Republic of Ireland winger Mikey Johnston struck inside the first minute to set West Bromwich Albion on their way to a 2-0 EFL Championship victory at home to Cardiff City on Tuesday night.
Johnston was making his first start for the Baggies after moving to The Hawthorns on loan from Celtic earlier this month, and he wasted no time in firing Carlos Corberan's side ahead.
Darnell Furlong clipped the ball down the wing for Tom Fellows and he was afforded the space to run at Jamilu Collins before pulling the ball back into the path of the onrushing Johnston who steered tidily beyond visiting goalkeeper Ethan Horvath.
The win was sealed in the 80th minute, when Andreas Weimann rounded off a smart move by rolling the ball home from a Jed Wallace cross.
Second-half goals from Sam Bell, Rob Dickie and Harry Cornick put a dent in Southampton's bid for automatic promotion as Bristol City won an entertaining Championship clash 3-1 at Ashton Gate.
The home side grabbed a 52nd-minute lead when Anis Mehmeti and Ireland's Jason Knight exchanged passes on the right of the box and Mehmeti crossed low for Bell to net from six yards.
Centre-back Dickie rose above the Saints defence to head home a Joe Williams corner from the left after 72 minutes and Cornick set the seal on an impressive City display by lashing home an 82nd-minute cross from fellow substitute Ross McCrorie.
Southampton had to wait until stoppage time to reply when Adam Armstrong netted from the spot following a foul on Kyle Walker-Peters.
Leicester City strengthened their position at the top of the table as captain Jamie Vardy scored against his boyhood club in a 2-0 victory over Sheffield Wednesday at King Power Stadium.
Enzo Maresca's side had the game won by half-time and are now 14 points clear of third-placed Southampton as they close in on promotion back to the Premier League.
Vardy, who was released by the Owls for being too small as a teenager, also played a part in the opening goal for Abdul Fatawu after four minutes.
Leeds United swept aside Swansea City 4-0 to claim a seventh-consecutive Championship victory and equal their biggest win of the season.
The hosts were left facing an uphill battle that proved well beyond them after Crysencio Summerville and former Swansea striker Joel Piroe struck inside the opening 10 minutes.
Wilfried Gnonto added a brace to make it four goals in as many games, with Daniel Farke's side maintaining their push for an automatic promotion spot in style.
New Blackburn Rovers boss John Eustace made a losing return to St Andrew's as his side were beaten 1-0 by former club Birmingham City.
Andre Dozzell struck the only goal of the contest in the 77th minute to end City’s 388-minute drought and reward their dominance.
Norwich City recovered from losing a two-goal lead to beat Watford 4-2 at Carrow Road and maintain their play-off push.
The Canaries appeared to be in command after scoring twice in eight first half minutes through Ashley Barnes and Josh Sargent, only for Hornets to hit back as Mileta Rajovic netted just before the break and Yaser Asprilla scored a long-range stunner to equalise midway through the second period.
But the home side kept their nerve and two quick goals from Gabriel Sara and Christian Fassnacht sealed a hard fought win that made it nine home games without defeat, while dealing another blow to Watford's rapidly receding hopes of finishing in the top six.
Hull City scored twice in four second-half minutes to boost their play-off hopes with a 2-1 win at rock-bottom Rotherham United.
The Millers had taken a surprise lead when Christ Tiehi opened the scoring in the fourth minute, but that proved to be far too early for them.
Their goal had taken a battering, with goalkeeper Viktor Johansson staging a one-man defiance with a string of saves to keep the Tigers at bay.
It needed an own-goal from Cameron Humphreys to draw Hull level in the 71st minute and then Noah Ohio completed the turnaround four minutes later.
