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.

Huddersfield boss Andre Breitenreiter was delighted to have secured a “dirty” win after his side sealed a dramatic 1-0 success against fellow strugglers Millwall.

Substitute Rhys Healey pounced for the Terriers’ late, late winner in added time, one which handed his side a first win in seven games and lifted them out of the Championship drop zone.

A clearly relieved Breitenreiter said: “It’s an absolutely massive win for us, of course.

“It was not easy for us, especially in the first half, after the first 25 minutes or so we created a number of chances, but we just didn’t score.

“When it got so late into the game we still had the team’s belief and that of the supporters, and in the end we got the goal right at the end.

“We said in the pre-match press conference that sometimes you need that dirty win, and we’ve got a dirty win today.

“Now we need some more wins in these last few games.

“I definitely wasn’t satisfied with the first-half performance, and so I spoke to the players at half-time about being brave and maintaining that belief.”

Both teams created decent opportunities in what proved to be an entertaining goalless opening 45 minutes at the John Smith’s Stadium.

Delano Burgzorg and Josh Koroma went closest for the Terriers, while Jake Cooper somehow headed over the top from close range for Millwall.

As the second half progressed and further chances were missed at both ends, it was looking odds-on this one was going to end goalless, until sub Healey finally broke Millwall’s resistance in such dramatic fashion.

It was a cruel blow for Lions boss Neil Harris, whose side have now lost three of their last four games.

They are now just two points clear of the Championship relegation zone and are clearly being dragged into the scrap.

Harris said: “Obviously to lose a game like that so late is a huge disappointment for everyone.

“I thought the players responded quite well to the late defeat at Rotherham the other night.

“There was no lack of application or desire out there I thought.

“But having said that, I do expect to see much more quality from a team at Championship level.

“We know where we are, both on and off the pitch, but overall we need a stronger mentality, particularly late in games like we saw today.

“We had chances, but we can’t just keep giving them up.

“We need to make improvements to the team in the transfer window, clearly.

“Too many times we missed those chances I mention, some of them nigh-on open goals.

“We can control things like that away from a match day, but again today we just didn’t show enough quality and in the end it’s proved costly for us.”

Rotherham head coach Leam Richardson was encouraged by his team’s 0-0 draw with Huddersfield and felt the Millers could have picked up a rare three points.

The Millers avoided a 10th straight Championship defeat in the stalemate and came closest to snatching all three points in the Yorkshire derby.

Rotherham have won just three times this campaign and only once under Richardson but they could not force a winner against 10 men.

Sorba Thomas saw red for the visitors just before the hour mark after picking up two yellow cards.

Richardson was pleased to stop the rot but Rotherham, who picked up a rare clean sheet and shrugged off successive 5-0 defeats, remain winless since Boxing Day.

He said: “The positives are that it was a clean sheet in a local derby and we were competitive. There was good work ethic.

“We started the game well. I am obviously disappointed with the end result with them going down to 10 men – our habits have got to be better.

“The players need my support and leadership to recover from weeks like that. I would like to think they have had that in abundance this week.

“The lads were on the floor (after the 5-0 losses). I’ve had to pick them up and change shape a little bit to get more forward runners on the pitch and be more dynamic with it. It helps when players are coming back to fitness and we have more competition for places.

“I thought first half we were disappointed we couldn’t go in 1-0 up.

“We had enough possession and moments to win the game. We could have been better with our decision making.

“Is a draw a fair result? Probably because I don’t think either keeper had to work hard to keep the ball out of the net, which is disappointing on our part. The sending off ruined the game like it often does.”

Huddersfield produced some decent build-up play in the first period but most of it led to routine saves for Viktor Johansson with Jack Rudoni, Delano Burgzorg and David Kasumu all firing within easy range of the Sweden international.

Rotherham almost broke the deadlock with loanee midfielder Andy Rinomhota’s curling effort bouncing back off the woodwork. Charlie Wyke was then unable to turn in the rebound.

Huddersfield’s task was made more difficult in the 59th minute when Thomas picked up a second yellow card for hauling down Ollie Rathbone.

From then on the visitors’ threat came predominantly from set-pieces, all of which were sternly dealt with by Rotherham.

Huddersfield head coach Andre Breitenreiter said: “We came to get the three points. We started really well. Rotherham are dangerous from long throws but we defended really good.

“The game changed with the red card. You know it’s never easy to play with 10 players but in my opinion you could not see that we had 10 players. The boys did really good. We created chances and set-pieces.

“We did not score and we have to work on this. For me it’s not always the shot on the goal, it’s the final pass.

“We have to live with the 0-0. It’s a positive to get the clean sheet and I congratulate the team for their fight for survival.

“I am sure we would have won today with 11 players. It was good to get one point and a clean sheet.”

Rotherham ended their harrowing losing streak in the Championship by holding 10-man Huddersfield to a 0-0 draw.

The Millers avoided a 10th straight loss with the stalemate but they remain rooted to the bottom of the Championship and are 19 points adrift of safety with their last win back on Boxing Day.

The result did little to ease Huddersfield’s own relegation fears and they failed to create a golden chance in the match and will now see Sorba Thomas suspended after he picked up two yellow cards.

They remain in the bottom three with just eight league wins all season.

The first opportunity came the way of the visitors with Delano Burgzorg working hard for the ball in the final third and slipping a pass to Jack Rudoni, who fired straight at Viktor Johansson.

Rotherham were inches away from going in front when Andy Rinomhota’s curling effort rebounded off the post and Charlie Wyke’s follow-up went over the bar.

Thomas then flashed an effort across the box after a promising counter-attack.

Huddersfield have relied on their defenders to chip in with the goals and Matty Pearson headed just off target from Thomas’ free-kick.

The visitors then threatened from a corner with David Kasumu firing through a host of bodies but his effort was gathered by Johansson.

Peter Kioso’s powerful cross was then met at the back post on the volley by Seb Revan but it was off target.

Huddersfield were dealt a blow after 59 minutes with Thomas picking up a second yellow card for fouling an onrushing Ollie Rathbone.

Cafu almost added further punishment as he lashed the resulting free-kick just over the bar.

The game had become pretty open and Rudoni looked to take advantage when he latched onto a quickly taken free-kick and shot from the edge of the box, but again it was easily gathered by Johansson.

A chance fell to Rathbone on the edge of the box but his powerful effort was straight at Lee Nicholls.

Johansson was brought into action again by Burgzorg after Jaheim Headley had teed up the striker down the left side of the penalty area.

Huddersfield’s best weapon appeared to be from set-pieces and a couple of corners had to be dealt with by strong goalkeeping from Johansson.

Another corner was headed away strongly by Sean Morrison deep into added time and Tom Edwards lashed the follow-up well over the bar.

Darren Moore wants Huddersfield to start looking up the Championship table rather than over their shoulder after putting distance to the relegation zone with a 3-0 win over Blackburn.

Jaheim Headley’s low strike handed the Terriers a first-half advantage which was added to after the break by Sorba Thomas and Delano Burgzorg as Moore’s men opened up a five-point gap to the bottom three.

There are a cluster of teams just above the Terriers in the second tier now and, with Middlesbrough visiting this Friday, Moore wants his side’s mindset to be looking upwards rather than down.

He said: “It’s about changing the mindset of the club and the perception and us as a group of players, fans, and everything else. We just want to continue looking up the league and seeing who we can catch above.

“That’s got to be the mindset really, in terms of it was a good three points today, and we focus on Friday for another real rough encounter, another good team coming into town and for myself and the group, we know we’re under no illusions how difficult that game is going to be.

“The biggest thing for us today, we knew Blackburn are a very, very good fluid team with the ball, they move it around really well but we knew the transitions would be massive today.

“We knew if we could get part one right in terms of our work off the ball, we knew when it turned over there would be areas to exploit and we managed to do that.”

Blackburn boss Jon Dahl Tomasson labelled his side’s performance their worst of the season so far, with one of the few positives being the fact they have a clash later this week against Hull to bounce back.

He said: “I think it was a disappointing result and a disappointing performance. We all knew coming here Huddersfield is around the relegation zone and they are fighting.

“You need a top performance and we didn’t do that, it was probably the worst performance during the season.

“It’s not a performance we’re used to seeing, so it’s of course extremely disappointing.

“I think when we conceded the first goal, initially there was nothing wrong in conceding the first goal, but it gave confidence to the crowd and for the Huddersfield players and then we were chasing the game. I must apologise to our fans, almost 3,000 fans that have travelled, it’s not positive today at all.

“The good thing with football is that there’s a game in a couple of days and I think that’s positive. That’s one of the things that is positive today, but the rest is not good.”

Huddersfield manager Darren Moore say his side were left “kicking themselves” after being held to a 1-1 draw by Bristol City.

Delano Burgzorg opened the scoring for the hosts but Tommy Conway equalised in the second half.

Moore said: “They were difficult conditions for both teams. Both sides liked to get the ball down and play, considering it got worse in the second half we’re obviously pleased to get the breakaway goal with what we did.

“We grew into the game. I think David Kasumu did some incredible work to get up the pitch and then have the composure to pick Delano Burgzorg out.

“I said we’ll probably kick ourselves in the second half. For their goal, we chose the wrong decisions on the ball and they were able to capitalise on it.

“As the conditions worsened, we had to show a lot of resilience. One or two of our players ran out of gas, which we expected. Credit to the subs who came on, who dug in and saw us through.

“For the goal to come in the manner it did, at the time we were playing well in good areas. For it to come so early in the second half, it gave them momentum.

“We had to be solid off the ball and we had to exploit areas when we were on the ball. When the equaliser went in the impetus and momentum fell with them.”

Burgzorg struck after a devastating first-half counter-attack spearheaded by the impressive Kasumu, who picked the ball up in his own half and drove 40 yards forward before sliding in Burgzorg to score.

Conway capped off a tidy move for the Robins straight after the break, slotting home Andreas Weimann’s precise cross to equalise after Rob Dickie had found Weimann wide on the left with a defence-splitting ball.

City manager Liam Manning said: “From our perspective it was a frustrating game.

“We created two terrific chances in the first two minutes and especially in the first 20 minutes we had some real control.

“Huddersfield were extremely well organised. Despite us having control for that 20 minutes, we were always vulnerable.

“We were frustrated and disappointed to give away the goal. With the manner of the goal it was such a big momentum shift. There were a couple of tweaks we needed to make out of possession but on the whole the first half was what I wanted to see.

“We had some stern words at half-time. We’ve given too many goals away recently that have been on us. For all the good play you have to have a ruthless edge and that’s at both ends.

“Of course some people would think that means creating and scoring goals, but that also means being ruthless in the control you have in the game so you can’t give up counter-attacking opportunities, which they scored from.

“I was delighted with the response we got at half-time. The second half didn’t fall quite tactically as we wanted it to but we carried on balancing the emotional side to the tactical side.

“Darren’s side play with great honesty and hard work. Well organised and set up too, he does a terrific job of that.”

Huddersfield manager Darren Moore hailed the improvements his side have made following the 2-1 win over Sunderland.

The Terriers took the lead at the Stadium of Light from a set-piece as Michal Helik nodded home, but the Black Cats levelled through captain Luke O’Nien, who fired home from a free-kick.

Delano Burgzorg found the winner with a tidy finish into the bottom corner to end a five-game winless run for Huddersfield, who moved six points clear of the Championship drop zone.

Moore said: “I thought we had a great chance in the first five minutes and credit to the keeper, (Anthony) Patterson, he pulled off a great save.

“But it gave us impetus that there would be areas to exploit and I thought when those areas came, from a small critique point of view, I thought we could have done better when those opportunities came.

“But it’s an improvement in terms of where we’ve been, where we’re at and where we need to continue going forward with it really.

“Credit to the players, the work off the ball was good, I thought we could have used it better and stayed on the ball longer in areas and not be so anxious to release the ball at times, but again, it’s a learning process for us and I’m pleased to get the three points most importantly.”

Moore also hailed a “tremendous” performance from goalkeeper Chris Maxwell, who made some critical saves to keep his side in it during the second half, including a great stop from Jobe Bellingham’s strike.

“I thought he was tremendous again, his focus, his concentration was excellent,” Moore added.

“The one midway through the second half with Bellingham was an exceptional save, I was stood right behind it and that was a one-on-one situation.

“So for him to come out and spread himself like that just when there was a small lapse in concentration in the defensive lines, he was there, really focused and pulled off a good save.”

Maxwell also denied Trai Hume’s effort that looked destined for the top corner before saving Alex Pritchard’s free-kick in a frustrating evening for Sunderland.

The Black Cats dropped to 11th and manager Tony Mowbray believes his side “lacked energy”.

He said: “We’re disappointed with the result, disappointed with the performance, lacked a bit of energy tonight, lacked a bit of creativity breaking down their defence.

“It’s not the first time we’ve faced a team who put a lot of men behind the ball and it’s not the first time we’ve struggled to break them down and score goals, so we just have to keep working.

“It’s a frustrating night for us, disappointed with the goals we lost of course, a set-play and a ridiculous goal the second goal.

“No excuses, congratulate them and say well done, they came and made life difficult for us and got the points.”

Delano Burgzorg’s winner helped Huddersfield beat Sunderland 2-1 to end a five-game winless run and move six points above the Championship relegation zone.

The visitors took the lead through Michal Helik’s header from a well-worked corner, but the Black Cats quickly levelled as Luke O’Nien fired home from a free-kick.

Visiting goalkeeper Chris Maxwell made some fine saves to keep the score level throughout the second half before Burgzorg bagged the winner in the 67th minute.

The result meant the Terriers moved clear of the bottom three, while Sunderland dropped into 11th.

Huddersfield had an early chance after a quick move down the right saw the ball crossed into Jaheim Headley, but Anthony Patterson made a great save one-on-one.

A slow start to the match saw Sunderland retain most of the ball, but the visitors threatened on the counter-attack and took opportunities when they could.

A neat pass split the home defence down the middle for Burgzorg to burst forward, but he fired into the side-netting.

Huddersfield took the lead in the 28th minute when the Black Cats were unable to clear their lines from a corner as Tom Lees headed the ball towards Helik, who nodded in at the near post.

Sunderland had an opportunity almost instantly from a free-kick just outside the box when Jack Clarke’s vicious effort forced Maxwell into an excellent dive to his left to push the ball away.

They soon found the equaliser in the 40th minute after Patrick Roberts’ free-kick reached Jenson Seelt in the box, who nodded to O’Nien at the near post for the captain to smash home from close range.

A quick start to the second half saw Sunderland nearly take the lead when Seelt blasted over the bar from Roberts’ cross.

Maxwell continued to keep his side in it, sticking a leg out to deny Jobe Bellingham one-on-one before making a superb save to paw away Trai Hume’s effort that looked destined for the top corner.

Despite Sunderland’s good chances, Huddersfield retook the lead in the 67th minute after the hosts failed to stop Headley’s mazy run which led to Burgzorg getting the ball on the edge of the box and slotting it into the bottom corner.

Maxwell was forced into a save from Alex Pritchard’s free-kick and the hosts struggled to break through the Huddersfield defence.

Sunderland continued to push in stoppage time as Maxwell made a great save from point-blank range from Clarke’s powerful shot and the rebound from Neil was cleared as the Terriers held on for three points.

Kieran McKenna says his table-topping Ipswich side must “stay humble” as they rescued a late point in a 1-1 draw with Huddersfield.

The high-flying Tractor Boys leapfrogged Leicester to the Championship summit thanks to Brandon Williams’ leveller three minutes from time.

Delano Burgzorg’s second-half opener looked destined to hand Darren Moore a win in his first home game in charge.

However, McKenna’s valiant outfit fought back with Williams’ first goal since 2019 extending their unbeaten away league run to 14 games.

Despite their high standing and fifth league outing without defeat, the Ipswich boss wants his side to stay grounded.

“We need to stay humble and keep learning,” McKenna said.

“There’s parts of the team and the group that are relatively inexperienced at this level and we’ll learn lots from a game like today.

“We’re in the middle of a busy schedule and against a motivated team with a new manager and that makes for an excited crowd and energetic group of players.

“It was a tough-fought and competitive game; we had to fight really hard for the point and we can take positives in the way that we kept going.

“We were the team at the end of the game that looked likelier to get the winning goal and that shows good resilience and ambition from the group.

“It’s a good point because we didn’t play anywhere near our best but we just need to keep focussing on our performances.”

McKenna also singled out praise for stopper Vaclav Hladky, who produced an inspired display with a string of impressive saves.

“He did really well; it was a difficult game for him and you need a good performance from your keeper on a day like today and he certainly delivered.

“He is an example in terms of how he’s conducted himself and trained over a long period of time to wait for his opportunity and then take it.

“But we’ve got lots of examples within that group of good professionals who’ve worked hard to get here and are now flourishing at a higher level.

“That’s a really positive thing and a good boost for our culture and a good lesson for the players here or anyone coming to the club.”

Meanwhile, Huddersfield also extended their unbeaten league run to five games and the performance provided encouragement for their new boss.

“It was a good, solid performance,” Darren Moore said.

“We set out our stall early in the game by disrupting Ipswich from settling into their play and their rhythm.

“And then we got the ball into real threatening areas of the pitch; we could have capitalised more with the chances we created.

“We had the more clear-cut chances in the afternoon and I was pleased when we got the goal because we deserved to get noses in front.

“I’d have liked to have seen us extend that because the game was disrupted by the substitutions we were forced to make.

“When Ipswich did score, we didn’t allow them to go on and win the game, which was pleasing because it would’ve been a travesty from our point of view.

“It was a positive afternoon of football played by us; on the front foot, engaging our opponents and setting a positive atmosphere at home.

“Their keeper won them a point today in terms of the saves, but the boys are getting in the right positions and I’ll fancy us to score more goals moving forward.

“It was a great game; it’s credit to us and to the players for taking on board and carrying into the game what we’re trying to do with them.

“We’ve got to continue to work and keep building; we’ll do the journey together as a whole, the fans, staff, players and everyone.”

Huddersfield boss Neil Warnock hailed Jack Rudoni as a ‘manager’s dream’ after the midfielder struck deep into stoppage-time to beat West Brom 2-1 and secure a first Sky Bet Championship win of the season.

Rudoni’s late strike ended Albion’s 100 per cent home record after John Swift’s had cancelled out Delano Burgzorg’s 33rd-minute opener for the visitors.

“It was nice to see Jack get on the scoresheet – him and Ben Wiles are manager’s dreams to work with,” said Warnock.

“Jack has got that in his locker, but not consistently at the moment and that’s what we’ve got to get him doing this season.

“Ben, Jack and Jonathan Hogg dictated the central area and we looked dangerous on the break.

“I’m so proud of the players – they couldn’t have given me any more.”

Warnock also singled out the efforts of Dutch forward Burgzorg, who scoring on his full debut following a loan move from German club Maine 05.

“Del took his opportunity because that goal was out of nothing really. He deserved the goal because he’d done so much work on his own,” Warnock said.

“He’s done really well and it’s hard for players coming in because the Championship is so physical.”

Warnock felt Huddersfield were good value for all three points after seeing Rudoni have an earlier goal disallowed.

“I thought we deserved it – I know they had a 10-minute spell when they scored but we had some great opportunities to have created better chances than we did,” the Terriers boss said.

“I didn’t see much wrong with the disallowed effort and I thought we kept plugging away, especially after they scored.

“They got the crowd behind them and you might have expected us to go under, but we defended well and broke well.

“I thought the subs did well and changed it again and gave a bit more and the fans were unbelievable and deserved that.

“We have been written off as relegation fodder, but we can go anywhere and get a result when we play like that.”

West Brom head coach Carlos Corberan was left to reflect on what might have been after substitute Josh Maja was denied by Huddersfield goalkeeper Lee Nicholls just before Rudoni’s dramatic late winner.

“We didn’t deserve to win because Huddersfield were better than us in many moments, they started better and were very competitive, which we knew they would be,” he said.

“I told the players it would be a real battle, especially in the middle of the pitch as they put a lot of physical players there – and the fact they hadn’t won a game beforehand made them more dangerous.

“Lee Nicholls won that game with the save he made, then we should have managed the next 40 seconds better.

“If we talk about the action before we conceded the second goal, we could have won because that was the one moment that could have made it 2-1.”