West Ham missed the chance to go top of the second-tier Championship as a late Ricardo Vaz Te goal salvaged a 1-1 draw at home to Watford on Wednesday.
The result saw the Londoners move to within a point of leaders Southampton, with the Hammers having a game in hand over their south coast rivals.
Only the top two Championship teams at the end of the regular season are guaranteed automatic promotion to the lucrative English Premier League.
West Ham piled on the pressure before falling behind to Watford teenager Sean Murray's second half sucker punch and it wasn't until three minutes from the end of normal time when Vaz Te struck.
In the nine minutes of stoppage time that ensued, West Ham thought they should have had a penalty when the Hornets' Carl Dickinson handled but home fams at Upton Park had to settle for a point.
In Wednesday's other second tier match Brighton remained in front of Cardiff and on the fringe of the playoff places after a 2-2 draw with the Welsh side.
Vokes tapped home from Ashley Barnes' pass in the 89th minute to salvage a share of the points for the Seagulls after Peter Whittingham's strike looked to have won the game for the visitors
Earlier, Barnes had levelled for Brighton following Joe Mason's opener for the visitors.
Source: AFP
