Stoke boss Steven Schumacher wants to make their home ground a fortress after a crucial 2-0 win over Middlesbrough.
Bae Jun-ho’s second goal in as many games before the interval set the hosts on course to a vital victory.
And Lewis Baker put the result beyond any doubt late on to hand the Potters a major boost in their battle for survival.
Stoke remain in the relegation zone but move level on points with three sides above them.
“It’s a big win and I’m really pleased for everyone,” said Schumacher.
“It was two teams that aren’t in brilliant form; the first goal was crucial and after that, we played with a bit more confidence.
“It was a tough game, but I think every one of our players deserves huge credit because everyone played right to the maximum and that’s what it’s going to take.
“We’re in a real battle and there’s so many teams in a congested bottom half of the division.
“We need to make this place a difficult place to come and today our fans were outstanding right from the very first whistle.
“It was a great atmosphere; we needed the fans today and we’re going to need them again.
“They got behind us and I really appreciate the support and the players put in the effort and the commitment that they’ll get behind.
“It was a massive win and every point that you get is going to be huge; everyone can see how tight it is. Six points separate us and 12th, which is mental.
“It’ll change loads of times from now until the end of the season. There are 11 games to go, a lot of points to play for and we’ve got to try and get as many as we can.”
Middlesbrough slipped to a fourth defeat in five games as their wastefulness was punished.
Riley McGree was denied an early opener by Daniel Iversen and Emmanuel Latte Lath had an effort blocked on the line.
“It was always going to be a tough one and a bit of a wrestle,” said boss Michael Carrick.
“I thought we got to grips with it well early in the game and we had some really good chances.
“The first goal was important today and it didn’t go our way and we didn’t really get to grips with chasing the game as we would’ve liked.
“It wasn’t for a lack of effort or attitude; we just didn’t have the ball in the right part of the pitch for long enough.
“Confidence when you’re not winning is tested; it’s the human side to sport and you can’t expect the boys to be flying because we haven’t had good results.
“We’ve got to be wary of the next game, picking up the next win as soon as we can and performing well.
“That’s purely the main focus for me now; we’ve got a cluster of games coming up over the next 10 days or so.
“We need to look forward to and attack them as they’re opportunities for us to put things right.
“We want the next result to come quickly for us but in terms of the league table, it doesn’t change the next game.
“Wherever you’re at in the league, you’re always trying to win the next game.”
Bristol City Women 0-4 Man City Women: Hosts relegated as Fowler double inspires WSL leaders
Mary Fowler scored twice to set WSL leaders Manchester City on their way to a 4-0 rout of Bristol City, who suffered relegation as a result, on Sunday.
With Arsenal having drawn with Everton earlier in the day, Man City knew a victory would be enough to take the title race down to two teams.
That victory duly arrived in emphatic fashion, with all four of Man City's goals arriving in the second half.
Fowler's fantastic strike opened the scoring in the 62nd minute, with the Australia international doubling her tally soon after, paving the way for an Amy Rodgers own goal and Alex Greenwood's late header to seal a huge victory.
Arsenal are now out of the title race, with Chelsea - who have two games in hand on Gareth Taylor's team - the only side capable of catching Man City.
The Robins, meanwhile, will be playing in the second tier again next term.
Data Debrief: Bristol heading down with a whimper
Bristol City have failed to score in their last five games in the WSL, a run of 544 minutes without a goal.
They mustered just 0.09 expected goals (xG) to Man City's 3.4, with the visitors having now kept a clean sheet in nine of their 20 league games this season.
De Rossi demands more from 'tired' Roma ahead of crunch run
Daniele De Rossi acknowledged his Roma team may be tired, but he insisted they must not allow themselves to be embarrassed.
Roma fought back to draw 2-2 with last season's Serie A champions Napoli in a pulsating fixture on Sunday.
Tammy Abraham's late header secured a point for De Rossi's team, who took the lead through Paulo Dybala's penalty before going behind to goals from Matias Olivera and Victor Osimhen.
With Serie A set to have five teams in the Champions League next season, Roma occupy fifth spot with four matches remaining, but sixth-placed Atalanta are just two points behind with a game in hand.
There is also the small matter of a Europa League semi-final against Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen on the cards over the coming weeks, and De Rossi set the stall out.
"We drew, it is not a result to throw away, but it is not the result or the performance that we wanted," Roma coach Daniele De Rossi told Sky Sports Italia.
"At times you can steal the ball off Napoli, but we then gave it back again too many times. Napoli had a lot of chances in the first half, we did better in the second, but we have to do better.
"Look, we are tired, but we cannot start thinking that we’re tired and that means we can be embarrassed in the final few weeks of the season."
Roma host Leverkusen on Thursday before taking on Juventus on May 5, with a crunch clash against Atalanta – who are also into the Europa League semi-finals – set to follow after the away leg against Xabi Alonso's team.
Key to a successful end to the campaign for Roma will be keeping Dybala fit. The Argentine has been involved in the joint-most goals (12) in Serie A since the turn of the year, scoring nine and setting up three, level with Juve's Dusan Vlahovic.
PSG's latest Ligue 1 title arrives as Monaco lose to Lyon
Paris Saint-Germain have been crowned as Ligue 1 champions after Lyon overcame Monaco 3-2 on Sunday.
A 4-1 midweek win over Lorient ensured that one more victory would be enough for Luis Enrique's team to get over the line, but PSG failed to get the job done themselves when they faced relegation-threatened Le Havre on Saturday.
That game was the 700th match of the QSI era at PSG, and the club's 1,900th in France's top flight.
However, PSG's wait to win their third straight title did not last long, as less than 24 hours later, Lyon – who will face the Parisians in the final of the Coupe de France at the end of May – came out on top in a topsy turvy encounter with second-placed Monaco.
Substitute Malick Fofana was the matchwinner for Lyon, and ultimately the player who handed the title to PSG.
Wissam Ben Yedder had put Monaco ahead in the opening minute, but quickfire goals from Alexandre Lacazette and Said Benrahma turned the match on its head before half-time.
Ben Yedder netted his second to restore parity on the hour mark, and thought he had sealed his hat-trick when he volleyed in from a free-kick, only to have strayed offside.
With only a win good enough for Monaco to stay in the fight, the visitors were then caught out in the 84th minute, with Fofana racing onto Lacazette's throughball and finishing calmly.
After a dismal start to the season, relegation looked a real possibility for Lyon, but they are now, with three games remaining, still in with a shout of qualifying for Europe.
PSG on the other hand now have 12 Ligue 1 titles to their name, with 10 of those coming under QSI's ownership. Aside from the COVID-impacted 2019-20 season, five of their last six league titles have been secured before the start of May.
It also means Luis Enrique remains in the running for a treble in his first season at the club, with PSG taking on Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League semi-finals next week.
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