Wayne Rooney’s stunning free-kick against Preston secured a fourth successive win for promotion-chasing Derby on Wednesday.
The Manchester United legend’s moment of magic moved his side to within a point of sixth-placed Cardiff, who were held at home by relegation-threatened Charlton 24 hours earlier.
The result saw Preston’s promotion hopes take another blow with a fifth defeat in six games.
Elsewhere, West Brom tightened their grip on second spot with a 3-0 win at Sheffield Wednesday.
Charlie Austin’s 37th-minute penalty and Matheus Pereira’s second-half brace ensured the Baggies bounced back from last week’s 1-0 loss at promotion rivals Brentford.
West Brom are five points clear of third-placed Brentford with six games to go.
At the other end of the table, Huddersfield moved out of the relegation zone with an emphatic 3-0 win at Birmingham.
Karlan Grant opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 10th minute.
Huddersfield’s top scorer, with 18 goals this season, then had a 50th-minute penalty saved by Lee Camp.
However, his miss did not cost Danny Cowley’s men as they doubled their advantage almost immediately through Fraizer Campbell.
Elias Kachunga added a third with 18 minutes remaining to put further gloss on the scoreline.
Hull, who play Middlesbrough in a relegation six-pointer on Thursday, have fallen into the drop zone as Huddersfield climb to 19th place.
Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest leapfrogged Fulham into fourth place with a 1-0 win over Bristol City.
Tiago Silva’s superb 62nd-minute strike was enough to hammer home Forest’s promotion credentials.
Wednesday’s results
Preston 0-1 Derby
Birmingham 0-3 Huddersfield
Nottingham Forest 1-0 Bristol City
Sheffield Wednesday 0-3 West Brom
