Richie Wellens blamed his side’s lack of experience after his Leyton Orient side, who finished with 10 men, drew 2-2 with Exeter at Brisbane Road.

Orient were holding a comfortable two-goal lead with Ollie O’Neill and substitute George Moncur on the scoresheet.

But the context of the game changed when Brandon Cooper was forced off with injury during the second half leaving Orient, who had already used all their substitutes, to battle out the final 20 minutes a man down.

Orient were then penned in and around their own penalty area and the Grecians finally broke through a resilient rearguard action with a Millenic Alli header before Will Aimson got the final touch to Tommy Carroll’s shot to salvage a point.

“I thought it wasn’t a great game in terms of quality,” said Wellens.

“Both teams gave too many turnovers, especially us. When we go into a 2-0 lead and down to 10 men, it’s a problem. But it should only be a small problem and we just lacked experience.

“The schedule and the amount of extra time we’ve played is hard for everyone and I think every single club have lost a lot more players this season. For us, losing another two players to injury tonight was not ideal. We always wanted to give Dan Agyei half an hour but losing two players made us run the risk with substitutions.

“We’ve got certain players out of contract and some players are not improving, so we’ve got some decisions to make in the summer.

“The game tonight was comfortable for us but the injuries and the lack of bodies we had before tonight was severe. But it’s extreme now, we’ll have a patched-up team for Derby on Saturday.”

Exeter boss Gary Caldwell admitted it was a hard-earned point.

“We had to work extremely hard for the point to come back from behind,” he acknowledged.

“I thought the first half was fairly even. We started the game well but then Orient came back into it. I wanted a bit more intensity and I thought we got that second half.

“The two goals we gave away were extremely poor from our point of view and they didn’t create many chances outside of them.

“Late on I thought we created enough chances to win the game, so it was great fight and spirit from us to keep the unbeaten run going. It’s another point on the board but we wanted more so we now need to look at the remaining three games to see what we can take out of them.

“We put a lot of balls into their box and it was a backheel I think from our centre-half Will Aimson for the equaliser from a brilliant short corner, but at that moment we were creating lots of opportunities.

“But to be 2-0 down and come back, I’m delighted.”

Darrell Clarke admitted his Cheltenham side are “falling at the last hurdle” in their survival bid after they went down 1-0 at home to already-relegated Carlisle.

Sam Lavelle’s first-half goal was enough to seal the points for the Cumbrians, whose fate was sealed by a 2-0 defeat at Northampton last Saturday.

Cheltenham knew a win would lift them out of the bottom four for the first time since mid-August, but they came up short and Clarke admitted he is scratching his head over the performance.

“I am very disappointed with our performance and with the whole night,” Clarke said.

“Yet again, after a poor first half, I am searching for answers and I am not coming up with the right solutions at the minute.

“The group is lacking a bit of confidence, but it’s no excuse and I’ll take responsibility as manager.

“We are falling at the last hurdle as things stand, and that’s not acceptable after working so hard to give ourselves a platform to stay in this division.

“I have to get better, the group has to get better as well and we have to give our supporters a lift come 3pm on Saturday (at home to Bristol Rovers).”

Carlisle were the better side during a cagey first half.

Joe Nuttall missed a good opportunity to give Cheltenham the lead in the sixth minute, side-footing wide after Liam Sercombe’s pass.

Georgie Kelly saw a shot saved by Luke Southwood at the other end and Luke Armstrong fired wide of the near post.

Jack Armer blasted over the bar for the Cumbrians, but the deadlock was broken three minutes before half-time.

Jack Robinson’s corner was headed back across goal by Ben Barclay and Lavelle touched it in from close range.

Cheltenham sent on four substitutes at half-time and changed formation, resulting in some early pressure on the visitors’ goal.

But goalkeeper Harry Lewis was rarely troubled and Southwood had to fly at full stretch to keep out a looping effort from Jon Mellish in the 77th minute.

Carlisle boss Paul Simpson was pleased with his side’s attitude.

“It was one of those games where we had to roll our sleeves up, put our tin hats on and defend for our lives and that’s what we did,” he said.

“I was really pleased with so many things in what has been a tough time for us.

“It was a good goal and then we had to hang on because Cheltenham are fighting for their lives.

“It’s a good result and makes the journey home more enjoyable. I’m still adamant I want the players to do something now at home for our fans as they’ve been starved of a good 90 minutes. We now have two home games to do that.

“It’s been really painful what we’ve been through this year, but the truth is we just haven’t been good enough.

“I think the players who are still here next year will be better for the experience.”

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta believes his side can still beat Bayern Munich after admitting they were below-par in Tuesday’s Champions League quarter-final first-leg draw.

Leandro Trossard’s late equaliser made it 2-2 at the Emirates after goals from former Gunner Serge Gnabry and ex-Tottenham striker Harry Kane overturned Bukayo Saka’s early opener.

That means it is all to play for in Munich next week and Arteta said on TNT Sports: “I have a lot of belief we can go there and beat them. We have to prepare really well.

“We scored a really good goal and then after that is the moment of the game when Ben (White) is in front of (Manuel) Neuer and if we make it 2-0 it would be a very different match.

“After that the ball is open, we gave it to the opponent and they scored. That created some uncertainty.

“The second goal as well is unusual for us to concede but this is the Champions League, if you make a mistake you get punished.

“A lot of things today we have not done to the standards we usually do and that has allowed them spaces to run and they are very dangerous.

“The Champions League, if you give something they take it.”

Arsenal felt they should have been awarded a penalty in the final moments when Saka looked to have been fouled by Neuer but the referee waved away protests and VAR confirmed the decision.

Arteta said: “(The referee) didn’t say anything. They said they checked it and they decided it wasn’t a penalty.”

Russell Martin was glad Southampton “released the tension” by beating Coventry 2-1 to end a three-game winless run.

Saints’ automatic promotion dreams all but went up in smoke after draws against Middlesbrough and Blackburn sandwiched a last-gasp defeat to rivals Ipswich – leaving them nine points adrift of the top two.

Che Adams netted twice to see them past Coventry and restart the momentum towards a likely play-off finale to the season.

Saints boss Martin said: “That will release a lot of tension. First half we played so well, it was the opposite of Saturday [against Blackburn].

“There was some brilliant football and we should maybe have scored another goal as we created a lot.

“I should have changed things a bit earlier when players were getting tired but conceding in that moment was a bit disappointing – and Stu Armstrong apologised for not being where he needed to be.

“We should kill the game off and there was a bit of tension, but we showed resilience and character and I’m proud of the boys.

“It was a big response. I said to them that I didn’t want to get questioned about the mentality of the group, I think they showed spirit and character in abundance tonight.”

Adams is claiming Saints’ opener after the Scotland international got in the way of Kyle Walker-Peters’ 25-yard effort to divert past Bradley Collins.

There was no doubt about the identity of the second, Adams bundling home a corner.

Coventry defender Jake Bidwell calmly slotted in his first goal since January 2023 to set up a nervy ending for the home side but the Sky Blues will bemoan Haji Wright’s 10th-minute penalty miss after the forward slipped as he attempted to convert.

Mark Robins said: “It would it have been a different story had he not slipped for the penalty, but it wouldn’t have been a different story in the first half as we didn’t compete. We didn’t arrive until half-time.

“[Wright’s] absolutely fine. He’s there to take a penalty and he’s a really good penalty taker. It is just unfortunate that he had a slip.

“We needed to decide whether we want to be challengers tonight, and first half we decided we weren’t going to be.

“The penalty miss obviously has an impact. If we score that then the crowd is edgy and that would have given us a foothold.

“We didn’t lay a glove on them for the other 45 minutes. That is what cost us the game.

“There was enough in the second half but in the first half we shot ourselves in the foot.

“It isn’t about anyone else, it is just about us and our results. We can’t look at anyone else, we can’t do anything about it. But what we can do is not play how we did in the first half.”

Leicester boss Enzo Maresca expects plenty more twists in the Championship promotion race.

The Foxes suffered a wobble in their bid for an instant return to the Premier League after a stunning Ryan Longman strike condemned them to a 1-0 defeat at struggling Millwall.

Back-to-back wins had reignited their promotion bid and lifted them back to the top of the pile.

But, while Leeds could only pick up a point at home to Sunderland and stay second, third-placed Ipswich can climb above both if they beat Watford on Wednesday.

“It was a tough night, in the first half we struggled on the ball, we were not clean,” said Maresca.

“They defended very well. We expected in the second half to find more space but they scored a fantastic goal.

“Now is not the time to think too much. Tonight is gone.

“The last games are more or less similar for all the teams. Clubs are trying to survive or go up, the intensity is higher. It’s a problem for us, but for every club.

“If you watch the table yesterday, and tonight, and in two days, you’d go crazy. We have to go game by game.”

The goal arrived on the hour after Wout Faes lost the ball in midfield and Billy Mitchell sent Longman scampering away down the left.

The on-loan Hull winger cut inside Harry Winks before curling a spectacular 25-yard effort past Foxes goalkeeper Mads Hermansen and in off the underside of the crossbar.

Kelechi Iheanacho had the chance to rescue a point in stoppage time but his header was cleared from under the crossbar by Mitchell.

The Lions were in need of the points for different reasons and battled to a first win in five matches to go four points clear of the relegation zone.

Lions boss Neil Harris said: “Firstly, it’s so Millwall-like to lose to Rotherham and Huddersfield, both in the last minute, and then beat the league leaders.

“That’s what this club does. Not just this group. The last 30 years of Millwall Football Club.

“We scored a goal that would win any game at this level. I thought it was an excellent Millwall performance. To play against arguably the best team in the league and limit them to very little was so impressive.

“We’re moving in the right direction. What I’m seeing in the group is a lot of positives.”

Manchester City face a battle to retain their Champions League crown after being held to a thrilling 3-3 draw by Real Madrid in the Spanish capital.

The holders twice led in an enthralling contest under the Bernabeu Stadium’s new roof but the quarter-final remains on a knife edge after Federico Valverde gave the hosts a deserved share of the spoils.

Bernardo Silva got City off to a flying start but a Ruben Dias own goal and Rodrygo effort sent Real in at half-time of Tuesday’s first leg 2-1 ahead.

Phil Foden equalised for City with a brilliant strike and Josko Gvardiol put them back in front but Valverde had the final word to set up another intriguing contest at Etihad Stadium next week.

City missed the creativity and influence of Kevin De Bruyne who, having been feeling unwell, was sick soon after the team arrived at the stadium.

That forced manager Pep Guardiola to make a late change to his plans and bring Mateo Kovacic into the starting line-up.

The visitors initially seemed unaffected both by that and the raucous atmosphere Real had attempted to amplify by closing the roof at their newly-remodelled 85,000-capacity arena.

They were quickly onto the front foot and were given their early chance to take the lead when Aurelien Tchouameni crudely halted Jack Grealish to earn a booking that will keep him out of the second leg.

With Real failing to form a wall, Silva took full advantage and caught goalkeeper Andriy Lunin napping as he thumped a left-foot shot into the bottom corner after just two minutes.

City went close to adding a second as Erling Haaland had a shot saved from a tight angle and Grealish’s follow-up effort was blocked.

It had seemed the perfect start for City but Real hit back with two quickfire goals.

The equaliser came after a patient build-up as Eduardo Camavinga charged forward and fired a long-range shot that took a wicked deflection off Dias and gave Stefan Ortega – starting despite Ederson’s presence on the bench – no chance.

The hosts grabbed the lead just moments later as Rodrygo broke clear down the left and outpaced the backtracking Manuel Akanji before delicately poking the ball past Ortega.

Real threatened again as Valverde shot at Ortega and Rodrygo put another effort over.

City began to get sloppy in possession as Real upped the pressure. The normally solid Rodri looked laboured and Vinicius Junior tested Ortega before the break.

Grealish cut inside but missed the target as City tried to re-establish themselves early in the second half but Real regained control with Jude Bellingham and Vinicius going close.

Lesser sides could have folded but City underlined their enduring class as they not only weathered the storm but pulled themselves back into the game with a stunning strike from Foden.

The England international, who had been enduring a frustrating game, caught Lunin unaware as he lashed a ferocious strike into the top corner from outside the area after 66 minutes.

It was soon to get better for City as Gvardiol bagged his first goal for the club with an equally thunderous long-range effort five minutes later.

Yet, in keeping with a compelling encounter, it was not to be the end of the scoring as Real responded yet again.

This time Valverde was the player on target as he met a Vinicius cross with a fine volley that flew past Ortega.

Exeter scored twice in the final eight minutes to earn a point as Leyton Orient were forced to play out the final stages with 10 men due to Brandon Cooper’s injury.

Ollie O’Neill and George Moncur scored for the hosts but the Grecians salvaged a point through Millenic Alli and Tommy Carroll.

The deadlock was broken in the 36th minute by O’Neill, who scored direct from a corner on the left when his set-piece delivery eluded everyone in a crowded penalty area and found the far corner of the net.

The Os doubled their lead in the 64th minute when O’Neill intercepted an intended clearance and fed unmarked substitute Moncur, who slotted the ball home from close range.

After Orient, having used all five substitutes, were reduced to 10 men by the loss of Cooper, Exeter camped in and around the opposition penalty area and reduced the deficit when substitute Alli headed home on 88 minutes.

Four minutes later, a Carroll shot nestled in the back of the net from a deflection off an Orient player.

Charlton extended their unbeaten run to 12 games as they celebrated their longest streak in nearly 13 years with a 2-2 League One draw against Wigan.

In the 20th minute, Alfie May pressed for an opener and he caused Wigan captain Charlie Hughes to slice a clearance up and over goalkeeper Sam Tickle and into his own net.

Wigan had been second best but turned the game on its head just after the hour mark. First – in the 62nd minute – Charlie Kelman touched home to equalise after on-loan Fulham winger Martial Godo’s deflected shot fell his way.

Four minutes later, Kelman completed his brace via a close-range shot which deflected off Macaulay Gillesphey.

But 11 minutes from time, Charlton hit back through substitute Chuks Aneke, who headed home from a George Dobson cross.

It is now just one victory in six for the Latics, who have not won away from home in nearly two months.

Charlton, meanwhile, look a different side under Nathan Jones and moved up to 14th as a result.

Harry Kane was denied a fairytale return to north London as Arsenal hit back to claim a 2-2 draw from an exhilarating Champions League quarter-final first leg with Bayern Munich.

Tottenham’s all-time record scorer claimed his 15th career goal in 20 appearances against the Gunners by converting a first-half penalty to put the German club on course for victory at a raucous Emirates Stadium.

But substitute Leandro Trossard left the tie perfectly poised ahead of next week’s return match with a 76th-minute equaliser after Bukayo Saka’s early opener was cancelled out by former Arsenal forward Serge Gnabry.

Six-time European champions Bayern almost snatched a 90th-minute winner when Kingsley Coman struck a post, while Saka was denied an added-time spot-kick following a challenge from Manuel Neuer in a breathless finale.

England captain Kane played the role of pantomime villain throughout and, aside from registering his 39th goal of a remarkable season, could have been sent off for swinging an elbow into the neck of Gabriel.

Amid an Islamic State terror threat, Bayern arrived in England on the cusp of relinquishing the Bundesliga title for the first time in 12 seasons having slipped 16 points adrift of runaway leaders Bayer Leverkusen.

The presence of ex-Tottenham pair Kane and Eric Dier, plus Gnabry, added extra intrigue to a mouthwatering match while the sold-out stadium was without travelling fans due to a UEFA sanction imposed for supporters throwing fireworks on to the pitch in Bayern’s last-16 win over Lazio.

Thomas Tuchel’s men were greeted by a deafening noise from the partisan crowd and the ground was rocking with just 12 minutes on the clock thanks to Saka’s magic.

The England international was freed inside Bayern’s area by Ben White following defensive dithering and duly produced a sumptuous first-time curling finish into the bottom left corner to spark jubilation in the stands.

White should have recreated those scenes when he squandered a golden chance by firing straight at fit-again Bayern goalkeeper Neuer after being slipped clear by Kai Havertz before the Gunners gifted their opponents an 18th-minute equaliser.

Gabriel sloppily conceded possession following a miscommunication with David Raya, culminating in Gnabry latching on to Leon Goretzka’s through-ball to finish through the legs of the Gunners keeper.

Arsenal came into this stage of the competition for the first time since 2010 on the back of four consecutive clean sheets.

But their usually reliable backline once again creaked in costly fashion with half an hour played as Kane delighted in silencing the terraces.

Leroy Sane’s mazy run from halfway was halted only by the dangled leg of William Saliba and, after Raya moved early, Kane coolly rolled the ball into the bottom right corner from 12 yards to further torment Spurs’ fiercest rivals.

Following the euphoria of the early breakthrough, Arsenal could easily have been two goals behind at the break as the last-ditch attempts of White and Martin Odegaard were required to deny Sane when clean through.

Arsenal returned to the field with renewed purpose but struggling to create.

Kane escaped with a booked after catching Gabriel before later seeing a long-range effort deflect wide as Bayern remained a threat on the break.

With time ticking away and a frustrating evening on the cards, Mikel Arteta’s Premier League leaders levelled.

Gabriel Jesus worked space inside Bayern’s box before teeing up fellow replacement Trossard to slot into the bottom left corner beyond Neuer and raise the decibel levels.

Bayern substitute Coman poked against the frame of the goal as a helter-skelter encounter threatened another twist before Swedish referee Glenn Nyberg was booed off for failing to punish Neuer’s potential trip on Saka.

Leeds missed the chance to go top of the Sky Bet Championship after being held to a disappointing goalless draw by Sunderland at Elland Road.

Daniel Farke’s promotion-chasers climbed back into the top two but another below-par display saw them fall short of usurping leaders Leicester, who slipped to a 1-0 defeat at Millwall.

Leeds, who were beaten in the league for the first time this year at Coventry on Saturday, extended their unbeaten home Championship record this season to 21 matches.

But, after misfiring against resolute opponents, the stalemate left them one point behind Leicester and level with third-placed Ipswich, with both promotion rivals having a game in hand.

Sunderland made clear their intentions from kick off as they sat deep and invited Leeds on and, with space hard to come by, the home side found it difficult to fashion early chances.

Former Leeds forward Jack Clarke just failed to get his head on to a fizzing cross from Timothee Pembele for the visitors before Georginio Rutter fired the hosts’ first chance over the crossbar in the 18th minute.

Leeds had a whopping 80 per cent possession through the first half an hour and had nothing to show for it, while it was their goalkeeper Illan Meslier who was forced into the game’s first two saves.

Both of those were from Clarke, who was keen to impress on his first appearance back at Elland Road since departing for Tottenham in 2019.

At the start of the second half, Leeds fans did their best to lift their team, who appeared weighed down with the expectation, and the response was immediate as Rutter and Dan James both flashed shots wide.

But it required a crucial intervention from skipper Ethan Ampadu to cut out Clarke’s dangerous low cross as Sunderland threatened again.

Crysencio Summerville’s free-kick curled the wrong side of a post and Rutter hooked a tame effort wide as Leeds toiled without inspiration.

With tension mounting on the terraces, Meslier saved Sunderland substitute Patrick Roberts’ free-kick before Leeds’ appeals for a penalty fell on deaf ears when a corner struck visiting skipper Luke O’Nien on the hand.

Leeds boss Daniel Farke sent on Joel Piroe, Connor Roberts and Mateo Joseph in the 83rd minute – Willy Gnonto had already replaced Glen Kamara – in a final bid to wrestle victory from a disjointed performance.

Gnonto’s 20-yard shot was deflected over the crossbar in the closing stages and, despite forcing late pressure, below-par Leeds failed to create any clear-cut chances and missed a key opportunity in the promotion race.

Dan Butler’s second-half goal helped Stevenage reignite their play-off hopes with a 2-1 comeback victory against promotion-hopefuls Barnsley.

Boro were initially left to rue missed chances when Adam Phillips hit a lofted shot to put the Tykes ahead, but Jamie Reid levelled as the break approached and Butler secured victory with a powerful free-kick.

Stevenage find themselves three points off the play-off places, while Barnsley remain firmly in fifth position with three games left to play.

Barnsley’s Liam Roberts had an impact at both ends of the pitch as he stopped shots from Aaron Pressley and Elliott List.

The Tykes’ goalkeeper then punished Boro’s profligacy by finding Phillips behind Stevenage’s static defence and the midfielder fired past Craig MacGillivray to open the scoring on the half-hour mark.

Boro levelled in first-half stoppage time when Reid skipped past Phillips and drilled a shot home to score their first goal in 317 minutes.

And their second quickly followed after the break when Butler’s free-kick crept through Barnsley’s wall. Reid cannoned a shot against a post late on as Stevenage edged to an important victory.

Bristol Rovers were booed off by their own fans as Reading eased their own relegation worries with a 2-0 win at the Memorial Stadium.

First-half goals from Sam Smith and Lewis Wing were enough to secure victory as Rovers stretched their record-breaking run of games without a goal to seven.

Smith put Reading on course for an ultimately comfortable victory in the eighth minute with his 13th goal of the season.

His close-range header beat Jed Ward’s despairing dive after Tyler Bindon flicked on Amadou Mbengue’s long throw.

Ward denied Harvey Knibbs with a fine save before Wing doubled the advantage on the stroke of half-time when his 25-yard free-kick found the top left-hand corner.

Rovers boss Matt Taylor saw his team raise their game after the break as veteran striker Chris Martin and winger Scott Sinclair joined the fray.

Substitute Brandon Aguilera went close for the hosts but was denied by goalkeeper Joel Pereira as Reading banished any lingering relegation worries.

Manchester City face a battle to retain their Champions League crown after being held to a thrilling 3-3 draw by Real Madrid in the Spanish capital.

The holders twice led in an enthralling contest under the Bernabeu Stadium’s new roof but the quarter-final remains on a knife edge after Federico Valverde gave the hosts a deserved share of the spoils.

Bernardo Silva got City off to a flying start but a Ruben Dias own goal and Rodrygo effort sent Real in at half-time of Tuesday’s first leg 2-1 ahead.

Phil Foden equalised for City with a brilliant strike and Josko Gvardiol put them back in front but Valverde had the final word to set up another intriguing contest at Etihad Stadium next week.

City missed the creativity and influence of Kevin De Bruyne who, having been feeling unwell, was sick soon after the team arrived at the stadium.

That forced manager Pep Guardiola to make a late change to his plans and bring Mateo Kovacic into the starting line-up.

The visitors initially seemed unaffected both by that and the raucous atmosphere Real had attempted to amplify by closing the roof at their newly-remodelled 85,000-capacity arena.

They were quickly onto the front foot and were given their early chance to take the lead when Aurelien Tchouameni crudely halted Jack Grealish to earn a booking that will keep him out of the second leg.

With Real failing to form a wall, Silva took full advantage and caught goalkeeper Andriy Lunin napping as he thumped a left-foot shot into the bottom corner after just two minutes.

City went close to adding a second as Erling Haaland had a shot saved from a tight angle and Grealish’s follow-up effort was blocked.

It had seemed the perfect start for City but Real hit back with two quickfire goals.

The equaliser came after a patient build-up as Eduardo Camavinga charged forward and fired a long-range shot that took a wicked deflection off Dias and gave Stefan Ortega – starting despite Ederson’s presence on the bench – no chance.

The hosts grabbed the lead just moments later as Rodrygo broke clear down the left and outpaced the backtracking Manuel Akanji before delicately poking the ball past Ortega.

Real threatened again as Valverde shot at Ortega and Rodrygo put another effort over.

City began to get sloppy in possession as Real upped the pressure. The normally solid Rodri looked laboured and Vinicius Junior tested Ortega before the break.

Grealish cut inside but missed the target as City tried to re-establish themselves early in the second half but Real regained control with Jude Bellingham and Vinicius going close.

Lesser sides could have folded but City underlined their enduring class as they not only weathered the storm but pulled themselves back into the game with a stunning strike from Foden.

The England international, who had been enduring a frustrating game, caught Lunin unaware as he lashed a ferocious strike into the top corner from outside the area after 66 minutes.

It was soon to get better for City as Gvardiol bagged his first goal for the club with an equally thunderous long-range effort five minutes later.

Yet, in keeping with a compelling encounter, it was not to be the end of the scoring as Real responded yet again.

This time Valverde was the player on target as he met a Vinicius cross with a fine volley that flew past Ortega.

Sheffield Wednesday battled back from two goals down to snatch a 2-2 draw with Norwich and strengthen their Sky Bet Championship survival bid.

Wednesday handed Norwich the initiative straight away and the visitors established a two-goal lead early on through Josh Sargent and Borja Sainz but the home side had James Beadle to thank for keeping the deficit at two heading into the break.

Wednesday looked more confident in the second period and Norwich were made to pay for their flurry of missed chances in the second half as two headers from Michael Ihiekwe and Michael Smith rescued an unlikely point.

Norwich were almost gifted the opening goal of the game when Marcelino Nunez latched onto to some sloppy possession at the back and took a shot but Beadle did well to parry the ball out to Ashley Barnes, who blasted wide on the rebound.

Wednesday had the warning a couple of moments ago but Norwich scored the first in the 10th minute as Sam McCallum’s throw-in was flicked on by Barnes and Sargent tapped in at the back post.

The Canaries were all over the hosts and almost doubled their lead straight away as Sainz ran through on goal and unleashed a low drive into the corner but Beadle was on hand to tip behind again.

Wednesday were making the same mistakes at the back and Norwich did not let them off the hook this time – as the home side tried to play out of the back, Nunez was gifted the ball and he fed through Sainz, who stroked home to make it 2-0.

Creators of their downfall yet again, Wednesday nearly handed Norwich a third as Sainz teed up Nunez, who sliced just wide of the post.

The Owls were lucky to be trailing by two at the break as McCallum sprung down the left and whipped a ball in, Nunez smashed over the crossbar to keep Wednesday alive, just.

The hosts made four substitutions at the break and started the second period with a little more life but the Canaries seemed keen for a third though, Jack Stacey raced beyond the back line who were expecting an offside flag that never went up, but Beadle denied Stacey to keep them in the contest.

Another couple of chances came and went for Norwich after Sainz was brought down outside the box, Nunez’s resulting free-kick was palmed away by Beadle and Gabriel Sara scuffed an effort wide a couple of moments later.

Wednesday’s best chance of the match came after Callum Paterson chased down a long ball and found himself one-on-one but could not guide his effort past Angus Gunn.

The visitors failed to put Wednesday away and they had their route back into the match after Ihiekwe nodded home from Will Vauks’ corner.

Wednesday piled on the pressure in search of an equaliser no one saw coming and they had one from yet another corner, this time Vaulks picked out Smith at the back post, who headed in to leave them in the relegation zone on goal difference.

Milutin Osmajic came off the bench to score a hat-trick in the space of eight minutes as play-off chasing Preston came from behind to beat Huddersfield 4-1 in the Championship.

Josh Koroma fired the relegation-battling Terriers in front late in the first half but the tide turned after the break after as Will Keane levelled from the penalty spot in the 53rd minute.

Osmajic then entered the fray with a stunning cameo, putting Preston in front in the 84th minute before scoring two more, the last of them in the first minute of time added on.

The Montenegrin had only scored once since November coming into the night but his match-winning contribution helped keep alive Preston’s hopes of making the play-offs, with victory leaving them five points off sixth place with five games to play.

But for Huddersfield, defeat leaves them outside the bottom three on goal difference alone.

The Terriers had been the better side for much of the first half as Sorba Thomas and Delano Burgzorg provided a constant threat, with Preston struggling to get out of their own half.

Huddersfield’s industry was rewarded just before the break. Burgzorg ran on to a through ball from Ben Wiles, outmuscling Ali McCann to win possession and then keeping the ball in on the byline to pull it back.

Wiles’ shot was blocked but the ball fell for Koroma who took a touch before lashing a shot across goal.

There were boos from the home fans at the half-time whistle but it took only six minutes of the second half for the mood to change. Alex Matos took a loose touch in the Huddersfield box and, in his bid to make amends, the Chelsea loanee bundled into Keane.

Matos saw yellow, and Keane stepped up to send Lee Nicholls the wrong way.

Huddersfield boss Andre Breitenreiter replaced Matos with Rhys Healey – who got the stoppage-time winner against Millwall at the weekend – but Preston still looked the more likely scorers, with Duane Holmes wriggling through the box before testing Nicholls with a powerful shot.

Osmajic’s first contribution after coming on was to appeal for a penalty. He was initially slow to react to a through ball but then barged Brodie Spencer off it before dropping to the deck, with referee Lewis Smith unimpressed.

But five minutes later he was celebrating his first goal, meeting Thomas’ cross from the right at the near post.

The Preston fans had not returned to their seats before he got another, racing on to Alan Browne’s pass to slot the ball into the bottom left-hand corner.

And, as the game moved into six minutes of time added on, he added a final flourish, beating Spencer to get a toe on to Mads Frokjaer-Jensen’s low ball from the right.