Championship roundup: Leicester deeper in trouble as Bowat lifts Portsmouth

Ibane Bowat’s second-half goal was enough to lead Portsmouth to a vital 1-0 win at home to their relegation rivals Leicester as the Foxes plunged a huge step closer to League One. The substitute Bowat’s scruffy 63rd-minute strike from a corner earned Pompey a third straight win to leave them one win from staying up.

It is now one win in 17 for the hapless Foxes, whose demotion to the third tier 10 years after winning the Premier League could be confirmed as soon as Tuesday night, when they host Hull, dependant on any points deduction for West Brom.

Gary Rowett lamented his side’s “lack of quality” and they now need a minor miracle to stay up. “It is disappointing and I think it’s been rinse and repeat of what I’ve said after the last five games,” said the Leicester manager.

“It was a very physical game and Portsmouth made it very difficult. They want to smother you. I thought we actually dealt with it OK and I didn’t think there was much in the game. I think a lack of fight is something that’s been labelled at the team over the course of a season. I don’t know whether that’s fair but I think we showed a lack of quality.

“I thought we showed a lack of composure. I thought we showed a lack of toughness to do the basics in the one moment where we concede from a set piece. I can say we’ve got belief. I think we have to show that in our performance and show that in our results.”

Pompey broke the deadlock in the 63rd minute when an Adrian Segecic corner caused havoc inside the Leicester penalty area and Bowat got the last touch of three Pompey players who crowded the left of the six-yard box at the far post. The Pompey defender Regan Poole later put himself on the line to block a Patson Daka shot and celebrated as if he had scored the winning goal.

Jaydon Banel kept Derby’s playoff hopes alive with the winner in a 1-0 victory that pushed Oxford closer to League One. The home side dominated for large parts of a game both teams needed to win for contrasting reasons and came out on top thanks to Banel’s fine individual goal. In the 22nd minute he won the ball in his own half and surged forward, holding off two defenders, before firing low into the bottom left corner from the edge of the box. Oxford offered little in the first half but improved in the second only to miss two big chances with Myles Peart-Harris and Yunus Konak failing to hit the target.

Millwall could thank a blistering start as they earned a 2-0 victory over QPR at the Den that lifted them back up to second in the table overnight. One win from their previous five games had stalled the Lions’ promotion push, but early goals from Derek Mazou-Sacko and Camiel Neghli meant they controlled this London derby almost from the first whistle. Alex Neil’s side moved one point above Ipswich – who host their fellow promotion hopefuls Middlesbrough on Sunday.