Championship roundup: Aston Villa strike in injury time to deny Brentford

By Giuseppe Labellarte, Reporter | 22 August 2018

Champ roundup: Brentford pegged back by Villa

Brentford miss out on the opportunity to climb to second in the fledgling Championship table as hosts Aston Villa strike at the death for a 2-2 draw on Wednesday night.

Brentford have missed out on the opportunity to go up to second in the fledgling Championship table as they conceded a last-minute equaliser in a 2-2 draw at Aston Villa.

The Bees took the lead on 23 minutes at Villa Park through Neal Maupay's fourth goal of the campaign before being pegged back by a Jonathan Kodjia strike six minutes before half time.

In the 82nd minute, Maupay scored on the rebound after Ollie Watkins saw his effort saved by Orjan Nyland, but Kodjia dramatically earned a point for the hosts with a 95th-minute header.

Ewood Park also saw a thrilling 2-2 draw played out with hosts Blackburn Rovers coming from two goals down to salvage a point against winless Reading.

A Jon Dadi Bodvarsson brace gave the Royals a healthy lead in the opening 25 minutes, but two rash challenges from Paul McShane were converted by Rovers captain Charlie Mulgrew in the second half.

The shock result of the night came at the Bet365 Stadium, with Stoke City falling to a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Wigan Athletic.

Will Grigg put the Latics ahead against the run of play on 27 minutes before Gavin Massey struck for the visitors just five minutes later.

Stoke, who had an early Saido Berahino goal controversially disallowed for offside, then let in a third as Grigg made no mistake for the penalty spot before Ashley Williams was sent off late on.

Bolton Wanderers, meanwhile, went up to third in the table thanks to a 1-0 win over Birmingham City sealed by a combination of Will Buckley's 73rd-minute effort and wasteful Blues finishing.

Norwich City also had a good night as they grabbed their first league win of the season, late goals from Teemu Pukki and Alexander Tettey proving enough for a 2-0 win over Preston North End.

Like the Canaries, Sheffield Wednesday had failed to pick up a victory in 2018-19 prior to Wednesday night but are now off the mark as Barry Bannan and Tom Lees struck for a 2-1 defeat of previously unbeaten Millwall.

Results in full: Aston Villa 2-2 Brentford, Blackburn Rovers 2-2 Reading, Norwich City 2-0 Preston North End, Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 Millwall, Bolton Wanderers 1-0 Birmingham City, Stoke City 0-3 Wigan Athletic