Championship roundup: LuaLua gives Luton lift and puts Hull on brink

Hull are on the brink of dropping into League One for the first time since 2005 after Luton won 1-0 at the KCom Stadium to enhance their own survival chances.

It has been a horrible 2020 for the Tigers, which bottomed out with a joint club-record 8-0 defeat to Wigan in midweek, and Kazenga LuaLua’s 85th-minute goal left them needing a miracle to survive.

They definitely need to win at Cardiff on Wednesday and then hope that Luton lose at home to Blackburn and Wigan also lose at home to Fulham, which will see the Latics drop into the relegation zone when their 12-point penalty for administration is applied.

They could also survive if only one of those two things happen and Charlton lose with an unlikely 16-goal swing in goal difference, but it seems fanciful and their fans know it, with a large group turning up at the stadium to protest against their owners.

Even with the win, Luton are likely to have to better Charlton’s result or win and hope results elsewhere go their way to stay up – although if both Wigan and Hull lose on Wednesday then they will be assured of a second year in the Championship.

Aleksandar Mitrovic fired himself top of the Championship scoring charts and kept Fulham’s automatic promotion hopes intact in a turbulent 5-3 win over Sheffield Wednesday.

Mitrovic scored twice to take his league tally to 26 for the season, overhauling Brentford’s Ollie Watkins again and twisting the knife after the Bees’ 1-0 loss at Stoke. Neeskens Kebano plundered a double too, drilling his first Fulham goal since December 2017 to end a 35-match scoring drought before slotting a neat free-kick.

Atdhe Nuhui’s double and Jacob Murphy’s effort set up a needlessly tense finish, but Bobby Decordova-Reid’s strike finally sealed a vital Craven Cottage victory for Scott Parker’s men.

Swansea kept their play-off ambitions alive as a 1-0 win ended Bristol City’s hopes of extending the season. Connor Roberts settled an entertaining contest in first-half stoppage time after Conor Gallagher had hit the woodwork, the Wales defender’s first goal since April 2019.

Bristol City were given a 69th-minute lifeline when substitute Famara Diedhiou, who had only been on the pitch a minute, was bundled over in the box. But Diedhiou rattled the post from 12 yards and the miss summed up a Robins’ performance which was high on endeavour but short on composure.

Managerless Birmingham remain in relegation trouble heading into the final day of the season after a 2-0 defeat to Preston. Goals from Patrick Bauer and Brad Potts extended Blues’ winless streak to 13 league games and left them two points above the relegation zone ahead of their final match against Derby.

Sam Gallagher struck late on to secure Blackburn a thrilling 4-3 win over Reading. Both sides had nothing to play for and it showed in the topsy-turvy nature of the game.

Millwall saw their hopes of claiming a play-off berth come to an end after losing 4-3 to QPR in an action-packed clash at Loftus Road, while Cardiff cruised closer to securing a top-six place with a 3-1 win at Middlesbrough.