Championship Verdict: The Observer fans' network on today's matches

Barnsley 2-0 Middlesbrough Was it a good match? An entertaining game, spoiled by the strong wind. The first half started a bit scrappily before we settled and put together some good, flowing moves. Boro hit the post at 0-0, but we had a couple of one-on-one chances that we failed to convert. Our first goal came from a corner after their keeper lost the flight of the ball. Boro came out in the second half and dominated possession, but we kept them to long-range efforts. Who played well/who had a nightmare? Adam Hammill picked the ball up 45 yards out, ran the length of the half, beat two or three defenders before slotting the ball past the keeper. Superb. Paul Heggie, BarnsleyFC.org.uk Derby County 2-2 Queens Park Rangers Was it a good match? It was unbelievable. During the 90 minutes, QPR had nothing to offer apart from a shot that Stephen Bywater saved. We looked in complete control as Kris Commons rounded off a good move on 40 minutes, and the visitors looked beat when the second went in, but Patrick Agyemang and Jamie Mackie scored in injury time to earn a point. Who played well/who had a nightmare? Paul Green was involved in the first goal and always tried to go forward. Adel Taarabt is very skillful and shows good awareness. Steve Pyefinch, Observer reader Doncaster Rovers 3-1 Hull City Was it a good match? We got off to a flyer. We were really good in the first half – Martin Woods even scored a looping header before many fans had reached their seats. Hull equalised via an all too familiar defensive error. The rest of the half was played out at a good tempo and Billy Sharp settled our nerves by scoring a penalty on 44 minutes. The second half was a cagey affair until James Coppinger scored on 69 minutes. Hull have a lot of potential but don't travel well. Who played well/who had a nightmare? John Oster was the fulcrum on which our attacks were built. Shelton Martis looks uncomfortable on the ball. Chris Rumley, Observer reader Ipswich Town 2-0 Bristol City Was it a good match? Calamity James comes back to haunt himself. It was quite an even first half and we were inches away from scoring three times. However, we certainly looked ragged towards the end of the opening period. Town came out and showed more composure after the interval, especially in the midfield, and took the game to City. At times you thought it was the visitors who were in front given their showboating. The ref had a good game and played the advantage when he could. Who played well/who had a nightmare? Gareth McAuley was absolutely rock solid in defence, but I could have picked four or five of our players. Declan Hill, Observer reader Millwall 3-1 Coventry City Was it a good match? We deserved the win but made hard work of it – their equaliser was the catalyst we needed. On paper it will look as though we were fortunate given they had a man sent off and were awarded a penalty, but Millwall dominated the game, particularly in the second half. Coventry tested us more than other sides have done this season but never really asked questions of our defence. Who played well/who had a nightmare? Liam Trotter was exceptional, he's always been reliable but seems to have found an added finesse to his game. Jimmy Abdou had another excellent game in central midfield. Charlie Mahoney, Observer reader Nottingham Forest 1-1 Norwich City Was it a good match? Another poor performance, typical of our disappointing start to the season. We should have been well behind before taking advantage of the generous penalty decision. Norwich looked dangerous on the break, deserved their equaliser and should have gone on to win the game. We lack quality in wide areas and the lack of goal threat from midfield is a concern. Who played well/who had a nightmare? Rob Earnshaw looked lively. Paul McKenna and Radoslaw Majewski have been anonymous this term. Norwich's Leon Barnett was a towering figure at the back and looks a useful addition. Simon Hough, U-Reds.com Portsmouth 0-2 Cardiff City Was it a good match? It was a competitive game until Cardiff took the lead. Basically their keeper made two good saves at 0-0 and we rode our luck at the other end. But the bottom line is that the visitors had a too much quality. The two goals we conceded were the result of shocking defending and because we have trouble scoring goals it's difficult to see where our next point is coming from. Who played well/who had a nightmare? John Utaka looked impressive yet couldn't find a way past David Marshall. We couldn't deal with Craig Bellamy. Colin Farmery, Pompey-Fans.com Scunthorpe United 3-0 Crystal Palace Was it a good match? I thought we were a little slack for the opening half an hour, but after that we kicked on and eventually deserved to win by the 3-0 scoreline. We caused a lot of problems for Palace's defence – Jonathan Forte's pace and movement were excellent. The visitors were good in possession but never looked like scoring. Who played well/who had a nightmare? Edgar Davids looked like a man who hasn't kicked a ball in two years and was being played out of position. Julián Speroni made some good saves for Palace. For us Chris Dagnall was energetic throughout and a constant thorn in the opposition. Max Bell, Scunthorpe.VitalFootball.co.uk Sheffield United 1-0 Preston North End Was it a good match? It was tense. They started better but we began to get a hold of the game as it went on and we were probably good value for our victory. Preston were never out of it and but for a nervy last 10 minutes we dominated. The visitors hit the post from a 25-yard free-kick in the first half and, had that gone in, it might have been a different story. Who played well/who had a nightmare? Calve made his debut and, according to Gary Speed, has never scored before. You could say it was like his first car being a Rolls-Royce given the thunderous quality of his shot. Bartley was superb in defence. Richard Batho, TheBladesOnline . com Swansea City 1-0 Burnley Was it a good match? That was a big win for us. Scott Sinclair is starting to look like a good signing with two goals in the last two games. We could have actually won by two clear goals because Nathan Dyer came close to scoring. In saying that, they had two opportunities and Ross Wallace came close with a 25-yard free-kick, but we hung on in there and hopefully we can take this form into the next match after the International break, away to Leeds. Who played well/who had a nightmare? Sinclair was MOTM, he scored the wining goal and covered a lot of ground. I know he's ex-Chelsea but his quality really stands out in this division. Harry Ward, Observer reader Watford 0-1 Leeds United Was it a good match? It was the sort of game I would have worried about at the start of the season. Leeds scored a scrappy goal and we simply didn't give enough to get back into the game. They were big and strong, and our relatively small, young squad – which was lacking Danny Graham – struggled to match them physically. Who played well/who had a nightmare? The stand-out player was Kasper Schmeichel who was dominant in goal – it was demoralising to watch him block and catch everything we threw at him. Troy Deeney impressed but must learn to control his power. Matt Rowson, bhappy.org.uk Leicester City 1-3 Reading Was it a good match? We were just so unlucky. In the first half it could have gone either way – we had so many chances and could have won it. Two mistakes at the back cost us and everything we tried going forward didn't come off. On another day we might have scored five goals. One effort was ruled out at the death – it must have been for an infringement. The fans booed at half-time, but they need to give the manager time. We're playing nice football, but lack that final ball. Who played well/who had a nightmare? Lloyd Dyer was our only attacking outlet of note. Reading's front line is full of pace. Joe Harris Editor, Foxes-Mad.co.uk