League round-up: Beattie at the double as Swans close on top two

Craig Beattie scored twice as Swansea City beat Ipswich Town 3-1 at Portman Road, to move to within a point of the automatic promotion places.

Ipswich went ahead five minutes into the second half, through Andros Townsend's header, and it seemed they would continue in the form that saw West Brom beaten in the Carling Cup in midweek. But 14 minutes later the defensive frailties that were evident in last Sunday's humbling at Norwich City reappeared and Beattie headed in the equaliser. With 20 minutes left, more defensive dithering allowed Joe Allen to poke in the Swans' second. Carlos Edwards was then felled but the referee, Andy D'Urso, turned down Ipswich claims for a penalty and the visitors counter-attacked to set up a sumptuous 25-yard strike by Beattie.

The Ipswich manager, Roy Keane, was in no mood to blame the official. "We've got no one to blame but ourselves, in terms of our defending and the chances we missed," he said. "Their first goal was soft and the second was comical."

Two goals in three first-half minutes at Pride Park saw Norwich City take an early lead over Derby County, David Fox's shot deflecting in off Shaun Barker and Chris Martin heading in Simon Lappin's cross. Kris Commons pulled one back but the Canaries' 2-1 win lifted them to fourth.

It was a tale of two penalties at the Ricoh Arena. Marlon King scored a late one for Coventry City; Leroy Lita's earlier one for Middlesbrough was saved. The 1-0 win took City to fifth. Luciano Becchio scored twice as Leeds United extended their unbeaten run to seven games with a 2-1 home win over Crystal Palace. Leeds are sixth.

Watford ended a run of seven games without a win when Danny Graham's late diving header earned a 3-2 win over Leicester City at Vicarage Road. Steve Morison scored twice as Millwall ended a run of five consecutive defeats against Scunthorpe with a 3-0 win at The Den.

League One

Only one match survived the freeze, Swindon Town beating Sheffield Wednesday 2-1. A former Owl, Jon-Paul McGovern, scored the winner.

League Two

Oxford United beat Barnet 2-1 and Stockport lost 2-0 at Northampton.