Ryan Lowe’s Preston reignited their play-off hopes with a 1-0 win at his former club Plymouth.

Substitute Liam Millar scored the decisive goal in the 43rd minute after a sweeping move down the left.

The victory lifted North End up to ninth, five points off sixth-placed Norwich with a game in hand, and condemned Ian Foster’s struggling Argyle to a fourth successive home defeat.

The hosts started well, with Ryan Hardie firing wide after latching on to a superb through-ball down the left by Mickel Miller.

Preston boss Lowe was forced to shuffle his line-up early on as Milutin Osmajic was forced off injured after only seven minutes, Millar coming on.

The visitors also lost Brad Potts in the 19th minute, with Layton Stewart taking his place.

But the two changes did little to disrupt Preston’s intent and they forced the pace of the game for much of the first half

Millar should have scored in the 20th minute when he latched on to a pass along the edge of the box by Mads Frokjaer-Jensen and raced into the area, chesting the ball down but then firing wide with only goalkeeper Michael Cooper to beat from close range.

But he made no mistake shortly before half-time as Liam Lindsay’s deep cross was flicked on by Will Keane and Millar at the far post smashed a volley back across goal and into the corner.

Argyle’s best chances came late in the half as they forced a succession of corners, with North End keeper Freddie Woodman at full stretch to tip away Adam Randell’s inswinging set-piece before Mustapha Bundu’s header from another ball in flew high and wide.

Millar forced a good diving save from Cooper in the 52nd minute as Preston began the second half on the front foot.

Cooper made an even better stop to keep out Jordan Storey’s far-post header from a 59th-minute corner.

Argyle’s top-scorer Morgan Whittaker then swept his shot wide when well-placed in the box.

Keane’s long throw from the left was then gathered 20 yards from goal by an unmarked Stewart, who let fly with a fierce, dipping shot which beat Cooper but smashed off the foot of a post.

Adam Randell went close for Plymouth with a 20-yard strike, but the hosts could not find a leveller.

Sheffield Wednesday’s survival bid gathered further momentum as Djeidi Gassama’s second-half strike clinched a 1-0 home win over Plymouth.

Gassama steered home the only goal in the 60th minute to secure the Owls a fifth win in their last six league matches and they remain in the bottom three only on goal difference.

Danny Rohl’s in-form side launched a concerted effort to rescue their season last month and they climbed to within two points of Plymouth, who stay 16th despite slipping to a fifth defeat in their last seven.

Morgan Whittaker rifled an early chance for Plymouth over the crossbar, but Wednesday were soon into their stride and Conor Hazard knew little about Ike Ugbo’s close-range effort, which the visiting goalkeeper saved with his chest.

The Owls thought they had taken a 20th-minute lead, but on-loan Leeds winger Ian Poveda was ruled offside when he turned home Pol Valentin’s cross at the end of a free-flowing move.

Mickel Miller’s angled shot forced Owls goalkeeper James Beadle into his first save, but the home side went on to dominate the first half, albeit without a cutting edge.

Valentin, twice, and Poveda both had shots blocked as confident Wednesday played with purpose and cohesion, but the breakthrough goal their play deserved eluded them.

Barry Bannan’s withdrawal during the interval was a major blow. The little playmaker took a bang to the head at the end of the first period and was replaced by Momo Diaby.

But Wednesday remained on the front foot and took a deserved lead in the 60th minute.

Ugbo wriggled to the by-line and cut the ball back for Gassama, whose first time shot found the bottom corner despite Hazard getting his palm to it.

Whittaker’s 20-yard drive was comfortably saved by Beadle and at the other end Gassama lashed another fierce effort wide before Plymouth roused themselves and pushed for an equaliser.

Jordan Houghton and Whittaker both had shots from inside the area blocked during a frantic scramble.

Argyle substitute Mustapha Bundu fired wide from inside the area and two more efforts struck defenders in a crowded box as the Owls dug deep and held on for a deserved three points.

Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna was delighted his side made it five wins in a row as they moved back up to second in the Sky Bet Championship with a 2-0 win at Plymouth.

A 63rd-minute own goal from Brendan Galloway and Kieffer Moore volley secured the win, while Argyle’s Mickel Miller hit a post and saw Town defender Luke Woolfenden clear his volley off the line.

McKenna said: “To win five in a row, when we have had some tough away games, that consistency is really pleasing.

“It was a really solid performance. Our organisation was good, our discipline was good and we were really competitive.

“We came out on top in more than our fair share of challenges and that gave us a really good foothold in the game in the first half.

“We knew it was going to be difficult. We knew we were going to have to stand up to a really strong home atmosphere and we had to stand up in difficult conditions, weather and pitch-wise.

“We did that really well and that gave us a really good platform at half-time to know we could push on…if we kept doing the right things, kept limiting their threats, we knew the chances would come our way and it was another really good second-half performance.

“We haven’t had too many games like this one. It was quite stop-start.

“We always back our fitness, our style, to some point it was not easy in the first half.

“We really felt confident that it would come good for us in the second half.

“The goal took a really big deflection but we had created chances either side of the goal so we felt a goal was coming.”

Argyle head coach Ian Foster said: “We don’t like losing games of football, especially here at Home Park, and obviously we are just really disappointed with the manner of the goal.

“It’s an unfortunate one for us. The shot was going wayward and it’s just hit Brendan and unfortunately ricocheted into the goal.

“The manner of that type of goal can affect you psychologically.

“It’s been an incredibly tough run of games here and we’ve given it our best shot, two of those teams we have played have shared second place today.

“We’ve tried to have right go – and I think we’ve done that again.

“We have shown that we can bounce back, so hopefully we can do that on Tuesday at Sheffield Wednesday.

“The players have been outstanding, fabulous.

“The first goal has just taken the wind out of our sails a little bit.

“If you look at their record, Ipswich have lost the least amount of games. We managed to stick with them for 63 minutes and then conceded a freak goal.

“If I have one criticism of us we didn’t react positively enough to that goal, and I get it, but you have to bounce back and show a little more resilience and character. But I don’t want to be too critical of the players.

“We can only take control of the next 90 minutes. We go to Sheffield Wednesday with confidence. We know the job in hand and have to go up there and give it our best.

“We haven’t lacked belief in any game, we go into every game trying to win. Today was a disappointing one for us but we won’t get too down about it.

“It’s just about taking it one game at a time. We won’t dwell on it, we just move on and get excited about the next game.”