Championship Verdict: The Observer fans' network on Saturday's matches

Barnsley 1-1 Swansea City Was it a good match? We started with a reshuffled defence with two makeshift defenders in Nathan Doyle and Bobby Hassell. Jacob Butterfield came in for Adam Hammill, who left for Wolves during the week. We started well with Hugo Colace and Garry O'Connor both having good chances before we took the lead via an excellent Butterfield corner. We caused them problems in the first half and were unlucky to go in only one goal up. The second half was more of an even game and Swansea exerted more pressure as the match went on. Who played well/who had a nightmare? Butterfield was my MOTM. Paul Gallagher, BarnsleyFC.org.uk Cardiff City 4-2 Watford Was it a good match? Yes, fantastic. It really swung one way, then another. With half an hour gone we were cruising at 3-0 but then let Watford back into it. When they got the score back to 3-2 I was beginning to worry a bit, particularly after what happened at Norwich last week, but we seemed to weather the storm quite well and scoring ten minutes from time sealed it. We're in with a good shout of getting promoted but we need to keep winning. Who played well/who had a nightmare? All our big hitters performed but it was good to see defender Gabor Gyepes get on the scoresheet. Michael Morris, CardiffCity-Mad.co.uk Crystal Palace 0-0 Bristol City Was it a good match? It was a dreadful game – Darren Ambrose hit the post and so did City, but apart from those neither side really created any clear-cut chances. Dougie Freedman reshuffled it at the back: Alex Marrow, normally centre midfield, played at right-back, with Nathaniel Clyne covering well at left-back. But overall both sides looked scared to lose after coming off two fairly heavy defeats, lacking confidence and invention. City really look a poor side: they were seriously lightweight up front. Who played well/who had a nightmare? The clear man of the match was Anthony Gardner: he won everything at the back. Chris Waters, CPSTrust.org.uk Derby County 0-1 Nottingham Forest Was it a good match? A tight encounter with not much between the two teams. It was our first defeat at home in this fixture in 16 years. Forest had the better of the first half, although Chris Porter should have scored from close range. Derby improved in the second half but were undone late on by a fine goal from substitute Robert Earnshaw. Who played well/who had a nightmare? Lee Camp made a couple of decent saves late on. Shaun Barker was reasonably solid at the back for us, while Miles Addison put everything he had into the game. George Glover, Observer reader Ipswich Town 3-2 Doncaster Rovers Was it a good match? It was a good start to Paul Jewell's tenure – if all games are that entertaining we'll be happy. Donny had the best of the first half and they'll consider themselves unlucky not to go in at the break 0-3 up. Town were subdued, maybe due to the fact that we're playing Arsenal at The Emirates this week. But Jewell's team talk worked, the team came out looking much more lively, and dominated after the break. Who played well/who had a nightmare? Connor Wickham capped a fine week by scoring and David Norris was rampant. Donny's Billy Sharp showed his quality throughout the game. Julian Watkins, TractorBoys.com Leicester City 4-2 Millwall Was it a good match? It had absolutely everything. Credit to both sides for trying to play football: I don't think there was a single long ball played all afternoon. There were plenty of goals and incidents, and overall we deserved it: we played the better football, were able to keep the ball and were far more dangerous in the final third of the field. Millwall were exactly what we expected – well organised, strong at times, but couldn't cope with some slick passing. Who played well/who had a nightmare? Yakubu had a great game. It was a joy to watch him – hopefully he'll stay. He led the line superbly. Simon Kimber, Observer reader Middlesbrough 1-1 Preston North End Was it a good match? We didn't start well but we grew in confidence as the game went on. But we still lack a killer instinct to put us over the finishing line. We gifted them their equaliser. We have a real problem as there is no partnership, no communication, no understanding between Kris Boyd and Leroy Lita. You can see why Preston are struggling and there was no way they would have scored without our help. Who played well/who had a nightmare? All Boyd offers is goals and he had a bad game. Centre-backs Matthew Bates and Seb Hines are forming a good partnership. The latter did well to keep heading the ball after picking up a knock. Elle Brunton, Observer reader Portsmouth 2-2 Leeds United Was it a good match? The lights went off twice, so it was a surreal game all round. It's the first time anything like that has happened since the power cuts of the 1970s. The game itself saw Leeds looking a bit leggy after their cup exploits. We scored a cracking goal through Joel Ward before the ref missed a blatant penalty, which could have given us a two-goal lead. Leeds responded well after the break and bossed possession, but a draw was a fair result. Who played well/who had a nightmare? Hayden Mullins kept us ticking over. Max Gradel and Robert Snodgrass were their best players. Colin Farmery, Pompey-Fans.com Reading 1-1 Hull City Was it a good match? A bit disappointing with a hard run of games coming up – we've got to play the top two so I was hoping this was going to be a springboard. Reading dominated the first half and Hull never really looked in it. But, as they say, goals change games and we gifted Hull a goal that gave them fresh impetus. We pushed forward in numbers in search of the equaliser and earned a penalty from which we scored. Who played well/who had a nightmare? Liam Rosenior had an excellent game. Simon Church did little. Nick Deaves, Observer reader Scunthorpe United 0-0 Burnley Was it a good match? Both sides put in lots of effort and energy but both lacked creativity and a killer instinct in the final third. Our new signings gelled reasonably well but a striker is definitely needed. I think Burnley look to have some good players –if they can add one or two players to the side Eddie Howe may be able to get them into a play-off spot come the end of the season. Who played well/who had a nightmare? Our MOTM was Abdisalam Ibrahim – he can take a pass in his stride and his ball retention was good . Replacement goalkeeper Josh Lillis did well. For Burnley, Wade Elliott was a real handful on the wing. Max Bell, Scunthorpe.Vitalfootball.co.uk Sheffield United 1-2 Norwich City Was it a good match? For the neutral it was a good game but, obviously, there were more positives for Norwich than for us. We were sorely lacking any kind of driving force from midfield – that cost us dearly. Who played well/who had a nightmare? Ched Evans was marvellous. For his goal he showed great strength in holding off the defender. He was great from start to finish. The worst performer was the referee. He didn't get the big decisions right, that's what he's paid to do. Kyle Bartley was fouled and Steve Simonsen had the ball knocked from his hands to help them get their first goal. Charlie Batho, TheBladesOnline.com