Leicester, Wolves and Crystal Palace all notched victories in the closely-fought battle at the top of the English Championship, while Brighton stumbled in the race to reach the Premier League.
Leicester beat Bristol City 2-0 at home, Wolves won 1-0 at Blackburn and hosts Palace triumphed in a 4-3 in a roller-coaster with Burnley at Selhurst Park.
Meanwhile Brighton were held to a goalless draw at Derby, while second-placed Cardiff play at Ipswich in Saturday's late kick-off.
At the King Power Stadium, David Nugent got Leicester on their way in the 19th minute and full-back Richard Foster's own goal in the second half kept the Foxes' promotion bid on course.
Wolves stayed two points behind them after downing managerless Blackburn, who are now without a win in four matches.
French midfielder Bakary Sako struck in the 78th minute at Ewood Park to leave Wolves in third place.
Palace are just behind them on goal difference following a thrilling clash at their south London home.
Chris McCann and Martin Paterson put Burnley 2-0 ahead before a brace either side of half-time by Wilfried Zaha levelled the scores.
Damien Delaney and Glenn Murray gave Palace some breathing space only for the Clarets' prolific Charlie Austin to grab his 15th goal of the season with nine minutes remaining, ensuring a nervy finish.
Two points further behind are Leeds and Huddersfield, who both registered 1-0 wins.
Leeds secured their fourth win win five games by beating visitors Barnsley for the first time since 2001 thanks to a disputed first-half penalty.
Huddersfield won at struggling Birmingham to turn up the pressure on their boss Lee Clark, who was sacked by Huddersfield last season.
Blackpool's challenge stuttered again as visitors Charlton condemned the Seasiders them to a third defeat in four games with a 2-0 win at Bloomfield Road.
Hull won 1-0 at Sheffield Wednesday who are in the relegation zone, without a win in eight games.
The Owls won promotion to the Championship last season under manager Dave Jones but are struggling to keep the pace in England's second tier.
In a mid-table clash, 10-man Watford lost 2-1 at home to Middlesbrough, with Australia striker Scott McDonald coming off the bench to score the winner.
McDonald held clear-the-air talks with Boro boss Tony Mowbray earlier this week after not figuring all season in the first team.
Republic of Ireland striker Andy Reid gave former European champions Nottingham Forest their first away win of the season with a 1-0 win at bottom club Peterborough, who are managed by Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson's son Darren.
Darius Henderson scored twice as Millwall beat Bolton 2-1 at the New Den, a result that keeps both sides hovering above the relegation zone.
Source: AFP
