Championship ROUND-UP

BRENTFORD threw away a two-goal lead at CARDIFF to chalk up a fifth game without a win. They remain fifth in the table but manager Thomas Frank was infuriated after Simon Hooper failed to send off Will Vaulks for kneeing a grounded Christian Norgaard in the head. ‘He put his knee down and forced it into the grass. I think there is still a hole down there,’ said Frank, who claimed that Cardiff boss Neil Harris had agreed it deserved a red card. Brentford were 2-0 ahead at the time, thanks to Luka Racic and Bryan Mbeumo, but Vaulks inspired Cardiff’s comeback by setting up Junior Hoilett and Joe Ralls for goals. Scott Parker’s FULHAM ground out a 2-0 win over struggling

PRESTON, thanks to David Nugent’s own goal and Aboubakar Kamara’s stoppage-time breakaway effort. They stay third, five points off the two automatic promotion spots, with key games to come. ‘Of course, West Brom and Leeds have been the most consistent and they are two very good teams,’ Parker said. ‘We have them both to play but we have to concentrate first on Bristol City next week and see what we can do.’

BRISTOL CITY are three points behind Brentford in seventh after their 1-1 draw at MILLWALL.

BLACKBURN, eighth, and SWANSEA, ninth, shared four goals. The draw did little to help either’s play-off aspirations.

DERBY turned in one of their best performances of the season to gear up for the FA Cup showdown with Manchester United, winning 3-1 at SHEFFIELD

WEDNESDAY. Two goals by Tom Lawrence and another from Jason Knight put the Rams 3-0 up in half an hour. Josh Windass pulled a goal back but Owls boss Garry Monk said: ‘This is the most difficult moment in my career. The results have not been good enough.’ At the bottom, HUDDERSFIELD opened a five-point gap to the teams in the relegation zone by thrashing CHARLTON 4-0.