Newcastle stormed to the top of the Championship after beating Ipswich 4-0 at Portman Road on Saturday in a match marked by tributes to Bobby Robson who managed both clubs in his career. Both sides wore commemorative shirts in honour of the former England manager who lost his battle with cancer in July aged 76. On the pitch, it was Robson's hometown club, Newcastle, who came out on top against the side where he made his name as pressure mounts on Town's current incumbent, Roy Keane, after a feeble performance. The game was settled by a flurry of three goals in four first half minutes. Former Bolton midfielder Kevin Nolan notched the first two, full-back Ryan Taylor grabbed the third before Nolan claimed his hat-trick with a second-half strike. West Brom drop to second after crashing to a 1-0 defeat against Crystal Palace at The Hawthorns. French midfielder Alassane N'Diaye's strike capped an assured performance by Palace who inflicted Albion's first league defeat since Italian coach Roberto Di Matteo took over at the start of the season. Middlesbrough looked to be on course to take advantage of the Baggies' slip-up, but were pegged back from two goals up and had to settle for a 2-2 away at Coventry. Gareth Southgate's men looked to be on course to put the embarrassment of their recent 5-0 mauling at the hands of Albion behind them as goals from defender Sean St. Ledger and Australian Rhys Williams sent them into the break two up. Former Birmingham striker Clinton Morrison sparked hope of a Sky Blues recovery with a 78th minute goal and those hopes were eventually realised deep into injury time when forward Leon Best struck the equaliser. Last season's play-off semi-finalists Preston capitalised on Middlesbrough's defeat with an impressive 2-1 victory away at high-fliers Leicester, who surrendered their unbeaten record at the Walkers Stadium this season. Ex-Liverpool forward Neil Mellor fired North End into the lead, and their advantage was extended by midfielder Richard Chaplow. A late goal from Swiss defender Bruno Berner gave the home team hope but Preston held on to secure victory - their second over City this season after their triumph in the League Cup. Blackpool maintained their push towards a play-off place with a comfortable 2-0 win over Darren Ferguson's Peterborough. The Tangerines took hold of the game with two goals in the first 11 minutes, veteran striker Jason Euell and former Watford winger Hameur Bouazza hitting the net. Promotion favourites Sheffield United lost ground on the leaders after going down 2-1 away at Swansea in a stormy encounter at the Liberty Stadium. Lee Trundle scored from the penalty spot to put the home team in front, but they were hauled back through Stephen Quinn's strike. Ireland substitute Thomas Butler's late goal finally settled the match in favour of the Swans, who ended up with nine men after Jordi Lopez and winger Nathan Dyer both received red cards. 