Priske double lifts Birmingham past Lincoln and into second

August Priske scored twice as Birmingham beat Lincoln 3-1 at Sincil Bank on Saturday, responding to their defeat at Cardiff by moving temporarily into second place in the Championship. According to the Guardian's match report, Priske struck in each half before Alex Cochrane scored Birmingham's third after Lincoln had threatened a recovery through substitute Tom Bayliss.

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Birmingham took the lead in the 16th minute when Yunus Konak inadvertently diverted a pass towards his own goal. The ball reached Priske at the edge of the penalty area, where the Danish forward turned and sent a low finish into the bottom corner. The opening goal gave the visitors an advantage they maintained through to half-time.

There was a disciplinary incident around the half-hour mark when Birmingham's Ethan Laird caught Ben House in the face while attempting to control a clearance. House had been trying to take possession and move towards goal. Referee Lewis Smith showed Laird a yellow card, leaving Birmingham with their full complement of players for the remainder of the contest.

Priske doubled the lead on the hour, sliding in to finish past George Wickens after a long throw had been flicked on inside the area. Lincoln responded three minutes later: Mikkel Ladefoged supplied Bayliss, whose finish cut the deficit to one. Birmingham restored their two-goal cushion in the 73rd minute when Cochrane advanced through space in midfield and beat Wickens with a left-footed shot.

Elsewhere in the Championship, Norwich recovered from a 2-0 half-time deficit to defeat Watford 3-2. Myron Boadu opened his scoring account for Watford before the visitors' advantage disappeared after the break. Ben Chrisene, Anthony Musaba and Paris Maghoma scored during a 17-minute spell to secure Norwich's second consecutive league victory. Watford's position remained dependent on later results, with a Burnley win against Peterborough set to push them into the relegation places.

Stoke also collected three points, beating bottom side Preston 2-0 at home through goals from Ben Wilmot and Jack McGlynn. The victory was Stoke's seventh in their past 10 league matches. With further fixtures still to be played, Birmingham's move into second and Watford's immediate relegation-zone risk remained provisional rather than settled positions at the end of the day's programme.