Newcastle United moved back to the top of the SkyBet Championship with a 1-0 victory over Derby County to ensure an unhappy return to St James' Park for Steve McClaren.
Matt Ritchie registered a sixth goal in his last five games, his strike from just outside the area taking a vital deflection off Bradley Johnson and looping over goalkeeper Scott Carson in the 27th minute.
Aleksandar Mitrovic wasted a gilt-edged opportunity to put the hosts further ahead at the beginning of the second half and the Magpies survived a few nervy moments in the closing stages to seal a win which moved them above Brighton & Hove Albion in the table.
Fellow promotion-chasers Reading FC were held to a 2-2 draw at Ipswich Town with the Royals twice coming from behind to claim a share of the spoils.
Tom Lawrence's brace wasn't enough for Mick McCarthy's Ipswich Town as goals from Jordon Mutch and Jordan Obita ensured a point apiece at Portman Road.
Meanwhile, Friday night's live SKY TV game saw Sheffield Wednesday climb into the top six with a scrappy win at relegation-threatened Wigan Athletic.
Deadline Day signing Jordan Rhodes made his debut and was on hand to provide the assist for the only goal of the game – heading on for Ross Wallace to poke in from six yards.
At the other end of the table, Burton Albion remain three points clear of the drop zone after Cauley Woodrow's last-gasp strike gave the Brewers a 2-1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Pirelli Stadium.
Bristol City are also three points clear of the bottom three after Milan Djuric's 73rd-minute header gave the Robins a 1-0 win over Rotherham United in a drab game, which means Blackburn Rovers remain in the final relegation spot despite Sam Gallagher's strike in the first minute of stoppage time giving Rovers victory by the same scoreline over QPR.
Elsewhere, Norwich City moved up to seventh courtesy of a third successive win, with Cameron Jerome's first-half header sealing a 1-0 triumph at Cardiff City which was the same scoreline at St Andrew's as Lukas Jutkiewicz's goal lifted Birmingham City past Fulham FC, who finished the game with 10 men after Ryan Fredericks' dismissal.
However, Barnsley and Preston North End, both with outside chances for a play-off spot, failed to enhance their causes following a goalless draw at Oakwell.
And in the Saturday evening kick-off, teenage substitute Ben Brereton's stoppage-time goal completed Nottingham Forest's comeback in their 2-1 win at home to 10-man Aston Villa.
Full Championship Results (Friday February 3 – Saturday February 4)
Wigan Athletic 0-1 Sheffield Wednesday
Barnsley 0-0 Preston North End
Birmingham City 1-0 Fulham
Blackburn Rovers 1-0 Queens Park Rangers
Bristol City 1-0 Rotherham United
Burton Albion 2-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Cardiff City 0-1 Norwich City
Ipswich Town 2-2 Reading
Newcastle United 1-0 Derby County
Nottingham Forest 2-1 Aston Villa
Tomorrow's other fixture sees Brentford FC host Brighton & Hove Albion at 3pm.