Only West Ham, and then just briefly twice, have kept Southampton off the top of the league since mid-September, but they trailed 2-1 at Millwall as Reading were coasting to a 4-0 win at Barnsley and had the scores remained at that then Reading would have led the table by a point.
That all changed when Essex referee Fred Graham awarded Southampton two late penalties, both converted by Rickie Lambert, to give them a 3-2 win. Millwall were far from happy with the awards and I have some real sympathy with the second when it looked as though a Southampton player handled the ball and not a Millwall player.
That doesn't bother the league's leading goalscorer Lambert. He's netted 24 now, of which 9 are penalties, and it is his fourth hat trick. That's the most league goals from one player in the Championship since Sylvan Ebanks-Blake scored 25 for Wolves three years ago and Lambert will surely pass that.
It's not a good time for Millwall; their leading goalscorer Darius Henderson has other worries as he faces a grievous bodily harm charge in the summer following an incident in a restaurant in the early hours of New Year's Day which left a 41-year-old man with a broken jaw.
One thing for certain, surely, now is that the two automatic promotion places will come from the top three. Southampton have 72 points, Reading 70 and West Ham, who have a game behind, have 67 points which is eight points clear of Birmingham in fourth place.
West Ham and Birmingham are currently joined in the play off positions with Blackpool and Middlesbrough, Blackpool coming from behind to beat Brighton to claim their place. Brighton are now one of three teams, with Hull City and Cardiff City, who are just a point outside the top six.
At the other end of the table, three of the bottom four claimed draws with Doncaster Rovers, at home to Derby County, the only losers. Bristol City's point took them level with Nottingham Forest who were without a game because of Leicester City's FA Cup tie at Chelsea.
Below are the results from the last week along with the stats, the leading goalscorers, each club's disciplinary record, the highest and lowest attendances and the midweek fixtures.
The Week's Results Tuesday 13th March Cardiff City 0 Hull City 3 Doncaster Rovers 1 Reading 1 Derby County 1 Nottingham Forest 0 Leicester City 3 Birmingham City 1 Saturday 17th March Barnsley 0 Reading 4 Ipswich Town 3 Peterborough United 2 Birmingham City 3 Middlesbrough 0 Leeds United 1 West Ham United 1 Blackpool 3 Brighton & Hove Albion 1 Millwall 2 Southampton 3 Crystal Palace 0 Hull City 0 Portsmouth 0 Bristol City 0 Doncaster Rovers 1 Derby County 2 Watford 0 Coventry City 0 Sunday 18th March Cardiff City 0 Burnley 0The Week's Stats Biggest Win Reading 4-0 v Barnsley (away) Total Goals Scored 36 (18 home - 18 away)
Player Scoring Most Goals
3 - Rickie Lambert (Southampton) Highest Attendance 33,366 - Leeds United v West Ham United Lowest Attendance 8,287 - Doncaster Rovers v Reading Total Yellow Cards 43 Total Red Cards 2 Most Cards in a Game Derby County v Nottingham Forest (6Y 1R) Ref: Andy D'UrsoLeading Goalscorers (League Only) 24 Rickie Lambert (Southampton) - includes 9 penalties 15 Ross McCormack (Leeds United)Jay Rodriguez (Burnley) - includes 3 penalties 14 Darius Henderson (Millwall) - includes 2 penalties 13 Michael Chopra (Ipswich Town)David Nugent (Leicester City)Kevin Phillips (Blackpool) 12
Marlon King (Birmingham City) - includes 2 penaltiesRobert Snodgrass (Leeds United) - includes 1 penaltyRicardo Vaz Te (West Ham United) - (10 with Barnsley)
11Craig Davies (Barnsley) - includes 1 penaltyMarvin Emnes (Middlesbrough)Matty Fryatt (Hull City) - includes 1 penaltyBilly Sharp (Southampton) - includes 1 penalty - (10 with Doncaster Rovers)
10 Charlie Austin (Burnley)Guly Do Prado (Southampton)Lukas Jutkiewicz (Middllesbrough) - includes 1 penalty - (9 with Coventry City)Robert Koren (Hull City)Adam Lallana (Southampton)Pete Whittingham (Cardiff City) - includes 3 penaltiesChris Wood (Bristol City) - (9 with Birmingham City)Hat Tricks Date Player & Game 20/08/11 3: Lee Tomlin - PETERBOROUGH UNITED v Ipswich Town 10/09/11 3: Rickie Lambert - SOUTHAMPTON v Nottingham Forest 11/09/11 3: Chris Wood - BIRMINGHAM CITY v Millwall 12/10/11 3: Darius Henderson - Leicester City v MILLWALL 02/11/11 3: Jonjo Shelvey - Leeds United v BLACKPOOL 19/11/11 3: Rickie Lambert - SOUTHAMPTON v Brighton & Hove Albion 26/12/11 3: Matthew Phillips - Barnsley v BLACKPOOL 31/12/11 3: Ricardo Vaz Te - BARNSLEY v Leeds United 21/01/12 3: Darius Henderson - Barnsley v MILLWALL 31/01/12 4: Nikola Zigic - Leeds United v BIRMINGHAM CITY 26/02/12 3: Rickie Lambert - Watford v SOUTHAMPTON 19/03/12 3: Rickie Lambert - Millwall v SOUTHAMPTON
Disciplinary Record (League and Cup) Club Y R Y R Club Y R Y R League Total League Total Barnsley 48 1 51 1 Ipswich Town 47 4 48 4 Birmingham City 48 2 53 2 Leeds United 59 5 65 5 Blackpool 46 1 49 2 Leicester City 52 8 60 8 Brighton and Hove Albion 76 7 90 7 Middlesbrough 63 7 66 7 Bristol City 68 4 70 4 Millwall 63 2 70 2 Burnley 53 2 61 2 Nottingham Forest 50 4 55 4 Cardiff City 45 0 61 0 Peterborough United 43 2 46 2 Coventry City 46 2 48 2 Portsmouth 61 4 68 4 Crystal Palace 45 2 49 3 Reading 52 0 55 0 Derby County 48 1 48 1 Southampton 44 4 47 4 Doncaster Rovers 57 2 59 2 Watford 53 2 55 2 Hull City 56 1 61 1 West Ham United 54 6 57 7
Highest and Lowest Attendances Highest Lowest Att Fixture Att Fixture 34,936 West Ham United v Coventry City (02/01) 6,351 Peterborough United v Cardiff City (18/10) 34,900 West Ham United v Crystal Palace (25/02) 6,392 Peterborough United v Millwall (06/03) 34,749 West Ham United v Barnsley (17/12) 7,004 Peterborough United v Bristol City (18/02) 34,650 West Ham United v Doncaster Rovers (10/03) 7,540 Peterborough United v Blackpool (10/03) 33,465 West Ham United v Portsmouth (10/09) 7,555 Peterborough United v Portsmouth (28/01) 33,366 Leeds United v West Ham United (17/03) 7,650 Doncaster Rovers v Watford (26/11) 33,010 Derby County v Southampton (15/10) 7,778 Doncaster Rovers v Bristol City (27/08) 33,010 Derby County v Leeds United (26/12) 7,901 Peterborough United v Burnley (17/09) 33,010 Derby County v Nottingham Forest (17/03) 7,928 Peterborough United v Ipswich Town (20/08) 32,875 West Ham United v Southampton (14/02) 8,062 Peterborough United v Coventry City (17/12)
The Next Fixtures Tuesday 20th March Brighton & Hove Albion v Derby County Leeds United v Nottingham Forest Bristol City v Watford Peterborough United v Reading Crystal Palace v Barnsley (20:00) Portsmouth v Birmingham City Doncaster Rovers v Millwall West Ham United v Middlesbrough Hull City v Southampton Wednesday 21st March Blackpool v Leicester City (20:00) Ipswich Town v Burnley Cardiff City v Coventry City
Source: FOOTYMAD
