Coppell relieved by Royals ascent

Reading boss Steve Coppell admitted his promotion-chasing side's 4-1 win at Bristol City had been a long time coming.

The Royals moved to within three points of second-placed Birmingham thanks to Kevin Doyle's double and goals from Noel Hunt and Kalifa Cisse.

Coppell's team, who were relegated from the Premier League last season, took the lead in the 14th minute through Doyle and Hunt slammed home the second two minutes later.

Doyle added his 11th goal of the season in the 47th minute before Cisse made it four. Stern John's last-minute goal was no consolation for City.

“One of my favourite sayings is that when you work hard in football rewards don't come in equal instalments,” Coppell said.

“We were by far the better side in our previous game at Burnley and came away with nothing. I am a firm believer that if you keep producing good performances results will come.”

Wolverhampton extended their lead at the top of the table to four points – ahead of Birmingham's clash against Coventry on Monday – with a 2-1 win at Cardiff.

Goals in the first eight minutes from Chris Iwelumo and Sylvan Ebanks-Blake established Wolverhampton's dominance before Ross McCormack got one back for the hosts.

Burnley moved up to fourth place as Chris Eagles scored twice to secure a 2-0 home win over Norwich.

Sheffield United boss Kevin Blackwell believes James Beattie can fire his side to promotion after his double helped the Blades consolidate their position in the play-off places with a 2-0 win against Plymouth at Bramall Lane.

Former Everton striker Beattie struck with a penalty in the 48th minute and added another from a free-kick eight minutes later.

“We are hoping Beattie's goals will be the difference in getting us promoted, and that's why that club has gambled in that department,” Blackwell said.

“We're fortunate to have him. He's a great team player, he's a great lad in the dressing room, the players love him to bits and the staff love working with him and long may that continue.”

Charlton manager Alan Pardew vowed to fight on after fans called for him to be sacked during their 3-1 home defeat against Barnsley.

Pardew's side, who were playing in the Premier League two years ago, have won only one of their last nine games and were completely outplayed by a side struggling alongside them at the foot of the table.

Jon Macken opened the scoring in the third minute and grabbed his second 14 minutes later to trigger a chorus of disapproval around the Valley.

“Sometimes in a season there are certain benchmarks when you have to make decisions and this is a tough week for me,” Pardew said. “I need to make some big decisions because that's where we are now.

“It's no good crawling under a stone and hiding. You have to stand and face criticism if it comes your way. I have to look within the squad, and maybe get a loan in.”

Darren Moore's 39th minute goal sent the home fans heading for the exits and Mark Hudson's late goal offered no respite for Pardew.

Southampton climbed out of the relegation zone after a superb fightback to win 3-2 at Preston.

The visitors had looked dead and buried at half-time after Billy Jones and Stephen Elliott helped Preston to a comfortable two-goal lead, but Alex Pearce's 64th-minute header sparked a thrilling Saints response.

Andrew Surman grabbed the equaliser moments later before David McGoldrick's late effort completed the revival by Jan Poortvliet's side.

Elsewhere, Blackpool scored twice in the final minutes to beat Watford 4-3, Ipswich won 2-0 against QPR, Crystal Palace were held to a 1-1 draw by Sheffield Wednesday and Doncaster drew 0-0 with Swansea.