Liam Lawrence converted a late penalty to give Stoke a 1-1 draw with Burnley which kept the pressure up on Coca-Cola Championship leaders Bristol City.
Kyle Lafferty gave Burnley the lead in the third minute at the Britannia Stadium, latching on to a ball from James O'Connor before smashing an 18-yard drive past Potters goalkeeper Carlo Nash.
The visitors seemed set to collect all three points, but Burnley defender Jon Harley brought down Richard Cresswell inside the penalty area.
Lawrence placed the resulting spot-kick into the bottom-right corner to claim his 14th goal of the season and rescue a point for Tony Pulis' side.
The Potters climb up to second place, a point ahead of third-placed Watford, but remain three points behind Bristol City - who were held to a 0-0 draw by Leicester.
Ian Holloway's relegation-threatened side enjoyed the better of the game, and City had to rely on the heroics of goalkeeper Adriano Basso to earn a point.
Chris Brown struck twice to give Preston a 2-1 win over Charlton, which pushed them four points clear of the relegation zone.
Brown netted in the 15th minute to give North End the lead, before Addicks defender Patrick McCarthy equalised in the 74th minute.
But Brown drilled home a Simon Whaley cross three minutes later to give Preston all three points.
A 63rd-minute strike from James Beattie gave Sheffield United a 1-0 win over Plymouth at Home Park as the Pilgrims slipped out of the play-off zone.
Hull moved up to sixth at Argyle's expense, after they eased to a 2-0 win over Scunthorpe in the the Humberside derby at the KC Stadium.
Henrik Pedersen gave the Tigers the lead in the 27th minute, and Michael Turner added a second 10 minutes later to secure the points - which left the Iron six points short of safety.
Sheffield Wednesday boosted their survival hopes with a 2-1 win over a QPR side reduced to 10 men at Hillsborough.
Damien Delaney (15) put Rangers ahead, but Graham Kavanagh levelled the scores on the stroke of half-time.
Deon Burton converted a 52nd-minute penalty to put the Owls ahead, and Hogan Ephraim was sent off for violent conduct in added time.
Jay Tabb's sixth-minute strike was enough to give Coventry a 1-0 win over nine-man Norwich at the Ricoh Arena.
Gary Doherty was shown a second yellow card in the 53rd minute, and Darel Russell was also sent off for a second bookable offence five minutes from time.
Colchester remain in deep trouble after slipping to a 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park - leaving themselves six points from safety.
A Phil Ifil own-goal in the 21st minute put the Eagles ahead, but Kevin Lisbie restored parity two minutes later.
Palace substitute Kevin Watson wrapped up all three points for Neil Warnock's side with a low drive in the 74th minute.
Southampton are three points above the drop zone after earning a 2-2 draw at Blackpool.
Gregory Vignal scored from the penalty spot in the 31st minute, after Kaspars Gorkss fouled Stern John inside the area.
Keith Southern equalised four minutes after the break, and Gorkss (55) put Simon Grayson's side 2-1 ahead. But John (63) levelled to give his side a share of the spoils.
The visitors seemed set to collect all three points, but Burnley defender Jon Harley brought down Richard Cresswell inside the penalty area.
Lawrence placed the resulting spot-kick into the bottom-right corner to claim his 14th goal of the season and rescue a point for Tony Pulis' side.
The Potters climb up to second place, a point ahead of third-placed Watford, but remain three points behind Bristol City - who were held to a 0-0 draw by Leicester.
Ian Holloway's relegation-threatened side enjoyed the better of the game, and City had to rely on the heroics of goalkeeper Adriano Basso to earn a point.
Chris Brown struck twice to give Preston a 2-1 win over Charlton, which pushed them four points clear of the relegation zone.
Brown netted in the 15th minute to give North End the lead, before Addicks defender Patrick McCarthy equalised in the 74th minute.
But Brown drilled home a Simon Whaley cross three minutes later to give Preston all three points.
A 63rd-minute strike from James Beattie gave Sheffield United a 1-0 win over Plymouth at Home Park as the Pilgrims slipped out of the play-off zone.
Hull moved up to sixth at Argyle's expense, after they eased to a 2-0 win over Scunthorpe in the the Humberside derby at the KC Stadium.
Henrik Pedersen gave the Tigers the lead in the 27th minute, and Michael Turner added a second 10 minutes later to secure the points - which left the Iron six points short of safety.
Sheffield Wednesday boosted their survival hopes with a 2-1 win over a QPR side reduced to 10 men at Hillsborough.
Damien Delaney (15) put Rangers ahead, but Graham Kavanagh levelled the scores on the stroke of half-time.
Deon Burton converted a 52nd-minute penalty to put the Owls ahead, and Hogan Ephraim was sent off for violent conduct in added time.
Jay Tabb's sixth-minute strike was enough to give Coventry a 1-0 win over nine-man Norwich at the Ricoh Arena.
Gary Doherty was shown a second yellow card in the 53rd minute, and Darel Russell was also sent off for a second bookable offence five minutes from time.
Colchester remain in deep trouble after slipping to a 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park - leaving themselves six points from safety.
A Phil Ifil own-goal in the 21st minute put the Eagles ahead, but Kevin Lisbie restored parity two minutes later.
Palace substitute Kevin Watson wrapped up all three points for Neil Warnock's side with a low drive in the 74th minute.
Southampton are three points above the drop zone after earning a 2-2 draw at Blackpool.
Gregory Vignal scored from the penalty spot in the 31st minute, after Kaspars Gorkss fouled Stern John inside the area.
Keith Southern equalised four minutes after the break, and Gorkss (55) put Simon Grayson's side 2-1 ahead. But John (63) levelled to give his side a share of the spoils.
Copyright (c) Press Association
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