Rotherham’s long wait for an away win continues after Marcus Forss struck late on to force a 1-1 draw for Middlesbrough.
In freezing temperatures at the Riverside, Boro failed to find the firepower to turn possession into enough goals to close the gap to the Sky Bet Championship play-off spots.
And it looked as if Rotherham, still rooted to the foot of the table, had made Michael Carrick’s men pay with Cafu’s 59th-minute opener.
The 30-year-old Portuguese winger’s first goal of the season looked like it could end a 14-match winless run away from home dating back to November 2022.
But Forss’ powerful strike in the 82nd minute levelled things up to secure a point for the hosts.
Middlesbrough controlled things by and large from start to finish but reached half-time goalless, yet Rotherham could easily have taken an early lead.
Jordan Hugill, the former Middlesbrough striker and Teessider, wasted a fantastic chance from just outside the box. He spotted goalkeeper Tom Glover off his line but his lob from 22 yards out dropped wide.
After that the home side, who lost winger Isaiah Jones through injury early on after he fell under a Hugill shove, created plenty of openings but lacked the scoring touch.
Defender Matt Clarke headed wide from a corner while Finn Azaz missed the target after he had cleverly been played in behind the Rotherham backline.
Sam Greenwood forced goalkeeper Viktor Johansson into a flying save to his right from distance and that was moments before the forward appeared to be pulled back in the area by defender Peter Kioso.
Despite Boro’s complaints, referee Darren Bond waved play on and dismissed any claims for a penalty.
Before the break substitute Forss was denied by Johansson following an incisive Hayden Hackney pass but otherwise Rotherham were pretty solid.
Millers head coach Leam Richardson’s tactics continued to frustrate Middlesbrough after the restart and after a few more Middlesbrough runs came to nothing, Rotherham broke the deadlock just before the hour.
Hugill’s excellent pass with the outside of his boot after strong play from Jamie Lindsay was perfectly weighted for Cafu to run on to and finish first time low and beyond Glover.
After that Rotherham attempted to slow things down again and Johnasson was booked for taking too long on a goal-kick after full-back Luke Ayling had fired wide from the edge of the area.
Matt Crooks, Josh Coburn and Lewis O’Brien were introduced in a bid to turn things around and within seconds of the latter pair’s arrival on the pitch, Forss levelled.
Morgan Rogers, who has reportedly been the subject of Aston Villa bids this week, burst into life. His flick was perfect for Forss to hammer inside Johansson’s near post with eight minutes left.
Middlesbrough thought they had won it in stoppage time when Coburn slid in to finish, but the flag went up for offside because Crooks had attempted to make contact with the cross at the near post.
Hull City 3-3 Ipswich Town: Tigers fight back three times to deny Tractor Boys
Ipswich Town missed the chance to move into an automatic promotion spot as play-off-chasing Hull City came from behind three times in a thrilling 3-3 Championship draw at The MKM Stadium.
Ipswich knew a victory would take them second after Leeds United were surprisingly beaten 4-0 by Queens Park Rangers on Friday, and they led on three separate occasions, George Hirst opening the scoring before Omari Hutchinson produced two brilliant strikes from the edge of the area.
However, buoyed by slip-ups from rivals Norwich City and West Brom earlier on Saturday, Hull dug deep to fight back on each occasion, Ozan Tufan and Liam Delap scoring their first two equalisers.
With Liam Rosenior's men 3-2 down with just four minutes to play, substitute Noah Ohio blasted his shot in off the crossbar to punish an error from Ipswich goalkeeper Vaclav Hladky.
The result keeps Ipswich behind second-placed Leeds on goal difference, though the Tractor Boys have a game in hand to come at Coventry City on Tuesday.
Hull, meanwhile, are two points adrift of the top six, with Norwich's goal difference advantage meaning their top-six spot is all but assured. The Tigers will, however, leapfrog West Brom if they beat Plymouth Argyle on the final day and Albion lose to Preston North End.
Data Debrief: Hutchinson's best not enough
Hutchinson was a man who deserved to be on the winning side on Saturday, giving Ryan Allsop no chance with two near-identical left-footed strikes from the right corner of the penalty area.
His goals came from an expected goals (xG) total of just 0.6, and he led all players on the pitch for shots (eight) and passes in the final third (21), also laying on three chances for his team-mates.
Al-Khaleej 0-1 Al-Nassr: Ronaldo misfires on return as Laporte nets winner
Cristiano Ronaldo returned from suspension but failed to find the net as Al-Nassr secured a 1-0 win over Al-Khaleej on Saturday, with Aymeric Laporte coming up with the decisive goal.
Ronaldo was in action for the first time since being sent off for an elbow in a 2-1 Saudi Super Cup loss to Al-Hilal earlier this month, with his initial two-match ban being reduced to one on appeal.
He missed three good chances as Al-Nassr threatened to fall further behind runaway Saudi Pro League leaders Al-Hilal, but former Manchester City defender Laporte spared his blushes by nodding Marcelo Brozovic's deep free-kick into the bottom-left corner with 68 minutes gone.
Al-Nassr remain nine points adrift of Al-Hilal at the summit in spite of their win, with Jorge Jesus' team unbeaten through 28 games this season as they close in on a record-extending 18th title.
Data Debrief: Ronaldo misfires on return
Ronaldo was presented with the Saudi Pro League's Player of the Month award for March ahead of kick-off, having scored four goals in three league appearances last month.
However, his sights were off on Saturday as he failed to net despite three of the visitors' four big chances, as defined by Opta, falling his way. He led all players on the pitch for expected goals (1.27 xG), shots (five), shots on target (three) and touches in the area (nine) without reward.
Huddersfield all but relegated from Championship while League Two play-off spots decided
Huddersfield Town saw their relegation from the Championship all but confirmed after a 1-1 draw with fellow strugglers Birmingham City on Saturday.
The Terriers avoided a defeat that would have seen them relegated on Saturday, but even a win on the final day over promotion hopefuls Ipswich Town will not be enough unless they overcome a huge goal difference of 15 goals with Plymouth Argyle.
Birmingham remain in the other relegation place and now must beat Norwich City to stand a chance of staying up with Sheffield Wednesday, Plymouth and Blackburn Rovers also still in danger.
At the other end of the table, the Canaries dropped points in a 2-2 draw with Swansea City, leaving the door open for Hull City, who face Ipswich Town later today.
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