Championship wrap: Promotion candidates falter

There was disappointment for the Championship’s top three sides on Monday, with Queens Park Rangers and Norwich held and Swansea beaten.

League leaders QPR missed the opportunity to extend their lead at the top of the table after they drew 2-2 with Bristol City.

QPR looked on track for a victory after second-half goals from Alejandro Faurlin and Adel Taarabt had helped their side recover from Brett Pitman’s 50th-minute strike, but Steven Caulker’s injury time header ensured Bristol would leave Loftus Road with a share of the points.

Neil Warnock’s side maintain their five-point buffer at the top of the Championship after second-placed Norwich was held 1-1 by Middlesbrough.

Struggling Boro are now unbeaten in three games, but sit just one point above the relegation zone after Russell Martin’s own-goal cancelled out Grant Holt’s opener for Norwich at the Riverside Stadium.

Third-placed Swansea slipped further behind the leaders after they were beaten 2-1 by Leicester City.

Scott Sinclair got Swansea back into the match after Bruno Berner scored the opener on six minutes, but Darius Vassell notched his third goal of the season to give Sven-Goran Eriksson’s men the three points.

Matt Whichelow’s 85th-minute strike kept Watford in sixth after they beat Scunthorpe 2-1, while Nottingham Forest move up to seventh thanks to a 1-0 win away to Ipswich.

Crystal Palace had an important victory over relegation rivals Preston North End, with Steffen Iversen’s 58th-minute goal giving them a 1-0 win.

Shane Long bagged a double to lead Reading to victory after Ross Wallace had given Burnley an early lead.

Jimmy Bullard, Matty Fryatt and Nick Barmby all scored as Hull City beat Portsmouth 3-2 in a see-sawing contest at Fratton Park.

Coventry’s winless run was extended to six games after they fell 2-1 at Barnsley, with Goran Lovre scoring the winner for the hosts.

Sheffield United scored twice in the last five minutes to salvage a 2-2 draw with 10-man Doncaster at Bramall Lane, while Derby’s poor run continued with a 0-0 draw at home against Millwall.