1 – When it rains, it pours
As custom on a bank holiday weekend, the rain came and battered the country with a vengeance this weekend and nowhere as much down in the capital, especially at The Valley. Charlton Athletic’s sturdy old ground couldn’t handle the torrential downpour and referee Lee Collins decided to call the match off at half time much to the anger of visitors, Doncaster Rovers who were 3-1 up at this point. Play had been initially suspended after only 26 minutes play but a valiant effort by the Rovers player saw play resumed until the break but the young referee deemed the conditions unsafe. Two goals by Chris Brown and Paul Keegan had seen The Vikings three up before Simon Church pulled one back but what had become a rather entertaining game mattered none as the weather won the battle.
2 – James Vaughn is quite good in the second tier
When James Vaughn left Everton he soon fell into the category of one of those with a lot of potential but not quite able to cut in the Premier League and he’s doing nothing to really dispel that theory. After a strong campaign last year, the 25 year-old has continued in good form with 7 goals so far this season including a 21 minute hat-trick today against newly promoted AFC Bournemouth. The ex-Toffee hit two in quick succession just before the break before slotting home a penalty on 58 minutes, helping the Terriers to a convincing 5-1 victory.
3 – Queens Park Rangers might not be scoring the goals but at least they’re winning
The favourites for the Championship title might not be running riot yet but they’re still picking up the points and at that end of the day that’s what matters, for now. The Hoops beat Bolton Wanderers 1-0 thanks to an Andy Johnson goal but having only scored five goals as a team this season, Harry Redknapp will be hoping that a dominant display comes soon rather than later. It’s no secret that the gaffer is still after another striker and whoever that may be will have to be prolific considering the importance that goal difference can have in a league like this, the Hoops currently sit 3rd in the table on 10 points.
4 – The Championship loves late goals
We saw a few today, one at Hillsborough where Millwall claimed a point with a 87th minute pen but the real entertainment came at the King Power Stadium in a 3-2 thriller between Leicester City and Birmingham City. Four goals in the last twelve minutes saw Birmingham lose a lead they had chalked up early in the first half, Leicester first equalised after 78 minutes before taking the lead four minutes later with the Foxes no doubt believing they had won the game there and then. Yet the drama wasn’t over yet and as the clock approach 90 minutes, with both teams going for it Lloyd Dyer was fouled in the box and David Nugent stepped up to put Leicester firmly in the driving seat. Birmingham had one last roll of the dice as Chris Burke pulled one back but he nor the Blues could stop Leicester City from continuing the season unbeaten.
5 – Blackpool are surprising a few
We might only be four games in but had someone told you that Blackpool would be top of the league after the first three weeks, then you would have laughed them away. They’re not scoring bucket loads, but they’re playing some decent football and should they manage to keep Tom Ince from leaving in the next week then there is no reason why this form can’t continue. The Seasiders ran out 1-0 winners today thanks to a Tom Barkhuizen goal, defeating promotion contenders Reading. Paul Ince will be hoping that he can keep his team on a similar track as seen in these opening weeks.
