LONDON: Sheffield United eased to a 3-1 win against Coventry as a seventh success in eight Championship games boosted the Blades’ bid to reach the Premier League. Goals from James McAtee, Ciaran Clark and Tommy Doyle kept Paul Heckingbottom’s team in second place in the table but level on points with leaders Burnley. Viktor Gyokeres, who earlier missed a penalty, scored for Coventry midway through the second half at Bramall Lane. Despite playing the final 13 minutes with 10 men after John Egan was sent off for a second yellow card, United held on for a victory that leaves them eight points ahead of third placed Blackburn. “There will be bumps in the road, so the more we do now, the better we’ll be at the end of the season,” said Heckingbottom. Sunderland had dented Blackburn’s promotion challenge earlier on Monday when Ellis Simms snatched the stoppage-time winner in Sunderland’s 2-1 victory at the Stadium of Light. Simms came off the bench in the closing stages to make the decisive intervention as he netted from Dan Ballard’s pass Ross Stewart’s deflected header found his own net in the 18th minute to put Blackburn in front. But the Sunderland striker was celebrating at the other end just four minutes later as he converted a penalty to level the scores. Millwall kept the pressure on in the battle to reach the playoff places with an impressive 2-0 win at Watford. Goals from Andreas Voglsammer and Zian Flemming saw the Lions move just two points behind their fourth-placed opponents. Watford were reduced to 10 men in the 38th minute when Hassane Kamara was sent off. Norwich’s poor form continued with a 2-1 defeat at Luton to remain 12 points off the automatic promotion places in fifth. Bristol City fans chanted for boss Nigel Pearson to be sacked after West Bromwich Albion won 2-0 against his struggling side at Ashton Gate. Chuba Akpom extended Kolo Toure’s miserable start to life as Wigan boss as the Middlesbrough striker hit a second half hat-trick in a 4-1 win at the Riverside Stadium.Akpom took his tally to 12 for the season with his second-half strikes, leaving Wigan in the relegation zone despite the recent appointment of former Arsenal defender Toure. Kaine Kesler-Hayden scored the late winner as bottom of the table Huddersfield earned a surprise 2-1 victory at Preston. Stoke came from behind twice to salvage a 2-2 draw at Rotherham. Ten-man Blackpool remain in the relegation zone and without a win in seven games following a 1-1 draw at fellow strugglers Hull.