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 the in-form Ryan Hardie – with nine goals in his past 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 both 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.”
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,” the United manager said. “I don’t think it’s pressure or nerves. We are just not finding big moments.”
Swansea kept their faint playoff 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 their 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.
Quick GuideLeague One roundup: Wrexham slip gives Birmingham title
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Birmingham were confirmed as League One champions after Wrexham were held to a 0-0 draw at Wigan. Having secured automatic promotion on Tuesday, Chris Davies' Blues had the title added as the stalemate at the Brick Community Stadium left second-placed Wrexham 13 points behind with four games to play.
Third-placed Wycombe closed the gap between them and the Welsh side to a point after Caleb Taylor's stoppage-time goal secured a 1-0 victory over Stevenage at Adams Park.
Stockport, in fourth, came from behind to beat Rotherham 3-1 at home, with Jack Diamond, Brad Hills and Kyle Wootton on the scoresheet for the Hatters, while sixth-placed Reading drew 0-0 at Northampton, who had Nesta Guinness-Walker sent off in the 77th minute.
Burton moved out of the relegation zone as Rumarn Burrell's brace helped them to a 3-0 home win over Huddersfield, with Bristol Rovers, beaten 2-1 at home by Exeter, dropping in.
Crawley, in 22nd, led before going down 3-1 at home to Leyton Orient, second-bottom Cambridge were defeated 1-0 by Charlton at the Abbey Stadium and basement boys Shrewsbury avoided being relegated as they claimed a point at Lincoln, drawing 1-1.
Jon Russell and Fabio Jalo scored two goals apiece in Barnsley's 4-1 home win over Bolton. PA Media
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 playoff 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 10th, six points off the top six.
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Oxford took a big step towards safety as they beat Sheffield Wednesday 1-0, with protests against the 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.
Quick GuideLeague Two roundup: Port Vale go top
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Port Vale moved to the top of the table as they thrashed Bromley 5-0 at home, with Lorent Tolaj notching a brace.They replaced Bradford, who were beaten 5-4 by Swindon in an extraordinary contest at the County Ground.The Bantams led 2-0 early on through a Calum Kavanagh double, and despite having Richie Smallwood sent off in the 14th minute, they went 3-1 up as Kavanagh completed his hat-trick.After Swindon brought it back to level terms, Bradford then went 4-3 up via Brad Halliday's 77th-minute finish, but Harry Smith scored a 90th-minute equaliser, his second goal of the game, and Jack Shepherd's own goal in stoppage time gave victory to the hosts.
Third-placed Walsall's winless run extended to a ninth game as they lost 2-0 at Barrow and Doncaster moved a point behind the Saddlers as they drew 1-1 at home against fourth-placed AFC Wimbledon, a game in which both sides had a man sent off.
Grimsby, in sixth, were held 2-2 at Harrogate after conceding twice late on, and Colchester are outside the playoff places by a point having scored twice in the closing stages at Newport to triumph 2-0.
Carlisle boosted their survival hopes with a 2-0 win at Morecambe that saw the sides swap places in the relegation zone. They are six and seven points respectively adrift of 22nd-placed Accrington, who were 3-0 up at home against Tranmere only to draw 3-3, with Omari Patrick equalising with his second goal of the game in the 11th minute of added time at the end. Rovers are 21st, a point ahead of Stanley.
There were also home wins for Chesterfield over Fleetwood (3-0) and Gillingham over MK Dons (1-0) – their first victory under Gareth Ainsworth. PA Media
Rob Atkinson scored an unusual treble as he earned Portsmouth a dramatic 2-2 draw against their 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, the keeper Ethan Horvath got his foot to a shot but the ball ricocheted in off the 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.
