Birmingham go top of Championship, Parker's West Ham beaten
LONDON: Birmingham struck late to beat 10-man Swansea to go top of the Championship as Scott Parker’s West Ham were beaten 2-1 at Blackburn on Saturday.
Birmingham secured the top spot in the Championship by defeating 10-man Swansea 2-1, as Scott Parker's West Ham suffered a 2-1 loss at Blackburn. Wolves and Middlesbrough drew their matches, allowing Birmingham to leapfrog the competitors based on goal difference. Earlier, Ross Stewart received an early penalty, which was saved by Ryan Allsop.
Just 26 minutes later, Marko Stamenic was sent off. Jay Stansfield scored for Birmingham just three minutes into the game, but Swansea equalized through an own goal by Christoph Klarer in the second half. Jay Stansfield then scored his second goal three minutes from time, propelling Birmingham to the top of the table. Birmingham's manager, Chris Davies, expressed his delight at reaching the summit of the league after their promotion from League One 18 months ago.
Parker, who has led three clubs to promotion from the Championship, arrived at his former club this week, but his arrival has not revitalized West Ham's performance. The Hammers fell to ninth place, six points behind Birmingham. Wolves, Middlesbrough, and Cardiff all missed opportunities to claim the top position in the preceding matches.
Written by urgent.news from New Straits Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
