Leicester missed the chance to go four points clear at the top of the Championship after a 1-0 loss at Millwall.

Ryan Longman’s brilliant top corner finish was the difference for the Lions, who climbed into 17th.

Leicester stayed one point clear at the summit after Leeds moved into second following a goalless draw against Sunderland.

Substitute Milutin Osmajic bagged a quickfire hat-trick as Preston completed an incredible second-half comeback to beat relegation-threatened Huddersfield 4-1.

Josh Koroma handed the Terriers the lead in the 42nd minute, but Preston equalised when Will Keane levelled from the penalty spot.

Osmajic starred from the bench in the final stages, striking twice in three minutes before completing his treble in the second minute of stoppage time to snatch three points and leave Town outside the bottom three on goal difference.

Sheffield Wednesday scored two late goals to salvage a crucial point in their relegation battle after a 2-2 draw against Norwich.

The visitors struck quickly in the opening stages with Josh Sargent putting the Canaries ahead in the 11th minute before Borja Sainz doubled the advantage five minutes later.

However, Wednesday turned the game around in the final 15 minutes with Michael Ihiekwe pulling one back before Michael Smith levelled in the 85th minute to leave them alongside Huddersfield.

Fourth-placed Southampton continued their play-off push with a 2-1 win against Coventry.

Haji Wright missed a penalty for the Sky Blues in the 10th minute and Southampton struck just eight minutes later through Kyle Walker-Peters.

Che Adams doubled the lead just before the break before Jake Bidwell pulled one back for Coventry, who remain just outside the play-off places.

Plymouth earned a valuable point after drawing 1-1 with QPR.

Sam Field put the visitors ahead from a corner, but Argyle are two points above the drop zone as Albert Adomah turned the ball into his own net.

Ryan Lowe said substitute Milutin Osmajic showed “pure class” as his eight-minute hat-trick completed Preston’s comeback in a 4-1 win over Huddersfield that keeps their Championship play-off hopes alive.

Relegation-battling Huddersfield were the better side in the first half and led through Josh Koroma’s strike four minutes before the break, but Will Keane levelled from the penalty spot early in the second half before Osmajic’s stunning cameo.

The Montenegrin put Preston in front in the 84th minute before scoring again in the 87th minute and the first minute of stoppage time.

“It’s just pure class and he’s got that in him,” Lowe said of the summer signing from Cadiz. “It’s been tough for him, he’s been in and out of the team at certain times…That’s his real hunger and desire to perform for the football club and for his team-mates and he takes all the credit for that.”

There had been a very different mood at half-time, with boos greeting the referee’s whistle as Preston were in danger of letting a top-six finish get out of reach.

“The first half wasn’t us, we weren’t at the races,” Lowe said. “We got them in at half-time and told them they need to be better. I had faith the lads could come out and perform. We changed one or two things, gave them a bit of information and told them they needed to raise it 20 per cent.

“The penalty gave us a bit of a life line to get back in and then there was only one team going to win it.”

The win leaves Preston five points off sixth-placed Norwich, who visit Deepdale on Saturday.

“It’s massively important,” Lowe said of the game. “I’m not going to play it down. Who knows? It might be the biggest one so far. It’s out of our hands what other teams do points-wise. I just want us to stay in the mix. If we can keep climbing up, with five games to go, who knows?”

Huddersfield boss Andre Breitenreiter was left to rue the chances that got away in a strong first half, and said the way his side defended after the break was “not acceptable”.

“When you defend like we did in the second half you cannot get some points,” the German said. “It was terrible, it was poor, too many ball losses.

“We played a really good first half but we missed the final pass to score more goals, we had really good opportunities to score two or three goals and we didn’t do that…

“I cannot tell you my opinion (on the penalty decision) because I didn’t see the clip. But the goal changed everything. Then we have to speak about our own performance and the performance was not good enough.

“After 1-1 there were too many ball losses, we didn’t play as a team, we had bad body language. It was a different game and it was not acceptable for me.”

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.

Preston boss Ryan Lowe praised his side for dealing with their injury setbacks in their 1-0 win at his former club Plymouth.

Liam Millar, who came on for the injured Milutin Osmajic after only seven minutes, volleyed home the decisive goal in the 43rd minute, while Layton Stewart, on in place of Brad Potts, went close to a second when he smashed a shot against a post.

Lowe said: “I thought the lads were fantastic from start to finish.

“Losing Emil (Riis Jakobsen) this morning to a sickness bug and then to lose two important players in the first 20 minutes, you are thinking, ‘OK’.

“But I thought the two lads who came on equipped themselves fantastically well and were excellent from back to front. I thought they were brilliant.

“We brought Liam on because we thought he would get in behind them.

“You have to adapt these things and that’s what we did. I am full of faith and belief in the boys that are on the pitch.

“(It’s a) perfect way to go into the international break and a week off.

“Three straight away wins and three clean sheets, that’s not a bad way to go into the international break.

“We want an exciting end to the campaign. I have to keep a level head on it as the manager, but the fans can get excited.

“The fans were brilliant today, excellent, all of them. It doesn’t go unnoticed.

“We should have scored more goals and Layton was so unlucky because he did everything right with his shot that came back off the post.”

“Argyle are fighting for points and I wish them well from now on in because the club has a special place in my heart.

“The fans need to be patient and believe in the process and get behind the coach. Everyone needs to stick together.”

The defeat was Plymouth’s fourth home loss in a row and left them just two points above the bottom three.

Head coach Ian Foster said: “It is disappointing because we desperately want to win games of football and we desperately want to win games here at Home Park.

“I felt we were quite unfortunate to be behind at half-time.

“The players gave everything. We fought until the very end.

“We fancied ourselves in the second period, fine margins, but it’s the way things are going for us.

“It’s a similar situation to last week when we got into good positions and didn’t take our chances. We have got to turn chances into goals.

“It does hurt when we don’t win. We have an appreciation of how important points are at the moment.

“The break now might do us a little bit of good, with recharging the batteries.

“I am quite conscious some of the players need a break and the most important thing is they get a breather now.

“But we are desperate to get back to winning ways when we come back.”

Ryan Lowe hopes his Preston side will take their shock 2-1 home defeat to Championship strugglers Stoke as a wake-up call in the Lilywhites’ fight for the play-offs.

A second-half own goal from Andrew Hughes, plus Luke McNally’s late winner were scored either side of substitute forward Milutin Osmajic’s equaliser for the hosts, ending the Lancashire club’s seven-game unbeaten run and leaving them in ninth – five points from the top six.

The former Plymouth manager was particularly disappointed with the nature of the two goals conceded, with the first coming about through a vicious left-sided cross from Lynden Gooch and the second arising after a defensive mix-up which allowed McNally to tap in from point-blank range.

Lowe said: “It was tough because we were nowhere near the levels that we’ve been at.

“We knew Stoke were going to come and fight and they obviously changed shape to nullify us and stop us from playing. We were flat. We weren’t on the level we’ve been at during the last few weeks.

“Maybe that will give us a kick up the backside. You can’t give teams like Stoke, who are fighting for their lives, opportunities to score goals.

“I just don’t want the season to fizzle out. I want us to keep pushing.

“There are some good teams in around us. I know how tough the Championship is, but I want to give the lads a chance to stay in and around the top spots.

“The points that we’ve got are excellent and hopefully this can give us a bit of a kick up the backside, so we don’t get too carried away.

“We need to get a result against Plymouth now before the international break.”

In the other dugout, another former Plymouth boss in Steven Schumacher was delighted with his team’s performance in blustery conditions.

The travelling Potters began the game third-bottom but came racing out of the blocks to put the hosts on the backfoot almost immediately.

Yet supporters had to wait until the second half for their strong showing to represent itself on the scoresheet, with McNally’s 87th-minute winner meaning Stoke rise to 19th in the table and three points clear of the drop zone.

Schumacher said: “It’s an important win. We’ve had a good week actually with a really good performance against Leeds on Tuesday where we could have got a point.

“To come here today and take all three points is a really good achievement because we were up against a really good team who are in excellent form, so yeah it was a battle.

“It wasn’t the prettiest of games, but with that pitch and the style of game it was going to be, it doesn’t matter.

“Getting the win is all that matters. This result can give everyone a bit of confidence and belief. It’s huge to be out of the bottom three.

“Everyone understands that there are so many teams down there fighting for their lives.

“We need to back that up now in the next game against Norwich and see if we can get a result there, because every point is going to be crucial.”

Luke McNally scored a late winner as Stoke boosted their survival hopes with a 2-1 Championship victory over play-off hopefuls Preston at Deepdale.

Andrew Hughes was unfortunate to put into his own goal after 64 minutes to give Steven Schumacher’s Potters the lead.

Preston substitute Milutin Osmajic’s clever finish – three minutes later – levelled matters before McNally’s 87th-minute winner clinched a surprise victory in Lancashire to take them three points clear of the relegation zone.

Ryan Lowe’s side’s play-off hopes were dented as they fell to their first defeat since January and now lie five points off the top six.

The hosts were first to threaten to break the deadlock in the 19th minute when their penalty claims were dismissed after in-form striker Emil Riis latched onto a smart Alan Browne ball in the box, but slipped under pressure from defender Ben Wilmot.

The travelling Potters were made to wait until the 37th minute before their first shot on goal, as Bae Junho collected a loose ball deep in the Lilywhites’ half and had a low effort easily collected by goalkeeper Freddie Woodman.

Schumacher’s men then tested Woodman’s gloves again only five minutes later, when forward Tyrese Campbell’s quick right-sided run allowed him to release a tame strike on goal from the near post.

Preston looked rather more comfortable following the break and had another strong call for a penalty denied in the 54th minute after Riis excellently flicked in Browne, who stumbled under pressure on the right-hand side of the box.

Lynden Gooch should have put the visitors ahead two minutes later when he picked up Preston midfielder Mads Frokjaer’s loose pass by the near post, but Woodman just about managed to parry the former Sunderland player’s strike.

But the former Premier League side’s pressure paid dividends in the 64th minute as Gooch whipped in a venomous ball from the left wing and Hughes opened the scoring with an own goal.

Yet that lead only lasted for around four minutes before Hughes worked to cancel out his mistake. Preston achieved parity through Osmajic, who flicked Hughes’ left-sided cross under former North End goalkeeper Daniel Iversen.

Preston then almost carved out a lead of their own in the 82nd minute when midfielder Ben Whiteman was slipped in one-on-one by via a counter attack, yet his effort was excellently saved by Iversen.

The hosts were left to rue that missed opportunity only five minutes later as they failed to clear a Lewis Baker free-kick and McNally poked the ball home following a defensive mix-up to edge Stoke into the lead.

A boisterous home support willed their side on for a much-needed equaliser, but none was forthcoming as the Lilywhites’ seven-match unbeaten run came to an end.

Russell Martin hailed Southampton’s resilience after a last-gasp Ched Evans own goal secured them a valuable 2-2 draw at Preston.

Goals from Milutin Osmajic and Brad Potts in three second-half minutes set Preston on course for victory until Evans diverted a 96th-minute corner into his own net while under pressure from Saints goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu.

Kyle Walker-Peters had put Southampton ahead in the first half and Martin was pleased with their performance, despite the need for a late equaliser.

“It’s frustrating that we’ve had to pretty much rely on a late goal to get a point, but I’m really happy with the way we’ve performed over the 90 minutes,” he said.

“It’s a dramatic one I know, but the two 10-minute periods either side of half-time have cost us in the end.

“We needed to defend our box much better, but when they scored twice pretty quickly it seemed to energise Preston and their fans and that didn’t help our situation.

“I can’t be unhappy with the performance overall and I won’t criticise the players, because we’ve had to make changes again tonight and the lads who came in were great.

“The lads showed plenty of resilience throughout and I was proud with the way they kept going right until the end.

“There will be question marks about certain selections over the next few days, but considering those changes we’ve been having to make, we’re still on a decent run.”

Southampton are fifth in the table following the result, while Preston are one spot above and one point better off despite their winless run extending to six games.

They travel to face Hull on Saturday and manager Ryan Lowe admits he has to pick his players up from the blow of conceding so late.

“First and foremost I’m really proud of the boys,” he said.

“We had to change the shape at half-time and then in the second half we’ve stuck to the gameplan really well.

“It’s a sucker punch at the end, but I’ve no complaints about that one. We should have seen the game out by that stage.

“I’ve had to lift the lads up, they’re all disappointed because we were worthy of getting the three points.

“We’ve got to pick ourselves up for another big game at the weekend now.

“The Championship is a rocky road, there’s always lots of ups and downs, but I never get too frustrated any more because I know the players always give me 100 per cent effort and application.

“We’ve got a squad we can rotate and everyone knows they have to keep performing.”

An unfortunate last-minute own goal from sub Ched Evans rescued a point for Southampton in a dramatic 2-2 draw at Preston.

As the end of six minutes of added time approached, Southampton goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu was sent up for Ryan Fraser’s corner, and his presence led to the under-pressure Evans diverting past Freddie Woodman.

The late drama meant Southampton extend their unbeaten run to five games, while gutsy Preston were denied what had looked likely to be a first victory in six following goals from Milutin Osmajic and Brad Potts.

The first Championship meeting between these two in almost 15 years saw North End threaten first.

Recalled wide-man Liam Millar charged down the left before curling in a sweet shot which Bazunu dived full length to palm away.

It had been an encouraging start from the hosts, but the in-form Saints replied with skipper Adam Armstrong firing off target following Shea Charles’ neat lay-off.

Despite their recent dip in form following a terrific start to the season, Preston were definitely up for this one and they went close again when Millar fizzed an effort wide from 22 yards, while Mads Frokjaer-Jensen also tried his luck from distance.

After that there was a period of probing as both sides tried to gain the upper hand.

It was Southampton who broke the deadlock after 33 minutes.

A soft goal from Preston’s point of view as defenders stood off right-back Kyle Walker-Peters before he was allowed space to curl home left-footed from an acute angle.

The terrific travelling support from the south coast were almost on their feet again soon after when Will Smallbone’s near-post cross found Armstrong, but he poked wide.

Walker-Peters then turned hero at the other end as he helped Bazunu divert Will Keane’s strike off the line and onto the post, though Preston players appeared convinced that he had used his arm in doing so.

Preston levelled the scores seven minutes after the restart. Osmajic nailed the finish, with the half-time substitute drilling home on the volley after Ben Whiteman’s cross into the box was not cleared.

The Deepdale roof was raised still further three minutes later when Preston scored again.

This time Potts took a pass from Osmajic before darting down the right flank and tucking underneath Bazunu from a tight angle.

Once Saints had settled again, they pushed hard for a leveller.

Subs Stuart Armstrong and Sekou Mara were both denied by Freddie Woodman, while Charles was wasteful when he blazed over with five minutes left.

Saints eventually got their reward deep into stoppage time in the most dramatic of fashion.

Milutin Osmajic scored his first goal in English football as Championship leaders Preston came from a goal down to beat Birmingham 2-1.

Jay Stansfield’s strike in the opening minute of the second half threatened to end Preston’s unbeaten start to the season but the table-toppers were on level terms when Krystian Bielik headed into his own net in the 51st minute.

Preston then made it six wins from their opening seven games thanks to Osmajic’s composed close-range finish in the 67th minute.

After a tight and cagey first 25 minutes, the game was almost unlocked by the hosts when Duane Holmes played in Brad Potts inside the area with the goal at his mercy but he blazed over the crossbar from close range.

Birmingham had the lion’s share of possession throughout the first half-hour and mustered their first half-chance when Keshi Anderson ran on to the end of a long ball before he skied his effort into the Preston fans behind the goal.

The game’s first shot on target came when Liam Millar let fly from 25 yards but it went straight down the neck of John Ruddy.

The Blues went looking for an opener themselves but Koji Miyoshi’s drilled long-range effort was comfortably saved by Freddie Woodman to keep the game goalless heading into the break.

Birmingham broke the deadlock straight after half-time when Miyoshi slid Stansfield through on goal before he touched and lashed home to make it 1-0.

Preston were not behind for long, getting back on level terms just five minutes later after Alan Browne’s corner was turned in by Bielik into his own goal.

The second half of the contest was a much more entertaining affair and Birmingham almost regained their lead but Ivan Sunjic’s goal-bound effort was well saved by the diving Woodman.

Birmingham went in search of another goal to try and get back to winning ways but Anderson’s strike from outside the area was again stopped easily by Woodman.

The Lilywhites turned the game on its head midway through the second half, once again Browne was the creator who slipped Osmajic through before he coolly slotted under the legs of Ruddy to get his first goal for the club.

North End almost increased their advantage in the 85th minute when Holmes unleashed a dipping effort towards goal but it was tipped over the frame by Ruddy.

Birmingham’s own unbeaten start to the campaign was ended on the weekend at the hands of Watford and they had enough time to bounce back after nine minutes of added time was greeted with a huge roar from the travelling contingent.

The visitors sensed an opportunity when the ball fell for Gary Gardner who let rip from outside the area but the deflection fell nicely for the hosts who cleared and held on for three points once again.