Middlesbrough ended a run of three consecutive Sky Bet Championship defeats with a 2-1 victory at Swansea achieved in strange fashion.
Substitute Samuel Silvera struck the 77th-minute winner, whipping home a close-range free-kick after Swansea goalkeeper Carl Rushworth had been penalised for picking up Harry Darling’s back pass.
Middlesbrough led at the interval through Sam Greenwood’s composed finish, but Jamal Lowe equalised to give Swansea hope of only a third home league win this term.
Alan Sheehan took caretaker charge for the third time, with Swansea still hoping to appoint Tottenham coach Chris Davies as Michael Duff’s permanent successor.
Swansea had picked up four points from Sheehan’s two games, while Middlesbrough boss Michael Carrick was seeking to arrest a decline that had brought four defeats from their last five games.
The vast majority of first-half chances fell Swansea’s way, with the hosts dominant in the early stages.
Unfortunately for Swansea, many of them fell to defenders, with Middlesbrough goalkeeper Seny Dieng grateful for their wastefulness.
Darling, fresh from his late midweek equaliser at Stoke, strode forward to ripple the side-netting and the unmarked Josh Key headed over from eight yards.
Liam Walsh soon swung over another delicious cross which Bashir Humphreys beat Dieng to, only to plant his header wide with the goal gaping.
There was brief discomfort for Swansea – and Rushworth in particular – when the goalkeeper fell heavily under Emmanuel Latte Lath’s challenge and needed treatment before being able to continue.
Further evidence of Swansea’s profligacy in front of goal came midway the first period.
Josh Tymon sent Lowe scampering into the channel behind Dael Fry and the Jamaica forward took his time to pick the right pass, squaring to Walsh whose effort went inches wide.
Middlesbrough bared their teeth for the first time as Matt Crooks set up Greenwood and his shot forced Rushworth into action at his near post.
The deadlock was broken two minutes before the break after a spell of patient passing from the visitors.
Crooks moved inside from the left to spot Greenwood’s run and a fine left-footed finish gave the on-loan England Under-21 international his fifth Middlesbrough goal.
Swansea were not deflated by falling behind and Jamie Paterson fired wide before the equaliser arrived after 59 minutes.
Tymon found space down the left to deliver a fine cross and Lowe met it with power from six yards out to give Dieng no chance.
Isaiah Jones almost restored Middlesbrough’s lead after charging through from his own half.
But Rushworth’s error allowed Morgan Rogers to tee up fellow substitute Silvera for the winner and Boro survived the stoppage-time loss of Dieng to injury to hold on for a much-needed victory.
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.
Al-Nassr 1-1 Al-Hilal: Mitrovic scores last-gasp penalty
Aleksandar Mitrovic scored a penalty in the 10th minute of second-half stoppage time as Al-Hilal denied Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr victory in a 1-1 draw.
Mitrovic netted his 27th Saudi Pro League goal of the campaign after Sadio Mane was harshly judged to have fouled Saud Abdulhamid in the area.
Mane stuck out an arm to shield the ball, catching his opponent in the throat, though the contact appeared to have been outside of the box.
Mitrovic made no mistake to keep Al-Hilal's unbeaten campaign going.
The Serbian's spot-kick cancelled out Otavio's first-minute opener, with Ronaldo having set up his compatriot.
Champions Al-Hilal remain 12 points clear of Al-Nassr at the summit of the Pro League standings.
Data Debrief: Ronaldo the provider
Ronaldo leads the scoring charts in Saudi Arabia this season, though he had to settle for an assist on Friday.
That came from the only chance he created, with the 39-year-old limited to 25 touches, though he did have four shots.
Leeds' belief never wavered as Wembley beckons
Ethan Ampadu said Leeds United's players never let their belief waver despite a poor end to their Championship campaign, with a trip to Wembley now coming up.
Leeds will face either Southampton or West Brom in the play-off final on May 26 after thrashing Norwich City 4-0 at Elland Road on Thursday.
The Whites endured a miserable end to their campaign, losing 4-0 at Queens Park Rangers before going down at home to Southampton on the final day, as Ipswich Town claimed automatic promotion behind Leicester City.
But after their emphatic defeat of the Canaries, who they drew with 0-0 in the first leg, Ampadu claimed Leeds never lost their way.
"Towards the end of the season there was a lot of talk about how we were playing, how we weren't on the front foot, how we weren't aggressive or clinical," he told Sky Sports.
"But we always had our belief that on our day, when we are firing, we can be hard for anyone to play against.
"When the front four, five, six play like that, they make the job of us defenders a lot easier.
"Whoever we play in the final it's going to be a hard game but to go in like this, to put in a performance like this, we can take momentum and confidence into it.
"The fans were second to none and we enjoyed their support – now we are going to prepare for the big one."
Georginio Rutter scored one and set up another in the rout, and he put the onus on Leeds to replicate the same level at Wembley.
"It's incredible. Today we go to Wembley," he said.
"We played a good game. I'm happy, everybody is happy. One more game and we will see.
"We played very good. 4-0 is a clean sheet. Today, we were mature. It's a very good performance from the team.
"I want to try my best and help the team. If we play like this [at the final], we have a good chance but we have to play like this."
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