Danny Rohl saluted Sheffield Wednesday’s ‘courageous’ performance after they beat Blackburn 3-1 to move out of the Sky Bet Championship relegation zone.
An exquisite Josh Windass lob in the sixth minute put Wednesday ahead but Sammie Szmodics equalised three minutes later with a clinical finish.
Wednesday took control when Marvin Johnson got on the end of an Anthony Musaba cross in the 58th minute before Rovers’ goalkeeper Aynsley Pears gifted them a third after slicing a clearance into his own net.
The visitors held on with something to space, rewarding more than 7,000 away fans who created an impressive atmosphere.
After climbing out of the bottom three for the first time in 246 days, Rohl praised the mindset of the players, saying: “The job is not done.
“We worked hard to be out of this (relegation) zone. Six months, we tried everything. Today we took the opportunity.
“The last four-five weeks we’ve had the opportunity. But today all in all we connected our performance with a good result.
“I think when I look back to our performance against Stoke and Swansea, was good, but the result was not what we wanted.
“Today…a good reaction. I feel this the whole week. We trained well. I think today it was a courageous performance from my team.
“We forced them into mistakes, we played football how we wanted to play. It was a good togetherness on the pitch but also off the pitch with our massive support. They made an away game into a home game, so (a) big thank you to everybody.
“The performance of my team and especially the mindset and mentality is outstanding.”
Blackburn have not been in the bottom three all season but are just three points clear of it now and John Eustace said his team must bounce back.
He said: “First half I thought we were well in the game, I thought we bounced back from the early goal, showed great character. Felt we controlled the first half fairly well.
“Second half, the manner of the goals was disappointing. (We) lost the ball in midfield, didn’t chase back quick enough, and they punish us.
“The third goal, we can’t do much about that. It’s a mistake. It’s a tough one to take and it’s disappointing.
“However we’ve got a magnificent chance next week. Everything is in our own hands.”
He added: “It’s disappointing we’ve lost but it’s football. Last week we bounced back from a difficult defeat and showed that togetherness and got a great three points.
“Now it’s important we show that togetherness again and we bounce back again next week.
“Everyone is disappointed. This is football, we had the highs last week, we have the lows this week, nobody gets carried away.”
Fiorentina 2-2 Napoli: Kvaratskhelia keeps visitors' slim European hopes alive
Dethroned Italian champions Napoli's hopes of playing European football next season are hanging by a thread after they played out a 2-2 draw at Fiorentina in Serie A on Friday.
Napoli took the lead in the eighth minute through defender Amir Rrahmani, who nodded home a corner by Matteo Politano.
Cristiano Biraghi levelled for Fiorentina in the 40th minute from a free-kick, before M'Bala Nzola put the hosts in front two minutes later when he fired a shot into the bottom corner of the net.
Napoli's Khvicha Kvaratskhelia responded with another stunning free-kick early in the second half to rescue a point for his team.
Eighth-placed Fiorentina, on 54 points and with a game in hand, are five points behind Lazio in seventh.
They can still earn a Europa League spot either by leapfrogging the Rome side or by winning the Europa Conference League final in which they face Greece's Olympiakos on May 29.
Ninth-placed Napoli, on 52 points, still have a slim chance of making the Europa Conference League playoffs.
Data Debrief
Fiorentina left-back Biraghi has now scored six goals from direct free-kicks since the start of 2021-22, which is behind only James Ward-Prowse (seven) - now of West Ham and formerly of Southampton - as the most across Europe's top five leagues in that period.
Kvaratskhelia also levelled via a direct free-kick, making this the first Serie A match in which both teams scored via that route since Fiorentina against Lazio in April 2018 (Jordan Veretout and Luis Alberto in that case).
Southampton 3-1 West Brom (3-1 agg): Saints set up play-off final with Leeds United
Southampton saw off West Brom 3-1 at St Mary's on Friday to set up a Championship play-off final showdown with Leeds United.
Leeds thumped Norwich City 4-0 at Elland Road 24 hours earlier to book their place at Wembley, where Southampton now await on May 26.
The first leg between the Saints and West Brom finished goalless - just like the other semi-final - but the home side's quality told in the end.
Russell Martin's side dominated the first-half possession, with David Brooks going closest to scoring with a shot that hit the outside of the post.
Southampton made the breakthrough via a powerful Will Smallbone finish four minutes into the second half after Gray Diangana lost possession.
Darnell Furlong had a shot helped over by Alex McCarthy, while David Brooks - who assisted the opener - had a strong penalty appeal rejected.
Southampton remained in control, though, and Adam Armstrong scored a second with a shot through Furlong's legs and past Alex Palmer.
Armstrong's second goal arrived from the penalty spot in the 86th minute after Tom Fellows fouled Ryan Manning in the box, rendering Cedric Kipre's late header a mere consolation.
Marc Skinner signs Manchester United Women contract extension
Marc Skinner has signed a one-year contract extension as Manchester United Women head coach with the option of a further 12 months.
The 41-year-old guided United to their first major silverware last weekend with victory over Tottenham in the Women's FA Cup final.
United are fifth in the Women's Super League with one game to go - a massive drop on last term's runners-up finish - but Skinner will stay on.
"It's an honour to extend my stay at Manchester United," Skinner, who was appointed in 2021, told United's official website after the news was confirmed on Friday.
"I've always felt at home here, with our excellent players, staff, and fans.
"Being able to secure the team's first major trophy at Wembley was a real career highlight for me and another sign of our continued growth, on and off the field."
United conclude their campaign on Saturday against Chelsea, who lead Manchester City on goal difference entering the final day.
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