Championship roundup: Archer fires Middlesbrough closer to top two

Cameron Archer struck twice against his former club Preston to help seal an impressive 4-0 win for Middlesbrough, closingthe gap on second-placed Sheffield United to just three points.

With the Blades in FA Cup quarter-final action this weekend, Boro took full advantage, playing with real confidence once top scorer Chuba Akpom had poked a fine finish beyond Freddie Woodman in the 22nd minute – his 25th goal of the season.

Archer’s first arrived in the 52nd minute and his second in the 58th, with Marcus Forss wrapping up the win in stoppage-time. There was no way back for Preston, who are now eight points adrift of a play-off spot, and their misery was compounded when defender Bambo Diaby was sent off with two minutes remaining.

Amad Diallo’s 86th-minute penalty saved a point for Sunderland and dented Luton’s automatic promotion hopes in a 1-1 draw at the Stadium of Light. The Hatters looked to be closing to within four points of the top two after Alfie Doughty’s long-range strike opened the scoring at the start of the second half. But having been tugged down by Amari Bell in the final five minutes of the game, Amad dusted himself off to drill home his ninth goal of the season from the spot. The Manchester United loanee was one of five second-half substitutes introduced by Tony Mowbray as the Black Cats avoided a second home defeat in the space of four days.

Danny Ward scored a second-half winner as Huddersfield claimed a shock 1-0 victory at play-off-chasing Millwall, moving the struggling side closer to safety. It was just the Terriers’ third away win of the season and only their second victory since Neil Warnock began his second spell in charge last month. They are now four points behind fourth-from-bottom Rotherham