Championship roundup: Brentford blast five past Birmingham City while Aston Villa miss chance to go second

Aston Villa missed out on the chance to go second in the Championship after they were held to a 1-1 draw against play-off chasing Preston North End on Tuesday night.

A second half Lewis Grabban penalty ensured Steve Bruce’s side kept at least a share of the spoils from a game in which they struggled to find any rhythm.

North End, who came into the game knowing that a win could lift them into the play-off places, took the lead in the first half through Tom Barkhuizen, swiping home after Villa failed to properly clear a corner.

Alex Neil’s side missed opportunities to double their lead in the second half before Barkhuizen was involved in the game’s second goal, albeit this time at the wrong end. He brought down youngster Kienan Davis inside the penalty area, allowing Lewis Grabban to score his first goal for his new club after joining on loan from Bournemouth in January.

Villa move to within a point of a Cardiff but they will be well aware that sides above and below them have games in hand, and they could find themselves well and truly in the play-off mire come the close of play on Wednesday.

Elsewhere, Jose Morais got off to a disappointing start as manager of Barnsley as his side handed relegation rivals Burton a win that takes them off the bottom of the table.

The Brewers raced into a 2-0 lead through Jamie Allen and Jacob Davenport, and despite Dani Pinillos’ second half strike, Barnsley were unable to salvage anything from the game. They are still hunting for their first win since New Years Day.

The Tykes face Birmingham City in their next outing and they will be hopeful of getting a result against the Blues following their 5-0 demolition at Brentford.

The Bees took full advantage of several Birmingham errors to rack up an impressive scoreline at Griffin Park. Ollie Watkins scored their first from 25 yards before Florian Jozefzoon doubled their advantage before the break.

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Neal Maupay, a Roberts’ own goal and second from Watkins rounded off a miserable night for Midlands club, who now sit just a point above the drop zone.

Hull City meanwhile were unable to capitalise on Birmingham’s humbling after they fell to defeat against Middlesbrough.

Boro remain within striking distance of the playoff positions after a Patrick Bamford strike and a brace from Rudy Gestede proved to be enough to see off the Tigers.

Evandro netted for the visitors but despite Nigel Adkins’s side’s dominance of the ball, they were undone by the more clinical home side.

By contrast to Hull’s disappointments, Bolton moved four points clear of the drop zone after picking up a huge win against crisis club Sunderland.

A goal from Zach Clough, who is back at the club for his second spell following a January loan move from Nottingham Forest, proved to be the difference, condemning Chris Coleman’s side fifth straight defeat.

Elsewhere, Sheffield United continued their resurgence by beating QPR 2-1 at Bramall Lane, Millwall came from behind to beat Sheffield Wednesday, while Lee Tomlin’s 85th minute strike ended Nottingham Forest’s goal month-long wait for a goal as they rescued a point against lowly Reading.