Brighton beat Barnsley to reclaim Championship lead

Britain Soccer Football - Barnsley v Brighton & Hove Albion - Sky Bet Championship - Oakwell - Chris Hughton manager of Brighton & Hove Albion applauds fans after the game Mandatory Credit: Action Images / John Clifton Livepic

LONDON (Reuters) - Sam Baldock's double against Barnsley sent Brighton and Hove Albion back to the top of the Championship on Saturday.

Baldock struck twice after halftime to secure a 2-0 victory that put Brighton top with 68 points from 32 games, two more than Newcastle United who host Aston Villa on Monday.

After winning only one of their last four league games, it was a vital three points for Brighton, in manager Chris Hughton's 100th game in charge of the south coast club.

Third-placed Huddersfield Town, who have 61 points from 31 games, were in FA Cup action and face fourth-placed Reading on Tuesday. Leeds United, who are fifth, were held 1-1 at Ipswich Town and Sheffield Wednesday maintained their push for a playoff spot as they won 2-1 at Nottingham Forest to draw level on points with Leeds.

The pair are seven points above Norwich City, whose fading promotion hopes suffered another blow with defeat by Burton Albion.

(Reporting by Martyn Herman,; Editing by Neville Dalton)