Brighton & Hove Albion missed the chance to go four points clear at the top of the Sky Bet Championship on Thursday, going down 3-1 at Huddersfield Town.
The Seagulls could have extended the gap at the summit after closest challengers Newcastle United dropped points in midweek, but the Terriers were a class above on the night, and consolidated their position in the Play-Offs as a result.Read more: Sky Bet EFL: Midweek round-up
Tommy Smith opened the scoring just nine minutes into the game for the hosts, smashing the ball past David Stockdale shortly after Rajiv Van La Parra had struck the woodwork.
Brighton were soon gifted an equaliser when Tomer Hemed capitalised on a sloppy back-pass to round the Huddersfield keeper and score, but that was as good as it got for Chris Hughton’s side.
Then the killer blows were landed.
Nahki Wells rifled a shot into the top-left corner of the net on 36 minutes for his 100th goal in English football, and Elias Kachunga headed home a third after Stockdale failed to hold a cross.
Things failed to improve in the second half for the Sky Bet Championship leaders, with Lewis Dunk receiving a second yellow card for a rash challenge on Izzy Brown.
Huddersfield then dominated proceedings for the remainder of the match, forcing several saves from Stockdale, while Aaron Mooy also hit the post from range.
David Wagner’s men are now six points clear of seventh place in the table going into the weekend, while Brighton still lead the chasing pack, albeit by just a single point.