Hull continue to set the pace at the top of the Sky Bet Championship after claiming an impressive 3-0 victory over fellow high-flyers Middlesbrough at the KC Stadium.

Hull continue to set the pace at the top of the Sky Bet Championship after claiming an impressive 3-0 victory over fellow high-flyers Middlesbrough at the KC Stadium.

Mohamed Diame opened the scoring just before the interval and second-half strikes from Sam Clucas and Tom Huddlestone ensured a fifth successive league win for in-form Hull.

The victory means Steve Bruce’s men stay top on goal difference ahead of Brighton, who ended a run of three consecutive draws with a 2-1 home win over MK Dons.

Solly March and Jamie Murphy gave Brighton a flying start with goals in the opening 20 minutes and although the struggling Dons quickly responded through Nicky Maynard, they could not find an equaliser.

Burnley, who started the day level on points with Hull and Brighton, could only draw 0-0 at Wolves to slip behind the two pace-setters.

Birmingham took advantage of Derby’s defeat to Nottingham Forest on Friday night to move to within two points of the fifth-placed Rams with a 5-2 drubbing of 10-man Fulham.

Stephen Gleeson, Paul Caddis (penalty) and Jon Toral saw Birmingham leading 3-0 inside 31 minutes and, after Fulham had lost James Husband to a 49th-minute red card, Clayton Donaldson and Viv Soloman-Otabor added late goals for the visitors.

Fulham’s responses came from Alex Kacaniklic and Ross McCormack when the hosts were 3-0 and 4-1 down.

Cardiff leap-frogged above Reading into seventh with a 2-0 win over the Royals, Kenwyne Jones and Matthew Connolly on the mark, while Charlton were celebrating their first victory since August after beating Sheffield Wednesday 3-1.

Charlton had taken just two points from their previous 12 games but goals from Johnnie Jackson, Simon Makienok and Reza Ghoochannejhad helped them end that miserable run and climb out of the bottom two. Fernando Forestieri netted Wednesday’s consolation.

Leeds recorded back-to-back wins for the first time this season after beating West Yorkshire rivals Huddersfield 3-0 in the day’s early kick-off. Mirco Antenucci and Chris Wood both netted in first-half stoppage time before Alex Mowatt crashed home a third after the break.

Blackburn and Brentford shared a 1-1 draw at Ewood Park, Tom Lawrence cancelling out Lasse Vibe’s goal for the visitors, while Preston recorded a sixth successive clean sheet in drawing 0-0 at QPR.

It was also scoreless between fellow strugglers Bolton and Bristol City, with Shola Ameobi seeing a second-half penalty saved by City keeper Frank Fielding.