Late winners keep Swansea and Middlesbrough clear in Championship race

Swansea remained top of the Championship after substitute Ronald scored a last-minute winner in a 1-0 victory at Millwall on Tuesday. Middlesbrough stayed second by beating Stoke 3-2 with a stoppage-time goal from Neto Borges. According to The Guardian’s roundup, the results left Swansea on 23 points and Middlesbrough on 21 after 10 matches, with third-placed Birmingham on 17.

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Swansea’s match at the Den was interrupted for almost seven minutes following a complaint about racist chanting. Referee Edward Duckworth stopped play in the 65th minute and spoke to Millwall manager Alex Neil, Swansea manager Vitor Matos and fourth official Ruebyn Ricardo. After play resumed, a stadium announcement said racist chanting had been reported and police were using CCTV to try to identify any offenders.

At Stoke, Borges scored the decisive goal from close range in the first minute of added time, having earlier put the ball into his own net. Callum Brittain had given Middlesbrough the lead three minutes after half-time before Junior Tchamadeu’s shot went in off Borges. The late winner extended Middlesbrough’s unbeaten run to five matches and was Borges’s first league goal in 18 months, The Guardian reported.

Will Lankshear had restored Middlesbrough’s advantage after goalkeeper Viktor Johansson spilled a shot from Amario Cozier-Duberry. Lankshear’s eighth league goal in 10 games took him to the top of the division’s scoring standings. Stoke substitute Robert Bozenik then made it 2-2 with five minutes remaining after a poor clearance from Luke Ayling, before Borges settled the match.

Birmingham strengthened their position with a 4-0 home win over Preston, who spent most of the second half with 10 players. August Priske scored twice, with Liam Millar and Demarai Gray also on target. It was Birmingham’s third victory in four matches and their first at home. Preston remained bottom, while Watford fell into the relegation places after losing 5-1 at Cardiff, where Jack Moylan scored twice before the break.

Elsewhere, West Brom recovered from a goal down to beat Wrexham 2-1 through late strikes by Isaac Price and Aune Heggebo. Bolton won 3-1 at Wolves, handing the hosts their first home league defeat of the season. Charlton’s Ivan Mesik scored a late equaliser in a 2-2 draw at Burnley, and Oladapo Afolayan’s goal gave Blackburn a 1-0 victory at Bristol City.