Championship: Middlesbrough keep pressure on Coventry with narrow Sheffield Wednesday win

Middlesbrough moved back to within a point of Championship leaders Coventry City after coming away 1-0 victors against Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough. 

Frank Lampard's team had extended their unbeaten league stretch to 11 matches with a 2-1 win over Portsmouth on Tuesday, but Boro ensured they kept pace with the Sky Blues. 

And the decisive moment came after only six minutes had elapsed, with Morgan Whittaker planting Delano Burgzorg's cross into the box past the outstretched hand of emergency loanee goalkeeper Joe Lumley. 

The visitors continued to threaten for the remainder of the game without reward, with Tommy Conway perhaps unlucky not to get a penalty after going down under the challenge of Lumley.

Lumley, who only signed earlier this week, was involved in the thick of the action as he produced smart stops to deny Conway and Burgzorg before the break to ensure Wednesday's deficit remained at just one. 

The Owls debutant made further saves in the second half, including a brilliant push over from Alan Browne's close-range volley and coming out on top in a one-on-one with substitute Kaly Sene.

But in a match that was overshadowed by boycott protests against Wednesday owner Dejphon Chansiri, Henrik Pedersen's side were unable to find their spark in the final third, slumping to a third successive league defeat and remain bottom of the standings. 

Elsewhere in the second tier, Nathan Broadhead scored the only goal as 10-man Wrexham earned their first home victory of the season with a 1-0 triumph over Oxford United. 

Broadhead's 14th-minute strike was enough for Phil Parkinson's side, who saw Callum Doyle receive a straight red card for a heavy tackle on Siriki Dembele in the 67th minute. 

Wrexham came close to adding further gloss on the scoreline in the final minute, but visiting goalkeeper Jamie Cumming spectacularly tipped Sam Smith's strike on to the crossbar before denying the forward from the resulting corner.

The result halted Wrexham's four-game winless league run, propelling them up to 15th in the standings, while Oxford remain down in 20th place. 

It was also a winning return to Vicarage Road for Javi Gracia as he saw his Watford team come from a goal down to beat West Bromwich Albion 2-1. 

Isaac Price's gorgeous 34th-minute opener was quickly cancelled out by an Imran Louza stunner, before Rocco Vata capitalised on a loose clearance and slotted past Josh Griffiths just before the hour for the winner.

Queens Park Rangers' impressive away form also continued as Rumarn Burrell's early goal secured a 1-0 victory over 10-man Swansea City.

Malick Yalcouye was sent off for violent conduct 11 minutes before half-time for the hosts, with QPR making it 10 points from four league games on the road. 

Data Debrief: Boro stop the rot away from home

Having come into their fixture against the Owls without a win in their last three away league outings (D2 L1), Rob Edwards' team turned on the style here to pile more misery on struggling Wednesday. 

Indeed, Boro attempted 19 shots in this game, their highest total in a single match in the Championship this season, while also ending a run of three league games without a triumph at Hillsborough. 

The visitors were deserving of their win, registering an expected goals (xG) total of 1.61, while also remaining resolute at the other end, restricting their opponents to just three shots on target for an xG value of 0.66.