Hull City 4-0 Bristol City
Steve Bruce hopes Hull can hit their stride as they moved within four points of second. After scoring three goals in nine matches, Curtis Davies and Robert Snodgrass laid the foundations before Mo Diamé and Sone Aluko added gloss. Bruce said: “There’s been nothing really wrong with the performances. Once we scored then there was a calmness about us.” Lee Johnson believes 19th-place Bristol City have a long way to go before feeling safe. “You think you’re getting there then get beat quite convincingly by a top-six side and you see the work to be done.”
Fulham 2-1 MK Dons
Slavisa Jokanovic said his Fulham side must not relax despite a first win since February pulling them four points clear of the drop zone and opponents MK Dons. He said: “It’s the end of the run without any wins, in front of us are seven cup finals. We are not safe.” The Fulham strikers Ross McCormack and Moussa Dembélé scored either side of Josh Murphy for MK Dons, who had an Alex Revell effort ruled out for offside. The visitors’ manager Karl Robinson said: “The officials cost us, his goal was onside - they know that, they understand that and they know they made an error.”
Charlton Athletic 2-1 Birmingham City
Charlton manager José Riga was eager to focus on a rare success for his side on the pitch, rather than its plight off it, after putting a dent in Birmingham’s play-off hopes. Jorge Teixeira scored in the fourth minute of added time to win a game where home fans threw hundreds of sponge footballs on to the pitch in protest against owner Roland Duchâtelet. Riga said: “There are two stories from today and I want only to be involved in the sporting one. We knew that all of Birmingham’s games are very close, but we deserved the win.”
And the rest
Cardiff closed the gap on sixth-placed Derby to two points with a 2-1 home win. Bruno Ecuele Manga put Cardiff ahead in front of a club-record crowd and Stuart O’Keefe scored the winner after Chris Martin’s equaliser. Brentford eased their relegation woes and deepened the gloom around Nottingham Forest with a 3-0 win at the City Ground. Lasse Vibe, Nico Yennaris and Sergi Canos scored, while Forest had Eric Lichaj sent off. Preston retain faint hopes of a play-off place after winning 2-1 at Blackburn, with Joe Garner and Jordan Hugill securing the win after Elliott Ward put Blackburn ahead. Fernando Forestieri scored the only goal as Sheffield Wednesday won at Huddersfield. Visitors Reading hammered another nail in bottom-club Bolton’s coffin with Ola John’s late winner, while Wolves and Ipswich played out a 0-0 draw.
