Championship round-up: Neil Redfearn signs 12-month deal but Leeds are beaten Cardiff

Neil Redfearn signed a 12-month rolling contract to make him Leeds’ fourth permanent head coach in five months and then saw his side crash 3-1 at Cardiff.

Leeds picked up 10 points out of 12 when Redfearn (pictured) stepped in as caretaker — not for the first time — at the end of August. He was overlooked when Massimo Cellino brought in Darko Milanic, who lasted 32 days before last weekend becoming the third manager that the Italian has sacked since taking over at Elland Road in April.

Back came Redfearn on a temporary basis but now the role is his — for the moment. Leeds were never in it in South Wales where Bruno Manga’s first Cardiff goal and Federico Macheda’s strike put the hosts in control.

Alex Mowatt pulled one back 13 minutes from time, but Kenwyne Jones sealed it for Cardiff.

Watford on top

Munari seals fightback

Despite having a revolving door on their manager’s office, Watford have stuck at it and went to the top of the Championship with a 3-1 win over Millwall. The Hornets did it the hard way, falling behind to Martyn Woolford’s neat finish after 12 minutes at Vicarage Road. But they were ahead by half-time after Matej Vydra’s messy effort and a free-kick from the edge of the box by Daniel Tozser. A sharp finish by Gianni Munari made sure of victory. Slavisa Jokanovic, Watford’s manager, said: “We can play better.”

Rotherham rage at red

Evans: ‘Awful decision’

Jordan Bowery was sent off only four minutes and 18 seconds after coming off the bench as Rotherham slumped to a 3-0 home defeat by Middlesbrough. Steve Evans, Rotherham’s manager, described the dismissal after Bowery clashed with George Friend on the half-hour as “an absolutely shocking, awful, woeful, disgraceful, abject decision”, which left the Millers with little hope. They had gone 2-0 down inside 19 minutes. Patrick Bamford (pictured), who is on loan from Chelsea, showed a bit of Premier class to put Boro ahead in the eighth minute and 10 minutes later Yanick Wildschut swept in the second. Lee Tomlin added the third.

Rovers on the rise

Gestede double does trick

Rudy Gestede scored twice as Blackburn kept their revival running by beating dogged Reading 3-1 to record a third successive win and take Rovers into the top six in the Championship for the first time under Gary Bowyer. Gestede (pictured) opened the scoring with a towering header but Glenn Murray knocked in a deserved equaliser just before the break. A fine free-kick by Ben Marshall put Blackburn back in front and Gestede wrapped up the victory from a rebound.

Wigan denied

Ruiz seals draw from spot

Wigan and Fulham played a 3-3 thriller at the DW Stadium where Bryan Ruiz scored a late penalty to deny the home side in a match that ended 10 a side. Wigan’s Adam Forshaw scored an early penalty after Konstantinos Stafylidis fouled Callum McManaman but Fulham came back with goals from Lasse Vigen Christensen and Ruiz. Wigan equalised through Roger Espinoza nine minutes after the restart and thought they had won it when substitute Shaun Maloney netted with his first touch with eight minutes to go after Fulham had Ross McCormack sent off. But Hugo Rodallega, once of Wigan, was tripped by Leon Barnett, who was sent off, and Ruiz claimed a point.

Player’s 50-year ban

‘Football’s my life’ — was!

A Swiss amateur player has been banned for 50 years after kicking the ball into the referee’s face and squirting water at him. Ricardo Ferreira, a defender for Portugal Futebol Clube, said: “I had expected one or two years maximum. But 50 years? Football’s my life.” Like Suarez he did have previous — apparently he has already served a 45-game ban for attacking players — and he didn’t even play in the fateful game. He was an unused substitute and waited for the final whistle to make his point. Perhaps someone could buy him some boots for his 78th birthday.