Miron Muslic praised his Plymouth side for a remarkable late 2-1 Championship comeback victory over promotion-chasing Sheffield United.
Muhamed Tijani scored an 88th-minute winner after in-form Ryan Hardie – with nine goals in his last 11 games – cancelled out Jesurun Rak-Sakyi’s 44th minute opener. That boosted Plymouth’s survival hopes but dented the Blades’ automatic promotion ambitions as they slipped five points behind joint leaders Leeds – who deservedly beat Preston 2-1 – and Burnley with four games remaining.
Muslic said: “After the Swansea defeat I predicted the unpredictability of Argyle. It drives me crazy and costs me lots of lost sleep at night. But now we have to believe we can win games back-to-back. The almost impossible is possible again.”
United manager Chris Wilder, who was involved in angry scenes in the tunnel after the final whistle, bemoaned his side’s profligacy and felt a second goal would have wrapped up the points. “We have not been good enough in the last three games,” he said. “I don’t think it’s pressure or nerves. We are just not finding big moments.”
Swansea kept their faint play-off hopes alive by defeating fourth-placed Sunderland 1-0 at the Stadium of Light. Ben Cabango’s 58th-minute winner proved the difference during a largely uneventful game to keep the Swans moving in the right direction under caretaker head coach Alan Sheehan. They have now taken 17 points from nine league games under Sheehan to climb up to 12th with four games left.
Bristol City had to settle for a point in a 1-1 draw at QPR, who are now virtually safe from relegation. Karamoko Dembele put the home side ahead before George Earthy levelled for City, who were looking for a third consecutive victory and sit fifth in the table. The result took Rangers to the all-important 50-point mark.
West Brom ended their three-game losing streak with a 2-0 win over Watford at the Hawthorns. Tom Fellows was the star of the match with two identical assists to Karlan Grant and Mikey Johnston as the Baggies were able to beat the Hornets for the first time since December 2016, moving up to seventh. Moussa Sissoko pulled one back for Watford late into the match, but it was not enough.
Camiel Neghli’s first goal for Millwall pushed his side into the thick of the play-off picture as they dug out a 1-0 victory over eighth-placed Middlesbrough. The strike from the Lions’ record signing, who later went off injured, was enough to put Alex Neil’s side within two points of Coventry in sixth. It also put them level on points with their visitors, whose own play-off push has stuttered.
Ten-man Blackburn held on to seal a 1-0 win at Luton, ending their eight-game winless run and leaving the hosts deep in relegation trouble. Yuki Ohashi scored seven minutes after half-time, and Kristi Montgomery was sent off for a second yellow card six minutes later. The win leaves Blackburn tenth, six points off the top six.
Oxford took a big step towards safety as they beat Sheffield Wednesday 1-0, with protests against Owls chairman Dejphon Chansiri continuing at Hillsborough. A number of Wednesday fans turned their back on the pitch and chanted for Chansiri to sell in the 10th minute in protest at his running of the club. Sam Long’s 79th-minute header was enough to secure the win and take Oxford six points clear of the relegation zone.
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Rob Atkinson scored an unusual ‘hat-trick’ as he earned Portsmouth a dramatic 2-2 draw against relegation rivals Derby at Fratton Park. The centre-back had cancelled out Jerry Yates’ opener before putting through his own goal in a manic five minutes of a crunch encounter. Pompey had seen Colby Bishop’s early penalty saved but secured a point when Atkinson found the net for the third time in stoppage time.
Stoke scrambled an 85th-minute own goal winner to steer themselves away from the relegation dogfight and plunge Cardiff deeper into it. After a long throw into the home box caused panic in front of goal, keeper Ethan Horvath got his foot to a shot but the ball ricocheted in off defender Will Fish. Stoke moved five points clear of their hosts who are in the third relegation spot and remain a point adrift of safety.
