Albion close the gap on leaders Newcastle December 27, 2009
Newcastle's advantage at the top of the Championship was trimmed to eight points as the leaders were held to a 2-2 draw by Sheffield Wednesday, while second placed West Bromwich Albion defeated Peterborough 2-0 on Saturday.
Chris Hughton's side are unbeaten in 10 matches but they were forced to settle for a point by managerless strugglers Wednesday at Hillsborough.
Luke Varney put Wednesday ahead in the 14th minute but Kevin Nolan equalised five minutes later before Shola Ameobi struck for the visitors in the 22nd minute.
Wednesday, now third bottom of the English second tier after 10 games without a win, refused to surrender and were rewarded in the 59th minute when James O'Connor fired home from six yards.
With Newcastle frustrated, Albion moved a little closer to first place by brushing aside bottom of the table Peterborough at the Hawthorns.
Roberto Di Matteo's team, who have a game in hand on Newcastle, moved in front in the 61st minute through Luke Moore.
An own goal from Peterborough defender Ryan Bennett six minutes later secured Albion's first win in four matches.
Nottingham Forest remain third, two points behind Albion, after a 0-0 draw at Watford.
Forest were under pressure for long periods and only escaped with a point, which extended their unbeaten run to 15 matches and preserved the country's last undefeated away record, when referee Andy D'Urso ruled that Nicky Shorey had not intentionally handled Henri Lansbury's injury-time shot.
Fourth-placed Cardiff's promotion hopes suffered a blow as they were beaten 1-0 at home by struggling Plymouth.
The Pilgrims had failed to score in their last five league matches but Gary Sawyer's 84th-minute strike deflected off Mark Hudson to stun the 24,000 crowd - - Cardiff's biggest Boxing Day attendance for 39 years.
Cardiff's south Wales rivals Swansea are in fifth place after a 1-1 draw at Reading, while Blackpool moved into sixth place following their 2-0 win at Derby.
Play-off hopefuls QPR gave new manager Paul Hart his first victory as goals from Jay Simpson and Mikele Leigertwood helped secure a 2-1 success against Bristol City at Loftus Road.
Elsewhere, Coventry beat Doncaster 1-0 thanks to Clinton Morrison's late penalty, Crystal Palace defeated Ipswich 3-1 and Middlesbrough routed Scunthorpe 3-0 at the Riverside Stadium.
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