Middlesbrough leapfrogged Watford to move into third position in the Championship as they claimed a comfortable 2-0 win over the Hornets at the Riverside. First-half goals from Chuba Akpom and Marcus Forss enabled Boro to bounce back in impressive fashion after last weekend’s north-east derby defeat by Sunderland. Michael Carrick’s side were dominant throughout, with January signing Cameron Archer impressing on his first start for the club. Aaron Connolly scored twice on his 23rd birthday to help end Hull’s near four-month wait for a home win in the 3-0 victory against QPR. Connolly, on loan from Brighton until the end of the season, played a significant role in his side’s first win at the MKM Stadium since beating Wigan on 5 October. The Republic of Ireland international opened the scoring after 10 minutes before adding a second with a deft finish in the 65th minute. QPR were already 2-0 down by then after Rob Dickie deflected Ozan Tufan’s right-sided cross into his own net three minutes before Connolly had doubled his tally. The visitors were poor throughout as their winless run in all competitions extended to seven matches. Former Huddersfield loanee Kasey Palmer scored against his old side as Coventry ran out 2-0 winners at the CBS Arena. The Chelsea academy product spent 18 months on loan in West Yorkshire, making 28 league appearances and scoring four times. Gustavo Hamer was also on the scoresheet for Mark Robins’ side, who ended a run of five games without victory in the Championship dating back to before Christmas. There was an added bonus of a clean sheet for the Sky Blues after conceding four goals in each of their last two home outings. A lacklustre Huddersfield side, with the worst away record in the division, seldom threatened the Coventry goal and remain in the relegation zone.