Soccer-Burnley win to move closer to Premier League promotion

LONDON, April 8 (Reuters) - Burnley moved a step closer to promotion to the Premier League with a 1-0 win at Barnsley that consolidated second spot in the English Championship on Tuesday. Ashley Barnes headed the winner after seven minutes for Burnley who have 83 points and are now six behind already-promoted leaders Leicester City, who were thrashed 4-1 at home by playoff-chasing Brighton & Hove Albion who are seventh. With only two clubs going up automatically and the next four entering the playoffs, Derby County won 3-1 at Blackpool to move up to third on 72 points with five games remaining. They are two points clear of Queens Park Rangers, who are fourth having lost 2-0 at Blackburn Rovers, while fifth-placed FA Cup holders Wigan Athletic, who play Arsenal in the semi-finals at Wembley on Saturday, lost 1-0 at home to Millwall. Sixth-placed Reading are still four points behind Wigan on 63 having lost 3-1 at Bournemouth who, along with Ipswich Town - 2-0 winners at Huddersfield Town - and Brighton, have 61 points and are within two points of the playoffs. Promotion to the Premier League brings vast financial rewards, with a 2013 report by the Sports Business Group at Deloitte saying it could be worth up to 120 million pounds ($200.99 million), much of that from broadcast rights. Championship standings P W D L F A PTS GD 1 Leicester City 41 27 8 6 77 42 89 35 2 Burnley 41 23 14 4 66 34 83 32 3 Derby County 41 21 9 11 72 47 72 25 4 Queens Park Rangers 41 20 10 11 49 37 70 12 5 Wigan Athletic 41 19 10 12 54 40 67 14 6 Reading 41 17 12 12 62 49 63 13 ($1 = 0.5970 British Pounds) (Reporting by Toby Davis; editing by Ken Ferris)