Stoke remain in pole position to secure a place in the Premier League with Bristol City climbing back to second.
Stoke and City triumph; Watford held; Baggies beaten
Stoke remain in pole position to secure a place in the Premier League with Bristol City climbing back to second in the Championship table.
Liam Lawrence's stunning strike was enough for Tony Pulis' side against fellow high-flyers Ipswich, while City came from behind to claim an important three points at Colchester.
Watford slipped back into the play-off places as they could not break down a stubborn Preston side at Vicarage Road and West Brom were stunned at home by Hull.
Charlton were on the wrong end of a five-star display from Blackpool and Plymouth climbed into the top six with victory over Burnley.
Chris Coleman saw Coventry overcome Leicester in his first game at the helm, while Nigel Pearson picked up his first point as Southampton manager thanks to a late penalty at Scunthorpe.
In-form striker Paul Dickov scored his fifth goal in as many games as Blackpool dented Charlton's promotion hopes.
Stephen McPhee followed up to score the opener from the edge of the box after Wesley Hoolahan's initial shot was blocked and Kaspars Gorkss doubled their advantage in the 26th minute.
Darren Ambrose reduced the arrears from an acute angle soon after and then restored parity for the Addicks just one minute later.
But Dickov then took centre stage, with Gary Taylor-Fletcher following up after his initial shot had been saved, before Dickov rounded former Manchester City team-mate Nicky Weaver for the fourth.
Taylor-Fletcher then scored his second and Blackpool's fifth before Chris Iwelumo hit back again for the shocked Addicks 16 minutes from time.
Bristol City were forced to come from behind as they climbed back into the Championship's automatic promotion places.
Clive Platt was on hand to give Colchester the lead after Kevin McLeod's initial shot had been spilled by Adriano Bassu.
But Dele Adebola immediately responded as he headed home Ivan Sproule's superb cross before Michael McIndoe's 25-yard effort took a deflection and looped home beyond Dean Gerken.
Gary Johnson's side were reduced to 10 men for the final 11 minutes when Bradley Orr received a second yellow card for kicking the ball away after a first-half booking for a foul on McLeod.
Chris Coleman's first game in charge of Coventry was overshadowed by a worrying injury for captain Stephen Hughes.
The midfielder was knocked unconscious in the opening moments of the match after colliding with a team-mate and required lengthy treatment on the field before being stretchered off.
Elliott Ward's penalty gave the Sky Blues the lead in the 32nd minute after Gareth McAuley was harshly penalised for a challenge on Leon Best.
And Best made it 2-0 11 minutes from time when he slotted home from a tight angle.
Veteran defender Michael Gray scored a stunning goal as Wolves claimed an important victory away to fellow play-off hopefuls Crystal Palace.
Darren Potter won the ball in midfield and found the former Sunderland and Blackburn left-back, who unleashed a long-range effort which was too hot to handle for Julian Speroni.
Kevin Kyle added a second with a superb turn and shot from the edge of the area, but there was a concern for Mick McCarthy with goalkeeper Wayne Henderson carried off.
FA Cup heroes Barnsley were brought back down to earth with a bump after their Anfield triumph.
Jamie Cureton scored the only goal of the game in the 26th minute when he controlled the ball on his chest and produced a fine finish.
Glenn Roeder has transformed the Canaries from a side battling relegation into a team with an outside chance of making a late push for the play-offs.
Peter Halmosi struck twice as Plymouth claimed an important three points at the expense of fellow play-off chasers Burnley.
Lilian Nalis gave Paul Sturrock's men the lead with Brian Jensen unable to keep out his shot from inside the box, but James O'Connor levelled in the 19th minute.
But the Pilgrims then pushed Burnley onto the back foot after Halmosi (35) grabbed his first when he squeezed the ball over the line.
And the midfielder made sure of all three points 14 minutes from time when he drove home after the ball ran loose to him in the box.
Chris Morgan grabbed a late equaliser for Sheffield United as Kevin Blackwell's men claimed a point away to QPR.
Colombian striker Angelo Balanta tucked home the opener in the 19th minute after a great cross from the right from Hogan Ephraim.
But powerful defender Morgan buried the equaliser in the 78th minute after the home side failed to deal with a free-kick into their box.
A controversial late penalty from Gregory Vignal denied Scunthorpe and handed Nigel Pearson his first point as Southampton boss.
Vignal scored from the spot two minutes from time after the assistant referee spotted an infringement which left the home players fuming.
Andy Crosby (41) had earlier given the home side the lead when he followed up to smash home the rebound after Kelvin Davis had saved his initial kick.
But Matthew Sparrow's dismissal in the 54th minute for a challenge on Wayne Thomas handed Saints the chance to get back into the game.
Sheffield Wednesday climbed out of the drop zone as they claimed a vital victory over Cardiff at Hillsborough.
Marcus Tudgay scored the only goal of the game four minutes before the interval when Enoch Showunmi headed a dinked ball into the area down for his strike partner to turn home from close range.
Liam Lawrence's stunning long-range effort kept Stoke at the top of the Championship table and on course for a place in the Premier League.
The former Sunderland midfielder struck three minutes before the interval with his 13th goal of the season.
Ipswich boss Jim Magilton was sent to the stands in the second period after a disagreement with the referee when he attempted to retrieve the ball.
Watford slipped back out of the automatic promotion places as they were held to a goalless draw at home by struggling Preston.
Darius Henderson fired into the side netting after rounding goalkeeper Andy Lonergan and Paul McKenna rattled the bar for the visitors, but neither side could break the deadlock.
Caleb Folan struck eight minutes from time as West Brom's automatic promotion hopes suffered a severe blow at home to Hull.
Fraizer Campbell opened the scoring for The Tigers with a superb strike into the top corner from 25 yards after Jay-Jay Okocha's delightful through-ball.
Roman Bednar headed home from close range to equalise for the Baggies following Kevin Phillips' wonderful cross.
But Folan had the final say when he was afforded too much space by the home defence and cut inside to unleash a strike into the bottom corner which gave Dean Kiely no chance.
