Liam Delap took his tally to 19 Premier League 2 goals this season after scoring a hat-trick as Division 1 leaders Manchester City swept aside Southampton 7-1 to remain five points clear of Blackburn Rovers.
Delap, who is now eight goals ahead of Blackburn's Connor McBride, scored the only goal of the first half, before completing his treble after the break as City netted six more times.
Delap treble in Man City win
See: Man City report | Southampton report
Blackburn keep fighting
Blackburn made sure they stayed in contention after earning a 3-0 win at Arsenal, thanks to two goals from Sam Burns and a McBride penalty.
McBride, a February PL2 Player of the Month nominee, also provided the assists for both of Burns' goals.
See: Arsenal report | Blackburn report
In Division 2, leaders Leeds United secured their 15th victory from 20 matches as Joe Gelhardt scored one goal and created another in a 2-1 win over Newcastle United.
He converted a first-half penalty before setting up Charlie Cresswell to net what would prove to be the decisive goal.
See: Leeds report | Newcastle report
Latest PL2 results
Division 1
Division 2
