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Jeff Hendrick scored twice, but Reading were pegged back by QPR. PA

Molumby strikes in West Brom comeback, Reading held despite Hendrick double

Mark Sykes, Callum O’Dowda and Will Keane were also on the mark in the Championship, while Conor Hourihane scored in Derby’s League One win.

IRELAND’S JAYSON MOLUMBY was among the goals as West Bromwich Albion further showcased their promotion credentials with a 3-2 comeback win against Luton Town.

Goals from Carlton Morris and Elijah Adebayo had Luton in control early at Kenilworth Road before Daryl Dike pulled one back six minutes before the break.

The Baggies’ equaliser came courtesy of Molumby on 65 minutes — the Waterford native reacting quickest to hammer home after Luton keeper Ethan Horvath dropped a cross — before Conor Townsend struck their winner.

The win moves West Brom into sixth and the play-off places, one point behind both Middlesbrough and Blackburn.

At the Madejski Stadium, Jeff Hendrick’s double wasn’t enough for Reading as out-of-form QPR battled back to earn a deserved 2-2 draw.

Hendrick, on loan from Newcastle, gave Reading a 2-0 half-time lead with contrasting efforts – the first struck from 30 yards and the second from almost on the goal line.

QPR were much improved after the interval, however, with Tyler Roberts reducing the deficit in the 66th minute and then grabbing the equaliser with 10 minutes remaining.

Hendrick’s first of the afternoon came on 28 minutes. Shane Long’s attempted cross was deflected into his path and, from 30 yards out, he drilled home a low shot past goalkeeper Seny Dieng.

And he increased Reading’s lead three minutes before the break. Skipper Andy Yiadom saw his volley superbly saved by Dieng but the ball looped into the air and allowed Hendrick to tap home from close range.

Elsewhere, Mark Sykes scored his first two goals for Bristol City in a 4-2 Championship win over Birmingham at Ashton Gate.

Bristol led 2-1 lead at the break before Sykes struck his first two minutes after the restart, shooting home from a Cameron Pring cross.

And the former Oxford winger added a fourth on 66 minutes, tapping into an unguarded net from Birmingham keeper Antoine Semenyo’s ball to the far post, securing three points that lifted the pressure on boss Nigel Pearson.

At the Cardiff City Stadium, Will Keane’s equaliser deep into stoppage time rescued a point for Wigan in a 1-1 draw with Cardiff.

The Bluebirds looked set for a vital victory after Callum O’Dowda scored with a side-footed volley in the 82nd minute, but his international team-mate Keane scrambled home a leveller that left the home fans stunned.

The result keeps the Latics, still winless since boss Kolo Toure took over in late November, bottom of the Championship table.

And it denies Cardiff the opportunity to put some breathing space between themselves and their relegation rivals, leaving them in 21st place, just three points away from danger.

In League One, Conor Hourihane’s goal helped Derby County to a 3-2 win away to Cheltenham Town, the win moving them up to fourth place in the table.

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