England Under-21 international Michael Kightly kick-started a man-of-the-match performance by opening the scoring after 17 minutes when his looping free-kick from the touchline deceived the City defence and nestled in the top corner.

The Robins did have chances throughout an entertaining clash and looked dangerous on the break, however Sylvan Ebanks-Blake made sure of all three points for the home side with a fantastic overhead kick midway through the second half.

Second placed Birmingham also claimed three points at Cardiff, with goals from James McFadden and Quincy Owusu-Abeyie. Ross McCormack scored late for the home side.

Reading are up to third after they trounced Swansea 4-0 at the Madejski Stadium.

Kevin Doyle helped himself to two, after 26 and 90 minutes, with the Hunts - Noel and Stephen - adding the other goals in a one-sided first-half.

Preston saw their fine start to the season dealt a blow at Turf Moor as Burnley ran out 3-1 winners in a match where substitute Callum Davidson was shown red 20 minutes from time.

Barry Nicholson put North End in the lead with 22 minutes on the clock but that was as good as it got for the visitors, with Joey Gudjonsson, Steven Caldwell and Chris Eagles hitting back unanswered.

QPR knocked high-flying Premier League side Aston Villa out of the Carling Cup in midweek but put in a tired performance in losing 2-0 at home to Derby.

A goalless draw had looked favourite going into the last 10 minutes but first Martin Albrechtsen (80) then Emanuel Villa (89) handed the Rams victory.

Freddy Eastwood hit a confidence-boosting second goal of the season to earn Coventry a share of the spoils against Blackpool at Bloomfield Road.

The Wales international found the target to cancel out Ben Burgess' opener after 58 minutes.

Sheffield United celebrated a 2-0 win, with veteran Gary Speed scoring the first with just a minute gone before John-Joe O'Toole levelled after 56 minutes.

That set the scene for James Beattie to win it with a 66th minute header.

Rivals Sheffield Wednesday also won 2-1, but they needed to come from behind after Charlton took the lead through Luke Varney.

Wade Small equalised after 39 minutes, with Marcus Tudgay hitting the decisive goal three minutes later.

Nottingham Forest continue to struggle at the bottom of the table after slipping to a 1-0 defeat against Plymouth, Rory Fallon the scorer. Forest defender Wes Morgan was sent off in injury-time.

Southampton were handed a big slice of fortune at Doncaster, who scored an own goal (Joseph Mills, 50) and conceded two penalties.

Andrew Surman scored the first spot kick but missed the second as the game finished 2-0.