Scott Hogan's late goal snatched a point for Birmingham in a 1-1 draw to deny Preston North End a move into the top half of the Championship.
Neither side created much in terms of clear-cut chances across throughout the 90 minutes with Patrick Bauer's instinctive first-half finish seemingly putting Preston on course for a crucial three points.
However, a late triple substitution turned the tide for Birmingham and in the dying minutes Republic of Ireland international Hogan popped up to seal a dramatic point for the away side.
The draw breaks North End boss Ryan Lowe's 100 per cent record in league action since taking charge of the club back in December, with the Lilywhites remaining in 15th place in the table.
Aleksandar Mitrovic propelled Fulham to the top of the Championship as the Cottagers twice came from behind to claim a comprehensive 6-2 victory over Bristol City.
Knocked out of the top-two following Blackburn's win at Cardiff earlier on, Fulham were caught cold in the seventh minute following a slightly delayed kick off when Antoine Semenyo cut on to his left foot and fired home.
Mitrovic headed Fulham level after 21 minutes and although Semenyo restored the Robins' lead just before the half hour with a long range effort, the hosts scored four unanswered goals before half-time.
Neeskens Kebano grabbed a second equaliser for Fulham, who hit the front for the first time after 36 minutes thanks to Fabio Carvalho before Mitrovic bagged his 26th and 27th league goals of the season before the break.
Another trademark header in the 41st minute put Fulham 4-2 ahead before the Serb brought a breathless opening half featuring seven goals to an end by firing beyond helpless Bristol City goalkeeper Max O'Leary.
Kebano ensured there would be no fightback from the visitors when he struck after 57 minutes as Fulham leapfrogged Blackburn Rovers and Bournemouth, knocked off first place in the standings after a last-gasp 3-2 defeat at Luton.
The Cherries had battled back from 2-0 down to level, with second-half efforts from Emiliano Marcondes and substitute Morgan Rogers cancelling out Lloyd Kelly's own goal and Allan Campbell's strike before the interval.
But Kal Naismith drilled home from just outside the area in the seventh minute of time added-on to down Bournemouth, who now sit two points below table-topping Fulham.
Blackburn are level on 49 points with Bournemouth after Joe Rothwell's 14th-minute curling effort secured a 1-0 win at the Cardiff City Stadium. Rovers even withstood the dismissal of Ryan Nyambe in the final quarter of an hour.
QPR are up to fourth after Charlie Austin's 89th-minute strike sealed a 1-0 victory over West Brom, who drop to fifth, while Middlesbrough complete the top-six after hitting back from a goal down to beat Reading 2-1.
Former Newcastle striker Andy Carroll opened the scoring midway through the second half but Matt Crooks struck twice in the final six minutes as Boro claimed their fourth successive league win.
The game marked a first start for the club for Aaron Connolly, the Galway striker getting a few chances in the first half before being withdrawn on 66 minutes.
Huddersfield slipped out of the play-off spots after a 1-1 draw at home to Swansea. Danel Sinani had put the Terriers ahead after a quarter of an hour but Flynn Downes secured the Swans a share of the spoils after 78 minutes.
Derby moved to within eight points of safety after collecting their fourth win in their last five, with Tom Lawrence's second-half double sealing a 2-0 triumph over Sheffield United.
Peterborough remain three points off safety after losing 4-1 to Coventry. Gustavo Hamer and Matt Godden gave the Sky Blues some breathing room and while Jorge Grant pulled one back, Nathan Thompson's own goal and Godden's second secured a comfortable three points for Coventry.
