Beyond The Top 5: Championship provides solace for EPL no-show with drama and excitement

Round 29 of the English Championship came in handy by providing the weekly dose of thrilling English football while the Premier League remains inactive due to the international break.

All 24 teams paired up to produce 12 breathtaking games between Friday 28th of January and Sunday 30th of January 2022 with numerous talking points which will be explored below.

Table-topping promotion favourites Fulham were expected to extend their winning streak to five games when they welcomed Blackpool to Craven Cottage.

And it did look that way when Aleksandar Mitrovic put Fulham in front after just six minutes with his 28th goal of the Championship season.

Fulham spurned several opportunities to extend their lead and were duly punished in the 57th minute by Josh Bowler, an ex-Fulham youth player, who equalised for Blackpool to earn them an unexpected point.

West Brom were one of the teams to suffer an upset as the promotion-hopefuls were defeated by mid-table Millwall thanks to second-half goals from Mason Bennett and Benik Afobe.

In the final game of the match week on Sunday, Cardiff defeated Nottingham Forest 2-1 at the Cardiff City stadium to pick up three valuable points.

The Blue Birds came into this encounter winless in their previous six league games and they welcomed Nottingham Forest who were on a four-game winning streak and had won seven of their previous nine matches.

None of that seemed to matter much as Jordan Hugill and 20-year old Isaak Davies scored a goal in each half to put Cardiff in front.

Keinan Davis did pull one back for Nottingham Forest in the 95th minute but it proved too little too late as Cardiff secured much-needed three points in their relegation scrap.

It was a tale of two halves at the Kirklees Stadium in Huddersfield as the hosts dominated the opening 45 minutes and were in front thanks to Josh Koroma's deflected effort.

Stoke responded in the second half with a stronger showing of intent which was rewarded by Jacob Brown's emphatic equaliser in the 78th minute.

There was even more late drama at the Deepdale stadium between Preston North End and Bristol City in a classic encounter that ended 2-2.

Bristol City's two main forward threats Andreas Weimann and Chris Martin combined well to open the scoring in the 12th minute with the latter converting the farmer's assist.

The home team struggled in the first half but improved very quickly in the second with Emil Riis' 52nd-minute equaliser but the best was still yet to come.

Bristol City reclaimed the lead when Allaistar Semenyo scored in the 81st minute to put them on course for a first away win at Preston in 11 matches.

But it was not to be as the home team stayed in it and equalised with the last kick of the game, Emil Riis again with the goal, this time a 94th-minute equaliser.

The mother of all dramatic endings was still to come and it happened at Pride Park where Derby County trailed their visitors, Birmingham from as early as the 7th minute.

Scott Hogan made it 2-0 to Birmingham and seemingly wrapped up all three points but Wayne Rooney's men displayed incredible resolve and fighting spirit.

Luke Plange scored from inside the box in the 87th minute to reduce the deficit for Derby who continued to push for an unlikely equaliser.

Derby did find that equaliser in the most unbelievable fashion too as substitute centre-back Krystian Bielik scored a stunning overhead kick in the 96th minute to spark wild scenes.

Sheffield United kept their slim chances of a promotion playoff spot alive with a 2-0 win away at relegation-battling Peterborough. 

Bournemouth took advantage of Fulham dropping points by winning 1-0 away at Barnsley to cut the lead at the top to six points thanks to an early goal by Philip Billing.

Hull City's new boss Shota Averladze started his reign with a 2-0 win at home to Swansea to make it three consecutive wins for the Tigers and steer them 12 points above the relegation zone.

Luton and Blackburn played out the only goalless game of the matchday and goals were rather scarce at the Riverside Stadium too where Middlesbrough needed just one to see off Coventry.

Queens Park Rangers heaped further misery on Reading by handing them their sixth straight defeat as the Royals are now winless in their last nine games.

QPR showed no mercy with a dominant performance to ease to a 4-0 win thanks to a brace from Lyndon Dykes and two assists by Chris Willock.