The Championship season continued with the latest round of games played over the weekend.
Newcastle and Brighton moved a step closer to the Premier League as the top two opened up a gap on the chasing pack.
There was no change to the bottom three with Blackburn, Wigan and Rotherham – who are down – in the drop zone.
Here’s a round up of the Championship action from the other games.
Results
Friday 31st March 2017 – CHAMPIONSHIP
Derby County 1-0 Queens Park Rangers 19:45
Saturday 1st April 2017 – CHAMPIONSHIP
Barnsley 1-1 Sheffield Wednesday 12:30
Aston Villa 2-0 Norwich City 15:00
Brentford 2-0 Bristol City 15:00
Brighton & Hove Albion 1-0 Blackburn Rovers 15:00
Huddersfield Town 0-1 Burton Albion 15:00
Ipswich Town 1-1 Birmingham City 15:00
Newcastle United 2-1 Wigan Athletic 15:00
Preston North End 1-1 Nottingham Forest 15:00
Rotherham United 0-1 Fulham 15:00
Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-1 Cardiff City 15:00
Reading 1-0 Leeds United 17:30
Derby’s 1-0 win over QPR – beaten for the first time in five – on Friday saw Gary Rowett’s unbeaten start retained and kept the Rams’ faint play-off hopes alive.
An added time goals secured Barnsley a point in a 1-1 draw with Yorkshire rivals Sheffield Wednesday in Saturday’s lunchtime kick off. These dropped points proved crucial for the Owls – four without a win – as they dropped out of the play-off zone when Fulham won later in the day.
The sixth win in seven moved Aston Villa closer to a potential top 10 finish as Villa look to end an otherwise disappointing season on a high. A 2-0 defeat for Norwich at Villa Park probably ended the Canaries’ faint play-off hopes.
Brentford’s early goals took them to a 2-0 win over relegation threatened Bristol City. The Bees’ victory took them up to 12th but with the Robins’ four game unbeaten run ended there’s just a point and a place keeping them above Blackburn.
Defeat to Leeds was put behind Brighton as a 1-0 victory over Blackburn kept Albion within a point of leaders Newcastle, nine points clear of third place Huddersfield. Rovers’ first defeat in eight means they stay a point and a place from safety.
Huddersfield’s automatic promotion bid suffered a potentially terminal blow as an added time goal from secured Burton a 1-0 win – making it back-to-back defeats – that means Town are now nine points off Brighton. The Brewers’ winner took them four points clear of the bottom three.
Ipswich – the draw specialists on the Championship – and Birmingham moved a point closer to safety after the points were shared at Portman Road. Both are six points above the relegation zone.
A first win in four was secured by Newcastle as second bottom Wigan were seen off 2-1. Victory kept the Magpies a point ahead of Brighton. The Latics remain seven points from safety after a third straight defeat.
Preston moved up to eighth but another draw with Nottingham Forest saw the play-off hopes hit as North End are now six points behind Fulham, in sixth. Forest’s second successive draw took them two points above the bottom three.
Relegation was confirmed for Rotherham after Fulham became the latest side to leave the New York Stadium with the points. This 1-0 win also took the Cottagers into the top six above Sheffield Wednesday.
Wolves moved closer to Championship safety after a 3-1 win over Cardiff that took Wanderers eight points clear of the bottom three. The Bluebirds’ defeat was a blow to the hopes of a top 10 finish.
The late kick off saw Reading move above Leeds – a first defeat in eight – into fourth, a point behind Huddersfield, after a 1-0 win at the Madejski Stadium.
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