Buzzin Championship Football

sir bobby robson stand portman road

A hat trick from Kevin Nolan helped Newcastle United to beat Ipswich Town at Portman Road and move two points clear of West Bromwich Albion at the top of the Championship.

It was an emotionally charged afternoon at Portman Road where both Ipswich and Newcastle paid generous tributes to Sir Bobby Robson before the game and also at half time, when the North Stand was officially renamed the Sir Bobby Robson Stand by his widow Elsie.

But there was no sentimentality shown on the pitch where three goals in four minutes on the half hour mark, effectively wrapped up the game for Newcastle. A fourth goal just after the break sealed the win  and left Ipswich with their worst home defeat in six years.

Roy Keane’s patience was visibly deserting him in the dug out where he looked furious for the best part of the game. The disappointed manager said after the game;

“Clearly we are disappointed. We started alright but the first goal knocked our confidence. You have to persevere and encourage players. We have given teams a helping hand and we can’t keep doing it. I’m sure Kevin Nolan thought it was Christmas with the first goal and before we knew it we were three down. We certainly have to defend better.

I don’t like losing football matches, the expectations are high but we have got to deal with it and get on with it.”

Meanwhile the coach that Keane replaced at Ipswich, Jim Magilton, now at Queens Park Rangers saw his team secure their first home win of the season, beating lowly Barnsley 5-2.

Rangers had led the game 3-0 at half time, but a spirited fightback by Barnsley in the second half reduced the deficit to just one goal. However looking for the equaliser left the Barnsley defence exposed to the counter attack and QPR took full advantage snatching two more goals for a comfortable win.

Magilton saw his team move into eighth place in the league, nine points behind leaders Newcastle, and insisted that his QPR team have ‘raised the bar’ in their Championship campaign.