Watford clear at top, United seventh

Last updated : 02 October 2007 By Luke Thornhill

Watford continue to set the pace, but they made heavy weather of a 2-1 victory over injury-hit Wednesday.

The Hornets flew out of the blocks and were firmly in command after 15 minutes, but were unable to build on their two-goal advantage and, by the end of the game, the Owls had reasonable cause to feel hard done by.

After just six minutes Marcus Tudgay was caught napping as Dan Shittu went past him to flick on Lloyd Doyley's cross and Darius Henderson was not picked up as he stormed into the six-yard area to slam home his sixth goal of the season past Rob Burch.

Wednesday's defence was again at fault nine minutes later when Henderson was held down by Richard Hinds in the penalty area and Marlon King comfortably converted from 12 yards for his third spot-kick success of the campaign.

Watford had their opponents exactly where they wanted them but, instead of seeking to cement the points by the interval, they went into reverse.

On-loan midfielder Graham Kavanagh pulled one back for Brian Laws' side just before the break, but they lacked enough quality to hurt the home side.

Barnsley skipper Brian Howard scored a wonder goal as the Yorkshire side surged into fourth spot and ended Bristol City's unbeaten start to the season.

Leading scorer Howard, rated at £3million as he attracts Premier League attention, lived up to his price tag with a stunning opener.

It came after 67 minutes following an astute ball from Peruvian Miguel Mostto and Howard kept his head to side step a challenge before curling in his sixth of the season.

Four minutes later the game was out of City's reach when keeper Adriano Basso couldn't hold Dominik Werling's blistering 30-yard free-kick and Dennis Souza lashed in the follow-up. Sub Martin Devaney rounded off the night three minutes from the end.

Sheffield United staged a grandstand finish grabbing two goals in the dying minutes to snatch a point against away-day specialists Cardiff City.

The Welshmen, with eight points from their travels swept to a 3-1 lead before Bryan Robson's side mounted a comeback with a Chris Armstrong goal five minutes from time as skipper Chris Morgan snatched a point in injury time.

Charlton Athletic stole all three points at Hull City as an eventful first-half saw Luke Varney score for the visitors on 40 minutes and then two players were sent off.

Late goals from the Addicks' Chris Iwelumo and Hull's Stephen McPhee gave the game a tense finish at the KC Stadium.

Both sides were reduced to 10 men as Ian Ashbee fouled Lloyd Sam midway inside the Hull half and the Charlton man retaliated, causing the Tigers captain to lash out resulting in a mass brawl. After the players had been split up, referee Anthony Taylor sent off both Ashbee and Sam for violent conduct.

Man-of-the-moment Michael Mifsud scored his fourth goal in three games to help Coventry City hit back to beat Blackpool at the Ricoh Arena.

The Seasiders had taken the lead through Andy Morrell, but goals from Michael Doyle, Mifsud and Robbie Simpson gave Coventry their first Championship win in five matches.

A controversial refereeing decision seven minutes from time denied Ipswich Town an away victory at Burnley, when substitute Pablo Counago had a 'goal' disallowed by the referee after his assistant had flagged for offside.

The visitors raced into an early two-goal lead with headers from Sylvain Legwinski and Alan Lee.

Kyle Lafferty pulled one back after 11 minutes and Burnley equalised against the run of play in bizarre fashion as goalkeeper Neil Alexander raced out of his penalty area to clear an Alan Mahon throughball but only succeeded in smashing the ball against the outstretched legs of Burnley striker Andy Gray.

Preston, after having conceded a soft equaliser in the third minute of first-half added time, ran riot in the second half to win by a convincing 5-1 scoreline at home to Southampton.

A drab Midlands derby between Leicester City and Wolves ended in a goalless stalemate leaving Gary Megson still searching for his first Championship win since taking charge at the Walkers Stadium.

A 50th minute strike from Hungarian midfielder Peter Halmosi earned Plymouth a 1-0 home win over Crystal Palace.