Brighton & Hove Albion have recorded a 3-0 victory over Queens Park Rangers to move to the top of the Championship table.
Goals from Sam Baldock, Glenn Murray and Anthony Knockaert ensured that the Seagulls strengthened their bid to earn promotion to the Premier League.
Newcastle United's Boxing Day defeat to Sheffield Wednesday meant that Brighton went into the match knowing that victory would be enough to take them ahead of the Magpies, and Chris Hughton's team wasted little time in going about their business on Tuesday afternoon.
After receiving a pass from Dale Stephens, Baldock advanced towards the QPR defence before unleashing a stunning effort into the top corner of Alex Smithies's net.
Despite falling behind, QPR offered a threat in the final third but they were struggling to create any chances against a team who had already kept 13 clean sheets in the league this season.
It took until 22 minutes for David Stockdale to be forced into a save, but he was equal to Massimo Luongo's strike from outside of the penalty box.
Up the other end, Glenn Murray should have doubled his team's lead but he could only send a free header past the post, before QPR forward Idrissa Sylla pulled an effort wide for the visitors after shaking off the attentions of Lewis Dunk.
Just before the break, Dunk had a header saved by Smithies as the home side ended the first half on top but soon after the restart, they were able to put the game all but beyond their opponents.
After Luongo brought down Stephens inside the penalty area, Murray stepped up to convert from 12 yards to register his 15th goal of the campaign.
Three minutes later, things went from bad to worse for QPR when Nedum Onuoha was sent off for bringing down Baldock with a shoulder-to-shoulder challenge when the forward was through on goal, but it is a decision which will surely be questioned by QPR boss Ian Holloway.
It appeared a question of when - not if - Brighton would extend their advantage, and their third goal arrived on 69 minutes when Knockaert moved inside the penalty area before firing a shot under Smithies.
Five minutes later, Smithies redeemed himself with a save from Stephens, before QPR showed they had not completely conceded defeat when Sylla saw a looping header tipped over the bar by Stockdale.
During the closing stages, Tomer Hemed had a shot smothered by Smithies but while Brighton had to be content with just the three, they were able to celebrate with a two-point cushion at the top of the standings.
Darren Plant
