Nahki Wells struck a dagger into the heart of former club Huddersfield with a stoppage-time penalty that earned Bristol City a 1-1 Championship draw at Ashton Gate.

When Josh Koroma fired the visitors in front in the 81st minute after a Jack Rudoni shot was deflected into his path, it seemed Huddersfield would lift themselves out of the relegation zone.

But deep into added time Terriers substitute Ollie Turton was judged to have handled a Cameron Pring cross from the right and Wells, formerly a hero with Town fans, sent a powerful spot-kick beyond the reach of goalkeeper Lee Nicholls.

It was rough justice on Huddersfield, who fought hard throughout and edged a forgettable contest.

Injuries to several central defenders, including normal pairing Rob Dickie and Zak Vyner, meant City fielded a makeshift back-three of Ross McCrorie, George Tanner and Pring. Huddersfield welcomed back midfielder Rudoni from injury.

Huddersfield made an encouraging start, but picked up two early bookings as referee Rebecca Welch showed yellow cards to Brodie Spencer and Alex Matos inside the first 12 minutes.

The visitors made all the early running, Rudoni shooting wide and Delano Burgzorg firing over from Sorba Thomas’ cross.

Spencer was also off target with a glancing header and City’s new-look back-line appeared vulnerable.

Having demolished Blackburn 5-0 in midweek, the home side were unable to mount any serious attacking threat and a Koroma shot was deflected behind for a corner as Huddersfield continued to bely their lowly league position.

The half-time whistle went without City having registered a goal attempt of any sort, but Huddersfield had failed to capitalise on their superiority.

The home side improved after the break and at last forced a save from Nicholls, who dived to smother a low 58th-minute drive from Matty James after a good run by Tommy Conway.

At the other end, Michal Helik sent a tame volley straight at goalkeeper Max O’Leary before City head coach Liam Manning made a change up front, sending on Wells for Conway.

Still Huddersfield looked the more likely scorers and Rudoni was narrowly wide with a low shot from inside the box after 68 minutes.

Koroma sent an acrobatic volley at O’Leary as Huddersfield struggled to find the finish to match their approach play, with O’Leary then having to make a smart save to keep out a Thomas shot.

City’s second substitute Anis Mehmeti shot over following a corner as both teams went all out for victory.

Koroma’s strike sent travelling supporters behind the goal into wild celebration and looked to have won it.

Substitute Rhys Healey almost made it 2-0 when heading over from a near post corner before the last-gasp penalty broke Huddersfield hearts.

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.

Hull head coach Liam Rosenior praised captain Jacob Greaves after he scored twice in the dramatic 2-1 win over Huddersfield.

Greaves hooked home in the seventh minute and then headed in the winner after Jack Rudoni’s stoppage-time equaliser had seemingly earned the Terriers a point at the John Smith’s Stadium.

Rosenior lauded Greaves for his fine finishing in what was his 200th senior game and for his defending alongside Alfie Jones.

“I was happy for Greavsie, it was his 200th career appearance and he captained his home team and scored two goals,” said Rosenior.

“Alfie and Greavsie were great for us today. I’m so proud of the players. That was a difficult game today. It was never going to be easy.

“Sometimes we’ve played way better than that and come out with a defeat or with a loss.

“What happens when you’re a goal up away from home, you’re caught between going for a second goal and keeping what you have got.

“As a team we have to be more switched on at throw ins. We switched off when the ball went out of play (before the Huddersfield goal). They get a cheap shot from the edge of the area and score.”

Greaves’ winner made it successive wins on the road in Yorkshire for the Tigers following victory at Rotherham.

The central defender had hooked in following an early first-half corner and his diving header late in the game silenced the home fans who were still celebrating an equaliser from Rudoni.

Hull lie just outside the play off places on goal difference but a win for fellow strugglers QPR left the Terriers just two points above the relegation zone.

Huddersfield caretaker manager Jon Worthington, who hands over to new boss Andre Breitenreiter on Monday, had expected a tough game against the Tigers.

He said: “The game was pretty much as I expected it to be. First half the energy levels weren’t quite there.

“Second half we really re-energised. The subs gave us a little bit more impetus.

“To get back in the game so late, it was a bit of a sucker punch to lose it in the end.

“That’s why you can’t shut off for a minute because you get punished.

“The game kind of went the way I thought it would, but it was disappointing to lose it how we did.

“That’s the fine lines against quality teams and you get punished. The players will bounce back, they will dust themselves off and get on with it.”

Hull captain Jacob Greaves snatched a dramatic stoppage-time winner as his side kept pace in the Championship play-off race with a 2-1 victory at Huddersfield.

Greaves had put Hull ahead in the seventh minute and, after Jack Rudoni had seemingly earned the home side a point in added time, netted a diving header in the dying stages to earn victory.

Back-to-back wins following a disappointing home defeat by Swansea has left Liam Rosenior’s side out of the top six only on goal difference while the Terriers lie two points above the relegation zone.

Jaden Philogene forced Huddersfield goalkeeper Lee Nicholls to deflect over for the first corner when the forward made the most of good work by Fabio Carvalho and Ozan Tufan to shoot from the edge of the area.

The Terriers failed to clear it and when the ball fell to Greaves 12 yards out, he hooked left footed towards goal and a diving Nicholls got a hand to it but was unable to stop it crossing the line.

Hull should then have paid the price for giving the ball away at the back, but Josh Koroma curled well over from 20 yards.

The visitors were forced into the first change after half an hour as on-loan Liverpool midfielder Tyler Morton limped off following a second spell of treatment.

Ben Wiles’ rising shot was beaten away by Hull goalkeeper Ryan Allsop diving high to his right to preserve his side’s lead five minutes before the interval.

Alex Matos shot through the legs of Alfie Jones, but Allsop got down to block the midfielder’s shot after 50 minutes as the home side tried to force their way back into the game.

Sorba Thomas sent Rudoni clear inside his full-back with a pinpoint pass but the cross from the winger failed to reach a Huddersfield player.

The pressure was increasing from the Terriers and when Thomas curled in a cross from the left it was just too deep for Rudoni.

Tufan sent a dangerous ball across the home box which Jonathan Hogg cleared at the expense of a corner with an hour gone.

Substitutes Brahima Diarra and Delano Burgzorg created openings in quick succession as Hull continued to weather the home side’s pressure.

Thomas curled in a low shot from the left with his right foot and the ball deflected off a Hull defender before hitting the far post.

The game had entered stoppage time when Rudoni’s left foot shot beat Allsop from the edge of the area.

But Huddersfield’s fans were soon silenced as Greaves headed in a cross cross from substitute Abdulkadir Omur in the fourth minute of added time.

Huddersfield interim boss Jon Worthington insists his side’s “committed performance” earned the Terriers a 1-0 victory over Sunderland at the John Smith’s Stadium.

The all-important moment came in the 38th minute when Jack Rudoni’s free-kick was beaten away by Anthony Patterson, only for Matty Pearson to bundle in the rebound to make it 1-0.

Huddersfield had chances to put the game to bed when Josh Koroma hit the near post from a free-kick before Rudoni’s glancing header was cleared off the line by Jobe Bellingham.

The Terriers were almost punished for those missed chances, but goalkeeper Lee Nicholls fantastically denied Trai Hume at the death before stopping Tom Lees’ from putting into his own net.

Worthington thought his side backed up a good performance in their 5-3 defeat to Southampton at the weekend with all three points.

He said: “Another game I really enjoyed – a committed performance from the lads. We had to go again from Saturday’s performance, in terms of the result, and I was happy with the desire the lads showed.

“I think it was a real squad effort to make sure we all dug in together to get over the line and the result.

“From the first minute we were on the front foot, wanting to run forward and support each other. ”

Pearson, operating at right-back instead of his usual position in central defence, scored his third goal of the season with the winner in the 38th minute.

It was his second goal in the last three games to help Huddersfield move five points away from the relegation zone.

And Worthington was quick to praise the all-round performance of the match-winner.

He added: “I know he will definitely run for me and do anything I ask of him. I was delighted for him today, that was an individual duel I was talking about.

“He puts his head and body in where others probably don’t and that’s a rarity when you’re brave like, and that brings you goals.”

Sunderland slipped to their seventh away league defeat of the season and missed the chance to climb back into the play-off places.

Boss Michael Beale thought his side wasted opportunities to claim points from the game and was unhappy to see his side lose from a set-piece.

He said: “To concede off a set-piece away from home is not good enough is it?

“It’s a pretty standard set-piece we’ve conceded from before half-time. We had our moments, but it’s a bad night.

“It’s a disappointing night. I thought Huddersfield made it a physical game and there was a point in the first half when we needed to roll our sleeves up and give a bit back, and I’m not sure we did that.

“On our best day we are slightly better than teams in this league, but I don’t think we are going to blow anyone away. We don’t score enough goals to blow teams away.”

Matty Pearson’s first-half goal pulled Huddersfield five points clear of the Championship relegation places with a 1-0 victory over Sunderland at the John Smith’s Stadium.

Huddersfield were 5-3 beaten by promotion-chasing Southampton at the weekend and their confidence in front of goal showed when Pearson put them in front eight minutes before the break.

The Terriers have not lost on their own patch this year and were good value for a second successive home win – they could have had more than the solitary goal but for the woodwork and a goal-line clearance – but needed goalkeeper Lee Nicholls’ heroics to secure three points.

Huddersfield’s first chance came when Sorba Thomas dispossessed Daniel Ballard on the last line of defence and Luke O’Nien’s challenge recycled the ball out to a waiting David Kasumu who sliced wide of the target.

O’Nien brought Kasumu down outside the area which presented Huddersfield with a good set-piece opportunity on the edge of the area.

Jack Rudoni’s vicious strike from the free-kick was palmed by Anthony Patterson into the path of Pearson who bundled home from close range.

Huddersfield held their breath on the stroke of half-time when a short corner was worked out to Dan Neil, who fired an effort on target which looked to be a routine save for Nicholls, only for it to slip through his grasp out for a corner.

Sunderland were making a habit of giving Huddersfield dangerous free-kicks, this time Trai Hume brought Koroma down and the Huddersfield striker picked himself up and curled the resulting free-kick onto the near post.

Sunderland went in search of an equaliser and their first effort on target of the half came when Jobe Bellingham drilled into the gloves of Nicholls.

Huddersfield came within the width of the goal-line of doubling their advantage when Rudoni’s glancing header was cleared by Bellingham before appeals for handball were swiftly waved away by referee Gavin Ward.

Michael Beale rolled the dice with his substitutions in search of a leveller and Patrick Roberts’ strike from outside the box looked to be heading in before it was deflected over the bar.

The visitors thought they had earned a last-gasp equaliser when Hume was put through on goal only to be denied by the outstretched Nicholls as he magnificently tipped behind.

Nicholls was once again the hero in the final minute of added time when O’Nien’s cross was diverted towards his own goal by Tom Lees but the Huddersfield keeper sprung well to tip over the bar and earn another vital home win.

Huddersfield boss Neil Warnock hailed Jack Rudoni as a ‘manager’s dream’ after the midfielder struck deep into stoppage-time to beat West Brom 2-1 and secure a first Sky Bet Championship win of the season.

Rudoni’s late strike ended Albion’s 100 per cent home record after John Swift’s had cancelled out Delano Burgzorg’s 33rd-minute opener for the visitors.

“It was nice to see Jack get on the scoresheet – him and Ben Wiles are manager’s dreams to work with,” said Warnock.

“Jack has got that in his locker, but not consistently at the moment and that’s what we’ve got to get him doing this season.

“Ben, Jack and Jonathan Hogg dictated the central area and we looked dangerous on the break.

“I’m so proud of the players – they couldn’t have given me any more.”

Warnock also singled out the efforts of Dutch forward Burgzorg, who scoring on his full debut following a loan move from German club Maine 05.

“Del took his opportunity because that goal was out of nothing really. He deserved the goal because he’d done so much work on his own,” Warnock said.

“He’s done really well and it’s hard for players coming in because the Championship is so physical.”

Warnock felt Huddersfield were good value for all three points after seeing Rudoni have an earlier goal disallowed.

“I thought we deserved it – I know they had a 10-minute spell when they scored but we had some great opportunities to have created better chances than we did,” the Terriers boss said.

“I didn’t see much wrong with the disallowed effort and I thought we kept plugging away, especially after they scored.

“They got the crowd behind them and you might have expected us to go under, but we defended well and broke well.

“I thought the subs did well and changed it again and gave a bit more and the fans were unbelievable and deserved that.

“We have been written off as relegation fodder, but we can go anywhere and get a result when we play like that.”

West Brom head coach Carlos Corberan was left to reflect on what might have been after substitute Josh Maja was denied by Huddersfield goalkeeper Lee Nicholls just before Rudoni’s dramatic late winner.

“We didn’t deserve to win because Huddersfield were better than us in many moments, they started better and were very competitive, which we knew they would be,” he said.

“I told the players it would be a real battle, especially in the middle of the pitch as they put a lot of physical players there – and the fact they hadn’t won a game beforehand made them more dangerous.

“Lee Nicholls won that game with the save he made, then we should have managed the next 40 seconds better.

“If we talk about the action before we conceded the second goal, we could have won because that was the one moment that could have made it 2-1.”