A clinical first-half strike from Marvin Johnson proved enough as 10-man Sheffield Wednesday edged to a 1-0 victory at Preston.
The Owls, who remain rooted in the Championship drop zone, were forced to defend for their lives in the second half.
They were reduced to 10 men when George Byers saw red late on but Wednesday held on to seal a potentially precious fourth victory in seven matches.
In driving rain, both sides began purposefully. Preston skipper Alan Browne went close with a thumping drive, while Wednesday replied with Will Vaulks heading inches over as he darted in to meet Djeidi Gassama’s cross.
It was Preston who were doing most of the early running, however, and they went mighty close again midway through the first half.
Browne worked the ball tidily out to Duane Holmes, and he turned inside before drilling an angled effort just over the crossbar.
The Owls saw Vaulks’ free-kick comfortably saved by Freddie Woodman, before they went on to take the lead shortly before the half-hour mark.
Johnson coolly slotted past Woodman after racing on to Bailey Cadamarteri’s precise through-ball.
Ryan Lowe’s Preston had seen much more of the ball in the first period, but it was Wednesday who went into the break with their lead comfortably intact.
Preston’s match-winner against Leeds on Tuesday, Liam Millar, made an explosive start to the second period.
The Canada winger was full of tricks before firing an angled strike at Owls keeper Cameron Dawson.
Minutes later Millar took advantage of a perfectly-executed one-two with Ali McCann before curling a fine strike against the crossbar.
It appeared boss Lowe had offered stern words to his Preston charges at the interval as they were well on top during the run-up to the hour mark.
On one of Wednesday’s rare breaks they went close when Gassama just could not stretch enough to meet a terrific cross from Johnson.
North End kept up their forward momentum and were probing for a much-needed opening.
However, they were nearly caught out again at the back when Owls’ substitute Byers almost lashed home a potential victory-clinching second with 20 minutes left.
A sense of desperation was beginning to creep in among the Preston faithful in the closing stages, and that was not helped by Browne skying a disappointing effort as he met Brad Potts’ smart cross.
Substitute Mads Frokjaer-Jensen whistled a low strike inches off target as the hosts kept pressing, before the Danish midfielder was hacked down by Byers late on, earning the Wednesday man a straight red card.
However, Danny Rohl’s side hung on, to the delight of their delirious gathering of travelling fans who roared ‘we are staying up’ at the final whistle.
Taylor pleased with City's physical test during Hammarby win
Manchester City head coach Gareth Taylor was pleased with how his team stood up to the physical challenge of Hammarby in their 2-0 Champions League victory on Tuesday.
City's win extended their unbeaten start to the season, having won every game in all competitions following a 2-2 draw against Arsenal on opening day.
“Difficult game for us, physical challenge, a physical team in Hammarby. I think they outnumber us a little bit in terms of size, considering when you look at our midfield. But I thought the girls handled it really well," Taylor said after the game
“I thought we dominated the game. In the early parts we were just a little bit off in our final action. We just needed to speed up a little bit in terms of being on the end of it, and we spoke about that at half-time, and we score with Laura getting into that type of position we’d been talking about.
“[The physicality was something] we were prepared for, but dealing with it is a different thing. Having Bunny [Khadija Shaw] and Alanna [Kennedy] on the pitch, two of our more physical players, is really important, particularly for set-plays.
“At 1-0 we were defending a couple of scenarios like that, Yama [Ayaka Yamashita] making a really good save at one point. Then Aoba [Fujino] got the goal that maybe allowed us to change things up a little bit more, get some people off that we’d like to manage.
“I think the girls have dealt with it really well tonight. We expected it, we thought it would be difficult, and they rose to the challenge.”
The victory leaves City top of their Champions League group with a 100% record after three matches, three points above second-placed Barcelona.
Taylor had made changes to City's starting XI, with Lauren Hemp among the trio to drop out from the weekend and she did not feature in the squad. Ahead of their weekend game against Chelsea, who are second in the WSL, Taylor explained the reasoning behind Hemp's absence.
“We’ve just got an issue with Lauren that we just need to analyse a little bit further, that’s all," he said.
“It’s something that potentially happened in the Palace game [on 3 November]. She was able to play in the Tottenham game [last Friday] but wasn’t able to tonight, so we’ll just take a little bit longer to assess and find out more.
“Hopefully [she can play against Chelsea]. There’s an opportunity there, we’ll just have to take a moment tomorrow, have a good conversation and find out where we’re at with the medical staff.”
Campbell gives Sheffield United victory in Steel City derby, Rodriguez strikes late for Burnley
Sheffield United joined leaders Sunderland at the top of the Championship table after a hard-fought 1-0 win against local rivals Sheffield Wednesday.
After a goalless first half, Tyrese Campbell latched onto a pass from Callum O'Hare and slotted past Wednesday goalkeeper James Beadle for the winner five minutes into the second period.
This was the Blades' sixth consecutive clean sheet at Bramall Lane and their fourth straight win home or away, and sees them go level with Sunderland on 31 points from 15 matches.
Meanwhile, Burnley are four points behind the top two after they snatched a last-gasp 1-0 victory against visitors Swansea City.
Jay Rodriguez's stoppage-time penalty secured the points for the Clarets at Turf Moor, ending their four-match winless run and climbing to fourth in the table.
Leeds close gap on Championship leaders Sunderland
Leeds United closed the gap on Championship leaders Sunderland after Regis Le Bris' side collapsed at home to Coventry City on Saturday.
Daniel Farke's side moved to within two points of Sunderland after coasting to a 2-0 victory over Queens Park Rangers at Elland Road.
Jayden Bogle sliced home after 19 minutes for Leeds, who made sure of victory in stoppage time as Joel Piroe came off the bench to score.
There was no such success for Sunderland despite Wilson Isidor and Dennis Cirkin both finding the net in the first half at the Stadium of Light.
Haji Wright pulled one back for Coventry, who dismissed long-term boss Mark Robins this week, just past the hour before Jack Rudoni snatched a 2-2 comeback draw with six minutes remaining.
At the other end of the table, Portsmouth managed just their second victory of the season with a 3-1 triumph over Preston North End at Fratton Park.
Josh Murphy and Connor Ogilvie were both on target in the first half before Colby Bishop's late penalty sealed victory after Emil Riis Jakobsen had reduced the deficit for Paul Heckingbottom's visitors.
Victory moved Portsmouth up to 23rd in the league, two points ahead of bottom side QPR and within three points of safety.
Fellow strugglers Plymouth Argyle also gained a point as Adam Randell's 41st-minute strike cancelled out Jerry Yates' early opener for Derby County at Pride Park.
The 1-1 draw leaves Wayne Rooney's side 16th in the table, but just one point clear of the relegation zone, while Derby sit comfortably 12th.
Norwich City dropped down the table in Saturday's other game, suffering their first home defeat in the league in 22 games after a 2-0 reverse against Bristol City at Carrow Road.
Anis Mehmeti and Nakhi Wells scored in either half for Liam Manning's visitors, who moved into 10th with a victory that left them just two points shy of the play-off positions.
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