Greenacre's strike puts Brighton back in trouble

Stoke City moved out of the First Division relegation zone after they beat Brighton and Hove Albion 1-0 in a crucial encounter at the Britannia Stadium last night.

The game, watched by an impressive crowd of over 21,000, was heading for a tense stalemate when Lewis Neal centred and the former Mansfield striker, Chris Greenacre, scored his sixth goal of the season for the Potters in the 83rd minute to push the Seagulls back into the bottom three.

Sheffield Wednesday clambered off the bottom of the division on goal difference thanks to a 5-1 win over Coventry City at Hillsborough.

Michael Reddy scored his first goal for the Owls since joining the club on loan from Sunderland after seven minutes. The Finnish striker Shefki Kuqi eased the nerves of the Wednesday fans by adding a second in the 52nd minute but Coventry responded two minutes later when Julian Joachim made a chance for himself to pull one back.

The game was sealed in Wednesday's favour by three goals in nine minutes. First came a fierce Paul McLaren shot on the hour mark, Lee Bradbury added a fourth three minutes later and Kuqi then grabbed his second of the night to leave Grimsby Town propping up the division.

Crystal Palace came out on top in a mid-table match against Derby County at Pride Park, winning 1-0. Julian Gray and Tommy Black, both celebrating the offer of new improved contracts, combined for Palace's goal in the 61st minute as the former crossed from the left and the latter headed the ball home powerfully.