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A Keith Fahey strike on the stroke of half-time was enough for Birmingham to gain three points against Southampton at St Andrews.

The result saw the Blues keep up the pressure on Championship leaders Wolves, who continued their return to form with a scrappy win at Sheffield Wednesday.

The only goal of the game came in the fifth minute, Sylvan Ebanks-Blake left unmarked to head in Michael Kightly's cross to give Mick McCarthy's side their second 1-0 win of the week.

But Reading fell further behind the top two after drawing 2-2 at Plymouth. Paul Gallagher scored his fifth goal in four games to give the hosts the lead on 20 minutes but Reading equalised within two minutes through defender Alex Pearce.

Worryingly for Argyle, top scorer Gallagher had to be replaced at half time with an injury but Jimmy Mackie soon cheered up the home fans with a stunning strike on 56 minutes to put Paul Sturrock's men back in front.

The Royals restored parity with 10 minutes to go through Jimmy Kebe but will view the result as two points dropped in the increasingly-fraught battle for promotion.

Steve Coppell's team have now won only once in six games and are only four points ahead of Cardiff, having played a game more.

The Bluebirds halted Doncaster's run of good form with a 3-0 win at Ninian Park, secured thanks to strikes from Michael Chopra (10), Jay Bothroyd (29) and Eddie Johnson (60).

With three games in hand over the top two, a winning run would give Dave Jones' team a realistic chance of making automatic promotion. They move ahead of Sheffield United on goal difference, the Blades drawing 0-0 at QPR.

Preston failed to take advantage of Burnley's weekend off in the FA Cup, succumbing to a 2-1 defeat at Crystal Palace which leaves them only a point ahead of the Clarets in sixth.

Billy Jones gave North End the lead on the half hour, but two strikes in quick succession from Anthony Stokes (32) and Neil Danns (34) wrapped up the points for the Eagles.

Swansea missed the chance to go level on points with Preston, Jason Scotland scoring his 20th goal of the season to put the Welsh side 1-0 up at Nottingham Forest before substitute Lewis McGugan's equaliser 15 minutes from time.

At the other end of the table, bottom-placed Charlton could not hold onto a home lead and look almost certain to be relegated after crashing to a 3-2 defeat to fellow strugglers Watford.

Don Cowie's 17th minute-strike put the visitors in front before Tresor Kandol took advantage of a mix-up between Adrian Mariappa and Lloyd Doyley to equalise for the Addicks four minutes later.

Kandol then turned the tables with a second on 33 minutes, but substitute Grzegorz Rasiak silenced the home crowd with a fantastic second-half equaliser before Tamas Priskin scored a late winner to leave Phil Parkinson's team 12 points from safety.

Second-bottom Norwich slumped to a 2-0 defeat at Blackpool , Brett Ormerod striking from 18 yards 10 minutes after the break and Charlie Adam doubling the advantage with 15 minutes to go to compound the Canaries' relegation fears.

Elsewhere, Chris Porter continued his sensational start as a Derby player, following up his debut brace in midweek with a goal in the first minute against Bristol City in the lunchtime kick-off. The former Motherwell striker struck after just 52 seconds, but had to be substituted at half time having sustained an injury.

City scored a deserved equaliser through Gavin Williams's long-range effort with just seven minutes to go, but Rob Hulse responded for the hosts immediately, converting Gary Teale's cross to secure another precious win for the Rams in their bid to avoid the drop.

Sporting Life / Eurosport