Middlesbrough boss Michael Carrick welcomed a much-needed win for his side as they beat 10-man Norwich 3-1 at the Riverside Stadium.
The Canaries went ahead through Ashley Barnes but their dominant opening period was cut short when Borja Sainz was sent off in the 30th minute.
And Boro were able to capitalise, levelling just eight minutes after the dismissal with Marcus Forss stabbing home from close range.
An unmarked Emmanuel Latte Lath then tucked the ball into the bottom left corner just before half-time and Lukas Engel’s first-time effort wrapped up victory in the second period.
Victory saw Boro earn their first Championship win at home since December and Carrick admitted the result was all that mattered.
He said: “It was a good result for us. We needed a win, we needed a result. I think we needed something to go our way, which we haven’t really had much lately.
“The red card is a moment. I thought we were just starting to find our feet a little bit, we found it tough at the start of the game, but we dealt with the sending off really well actually.
“It’s not easy to deal with, playing against 10 men, but I thought the boys approached that really well and the spell before half-time put the game in our direction.
“I haven’t seen (the red card) back, but it didn’t really matter and the performance didn’t have to be perfect tonight.
“We needed to get that feeling back for everyone and the boys especially and I’m delighted we managed to do that.”
Norwich boss David Wagner hinted that the club may appeal against the red card, but would not comment further on the decision.
“I’ve seen it back, but to be fair I don’t really like to give any comments, I like to leave it with the guys who make the decisions,” he said.
“It looks like we maybe appeal it, then this speaks for itself.
“I know that sometimes the angle and vision on the pitch from a referee could be different, then you see it in your way and sometimes the decision is not the right one, if it makes sense.
“But at the end of the day, he gave the red card because he has seen something.”
Norwich missed the chance to climb into the play-off places.
And Wagner was left frustrated on a night when he felt his team had started to produce one of their best away performances of the campaign.
“A frustrating last 60 minutes of the game and a fantastic first 30 minutes,” he added.
“I think the first 30 minutes were one of our best away performances so far.
“We totally controlled and dominated the opponent, super strong in the counter-press, good in the defence, played very good football.
“Got the lead, had the chance to score even more with Dimitris Giannoulis’ chance and Ashley Barnes’ clear-cut chance as well, then obviously the red card changed the game totally.”
St. Jago, Eltham, STATHS and Wolmer’s through to Walker Cup final four
St. Jago High, Eltham High, STATHS and Wolmer’s Boys all advanced to the semi-finals of the Walker Cup knockout tournament after quarter-final wins on Thursday.
St. Jago booked their spot in the last four after a 3-2 win over Calabar High at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex.
St. Jago took an early lead before Calabar equalized in the 45th minute through Kevaun Campbell. St. Jago retook the lead five minutes into the second half through Richardo Lewis before Seon Cato made it 3-1 in the 74th minute.
Calabar got a consolation goal through Sheldon Pusey eight minutes from full time but it wasn’t enough.
In the second game of the double header at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex, Wolmer’s Boys got the better of St. George’s College 2-1.
Elsewhere, STATHS got a comfortable 3-0 win over Charlie Smith at Calabar to advance while Eltham beat Jonathan Grant 3-1 at the Spanish Town Prison Oval to make it through.
Venezuela 1-1 Brazil: Super sub Segovia holds Selecao to shock draw
Substitute Telasco Segovia delivered the pivotal goal that saw 10-man Venezuela hold Brazil to a 1-1 draw in CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying.
The shock result leaves Brazil in third place, trailing second-placed Colombia by two points and far short of Argentina in first.
Brazil opened the scoring just before half-time as Raphinha curled a delightful free-kick over the Venezuela wall from 20 yards out to break the deadlock.
On the other side of the break, however, half-time substitute Segovia equalised just 41 seconds after the restart, striking from outside the box, having run onto Jefferson Savarino’s short lay-off.
The visitors were provided with a prime opportunity to restore their lead when Rafael Romo fouled Vinicius Junior in the box. But the Real Madrid forward was unable to capitalise on the resulting penalty, seeing his initial effort saved before firing the rebound wide.
As tensions rose, the game delivered further drama as Alexander Gonzalez received his marching orders in the 89th minute for lashing out at Vinicius after fouling Gabriel Martinelli.
In a farcical ending to the lively affair, sprinklers popped up in the pitch in added time to delay proceedings, but neither side could find a way through.
Data Debrief: Instant impact for super sub Segovia
Segovia's goal, 41 seconds after coming on, is the fastest for a player coming off the bench in the last three editions of the South American World Cup Qualifiers.
Venezuela have now scored two goals in the first 15 minutes of the second half, only Brazil (four) and Colombia (four) have scored more in the 2026 CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifiers.
Kelleher repays Ireland trust in Finland victory
Republic of Ireland winger Mikey Johnston said the team had always trusted Caoimhin Kelleher after he made a crucial penalty save in their 1-0 Nations League win over Finland.
Johnston's corner set up Brighton and Hove Albion striker Evan Ferguson for the decisive goal on the stroke of half-time, after Finland had twice been denied by the woodwork.
The visitors had a golden chance to level in the second half, but Liverpool goalkeeper Kelleher made a stunning save to deny Joel Pohjanpalo from 12 yards following a handball from Ferguson.
The result means Finland are relegated from Group B2, while Ireland must come through a play-off to remain in the competition's second tier.
Speaking after the game, Johnston credited Kelleher's all-important penalty save, saying: "I always trust him to go and save a penalty. He has reacted really well and stepped up in a big moment.
"We were aiming for the win. They had moments but there were a few chances we could have taken as well.
"We're happy that we've come away with the win. Sometimes in the last year we would have been on the other side of a bit of bad luck."
Ireland round off their campaign against England on Sunday, in Lee Carsley's final game in charge of the Three Lions before Thomas Tuchel takes the reins in January.
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