Millwall grabbed at their possible relegation lifeline by beating Wigan 2-0 in a dramatic win-or-bust encounter.
Goals from Jimmy Abdou and Magaye Gueye settled a bad-tempered clash which looks certain to spell the end of Wigan's stay in the Championship.
Both sides learned on Monday that Rotherham, the team directly above them just outside the drop zone, could face a three-point penalty for fielding an ineligible player.
And it was the Lions who came out on top to cut the deficit on the Millers, who travel to Fulham on Wednesday night, to four points.
An incident-packed game also saw three brawls and three red cards as tempers frequently boiled over at a raucous Den.
Martyn Waghorn was sent off in the 61st minute for kicking out at Dan Harding before Wigan captain Jason Pearce was shown the red card along with home midfielder Ed Upson for fighting. Wigan are seven points off safety.
Bournemouth stay top of the table after a Callum Wilson strike saw them win 1-0 at Reading, while Derby strengthened their grip on a play-off place with a 4-0 victory against Blackpool at the iPro Stadium.
It was the perfect game for the out-of-sorts Rams after seeing their automatic promotion challenge hit the buffers in recent weeks.
Blackpool, already relegated, offered little resistance and Steve McClaren's men went ahead after only three minutes through Craig Bryson's 20-yard strike.
Tom Ince curled in a second goal against his former club in the 28th minute and less than 60 seconds later Darren Bent struck to put the game beyond the visitors.
Bent completed the scoring from the penalty spot after 65 minutes as Derby filled their boots and regained some much-needed confidence with just a second win in 10 league matches.
It was a big three points for the Rams as Brentford and Wolves from the chasing pack both lost.
A Kieran Lee goal consigned the Bees to a 1-0 loss at Sheffield Wednesday while Wolves went down 2-1 at title-chasing Middlesbrough.
Early goals from Jelle Vossen and Patrick Bamford put Boro in control but Wanderers responded through Bakary Sako in the second half.
Like Derby, Ipswich took full advantage of slip-ups by Brentford and Wolves by winning 3-1 at home against Cardiff.
Freddie Sears put Mick McCarthy's men in front but Eoin Doyle quickly headed an equaliser for the visitors. However, further goals from Cole Skuse and Daryl Murphy sealed a precious three points for Town.
Goals from Jonathan Howson, against his former club, and Graham Dorrans kept Norwich a point behind in second spot courtesy of a 2-0 success at Leeds.
Brighton edged nearer safety with another points from a goalless draw against Huddersfield while elsewhere Bolton drew 1-1 at home to Charlton and it was 2-2 between Birmingham and Blackburn at St Andrew's.
Source: PA
