14 1GG Monday January 3 2022 | the times
thegame
Queens Park Rangers maintained their
impressive recent away form with a 2-1
win away to Birmingham City to move
up to fifth in the Championship.
A 14th-minute goal from Albert
Adomah, right, put the visiting side on
course for a fourth win in their past
five away games, with Chris Willock
adding a 71st-minute second before
Chuks Aneke replied for Birmingham.
“We knew we would face a tough
challenge,” Mark Warburton, the QPR
manager, said. “I was pleased that we
came out, got the early goal and
controlled the first half. In the second
half we knew they were going to come
out and press, and to get the second
goal of that quality was really
pleasing.”
Lee Bowyer, the Birmingham
manager, said: “They scored from their
first opportunity and did the same in
the second half. They were just clinical.
That’s why they are in the position that
they are in the league and why we are
where we are.”
Andreas Weimann scored a hat-trick
as Bristol City came from behind to
beat Millwall 3-2 at home. The Austrian
put Nigel Pearson’s side ahead in the
seventh minute but Millwall repliedthrough Tom Bradshaw and a Benik
Afobe penalty to establish a 2-1 half-
time lead. Weimann brought his side
level before securing the win five
minutes from time.
“Andreas has constantly been
getting into the right places at the
right time and it’s testament to his
hard work this season that he’s already
surpassed his best goal tally for us in a
season,” Pearson said.
His opposite number, Gary Rowett,
said: “We could possibly have had
today’s game called off, but we didn’t
want that to happen because we felt
we could build on our win at
Coventry.”CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND-UPPerformance of the week
Doncaster Rovers appeared set for a
first away win of the season when they
led 3-0 at half-time before a
remarkable second-half comeback
from Morecambe, who won 4-3 thanks
to two goals from Cole Stockton, Jon
Obika and Toumani Diagouraga.
Player of the week
Michael Smith, the
Rotherham United
forward, right, scored
twice to take his
season tally to 17 as
his side moved
back to the top of
the table after a 2-1
victory over Bolton
Wanderers.
Goal of the week
Kane Hemmings’s smart
turn and shot was the pick of
Burton Albion’s goals in the 4-1
victory over Crewe Alexandra.
Rising star
Callum Wright, the Cheltenham Town
midfielder on loan from Leicester City,
21, has struggled with injury this
season but impressed as he scored in
the 1-1 draw at Oxford United.Villain of the week
Dave Artell was fiercely critical of the
referee, Peter Wright, who ordered the
Crewe Alexandra manager to watch
the second half of his side’s defeat
away to Burton from the stands.
Stat of the week
Rotherham are now unbeaten in 17
home meetings against
Bolton, with 12 wins and
five draws.
Quote of the week
“It was a heroic
performance. To
have seven of that
starting team back
earlier this week
from Covid, I was
looking at the
regulations to see if we
could play the game,
because some of them had
breathing difficulties. We had three
players on the pitch who trained on
Friday, and we had to pull the session
short in case they went down again.”
Steve Evans, the Gillingham manager,
praises his side after the 0-0 draw at
Milton Keynes Dons that extended
their winless run to nine games.LEAGUE ONE ROUND-UPPerformance of the week
Ben Garner’s Swindon Town side
enjoyed the ideal warm-up ahead of
Friday’s FA Cup third-round meeting
with Manchester City by coming from
behind to beat second-placed
Northampton Town 5-2.
Player of the week
Harry McKirdy, the Swindon Town
forward, scored four goals in his side’s
win to take his season tally to nine in
17 league appearances.
Goal of the week
Conor Wilkinson came on as a
substitute and rescued a point for
Walsall in the 3-3 draw with Newport
County with a stunning last-minute
strike. It was an eventful day for the
forward, who also netted with his first
touch before scoring an own-goal.
Rising star
Josh March, the 24-year-old Forest
Green Rovers forward, was handed his
first start of the season and made the
most of his chance with the opening
goal in the 2-1 win over Stevenage that
moved his side seven points clear at
the top of the table.
Villain of the week
Sam Stubbs, the Exeter City defender,fouled Richie Bennett to concede the
late penalty that allowed Rob Milsom
to complete a 2-1 win for Sutton
United.
Stat of the week
Rod McDonald’s goal in Carlisle
United’s 1-0 win at Scunthorpe United
was the defender’s first goal since
February 2016.
Quote of the week
“It’s nice to see. We’ve played a game
more but it puts pressure on them to
win their game and keep up with us.”
Milsom, the Sutton midfielder, after his
side moved up to third place in their
first season in the EFL.LEAGUE TWO ROUND-UPPremier League
Home Away
PWDL FAWDL FAGDPts
W 1 Manchester City.................................. 21 8 1 1 31 6 9 1 1 22 7 40 53
W 2 Chelsea.................................................... 21 5 5 1 25 10 7 2 1 20 6 29 43
W 3 Liverpool............................................... 20 6 3 0 22 6 6 3 2 30 12 34 42
W 4 Arsenal................................................... 20 7 1 2 18 8 4 1 5 15 17 8 35
W 5 West Ham United............................... 20 4 2 3 18 15 6 2 3 19 12 10 34
Y 6 Tottenham Hotspur............................ 18 7 1 2 16 10 3 2 3 7 10 3 33
Z 7 Manchester United............................. 18 5 1 3 17 14 4 3 2 13 12 4 31
Y 8 Brighton & Hove Albion................... 19 3 3 3 8 9 3 6 1 12 11 0 27
Z 9 Wolverhampton Wanderers........... 18 3 2 4 5 7 4 2 3 8 7 -1 25
Z10 Leicester City........................................ 18 5 1 3 16 12 2 3 4 15 21 -2 25
W 11 Crystal Palace..................................... 20 4 5 2 20 12 1 3 5 9 18 -1 23
Y 12 Brentford................................................ 19 4 1 5 12 12 2 4 3 11 14 -3 23
Z 13 Aston Villa............................................. 19 4 1 4 15 14 3 0 7 10 16 -5 22
Z14 Southampton....................................... 19 2 6 1 9 8 2 3 5 11 21 -9 21
W 15 Everton................................................... 18 4 1 4 15 16 1 3 5 8 16 -9 19
W16 Leeds United......................................... 19 3 4 3 13 16 1 3 5 8 21 -16 19
W 17 Watford................................................... 18 2 1 7 11 22 2 0 6 11 14 -14 13
W18 Burnley.................................................... 17 1 4 2 8 8 0 4 6 8 19 -11 11
W19 Newcastle United................................ 19 1 5 4 13 22 0 3 6 6 20 -23 11
W20 Norwich City......................................... 19 1 2 7 5 19 1 2 6 3 23 -34 10Non-league, Scotland and Europe
Vanarama National League
Boreham Wood 0 Barnet 0
1,283
Chesterfield 1 Kings Lynn Town 0
Mandeville 51 6,328
Dagenham & Red 3 Dover Athletic 1
Morias 29
Walker 36
Weston 54Pavey 50
1,631Eastleigh^3 Weymouth^2
Barnett 40
Maghoma 64
Whitehall 90+3McQuoid 79
Goodship 88
2,839
Sent off: J Hesketh (Eastleigh) 44
Notts County 3 Wrexham^1
Wootton 10 (pen), 39
Richardson 67Hall-Johnson 4
8,890
Sent off: H Lennon (Wrexham) 9
Woking^2 Aldershot^3
Kretzschmar 7, 71 (pen)
5,171Harris 46
Andrews 88 (pen)
Ndjoli 90+4
Yeovil 1 Torquay United 2
Barnett 66 Lemonheigh-Evans 75
Holman 89
P W D L F A GD Pts
Chesterfield.............. 2012 7 1 38 16 22 43
Halifax........................ 2012 4 4 32 17 15 40
Wrexham................... 22 11 6 5 38 23 15 39
Boreham Wood........ 19 11 6 2 28 13 15 39
Dag & Red.................. 2212 2 8 43 27 16 38
Notts County............ 20 11 5 4 36 23 13 38
Bromley....................... 21 11 5 5 36 24 12 38
Stockport County... 20 11 3 6 35 23 12 36
Solihull Moors...........21 10 6 5 28 21 7 36
Grimsby......................19 10 2 7 3121 10 32
Yeovil.......................... 20 9 4 7 21 20 1 31
Eastleigh.................... 20 9 4 7 26 27 -1 31
Torquay...................... 22 9 3 10 34 35 -1 30
Woking....................... 22 9 1 12 36 36 0 28
Barnet......................... 20 7 5 8 24 31 -7 26
Altrincham................. 21 7 4 10 34 36 -2 25Aldershot................... 22 7 3 12 27 36 -9 24
Wealdstone............... 19 5 6 8 19 29 -10 21
Maidenhead United 19 5 3 11 20 38-18 18
Southend 19 4 4 1116 31 -15 16
Weymouth................ 20 4 3 13 23 41 -18 15
Kings Lynn Town... 20 3 2 1517 41 -24 11
*Dover Athletic........ 22 0 418 18 51 -33-8
* deducted 12pts for breaching league rules
North Blyth Spartans 2 Gateshead 1; Boston United
2 Alfreton Town 3; Chester 1 AFC Telford United 1;
Darlington 1 Spennymoor Town 1; Guiseley 0
Farsley Celtic 0; Kettering Town 3 Brackley Town 1;
Leamington 0 Gloucester City 1.
P W D LF A GD Pts
Brackley Town......... 19 12 4 3 26 14 12 40
Gateshead.................. 17 12 2 3 36 21 15 38
AFC Fylde................... 19 11 4 4 35 20 15 37
Chorley........................19 10 6 3 35 18 17 36
Kidderminster.......... 16 9 4 3 35 16 19 31
Southport................... 18 8 6 4 33 20 13 30
Boston United........... 19 9 1 9 29 33 -4 28
Alfreton Town.......... 19 8 3 8 31 28 3 27
York.............................. 18 8 2 8 24 23 1 26
Kettering Town........ 17 7 4 6 28 23 5 25
Curzon Ashton......... 18 6 7 5 25 21 4 25
Leamington............... 21 6 7 8 22 25 -3 25
Spennymoor............ 20 7 4 9 29 33 -4 25
Darlington................. 20 6 6 8 32 31 1 24
Chester....................... 20 6 6 8 34 35 -1 24
Hereford..................... 17 6 5 6 1819 -1 23
Gloucester City........ 19 4 6 9 21 33 -12 18
Blyth Spartans.......... 19 5 3 11 17 36 -19 18
Guiseley...................... 19 4 5 10 14 26-12 17
Farsley Celtic............ 18 4 5 9 15 34 -19 17
Bradford PA............... 17 3 6 8 17 31 -14 15
AFC Telford United. 19 2 6 11 19 35 -16 12
South Bath City 2 Chippenham Town 0; Concord
Rangers 0 Billericay Town 0; Dulwich Hamlet 0
Welling United 1; Ebbsfleet United 1 Dartford 0;
Havant & Waterlooville 1 Dorking Wanderers 3;
Maidstone United 2 Tonbridge Angels 0; Slough
Town 2 Oxford City 2; St Albans City 1 Hemel
Hempstead Town 3.
P W D LF A GD Pts
Maidstone United.... 19 11 4 4 33 18 15 37
Ebbsfleet United...... 18 11 2 5 40 23 17 35
Oxford City................ 19 9 8 2 37 22 15 35
Dorking Wanderers 1810 3 5 44 29 15 33Dartford...................... 18 9 5 4 3118 13 32
Dulwich Hamlet........ 17 8 5 4 37 24 13 29
Chippenham Town. 21 7 7 7 33 30 3 28
Havant & We............. 19 8 4 7 27 30 -3 28
St Albans City............ 15 8 2 5 3121 10 26
Hungerford Town... 17 8 2 7 30 25 5 26
Slough Town............. 19 7 5 7 29 30 -1 26
Concord Rangers.... 19 7 5 7 28 34 -6 26
Bath City..................... 19 8 0 11 25 36 -11 24
Hemel Hempstead.. 19 6 5 8 24 38-14 23
Eastbourne Boro...... 17 6 4 7 35 31 4 22
Hampton & R............ 16 6 4 6 28 24 4 22
Welling........................ 19 6 2 11 18 46 -28 20
Chelmsford City....... 17 4 6 7 22 24 -2 18
Tonbridge Angels... 18 3 5 1016 26 -10 14Braintree..................... (^17269) 16 33-17 12
Billericay Town........ 19 2 4 13 14 36 -22 10
Pitching In Northern League
Premier division Basford United 0 Grantham Town
1; Buxton 2 Stafford Rangers 3; Hyde United 1
Mickleover 4; Lancaster City 0 Atherton Collieries 0;
Morpeth Town 2 Whitby Town 0; Radcliffe 3 FC
United of Manchester 3; South Shields 1
Scarborough Athletic 0; Warrington Town 4 Bamber
Bridge 1.
Pitching In Southern League
Premier division: Central AFC Rushden &
Diamonds 4 St Ives Town 0; Alvechurch 0 Banbury
Utd 2; Barwell 2 Nuneaton Borough 2; Biggleswade
Town 1 Royston Town 2; Rushall Olympic 5 Coalville
Town 1; Stourbridge 4 Redditch Utd 0; Stratford
Town 0 Bromsgrove Sporting 0. South Chesham
United 2 Hayes & Yeading 1; Hartley Wintney 0
Farnborough 1; Hendon 0 Kings Langley 2; Poole
Town 3 Wimborne Town 1; Salisbury 0 Gosport
Borough 5; Walton Casuals 2 Harrow Borough 1;
Weston-super-Mare 2 Truro City 2; Yate Town 2
Dorchester Town 1.
Pitching In Isthmian League
Premier division Bishop’s Stortford 3 Cheshunt 1;
Corinthian-Casuals 2 Carshalton Athletic 1; East
Thurrock United 1 Cray Wanderers 3; Enfield Town 4
Potters Bar Town 0; Haringey Borough 3
Brightlingsea Regent 0; Hornchurch 1 Bowers &
Pitsea 0; Leatherhead 2 Kingstonian 3; Lewes 2
Bognor Regis Town 0; Margate 3 Folkestone Invicta
1; Merstham 3 Wingate & Finchley 1; Worthing 3
Horsham 1.
TODAY
Premier League: Manchester
United v Wolves, 5.30pm,
Sky Sports Main Event
Victory would move United to
within one point of the top four.
WEDNESDAY
Carabao Cup semi-final first leg:
Chelsea v Tottenham, 7.45pm,
Sky Sports Main Event
Can Antonio Conte move Spurs
closer to a first trophy since 2008?
THURSDAY
Carabao Cup semi-final first leg:
Arsenal v Liverpool, 7.45pm,
Sky Sports Main Event
Mikel Arteta’s young guns have
shone so far, but this is a stiff test.
FRIDAY
FA Cup third round: Swindon
Town v Manchester City, 8pm, ITV
The League Two side seek a
giant-killing under the lights.
RESULTS
Arsenal 1 Manchester City 2
Saka 31
59,757
Mahrez 57 (pen)
Rodri 90+3
Sent off: M Gabriel (Arsenal) 59
Brentford 2 Aston Villa 1
Wissa 42
Roerslev 83
Ings 16
Chelsea 2 Liverpool 2
Kovacic 42
Pulisic 45+1
Mané 9, Salah 26
40,072
Crystal Palace 2 West Ham United 3
Édouard 83
Olise 90
24,351
Antonio 22
Lanzini 25, 45+5 (pen)
Everton 2 Brighton 3
Gordon 53, 76 MacAllister 3, 71
Burn 21
Leeds United 3 Burnley 1
Harrison 39
Dallas 77
James 90+2
Cornet 54
Watford 0 Tottenham 1
20,391 Sánchez 90+6
TV HIGHLIGHTS
Sk
C
cl
T
C
A
Sk
M
shss
F
FA
To
T
g
16
TOP SCORERS
16 Salah (Liverpool, below)
10 Jota (Liverpool)
9 Vardy (Leicester)
8 Antonio (West Ham)
8 Ronaldo (Man Utd)
8 Dennis (Watford)
TOP ASSISTS
TOP SAVES
9 Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)
9 Salah (Liverpool)
7 Bowen (West Ham)
7 Jesus (Man City)
7 Pogba (Man Utd)
5 Antonio (West Ham)
66 Meslier (Leeds)
65 Fabianski (West Ham)
62 Schmeichel (Leicester)
62 De Gea (Man Utd)
58 Krul (Norwich)
57 Sá (Wolves)