Championship roundup: Ipswich step up promotion bid with 4th straight win

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Ipswich stepped up their bid for promotion to the Premier League with a 3-1 win over Birmingham, while Southampton crashed to a damaging 2-1 defeat against Millwall on Saturday.

After Leeds consolidated second place with a vital 3-1 victory against leaders Leicester on Friday, Ipswich had no margin for error as the promotion race heats up.

Kieran McKenna's side accepted the challenge as they brushed aside Birmingham at Portman Road to move back level on points with Leeds.

Ipswich led through Conor Chaplin's flicked effort just past the half-hour mark before Jordan James equalised in first-half stoppage time.

Jeremy Sarmiento put Ipswich back ahead in the 81st minute and fellow substitute Omari Giraud-Hutchinson added a third in stoppage time to clinch the hosts' fourth successive victory.

Neil Harris made a winning start to his second spell as Millwall boss, securing a crucial win for his struggling side at fourth placed Southampton.

Zian Flemming scored the decisive goal from the penalty spot late in the first half after an early header from on-loan Tottenham defender Japhet Tanganga was cancelled out by Southampton striker Che Adams' close-range leveller.

Southampton are five points adrift of Leeds in the battle to secure one of the two automatic promotion places.

Ending a four-match losing run, Millwall moved one point clear of the relegation zone in their first match since the sacking of Joe Edwards after just 19 games in charge.

West Brom and Hull are fifth and sixth respectively after  a 1-1 draw, with Darnell Furlong equalising for Albion late in the first half after Fabio Carvalho had put the hosts in front.

QPR moved out of the relegation zone as they came from behind to beat bottom-of-the-table Rotherham 2-1 at Loftus Road.

Stoke slipped into the bottom three on goal difference after their 2-1 loss at Cardiff.

Second-bottom Sheffield Wednesday are three points behind QPR and Stoke after Ike Ugbo's first-half brace gave them a 2-1 home win over Bristol City.

Sunderland crashed to a third successive loss in their first match since sacking Michael Beale as Swansea won 2-1 at the Stadium of Light.

Blackburn and Norwich drew 1-1 at Ewood Park in John Eustace's first home game as Rovers boss.

Huddersfield improved their survival prospects with a 2-1 win at Watford and Middlesbrough were beaten 2-0 at home by Plymouth.