Birmingham edged another point clear of the Championship relegation zone after being held 0-0 by already relegated Rotherham in a game which was held up by a medical emergency in the stands.

The Blues were left frustrated by Rotherham, who had Steve Evans back in the dugout after his shock return from Stevenage midweek, and the stalemate left the visitors just two points clear of the bottom three with two games to play.

Birmingham had a chance within the first two minutes when Keshi Anderson burst down the left flank and found Tyler Roberts at the backpost but his volley was off target.

The match was stopped after nine minutes due to a medical emergency in the home stand, with paramedics rushed over to give treatment to a supporter.

Referee Keith Stroud took the players off the field for more than 20 minutes and after the supporter was taken to hospital, the game resumed around 3.45pm.

Anderson was again causing problems after the restart and he got a shot away which Viktor Johansson had to kick away for a corner.

Rotherham’s Jordan Hugill then headed tamely at John Ruddy after Sebastian Revan had picked him out with a left-wing cross.

The Millers were hit by two first-half injuries, with Cafu and Peter Kioso both having to be replaced.

A strike from Oliver Rathbone from the edge of the box looked to be goal-bound but Krystian Bielik bravely put his head in the way.

Birmingham brought Koji Miyoshi on to liven up their attack at the break and he almost made an instant impact when he cut inside and saw his shot diverted wide.

A long ball to Jay Stansfield almost led to an opportunity but his touch was too heavy and it ran through into Johansson’s grasp.

Stansfield thought he had given Birmingham the lead when he lashed in from Paik Seung-ho’s free-kick but it was ruled out for offside by the assistant referee.

Arvin Appiah had a good opportunity to strike at the other end after he burst forward but his low shot was clung on to by Ruddy.

Scott Hogan was brought on for the closing stages by interim boss Gary Rowett and he almost got on the end of Lee Buchanan’s near-post cross.

Rotherham threatened to nick the points when the ball fell to Sam Nombe in the box but the record signing hooked over the chance.

Miyoshi should really have grabbed the winner when he was found by Bielik on goal but his weak effort was kept out by Johansson.

Birmingham survived a scare in added on time as Revan’s volley was beaten away by Ruddy.

Preston boss Ryan Lowe was delighted to avoid a potential banana skin after a comfortable 3-0 home win over a Rotherham side whose Championship status is hanging by a thread.

North End remain five points behind sixth-placed Norwich in the table, but they have lost just one of their last 10 to keep their play-off hopes alive.

Rock-bottom Rotherham, meanwhile, are now 19 points from safety with only seven matches left, having still not won a match in 2024 and not won at all on their travels this season.

Goals from Duane Holmes and two from Emil Riis just before half-time sealed all three points for Preston, with Lowe pleased at his team’s ability to get the job done.

Lowe, whose side go to struggling Birmingham on Monday, said: “A clean sheet and three points, nobody can ask for anything more than that I don’t think.

“Overall I thought the performance was fantastic.

“At this time it’s just about winning games of football, and we did that comfortably.

“I said to the players before the game that this one had to be about attitude and application, against a team who haven’t really got anything to play for.

“It could have been a potential banana skin, but to be fair to the group, it definitely didn’t turn out like that.

“We were on the front foot pretty much throughout the game, we produced some good passages of play and we scored some good goals.

“I’m pleased with the result and the performance, and so we move on to Easter Monday now and see what that brings.

“It’s all about staying positive, given the position we’re in.”

After a rather pedestrian start at Deepdale, the hosts created the first opportunity when Andrew Hughes pounced on a loose ball in the Millers box, only for his effort to be blocked by keeper Viktor Johansson.

Holmes then celebrated his return to the starting line-up by opening the scoring in the 22nd minute, darting in to coolly convert a cross from Robbie Brady.

With half-time approaching, Preston deservedly doubled their advantage when Riis took a touch from Mads Frokjaer’s cross before slotting past Johansson.

Five minutes later he struck again from close range to make it 3-0.

With the game wrapped up by half-time, the second half was a much quieter affair, with Preston looking the more likely team to score.

Rotherham could now be mathematically relegated on Easter Monday, when they host Millwall, but manager Leam Richardson wants the team to keep battling.

He said: “We know what moment we’re in here, and this club is massively in transition, I think we can all see that.

“But that’s not really what the fans want to hear – I feel for all of our fans right now.

“We’ve all got to represent ourselves and this club much better than we have been doing.

“If you’re not bang at it in this division, if you’re not at 100 per cent all the time, you know you’re going to be in for a tough ride.

“That’s what’s happened here again.

“It’s about me trying to get some confidence into the players and trying my best to give the team some kind of identity. Maybe then we can get better results.

“We certainly don’t want to be going out of this division with a whimper.

“I want everyone to stick together and show a bit more belief and confidence in these final few remaining games of the season.”

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.

Norwich head coach David Wagner praised the attitude of his side after they hammered bottom club Rotherham 5-0 to move back into the Championship play-off zone.

The Canaries were professionalism personified as they ruthlessly dismantled a side who arrived at Carrow Road with eight successive defeats behind them.

“It was a top-class performance, a fantastic afternoon,” said Wagner. “In every game you play you need the players to show passion, hunger and desire and we saw all those things from them today.

“It was a game people were expecting us to win but you have to prepare properly whoever you are playing. We did that and then, from the very first minute, the players were focused, they were really on it.

“We scored some really good goals and defended well to keep a clean sheet. The players deserve all the credit they get after that.”

He added: “I would rather be in the top six than not with nine games to go, but at the moment it is not important.

“From now on I want us to be super ambitious, but very humble, talk less and work more. Because the only thing that matters is where we are after 46 games.”

Norwich wrapped up the points in the first half, scoring four goals as they ruthlessly emphasised the gulf in class between the two sides.

They went ahead after 13 minutes as some poor defending allowed Jack Stacey to get in a cross from the right for an unmarked Gabriel Sara to head home.

Jacob Sorensen nodded in a Sara corner to make it 2-0 after 21 minutes and it was three just past the half-hour mark as Borja Sainz collected a loose ball in midfield and ran unchallenged before lashing the ball home from just outside the box.

Josh Sargent made it 12 for the season on the cusp of half-time, sweeping home Stacey’s low cross at the back post, and Sara completed the rout two minutes after the break, brilliantly volleying into the top corner after Sargent’s effort had been saved by Viktor Johansson.

Norwich took their foot off the gas after that but Rotherham still failed to muster an effort worthy of the name as they slumped to a ninth straight defeat, and their second 5-0 reverse in the space of five days.

“It was a poor performance, a poor result and a poor reaction to the defeat in midweek,” admitted Millers manager Leam Richardson, whose side are 20 points adrift of safety.

“There is a way we want to finish the season, and it is certainly not like this. There were two ‘worldie’ goals in there I suppose, but there was also some bad defending – the first one was just basic stuff which we didn’t get right.

“I picked the side and I take full responsibility. It has been a horrible week for the staff and the players but the people I feel really sick for are the fans who have come all the way to Coventry and Norwich to support us.

“We just need to start picking up some points again. There is a very flat feeling at club at the moment but there are still nine games to go for us to do something about that.”

Ellis Simms scored a first-half hat-trick as Coventry claimed a comprehensive 5-0 Championship victory over bottom-side Rotherham at the CBS Arena.

The Sky Blues raced into a 4-0 lead before the break thanks to Simms and a header from Joel Latibeaudiere as Coventry returned to winning ways following defeats to Preston and West Brom in their last two league outings.

Fabio Tavares finished things off in stoppage-time to cap a welcome return to form for Mark Robins, who celebrates his seventh anniversary in charge of the Sky Blues on Wednesday.

Rotherham, who are all-but consigned to relegation as they sit 19 points from safety, were handed their eighth loss in a row and their 14th away defeat in 18 outings this season.

Simms had claimed the match ball just eight days ago as the Sky Blues reached the FA Cup quarter final with a 5-0 win against Maidstone.

The former Everton striker was gifted the opener inside the first five minutes when Viktor Johansson spilled Jake Bidwell’s cross and the 23-year-old was in the right place to nod in his 10th of the season.

Bottom side Rotherham barely threatened Brad Collins in the Coventry goal, Hakeem Odoffin glancing his header wide early on from Christ Tiehi’s inviting cross.

Latibeaudiere then doubled the lead after 23 minutes when he rose highest to power home Bidwell’s inswinging corner.

Coventry found themselves 3-0 down inside 38 minutes against Ryan Lowe’s Preston in their last home league outing, but Simms helped himself to a second to put the Sky Blues three goals to the good inside half-an-hour on Tuesday night.

Simms was on the end of a fluent counter attack when he swept in a left-footed effort after the ball had been inadvertently deflected into his path following Haji Wright’s run down the left.

Simms completed his perfect hat-trick before the break as he picked up a loose ball and whipped his effort into the corner from the edge of the box.

Rotherham’s Jamie Lindsay spurned an effort to reply after the break.

While former Barnsley goalkeeper Collins was forced into action for the first time after 80 minutes when he turned Peter Kioso’s near-post effort wide.

Substitute Tavares then finished off the rout with the last kick of the game with his first Championship goal in over two years as he slotted past Johansson following Milan Van Ewijk’s precise pass.

The Millers are already the unfortunate owners of the lowest points tally in the Championship – having only mustered 23 points in 2016/17 – and need four more points to avoid breaking their own record as they surpassed 70 goals conceded this season.

It was another bruising night for Leam Richardson’s side, whose winless run on the road stretched to 31 matches as they were dealt one more blow towards being relegated back to League One.

Sheffield Wednesday secured a valuable 1-0 win in their bid to beat the drop in the Championship by seeing off neighbours Rotherham.

Ike Ugbo’s sixth goal in five games proved to be the difference between the two sides, leaving the Owls three points from safety.

Defeat casts Rotherham a whopping 19 points adrift of safety at the bottom.

Wednesday had more than enough chances to put the game to bed in a dominant first half but did not take the lead until past the hour mark and then had to defend sternly to keep hold of the three points.

Viktor Johansson had an early save to make after Ian Poveda had skipped by Shane Ferguson and rolled the ball into Liam Palmer whose effort was palmed out.

It took a tremendous block from Cameron Humphreys to deny Ugbo the opener after Anthony Musaba had cut in from the left flank menacingly.

Will Vaulks then almost caught out Johansson with a free-kick he shaped to cross before shooting low. The Sweden international was able to just get across to tip it wide.

Wednesday thought they had gone in front but Akin Famewo’s header from Vaulks’ free-kick was ruled out for offside.

Poveda then cut in from the right wing and flashed a powerful effort just wide of the far post.

Wednesday continued to be on top in the run-up to the break and Musaba’s effort was deflected onto the roof of the net after he had been slipped in by Poveda.

Rotherham started the second half brighter and had Wednesday keeper James Beadle worried for the first time when Sam Nombe took aim from distance and saw his effort go just over the bar.

Wednesday finally took the lead in the 66th minute with a well-worked move.

Barry Bannan and Ugbo were involved with neat passes in the box and the latter was then on hand to stroke home from Dominic Iorfa’s cross.

A dangerous free-kick saw Rotherham threaten with Jordan Hugill getting a touch onto fellow substitute Cafu’s powerful effort to divert the ball just off target.

Wednesday then had talisman Bannan to thank for preserving their lead as he somehow outstretched a leg to deny Andy Rinomhota’s goal-bound effort.

Marvin Johnson lashed at a big chance to double the advantage in the closing stages and his shot was well off target.

Mallik Wilks could have also put the game to bed in stoppage time but his diving header from Johnson’s cross cannoned off the post.

Hull scored twice in four second-half minutes to boost their Championship play-off hopes with a 2-1 win at rock-bottom Rotherham.

The Millers had taken a surprise lead when Christ Tiehi opened the scoring in the fourth minute, but that proved to be far too early for them.

Their goal had taken a battering, with goalkeeper Viktor Johansson staging a one-man defiance with a string of saves to keep the Tigers at bay.

It needed an own-goal from Cameron Humphreys to draw Hull level in the 71st minute and then Noah Ohio completed the turnaround four minutes later.

They moved into seventh position ahead of another batch of games on Wednesday and are firmly in the play-off picture with 15 games to go.

Rotherham look certain to be exiting the division at the other end, sitting 12 points adrift of safety and without a win since Boxing Day.

The hosts made a perfect start and went ahead in the fourth minute as Tiehi latched on to Seb Revan’s cross and saw his side-footed effort deflected into the corner.

The Millers should have doubled their lead three minutes later as Peter Kioso’s header from Sam Clucas’ cross was brilliantly clawed away by Ryan Allsop.

They could have done with that going in as the visitors launched an assault on the Rotherham goal for the remainder of the match.

Goalkeeper Johansson was in inspired form and kept his side in front.

The Sweden international palmed away Billy Sharp’s header and then produced a miraculous stop to shovel away another from Jacob Greaves before getting down well to save Anass Zaroury’s low effort at the near post.

The second half also saw Johansson in early action as he kept out Fabio Carvalho’s header with a flying save.

Rotherham needed to stem the tide and had a rare sighting of goal when Sam Nombe was left free from Kioso’s cross but he could not make sufficient contact with his header.

Hull’s attacking onslaught eventually paid dividends as they equalised in the 71st minute.

Former Millers loanee Ryan Giles thundered a shot off the underside of the crossbar and home midfielder Ollie Rathbone played a pass straight to Jaden Philogene, who twisted and turned and then sent in a rabona cross that flicked off Humphreys and into the far corner.

Four minutes later Hull took the lead as Giles fired in a low cross for Ohio to sweep into the bottom corner for his first goal for the club.

Rotherham have not come from behind to win since last April so that was game over, with Hull returning up the M18 with three points.

Lewis Baker’s first-half goal proved enough as Stoke extended their unbeaten league run to seven matches with a narrow 1-0 victory at Championship bottom side Rotherham.

The Potters have not lost since a home defeat to Sheffield Wednesday on December 9, which cost former boss Alex Neil his job.

New manager Steven Schumacher secured his second victory in the hotseat thanks to Baker’s stunning free-kick.

Quick thinking from Viktor Johansson denied an early chance for Baker, who had been put through on goal by a smart ball from Ryan Mmaee.

Rotherham’s first attempt on goal came from former Stoke man Sam Clucas and his speculative drive from distance took a slight deflection before whistling just wide.

Andre Vidigal then forced a save out of Johansson with a powerful shot from the edge of the box.

Stoke took the lead in the fourth minute of first-half stoppage-time, with Baker lashing in an unstoppable free-kick from the edge of the box.

A sweeping move almost yielded a second for the visitors early in the second half with Sead Haksabanovic leading the charge and finding Vidigal, who fired over the top.

Rotherham were upping the pressure around the hour mark and a low corner from Ollie Rathbone caused trouble for the Stoke defence. The ball fell to Christ Tiehi at the back post but his effort landed on the roof of the net.

The visiting side seemed content to keep hold of the ball and their solitary goal lead.

It was a dangerous game to play and the Millers tried to threaten their lead, with the introduction of big striker Tom Eaves giving them a more direct option.

New Stoke signing Luke Cundle – who was on loan at Schumacher’s former club Plymouth for the first half of the season – got in a tangle when attempting to prod past Johansson from Vidigal’s pass.

Rotherham had six minutes of added on time to try and grab an equaliser and reliable substitute Georgie Kelly was brought on to spearhead their attacks.

Stoke had a big chance to put the game to bed moments later when Vidigal found space in the box but his shot was palmed out by Johansson and ran away from substitute Tyrese Campbell, who was lying in wait for a tap-in.

Vidigal caught Seb Revan in possession with the game’s last attack but a desperate challenge from Cohen Bramall denied him a clean strike on goal.