Championship Round-Up: Hull snatch top spot, Brighton make it four wins on the trot and Huddersfield shock Nottingham Forest

Hull City went top of the Championship with a 2-0 win at Blackburn, who have now gone nine games without a win.

The Tigers took full advantage of Middlesbrough’s weekend break by scoring two second-half goals which puts them two points ahead of their promotion rivals. Abel Hernandez broke the deadlock with his 16th strike of the season when he rounded goalkeeper Jason Steele before the Uruguayan striker set-up Mohamed Diame, who found the net from close range.

Abel Hernandez netted his seventh goal in his last six league outings to help fire Hull to the top of the Championship.

Brighton are now three points off of first place as they recorded their fourth straight league win by narrowly defeating strugglers Bolton 3-2. Jamie Murphy had put the Seagulls ahead within the first ten minutes, but former England international Emile Heskey equalised. Tomer Hemed then put the hosts in front at the break. Jay Spearing’s low driven shot then made it 2-2, but Beram Kayal restored Chris Hughton’s side’s lead.

Burnley are also three points adrift of top spot after they drew 0-0 at Reading, with goalkeeper Ali Al-Habsi the hero for the hosts as he saved a penalty from Andre Gray to secure a point for the Royals.

Sheffield Wednesday are now unbeaten in seven matches and are becoming dark horses in the race for the promotion as they are now six points off of Hull as they thrashed Brentford 4-0. Yoann Barbet was sent-off in the first five minutes for the Bees and the hosts made their one man advantage count with goals coming from Fernando Forestieri, Gary Hooper, Kieran Lee and Lucas Joao.

Jake Forster-Caskey scored the only goal of the game to give MK Dons an impressive victory at Derby.

MK Dons secured a vital 1-0 victory at Derby which leaves them five points clear of the relegation zone after Jake Forster-Caskey’s late winner for the Dons with a superb free-kick. The Rams have now dropped to sixth and are still without a league win in 2016.

Fulham easily overcame their west London rivals QPR by beating them 3-1 in a comfortable match for the Cottagers with all three strikes coming in the first-half. Ross McCormack, Moussa Dembele and Tom Cairney gave them a 3-0 lead at the break. Tjaronn Chery’s stoppage-time effort was a mere consolation for the hosts who have only won two out of 13 games under boss Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.

Preston won their second match in as many games with a 2-1 win at Wolves, who have now gone five fixtures without a victory. Paul Gallagher’s lovely chipped effort over Carl Ikeme made it 1-0 before Adam Reach doubled the visitors’ advantage. Joe Mason pulled one back for the hosts, who have now fallen to 12th place.

Strugglers Rotherham held onto a precious point as they drew 0-0 with Birmingham despite finishing the match with only nine players in Neil Warnock’s first game in charge of the Millers. Both Richard Wood and Joe Mattock were dismissed by the referee in match in which neither created any real chances. The hosts are now five points adrift of safety.

Huddersfield ended Nottingham Forest’s 13-game unbeaten run with a surprise 2-0 victory. Matt Mills put the Terriers ahead when he put the ball into his own net after failing to clear Tommy Smith’s dangerous cross. Philip Billing doubled the visitors lead with an incredible volley to record his first professional goal of his career.

Bristol City beat Ipswich 2-1 in Lee Johnson’s first game in charge to move five points clear of the relegation zone. An unlikely double from Aden Flint put the hosts 2-0 up before Brett Pitman pulled one back for Mick McCarthy’s side.

Charlton are now six points from safety as they moved off the bottom of the Championship with a 0-0 draw with Cardiff. Both sides missed several goalscoring opportunities before Sammy Ameobi was show a red card for the visitors.

Player of the Weekend: Aden Flint (Bristol City)
Team of the Weekend: Huddersfield Town
Goal of the Weekend: Philip Billing (Nottingham Forest v HUDDERSFIELD)