Republic of Ireland and Reading midfielder Jeff Hendrick netted a brace against his former side QPR as international colleagues Jayson Molumby, Callum O'Dowda, Will Keane and Mark Sykes all got on the scoresheet across Saturday's Championship action.
Hendrick's two first half-goals were not enough to give Paul Ince's Reading all three points against a QPR side where he was on loan in the second half of last season. Welsh international Tyler Roberts notched a brace of his own for the visitors to earn a deserved 2-2 draw.
Hendrick, who remains on the books of parent club Newcastle while on loan at Reading, had opened the scoring for the hosts just before the half-hour mark with a shot from outside the box before the Dubliner then tapped in his third goal of the season from close range with half-time looming.
Ince was unhappy that referee Darren Bond did not award his side a penalty when 88-time Ireland cap Shane Long fell in the area after tangling with Rob Dickie in the 50th minute, with Reading still 2-0 ahead.
"That was a blatant penalty," Ince said. "That could have made it 3-0 and the game is finished. That's the bottom line.
"It was blatant and another poor decision going against us again. You can watch it time and time again, and I understand that referees have tough jobs.
"Shane has run across him [Dickie], he's been taken over and the penalty has not been given. That's 3-0, game over."
Ince's QPR counterpart Neil Critchley was disappointed they failed to come away with maximum points but credited Hendrick for his opening goal, saying: "Their lad [Hendrick] produced a moment of real quality for the first goal with a strike from outside the box.
"At that point in time we hadn't really done a lot wrong. But then they break and score again.
"From 2-0 down at half-time we had to show real fight and courage and believe in ourselves as a group. And that's what we did."
Mark Sykes scored his first two goals for Bristol City in a 4-2 win over Birmingham at Ashton Gate.
Antoine Semenyo and Nahki Wells had put the Robins 2-0 up early on and Sykes, who made his Ireland debut against Malta last November, ensured Troy Deeney's penalty and Reda Khadra's strike were mere consolation.
"I am pleased for Mark Sykes. It's about time he scored for us because he is a player I like and I believe he has goals in him," said Bristol City boss Nigel Pearson.
"He should have been getting in similar scoring positions from right wing-back, but we played him further forward and that worked well."
Molumby, meanwhile, scored an equaliser for West Brom as they came from behind to win 3-2 at Luton Town.
Luton let an early 2-0 lead slip at Kenilworth Road. Carlton Morris and Elijah Adebayo put the hosts ahead but Daryl Dike hit back before half-time for the Baggies. Boys in Green midfielder Molumby equalised for West Brom from inside the Luton area before Conor Townsend netted after the restart to seal victory.
Cardiff and Wigan split the points in a 1-1 draw after goals in the final 10 minutes from Irish team-mates Callum O'Dowda and Will Keane.
O'Dowda put Cardiff in front on 82 minutes when he side-footed in a volley from a Jaden Philogene cross, before Wigan drew level when Keane scored from close range in the 96th minute.
Elsewhere, Burnley ensured they remained five points clear of Sheffield United at the top of the Championship with a 1-0 victory over Coventry at Turf Moor.
Ian Maatsen made a brilliant block to prevent Kasey Palmer from pulling the visitors ahead just before half-time and the Clarets could not find a breakthrough until the 82nd minute, when Jordan Beyer nodded the eventual winner past keeper Ben Wilson.
Sheffield United kept pace with the Clarets as they picked up all three points with a 3-1 win over Stoke.
Iliman Ndiaye netted his 10th goal of the season to give the Blades a ninth-minute lead and Jayden Bogle made it two when his deflected effort found the back of the net.
Nick Powell cut the deficit on the stroke of half-time before Bogle bagged his second on 90 minutes.
Watford moved into third after Tobi Adeyemo's second-half strike and Ismaila Sarr's penalty at Vicarage Road made the difference in their 2-0 victory over Blackpool, who dropped to second-from-bottom with the result.
Marcus Forss' second-half winner ensured Middlesbrough's promotion charge under Michael Carrick continued with a 1-0 win over Millwall as they jumped to fourth place in the table.
After a tight first half at the Riverside, the Finnish forward scored the crucial opener in the 54th minute to put Boro in the driving seat in this battle between two play-off contenders.
Blackburn dropped to fifth after a stunning 4-0 defeat to Rotherham in the early kick-off. Hakeem Odoffin scored in the first minute and second-half strikes from Ollie Rathbone, Shane Ferguson - direct from a corner - and Conor Washington made the points safe.
Swansea made their numerical advantage count as they beat 10-man Sunderland 3-1 at the Stadium of Light.
Luke O'Nien's early dismissal meant the Black Cats had to play more than 70 minutes with a player less, and while Dan Neil denied the visitors a clean sheet after Joel Piroe's 50th-minute opener, Liam Cullen and Ollie Cooper made sure Swansea walked away with all three points.
The Swans gained four places with the victory, finishing the afternoon in 11th, while Sunderland tumbled two to 10th.
Kieran Dowell and Teemu Pukki both bagged braces as Norwich beat Preston 4-0 at Deepdale to move into seventh. Ireland defender Andrew Omobamidele was part of a Canaries defence that kept a clean sheet, while Cork native Adam Idah came on with 18 minutes of normal time to go, at the same time that Troy Parrott made his return for Preston after three months out with a hamstring injury sustained while celebrating his first league goal of the campaign.
Huddersfield's trip to Hull ended 1-1 as Oscar Estupinan's last-gasp equaliser cancelled out Michal Helik's goal.
Aaron Connolly, whose loan at Italian side Venezia from parent club Brighton was cut short this month, came on as a sub for Hull, having made his debut for the club in the FA Cup third round last week against Fulham.
In League One, Ireland midfielder Conor Hourihane scored Derby County's opener as they won 3-2 at Cheltenham Town.
Ireland Under-21 defender Eiran Cashin was involved in the move that led to Hourihane's header on eight minutes which cancelled out an early Cheltenham goal, while senior international Jason Knight played a part in their second when his shot from the edge of the box was blocked, only for Rams team-mate Max Bird to score a superb goal on the follow-up from long distance.
