Currie keeps Ipswich going

Ipswich stretched their lead at the top of the Coca-Cola Championship with a hard-fought 2-1 win at Plymouth.

The Suffolk side went ahead in the 67th minute when Romain Larrieu gave away a penalty by fouling the Ipswich striker Darren Bent, earning a yellow card in the process. Darren Currie converted the spot-kick.

Shefki Kuqi twice squandered chances to extend the lead before Currie added a second in the 84th minute following a Jim Magilton cross.

Mickey Evans pulled a goal back for Plymouth two minutes later with a header but Ipswich held on for the win which, with Wigan not playing until today and Sunderland dropping points against Gillingham, allowed them to move five points clear.

Millwall's ambitions were dented as they lost 2-1 at home to bottom side Rotherham. The Lions scored first after a quickly taken free-kick by Dennis Wise found its way to the feet of Alan Dunne, who rifled a right-foot shot into the net.

However, Rotherham equalised two minutes from the end of the first half thanks to Martin Butler, who curled a classy left-foot shot around the Millwall goalkeeper Andy Marshall. Robert Scott's 69th-minute header earned the Millers all three points.

Peter Thorne scored twice as Cardiff beat Nottingham Forest 3-0. He opened the scoring with a penalty after 55 minutes before adding a second late on. Graham Kavanagh completed the scoring in stoppage time.

The veteran striker Nathan Blake scored his first goal for Leeds following his loan move from Leicester in a 2-1 victory at Coventry. Blake, who made his debut in the 2-0 reverse at Crewe, scored in the 28th minute before David Healy added another after 65 minutes. Gary McSheffrey pulled a goal back for the hosts with eight minutes remaining.

Watford lost 2-1 at Brighton despite taking an 11th-minute lead through Heidar Helguson. Kerry Mayo levelled for Brighton four minutes later and Leon Knight struck the winner in the 69th minute.

David Connolly scored an early penalty as Leicester beat Queen's Park Rangers 1-0, while Burnley were 1-0 winners at Stoke thanks to Gary Cahill's 79th-minute effort.