Jamie Allen dragged Coventry out of the Sky Bet Championship relegation zone as he denied Blackburn the chance to go top.
Allen fired City in front four minutes before the break and Rovers’ hopes of a fightback were effectively dashed five minutes from time when substitute Jake Garrett was dismissed for a foul on Callum Doyle.
Coventry climbed a point clear of the drop zone as a result of their 1-0 win, while Blackburn could find themselves five points adrift of leaders Burnley if they beat Rotherham on Wednesday evening.
Iliman Ndiaye’s header dragged Sheffield United to within a point of Rovers after a 1-0 victory at Bristol City.
Ndiaye struck four minutes after the restart to hand the Blades the advantage, although goalkeeper Wes Foderingham needed the help of an upright to preserve his clean sheet after George Tanner took aim from distance.
Tanner’s evening took a further turn for the worse deep into stoppage time when he was sent off for an ugly challenge on James McAtee which sparked something of a melee.
It proved a better night for new bosses Michael Carrick and Carlos Corberan as both tasted victory for the first time in their posts.
Carrick’s Middlesbrough won 3-1 at Hull, with a significant helping hand from their hosts.
Chuba Akpom headed Boro into a 30th-minute lead from Tommy Smith’s cross, but the Tigers responded and, after Jean Michael Seri had rattled a post, Boro old boy Cyrus Christie levelled on the hour mark in front of the watching Liam
Rosenior, who is expected to be named as Shota Arveladze’s replacement on Wednesday.
However, the visitors were back in front within three minutes when Tobias Figueiredo bundled into his own net under pressure from Dael Fry, and Christie was similarly unfortunate when he defected Ryan Giles’ cross past his own ‘keeper
with 10 minutes remaining.
West Brom’s need was even greater as Corberan guided them to a 1-0 victory over Blackpool in his second game at the helm.
They left it late, however, with Okay Yokuslu making the decisive intervention with just five minutes remaining to end the Baggies’ three-match losing streak and clinch a first home win since August 20.
A single Brad Potts goal was enough to hand Preston victory over high-flying Swansea.
Potts put the home side ahead on the half-hour when he followed up after Ched Evans’ attempt had been saved, in the process sending the Lilywhites level on points with the sixth-placed Swans.
Luton and Reading had to make do with a point apiece after a 0-0 draw at Kenilworth Road on a night when Jeff Hendrick and Andy Carroll both went close for the visitors after the break.
Sky Bet League One
Morecambe goalkeeper Connor Ripley saved two penalties as the League One strugglers held Derby to a 1-1 draw.
First Ripley kept out James Collins’ spot-kick in the 37th minute after Anthony O’Connor had brought down Lewis Dobbin.
Jensen Weir’s volley then put hosts Morecambe in front, but Derby were awarded a second penalty when Collins volleyed against the crossbar and his follow-up shot was handled by Ryan Delaney.
This time Ripley denied David McGoldrick, but Derby found their equaliser through Louie Sibley’s deflected effort in the 59th minute.
Harvey Rodgers scored a late equaliser as Accrington ended their five-game losing run with a 1-1 draw with Lincoln.
Lincoln took the lead on the hour mark when Jack Diamond was brought down inside the box and he stepped up to convert the resulting penalty.
But the hosts were pegged back five minutes from time when Rodgers nodded in a Mitch Clark cross to salvage a point.
Oxford and Fleetwood also played out a 1-1 draw at the Kassam Stadium.
Carlos Mendes Gomes netted his fifth goal in his last seven games in the second minute to hand Fleetwood the lead, but Oxford hit back five minutes after the break through half-time substitute Gatlin O’Donkor with his first goal for the club.
Wycombe twice went in front but had to settle for a 2-2 draw with Port Vale at Adams Park.
Anis Mehmeti opened the scoring in superb style with a 25-yard strike after four minutes, but James Wilson equalised deep into first-half stoppage time.
Wanderers retook the lead through Lewis Wing just after the hour mark, but Vale struck back again in the 77th minute courtesy of Tom Conlon’s header.
Sky Bet League Two
Billy Waters’ hat-trick earned Barrow their third successive win in League Two with a 3-1 victory at home to Colchester.
Waters opened the scoring in the 22nd minute and scored his second three minutes later thanks to an acrobatic volley.
The 28-year-old sealed his hat-trick less than a minute after the break when he fired home from Niall Canavan’s flick-on before Freddie Sears’ late consolation for Colchester.
Tranmere and Stockport shared the points in a goalless draw at Prenton Park.