Football
PA Sport 7y

Huddersfield boost automatic promotion hopes with win vs. Reading

Philip Billing secured a sixth successive Championship victory for Huddersfield, who won 1-0 against promotion rivals Reading at the John Smith's Stadium.

Midfielder Billing fired home the only goal eight minutes from time just when it seemed Reading had done enough to claim a point.

Rajiv van La Parra missed a first-half penalty, Town's first spot kick in the league this season.

That looked like proving costly until Billing pounced for his second goal of the campaign to split two closely-matched teams.

The victory leaves Huddersfield four points off the automatic promotion spots in third, while Reading are four points back in fourth.

Sheffield Wednesday missed out on the chance to cement their playoff position as they suffered a 2-1 home defeat to Brentford.

A fifth win in a row for the Owls would have sent them up to fourth and 10 points clear of seventh-placed Norwich, but they were undone by first-half headers from John Egan and Harlee Dean at Hillsborough.

It was a first home loss in eight, going back to November, despite a late curler from Fernando Forestieri, but they are still in a strong position in the top-six race going into a vital Yorkshire derby with Leeds on Saturday.

For Brentford it was an impressive three points, built on a slick first-half display, and just their second win in seven games.

Conor Washington inspired Queens Park Rangers to a 2-1 victory over relegation-threatened Wigan at Loftus Road.

Washington set up an early opener for Matt Smith and restored Rangers' lead with a thumping strike after Omar Bogle had equalised from the penalty spot.

The victory was QPR's second in three days and pulled them further clear of the bottom three.

Struggling Wigan, meanwhile, remain in the relegation zone and have now failed to win in 16 visits to London.

Nigel Clough marked his return to the club that sacked him in September 2013 by delivering another blow to Derby's playoff hopes as Burton boosted their survival chances with a 0-0 draw at Pride Park.

Clough's team spent most of a disappointing game in their own half but Derby lacked the craft and confidence to break them down and created few chances.

Darren Bent, who had scored four goals in the previous two games, missed the best chance in the first half and Derby created little in the second as Steve McClaren's team failed to win for the third consecutive home game.

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