumphed over promotion chasing Norwich City at Turf Moor to keep the Clarets play-off dream alive.

Premier League Tickets Available from Tixdaq.com

Burnley Sack Manager Brian Laws After Less Than a Year In Charge

5 comments by The Newshound on December 29th, 2010

In the words of Freddie Mercury, “Another one bites the dust”.

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