Sheffield United moved into the Championship's automatic promotion places with a 2-0 win over Blackburn Rovers, with Harrison Burrows and Tyrese Campbell on target.

Burrows scored his first goal for the Blades to hand them a 16th-minute lead at Ewood Park, where Blackburn failed to record a single shot on target against their rock-solid visitors.

A close-range finish from Campbell gave Chris Wilder's men breathing space shortly after the hour mark, with Kieffer Moore, Gustavo Hamer and Burrows all missing chances to add further gloss to the scoreline.

Sheffield United, who have only conceded six goals in 13 league games this campaign, moved up to second ahead of Saturday's remaining fixtures, leapfrogging Burnley and Leeds United. 

Elsewhere, Stoke City claimed a much-needed 2-1 victory over Derby County – just their second win under new boss Narcis Pelach. 

Tom Cannon won and converted a first-half penalty to put the Potters ahead, though Derby got back on terms when the ball deflected in off Stoke goalkeeper Viktor Johansson after 68 minutes. 

However, Ben Gibson headed the winning goal eight minutes from time, with Derby enraged by Junior Tchamadeu's heavy challenge on Nat Phillips going unpunished. 

In the last of the early kick-offs, Swansea City recorded their first win in seven matches by overcoming Oxford United 2-1 at the Kassam Stadium.

Zan Vipotnik swept home after 38 minutes for Swansea's first goal in 563 minutes of Championship action to open the scoring, then Florian Bianchini doubled their advantage with 10 minutes to play.

Dane Scarlett gave Oxford hope late on, but they were unable to force an equaliser and remain two points clear of the relegation zone.

Luke Williams feels Swansea City "suffered" for not pressing home their advantage during the 1-1 draw with Bristol City.

The spoils were shared at the Swansea.com Stadium, where Ben Cabango volleyed the hosts into a 15th-minute lead from Eom Ji-sung's corner.

However, the Swans could not extend their advantage with Ollie Cooper hitting the post, and were pegged back in the 76th minute via another corner as Jason Knight headed in Scott Twine's set-piece delivery.

Williams' side missed the chance to move up to seventh in the Championship - and within three points of leaders West Bromwich Albion - and the head coach rued his side's second-half performance.

"The first half, we looked a pretty good side and made the breakthrough, which is important," he said. "But in the second half, we were by far the worst team on the pitch.

"I think when you're 1-0 down, it's easier to throw caution to the wind and Bristol City did that really well. We missed the moments to smooth the game out, to regain control and take control, so we suffered.

"In the end, we're only just about value for a point."

Meanwhile, Robins head coach Liam Manning felt Swansea's goal should not have stood, with Ronald appearing to impede goalkeeper Max O'Leary.

"It's quite clear for me [a foul], when you see it back," he said. "I've seen it from numerous angles. Max is trying to get free, but it's hard when somebody has hold of you.

"We had a pre-season meeting with the referees and the EFL, and they said they were going to clamp down on blocking and grabbing people. Then, when you see the side-on angle on Max, you can see the shirt grabbed and the block. But you get them, or you don't get them, and it's how you respond to that.

"[The] first half, we probably conceded too much territory, we were a little bit too passive. But we put in a really strong performance in the second half."

Luke Williams feels Swansea City "squandered the chance" to take all three points in the South Wales derby, as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Cardiff City.

The Swans took a 10th-minute lead through academy graduate Liam Cullen, who volleyed home from close range after Ethan Horvath parried Ronald's initial effort.

However, they were pegged back 11 minutes from time when substitutes Ollie Tanner and Callum Robinson combined, with the latter ensuring a share of the spoils.

Tempers flared late on at the Swansea.com Stadium, with Cardiff boss Erol Bulut sent off for refusing to hand the ball back and his involvement in confrontations with Jay Fulton and Kyle Naughton.

Swansea had won five of the six previous league meetings between the sides on home soil, and Williams was left frustrated after his side failed to convert their general control of proceedings into a second goal.

"I think it was a very cagey game," he told Sky Sports. "The first half, we were probably the better team and deserved our lead at half-time, but the second half was a lot more even.

"I think if we'd scored the second goal, we would have taken the game away from them, but at 1-0, there is always that jeopardy.

"We squandered the chance today. It is frustrating as it is a huge game, and we know what it means. But we didn't get that second goal and then, as a coach, you probably fear the worst and really, we got what we deserved.

"On the whole, we defended well, but we didn't for one action, and the ball ended up in the back of the net. We switched off for one moment and got punished."

Meanwhile, Cardiff finally got off the mark in a season that began with back-to-back defeats against Sunderland and Burnley, in which they conceded seven goals without reply.

"We knew it would be a passionate game," Bluebirds assistant Omer Riza said. "We've worked really hard today and have ended up with a draw and, overall, we are happy.

"Going 1-0 down early meant today was always difficult, but we stuck to our guns. In the second half, we had more intent, pressed better, and we always felt our subs would be important today.

On red card, he added: "There was a challenge that frustrated Erol, he was pulled onto the pitch by one of their players and the red card is a bit harsh."

Brenden Aaronson scored a 95th-minute equaliser for Leeds United as they began their Championship campaign with a thrilling 3-3 draw versus Portsmouth at Elland Road.

Aaronson, who spent the 2023-24 season on loan at Union Berlin, squeezed his finish into the bottom-left corner deep into stoppage time to deny John Mousinho's newly promoted visitors a dream start to the season.

Pascal Struijk's early penalty gave Leeds the lead but they were quickly pegged back by Elias Sorensen's leveller, and Portsmouth then inched ahead on two occasions.

Callum Lang's stunning strike from distance put them 2-1 up shortly before half-time, only for Wilfried Gnonto to drag Leeds level just 54 seconds into the second half, beating Will Norris with a clever reverse finish.

Leeds dominated for long periods and should have killed the game off, finishing with 22 shots to Portsmouth's five and 39 touches in the penalty area to the visitors' six.

Daniel Farke's hosts were almost condemned to a shock defeat by Lang's 92nd-minute penalty, conceded cheaply by Jayden Bogle, but Aaronson had other ideas.

Elsewhere, West Brom fought from behind for a 3-1 victory over Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road, with Josh Maja scoring a hat-trick.

Lucas Andersen put Marti Cifuentes' hosts ahead after 16 minutes, but Maja soon hit back with a near-post header before adding two more close-range finishes after the break.

Maja's treble made him the first Albion player to score a hat-trick in their opening game of a league season since Alf Bentley accomplished the feat in 1913-14.

Norwich City, who joined Leeds and West Brom in falling short in last season's play-offs, endured a miserable start to their campaign as they went down 2-0 to newly promoted Oxford United.

Mark Harris cut inside from the left before squeezing a finish through Angus Gunn's legs for 1-0, then Cameron Brannagan made the points safe with a side-footed finish in the 58th minute.

Michael Carrick's Middlesbrough also got off to a winning start, beating Swansea City 1-0 at the Riverside Stadium as Emmanuel Latte Lath continued his fine run in front of goal.

Latte Lath converted from the penalty spot 25 minutes in after Azeem Abdulai felled the marauding Isiah Jones, netting in a seventh straight Championship game.

He has nine goals in total throughout that run, which is the joint-longest scoring streak by any player since the Championship's 2004 rebrand, alongside Charlie Austin in 2012, Jordan Rhodes in 2013, and Aleksandar Mitrovic in 2021.

Huddersfield manager Andre Breitenreiter insists his side have to continue believing they can beat the drop from the Championship, despite a 4-0 defeat at home to Swansea leaving them two points from safety with just two matches left to play.

Second-half goals from Jamal Lowe, Ronald, Jerry Yates and Liam Walsh condemned the Terriers to a fifth loss in their last 10 outings – a run which includes just one win.

Huddersfield’s penultimate game of the season sees them welcome Birmingham – the team currently directly above them in the league table – to the John Smith’s Stadium in what is likely to be a decisive encounter in the battle against relegation.

And Breitenreiter is refusing to give up hope that they can retain their Championship status.

“We have to stay in the league, but it’s a hard fight,” he said.

“We need the people around the team, we need one group on the pitch, and when it’s not like this, you’ll never have a chance to stay in the league.

“Teams will go down when they’re not together. This is the truth in every country.

“So we have to stay together and yes there’s frustration – that’s totally clear today – but it’s done from Monday and then we have to prepare and to think positive.

“It’s hard maybe to say, but we have to believe that it’s possible.

“We have to come to the stadium next week and to give everything for the three points, because then we’d be one point above Birmingham.”

Although the four goals came from the 73rd minute onwards, Breitenreiter was disappointed with his team’s performance from the outset as they failed to register a shot on target all game.

“We didn’t start the game good and we knew about the quality and ball possession of Swansea, their identity,” the German added.

“But the distances from the defenders to the strikers were not very good – it was a bit too big.

“We didn’t press as a team, individual players didn’t execute the plan we’d discussed before.

“We weren’t near to 100 per cent as a group – we have to speak honest about this – and it wasn’t good enough.”

Swansea boss Luke Williams was thrilled with his side’s display as they made it three wins on the bounce without conceding a goal.

“I think it was a very tough game because Huddersfield have such clear motivation for the game, and I thought they approached it really well,” he said.

“And I’ve worked with at least three of the players in the squad and I know they have a lot of quality.

“But I think when we made the breakthrough, of course, they have to try to get back on terms and then it leaves more space at the back of the pitch.

“That’s the moment that you have to try to capitalise and I think we’ve been guilty at times of scoring and then trying to protect the lead.

“We had this probably earlier on in the season. We had a big problem with conceding a goal not long after we’d scored the first one, so we’ve improved from that and today we were ruthless.”

Lowe, Yates and Walsh all scored from the bench, something which was particularly pleasing for Williams.

“Everyone’s there fighting for everything, and then you make changes and those guys affect the game in a really positive way,” he added.

“When you get that as the head coach, you’re very fortunate.”

Huddersfield remain in the Championship relegation zone with just two games left to play after suffering an extremely damaging 4-0 defeat at home to in-form Swansea.

Second-half goals from Jamal Lowe, Ronald, Jerry Yates and Liam Walsh secured a third consecutive win for the Swans, and leaves the Terriers in the bottom three.

Their penultimate game of the season sees them welcome Birmingham – the team directly above them in the league table – to the John Smith’s Stadium in what is likely to be a decisive encounter in the battle against the drop.

Swansea manager Luke Williams named an unchanged side from the recent home wins over Stoke and Rotherham.

And they came closest to opening the scoring in a fairly uneventful first-half, with Jay Fulton’s low driven shot in the 28th minute well saved by Lee Nicholls and put behind for a corner that came to nothing.

There was also a brilliant chance for team-mate Liam Cullen just before half-time, but he sent a free header wide from Josh Tymon’s cross.

Huddersfield, who were also unchanged from the team that started the 1-1 draw away at Bristol City last time out, registered a couple of attempts before the break but Josh Koroma and Jack Rudoni were able to hit the target.

Cullen again threatened to put the visitors ahead early in the second-half as his left-footed shot from the edge of the box clipped the right-hand post.

Down at the other end, Delano Burgzorg pounced on a loose back-pass from Ben Cabango and rounded onrushing goalkeeper Carl Rushworth, but his shot was blocked and Swansea managed to avert the danger.

Both sides made three substitutions shortly after the hour mark in an attempt to find the breakthrough.

And Huddersfield should have gone ahead in the 69th minute, when Koroma blazed his effort over the crossbar after the ball fell kindly for him inside the area.

It proved to be a very costly miss as four minutes later, Swansea substitute Lowe – who had been on the pitch for less than 10 minutes – found the bottom corner from the left of the box after latching onto Jamie Paterson’s pass.

The hosts thought they had equalised in the 80th minute as substitute Danny Ward’s effort hit the inside of the right-hand post and the ball flew straight back across the line and out for a goal kick.

They were punished again for their profligacy in the closing stages, with Brazilian Ronald finishing into an empty net after Tymon drove forward and laid it on for him perfectly.

Extra gloss was added by substitutes Yates and Walsh in stoppage time, with the former tapping in from close range and the latter looping a shot from distance beyond the reach of Nicholls.

Luke Williams challenged his Swansea players to secure a top-half finish in the Sky Bet Championship following their 1-0 victory over Rotherham.

The Swans controlled proceedings against the already-relegated Millers, but needed an Andy Rinomhota own goal in the 74th minute to earn victory.

It ensured Swansea claimed back-to-back wins for only the second time under Williams, while they also kept successive clean sheets for the first time under the head coach following a 3-0 triumph over Stoke in midweek.

Williams – whose side sit five points adrift of the top 12 in the Championship with three matches left to play this season – wants Swansea to fight to secure a top-half berth.

“The players have got to show that they’ll continue to run hard and fight for everything and not try and take it easy,” he said.

“I need to see the character that they have. Whatever the circumstances, whatever the position, they’ll apply themselves, that’s a group I want.

“It’s when things get more complicated then you need to know you’ve got the right characters. I want to see that from everybody in the last three games, as a minimum.

“That’s (top-half aim) a good challenge. Let’s go and make really good performances, and see how many points we can pick up.”

On the long-term picture for Swansea, Williams added: “We’re nearly a good team. We have a really big summer and then we can do something exciting.

“I need to continue to try and find solutions for the team to help them be more creative. I need to get the balance right.

“Of course, we have to try to get the right personnel that are going to thrive. If we do all of that, we’re going to be alright.”

Meanwhile, Leam Richardson felt defeat in south Wales was “cruel” for his side after they appeared destined to secure only a second away league clean sheet this season until Rinomhota’s unfortunate own goal.

“It’s a cruel game at times,” said the Rotherham boss.

“The goal conceded, obviously it’s cruel because Andy’s been very good and he’s been committed.

“Coming from Wednesday night away at West Brom and then back on the coach again, travelling down to Swansea with a small number of players, it’s commendable.

“The lads who have made themselves available and put the work ethic in today. Credit to Swansea on the victory.

“We know where we are. We know which moment we are in and we know how we want to go forward with it. We want to put our best foot forward to return to this level and be a better version of ourselves.”

Swansea City all-but secured their Sky Bet Championship status as Andy Rinomhota’s own-goal earned them a 1-0 win over relegated Rotherham.

Luke Williams’ side dominated throughout and saw Liam Cullen, Jamie Paterson and Ronald all have chances to bulge the net.

But midfielder Rinomhota turned into his own net from a corner in the 74th minute to hand Swansea all three points.

Victory leaves Swansea eight points clear of the relegation zone with three matches left to play, while Rotherham remain bottom and without an away league triumph this season.

Buoyed by their emphatic 3-0 win over Stoke three days earlier, the Swans were on the front foot from the outset in south Wales.

The first chance fell to the hosts as Paterson pounced on Sebastian Revan’s heavy touch before threading through to Cullen, whose low driven effort was kept out by Viktor Johansson.

It set the tone for what was to come as Leam Richardson’s side desperately struggled to get hold of possession.

Rotherham’s only effort of note saw former Swan Sam Clucas – who was regularly jeered by the home supporters – scuff a volley wide on 19 minutes.

The Millers looked every bit a side without an away league win in 34 matches, but, despite dominating possession, Swansea struggled to test Johansson after Cullen’s early effort.

While their control was evident, Jay Fulton’s unorthodox header from a short free-kick routine typified Swansea’s lack of cutting edge in the final third.

But they appeared destined to go ahead three minutes before half-time when Paterson robbed Cameron Humphreys of the ball just inside Rotherham’s half before charging down on goal, although his tame effort was comfortably saved by Johansson.

Brazilian winger Ronald then stung the palms of Johansson with a thumping strike from the edge of the box as the contest remained level at the break.

There was precious little for either side to shout about after the restart as the pattern of the contest remained the same.

Shortly after Harry Darling’s driven strike was blocked, Ronald’s half-volley was comfortably gathered by Johansson.

Josh Tymon then picked out Cullen whose header looped wide as Williams sent on Jamal Lowe with 25 minutes left on the clock.

Rinomhota blazed well over from distance following a rare foray forwards from the visitors, who sent on Tom Eaves while Liam Walsh and Aimar Govea entered the fray for Swansea.

But the decisive moment came in the 74th minute as substitute Walsh’s corner was headed into his own net by Rinomhota.

Rotherham’s best chance came with the final play of the game as Arvin Appiah crossed to Eaves, whose header flashed wide at the death.

It ensured hosts claimed back-to-back wins for the second time under Williams, with Rotherham losing for the third game running after failing to register a single shot on target at the Swansea.com Stadium.

Luke Williams urged his Swansea players to show the same intensity and aggression they displayed in their 3-0 win over Stoke across their final four games of the Championship season.

The Swans were largely dominant against the Potters and went ahead through Liam Cullen’s seventh goal of the campaign on 19 minutes.

Matt Grimes bagged Swansea’s second from the penalty spot in the 53rd minute after Luke McNally tripped Ollie Cooper.

Josh Key completed a fine win for the hosts in south Wales by rifling into the roof of the net after slick play from Jamal Lowe on the left wing in the 73rd minute.

And Williams has called on his players to end what has been a frustrating campaign in style by replicating their efforts from their emphatic win over Steven Schumacher’s men.

“When we sit and review the (previous three) games, without the emotion on the day, we’re controlling the game in the last three games we played,” explained Williams.

“We get there and we fizzle out a little bit. We gave not too much to the opposition but then something was missing.

“We’re getting there and not quite scoring, we’re keeping the opposition out and they get a chance and score from nothing, so there was something missing.

“But tonight we put the intensity and aggression, all of that lovely stuff, we put back in and got a really great result.

“We have to finish off now, the bare minimum, we have to play with that type of intensity and connection. I want us to continue like that.”

Victory lifted Swansea seven points clear of the relegation zone while Stoke remain only three points above the bottom three.

And Schumacher conceded that his side – whose three-game unbeaten run came to an end in south Wales – were second best against Swansea.

“I felt we got beat by the better team on the night, Swansea in all departments were better than us,” he said.

“They won all of the battles, the 50:50s and they also passed the ball better and were brighter from set-piece moments.

“It was a poor performance from us and it’s one that we weren’t expecting because we’ve been playing really well.

“We just fell a bit low tonight and we got punished.

“That’s the Championship for you, if you’re not at it 100 per cent you can get turned over.”

The Stoke boss was left unimpressed with referee Keith Stroud’s decision to rule out Niall Ennis’ first-half goal and the referee’s call to award Swansea a spot-kick.

“There’s also a few key decisions that’s gone against us,” added Schumacher.

“In any game in the Championship you need those big decisions to go for you, tonight unfortunately they didn’t go our way.

“I won’t use that as an excuse because the overall performance wasn’t good enough and they (Swansea) were better anyway.”

Swansea eased any lingering relegation concerns by beating Stoke 3-0 to leave the Potters hovering perilously above the Championship drop zone.

Liam Cullen poked Jamie Paterson’s cross beyond Daniel Iversen to put Swansea ahead in the 19th minute before Matt Grimes doubled the hosts’ lead after 53 minutes with a penalty after Luke McNally tripped Ollie Cooper.

Josh Key capped off a fine victory for Luke Williams’ men with his second goal of the campaign after 73 minutes as Swansea claimed a first win in four, ending Stoke’s three-game unbeaten run and leaving them three points above the bottom three.

The Swans started on the front foot as former Stoke defender Josh Tymon teed up Jay Fulton who drilled well wide.

The hosts should have gone ahead in the 13th minute as Paterson left Ki-Jana Hoever spinning before picking out Fulton who could only rifle against the post from 10 yards.

But Swansea did take the lead soon after following a quickly taken free-kick.

Captain Grimes fed Paterson who had acres of space to cross to Cullen who poked home his seventh of the season from close range.

Cullen had a chance to double his side’s lead moments later when Grimes intercepted Michael Rose’s wayward clearance, although the Welshman could only volley over from the edge of the 18-yard box.

Stoke struggled to threaten in the torrid south Wales rain, with Wouter Burger heading wide from Million Manhoef’s corner just before the half-hour mark.

The Potters thought they had equalised in bizarre fashion just seconds later though when Rose chipped into the Swansea box.

Goalkeeper Carl Rushworth gathered the ball before losing control after an unintentional collision with Niall Ennis who duly poked into the net, although the goal was swiftly disallowed by referee Keith Stroud.

After a slow start, Steven Schumacher’s men found a foothold in the contest, with Manhoef flashing an effort wide.

And they spurned a fine chance to level proceedings in the dying seconds of the first half when Ennis played Manhoef through on goal, although Harry Darling recovered to force the Dutchman to fire wide from an acute angle.

They were ruthlessly punished for not taking their chances as Swansea doubled their lead with a penalty after the break.

McNally tripped Cooper on the edge of the area, and Grimes stepped up to rifle into the roof of the net from the spot.

Cullen almost got his second of the night from a well-worked corner routine minutes later, although his deflected effort trickled inches wide.

But Swansea got their third late on as Jamal Lowe danced up the left wing, teeing up Key whose first touch took him beyond Rose before unleashing a fierce effort into the net.

Michael Carrick praised his Middlesbrough players for digging deep and finding a way to win, in what Swansea boss Luke Williams described as an “atrocious game of football” at the Riverside.

Williams was furious after his side slumped to a 2-0 defeat that leaves the Swans just five points above the Sky Bet Championship relegation zone.

But Carrick’s Boro are now unbeaten in their last seven matches and are just six points off the play-off places ahead of Wednesday’s crucial trip to Hull.

Emmanuel Latte Lath came up with two moments of quality to secure Boro’s second home win in a week, with the Ivorian striking either side of half-time to take his tally for the season to 10 in the league and 12 in all competitions.

Latte Lath opened the scoring in first-half stoppage time then wrapped up the points 11 minutes from time with a clinical right-footed finish.

Carrick said: “I’m delighted to be honest. It’s the type of game that can pass you by if you don’t do the right things.

“I thought the boys were disciplined and effective and efficient in the work we wanted to do.

“We knew they’re good in taking the ball in possession. We were patient and disciplined, defended the box well and defended in our half well.”

Latte Lath now has five goals in nine games since returning from injury.

Carrick said: “Manu is coming into form. He’s had a big impact, he’s had a good return and hopefully there’s a few more in him.

“Hopefully his form carries on. When you’re on that run you want to keep surfing it. He’s definitely doing that. We have two or three challenging games coming up, we’ll need that impact player around the box.”

Boro’s rivals for the play-off places – Norwich, Hull and Coventry – all won on Saturday but Carrick said his players just need to concentrate on themselves as they look to force their way into the top six.

He said: “We’re coming from behind. We’ve put a bit of a run together, we just have to try and extend that as long as we can.

“Wednesday is a new challenge and will have a bit of a say on what the picture looks like after that. We just have to keep chipping away and see how we end up.”

Swansea mustered only one shot on target at the Riverside and have now won just one of their last six games.

Williams, who took over in January after leaving Notts County, said his players need to prove they should be part of his long-term plans at the club.

He fumed: “It was just an atrocious game of football, an absolutely diabolical example of the Championship.

“It would have been nicer if we’d won, at least we could have then pretended to be happy about something, but goodness me.

“There was nothing right about that. It was like going to a charity game in the summer, no atmosphere, a bit of talking in the crowd.

“The first goal was a comedy, the second one isn’t loads better. It’s hard to find anything good about today, especially when you don’t get any points.”

Emmanuel Latte Lath scored an impressive double as Middlesbrough kept their Sky Bet Championship play-off hopes alive with a 2-0 win at home to Swansea.

Latte Lath, a summer signing from Atalanta, moved into double figures for league goals this season with strikes either side of half-time as Boro extended their unbeaten run to seven games.

Michael Carrick’s side have now kept five clean sheets in their last six games and head for rivals Hull on Wednesday night six points adrift of the play-off places.

Swansea are 15th in the Championship after a third successive game without a win. Last month’s 2-0 South Wales derby success against Cardiff is the only win in the last six for Luke Williams’ side.

They did have a couple of opportunities to get themselves in front early on at the Riverside, both falling to Jerry Yates.

The striker’s touch let him down when he was unmarked in the box and picked out by Ronald Pereira Martins, allowing Jonny Howson to sweep up and clear. And inside quarter of an hour, Martins again teed up Yates but the 27-year-old was not able to direct his header on goal.

Finn Azaz and Isaiah Jones both had openings for Boro but flashed efforts wide from inside the box.

Latte Lath was Boro’s liveliest player in the first half and he tested Carl Rushworth with a low early strike and called the keeper into action again with a strike from the edge of the box.

The Ivorian broke the deadlock in first-half stoppage time. He was first to pounce on a loose ball after Rushworth parried a Jones cross, but there was still plenty of work to be done. Despite the fact six Swansea defenders blocked the route to goal, the striker still managed to squeeze his shot in at the front post.

Swansea were almost gifted a leveller within two minutes of the restart. Dan Barlaser wanted too much time on the edge of his own box and as visiting attackers flocked around him, panicked and made a mess of an attempted backpass to Seny Dieng that flashed just past the post.

Barlaser again played Boro into trouble with a loose pass that was intercepted by Jamal Lowe. The forward charged towards the box and took aim for the far corner but Dieng was equal to it.

Swansea probed but struggled to create any clear cut chances and Latte Lath wrapped up the points 11 minutes from time when he cut on to his right foot and clinically found the top corner.

Swansea manager Luke Williams lamented his side’s failure to turn pressure into goals after they were beaten 1-0 by QPR.

A 71st-minute volley from a corner by defender Steve Cook gave the Hoops a priceless victory in their fight against relegation from the Championship.

Rangers are now six points clear of the relegation zone, a point behind the Swans, yet neither club can count themselves safe from the drop just yet.

And Williams’ frustration was evident on an afternoon when his side dictated much of the game at the Swansea.com Stadium.

He said: “We should have got something, but football keeps you honest.

“If you don’t take your chances and you switch off from a set-piece you are always vulnerable.

“We became a cliche today. We started slowly and then became more dominant.

“But domination counts for little if you don’t convert your chances.

“We have a lot of openings that don’t amount to anything.

“We’re happy, we’re enthusiastic and moving in the right direction.

“But we have to be more clinical and better at finishing.”

Williams suggested his side’s shortcomings were mental rather than physical, even though they started the game sluggishly.

Williams added: “If we start slowly it’s not a physical thing, it’s a mental thing.

“We have to start games ferociously and bloody the other fighter’s nose at the earliest opportunity.”

Swansea’s woes were compounded by the loss of influential midfielder Joe Allen in the 34th minute with a toe injury.

“We need a bit more time for that to settle down and then we can try to gauge how long it will be,” said Williams.

“He bent the toe back too far. We don’t think it’s a break, from a brief conversation with him he is not showing the symptoms of that.”

QPR boss Marti Cifuentes told his players to stay humble and refused to entertain talk of safety.

Cifuentes said: “All I know is we need more points when I look at the table.

“We are in a good moment, but at this stage of the season we need to be humble.

“Until it’s 100 per cent certain we will not stop.

“I am proud and happy about the work the guys put in.

“Swansea have quality players and are difficult to play against.

“But our goal came at a great time.

“We started the game well, got into some good situations and created some good chances in the first 10 minutes.

“Then we started to sit deeper and deeper and we had to make some adjustments at half-time.

“After we went ahead it was about understanding what we needed to do to win.

“We did a very good job defending the lead.”

QPR took a giant stride towards Championship safety with a smash-and-grab 1-0 win over Swansea in south Wales.

A 71st-minute goal by centre-back Steve Cook was enough for the Hoops to secure their fifth win in eight games and move six points clear of relegation trouble.

While Marti Cifuentes’ men struggled for a foothold in the game after a promising start, the result was all that mattered with just six matches left.

Swansea dictated the tempo for almost the entire match but paid the price for their bluntness in the final third.

Luke Williams’ side went into this clash having lost just once in their last six outings.

They remain well clear of danger, a point above their opponents, but victory here would have all but dispelled any lingering fears of the drop.

Rangers were bright and full of running in the opening 10 minutes.

Striker Lyndon Dykes twice came close to converting crosses which flashed across the Swans penalty box.

Morocco international Ilias Chair should have done far better in the 12th minute when set free down the left flank, his tame attempt at finding Dykes cut out by goalkeeper Carl Rushworth.

The home side grew more into the game as the first half progressed.

They came close to the opening goal when a fizzing Josh Tymon cross was volleyed just over his own bar by Rangers centre-half Jake Clarke-Salter.

While Swansea began to dominate possession and territory, Rangers fashioned the best opportunity in the 36th minute.

Swans defender Harry Darling squandered possession on halfway, allowing Chair to launch a counter-attack.

Midfielder Joe Hodge’s first effort on goal was blocked, but the Swans failed to clear and only escaped when Chair’s weak effort from six yards hit Darling on the goal-line.

Tymon stung the palms of QPR goalkeeper Asmir Begovic with a 20-yard volley just before half-time, but neither side could force a breakthrough before the interval.

The hosts increased the pressure during the early second-half exchanges and should have been ahead before the hour mark.

Swansea captain Matt Grimes hit the bar with a beautifully struck free-kick before midfielder Ollie Cooper scuffed a gilt-edged chance from 15 yards.

The Hoops sat deeper as the clock ticked down, looking content to take a point.

The Swans continued to knock on the door, but they found a clinical edge in the final third elusive.

Then, with 20 minutes remaining, they were hit by a classic sucker punch.

QPR, ever more reliant on the pace of substitute striker Sinclair Armstrong, won a corner from a rare attack.

Lucas Andersen’s deep delivery was headed back across goal by full-back Jimmy Dunne for unmarked Cook to plant a side-foot volley into the net.

Swansea threatened an equaliser without creating anything clear cut to complete a desperately frustrating day for the hosts.

Sheffield Wednesday boss Danny Rohl said his side were not ruthless enough at both ends of the pitch as they drew 1-1 with Swansea at Hillsborough on Good Friday.

Jamal Lowe’s second-half goal cancelled out Bailey Cadamarteri’s opener and the Owls missed several golden opportunities in the second half to win the game. The point sees them remain in the relegation zone.

Rohl said: “We will take the point. In our situation every point is important. We are disappointed because in the second half we created so many chances.

“We conceded, for me, what was a goal too easily given away from the corner. This week we spoke about getting the basics right and running for each other. I feel we did this today and if we continue like this we give ourselves a big chance.

“There was a handball for Swansea’s equaliser and it was a clear foul on Ike (Ugbo) so we should have had a penalty. This is disappointing but we will not use it as an excuse. We weren’t ruthless enough in both boxes.

“We went right until the end to try and get a winner. The atmosphere was fantastic, the fans really pushed us on the pitch and I think we should take the positives from this game.

“If someone had told me in September we would be this close to getting over the line I would take it. We are close because of how well we have done in the last weeks.

“It’s frustrating we haven’t come away with the win but now we’re only in the bottom three on goal difference. On Monday we have another big game at Middlesbrough and we will be going there to win.”

Swansea manager Luke Williams said he knows his players have enough to stay in the Championship but they must show more consistency.

Williams said: “In the first half I thought we controlled the game quite well. Our intensity was excellent.

“We created anxiety for Wednesday and their fans but we didn’t really make enough clean actions to score a goal.

“It’s frustrating to concede from a set-piece. I don’t like to talk about referees but Ronald was wrongly called offside in a promising position for us which led to the free-kick for their goal.

“The second half was like a basketball game. We wanted to try and win – we didn’t want to just settle for a point so it was end to end.

“In the last 20 minutes they caused us many problems which got the crowd up and we struggled to cope. I’d have preferred three but I’m happy with a point.

“I’ve got no problem with the effort from the players at all. We just weren’t able to impose ourselves on the game for long enough to get the victory.

“I know we have enough to stay in the division, I’m more concerned about the level of consistent performance. I want the fans who’ve travelled a long way to see we’re making progress.

“We’re not looking over our shoulders, we’re in a decent place. We got a point at Watford and now here and these are difficult places to go. Now we look ahead to QPR on Monday where we have a huge responsibility to make it enjoyable for our fans.”