Alan Browne was on target as Preston turned the form book on its head as they edged out high-flying 10-man Leeds 2-1 at Deepdale.
Liam Millar was the North End hero, firing home brilliantly into the top corner to win a dramatic game in the 89th minute.
Leeds blew their chance to close the gap on the Championship's top two after keeper Illan Meslier inexplicably earned himself a straight red card early in the second half.
And just two minutes later, and with sub keeper Karl Darlow now having replaced Piroe, Leeds fell behind.
Browne found space in the box as he headed home Millar’s pinpoint cross.
Georginio Rutter went close for the 10 men, before parity was restored, somewhat against the run of play, in the 83rd minute.
Dan James jinked into the box before being tripped, leaving skipper Pascal Struijk to slot home from the spot to make it 1-1.
However, that was not enough to earn Leeds a point as Millar darted into the visitors' box before curling home sweetly to seal the deal just before the game headed into added time.
Sam Morsy's twice deflected stoppage-time equaliser earned second-placed Ipswich a 1-1 draw at home to league leaders Leicester City.
Morsy's effort from the edge of the penalty area struck Ricardo Pereira and then the head of Jannik Vestergaard to leave Foxes goalkeeper Mads Hermansen helpless.
Leicester had taken the lead in the 24th minute with a strike from just inside the penalty area by Stephy Mavididi.
Bristol City chalked up their third straight league victory – and their first on the road under boss Liam Manning – with a 4-1 win at Watford.
Manning, who arrived from Oxford last month, plotted a shock win at Vicarage Road as the Robins' midfield press choked the life out of the in-form Hornets.
The hosts just could not stop losing the ball in midfield and Manning's men cashed in with a strike from Cameron Pring and an own goal from Wesley Hoedt to lead at the break.
Watford hit back through Giorgi Chakvetadze four minutes into the second half, but Ireland winger Mark Sykes and substitute Andreas Weimann killed off the Hornets.
Ireland goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu kept his third consecutive clean sheet as Southampton romped to a 5-0 win at home to Swansea City.
Newcastle loanee Ryan Fraser scored a second-half brace, after goals from Joe Aribo and Samuel Edozie either side of the break had given the Saints a 2-0 lead.
Che Adams added a fifth in injury-time as Russell Martin's side made it 16 matches unbeaten in the league.
Tom Bradshaw and Murray Wallace scored as Millwall beat QPR 2-0 to end a three-month wait for a home Championship win.
Bradshaw put the Lions in front with their only shot on target in the first half before Wallace made sure of all three points in second-half stoppage time.
Rangers enjoyed 65 per cent of the possession in the first half but failed to turn that into challenging moments for home keeper Matija Sarkic.
Their best moment before the break came after Paul Smyth nicked the ball past Jake Cooper in the 27th minute but George Saville cut out the Rangers winger's cross.
In the second half, Aidomo Emakhu tested Asmir Begovic in the 49th minute, the QPR keeper turning the near-post attempt around the post after Kenneth Paal was too easily brushed to the ground by the former Shamrock Rovers striker.
Millwall did more than enough for a first victory at The Den since 20 September, ending a seven-match winless run in the league. For QPR it was a third straight loss and they remained in the relegation zone.
Stoke ended a nine-match winless streak to beat Birmingham 3-1 in the Championship and put manager Wayne Rooney into more trouble at St Andrew's.
Victory for the Potters – secured by Jordan Thompson, Lynden Gooch and Andrew Vidigal before Jay Stansfield’s late consolation – was the first for new manager Steven Schumacher in his second match in charge, and the first since they beat Middlesbrough 2-0 on 28 October.
Rooney can only look on in envy at the record of his former Everton youth team-mate as the former England and Manchester United captain has now taken nine points from a possible 39 available as Birmingham were jeered off.
Brandon Thomas-Asante eased dominant West Brom back to winning ways with a 1-0 victory over 10-man Norwich after the visitors had Borja Sainz needlessly sent off in the first half at The Hawthorns.
Thomas-Asante grabbed the all-important goal in the 50th minute to cement West Brom's position of fifth in the table.
Huddersfield moved five points clear of the Championship relegation zone with a 3-0 win over disappointing Blackburn.
Jaheim Headley's low strike handed the Terriers a first-half advantage which was added to after the break by Sorba Thomas and Delano Burgzorg as Darren Moore’s side opened up a five-point gap to the bottom three.
Japan international Tatsuhiro Sakamoto struck both goals as Coventry continued to rise up the standings with a 2-0 win over struggling Sheffield Wednesday.
Although the Sky Blues remain in mid-table, they now find themselves just three points behind the play-off places following their third win in five games unbeaten.
Michael Beale claimed a first victory since taking charge of Sunderland with a 1-0 triumph at Hull.
Jack Clarke scored the winning goal after 82 minutes when he cut inside from the left before smartly directing the football into the bottom right-hand corner.
Middlesbrough were made to pay for missing a host of chances as they slipped to a 1-0 defeat at Rotherham.
The visitors squandered numerous opportunities and hit the woodwork twice in a frustrating afternoon in front of goal.
Rotherham took full advantage, with Cohen Bramall netting the second-half winner to end the Millers' 11-game winless run.
Plymouth once again came from behind to salvage a point as they remained unbeaten under caretaker boss Neil Dewsnip as they drew 2-2 at Cardiff City.
Having twice battled back from two goals down to sneak a 3-3 draw against Birmingham in the first game since the departure to Stoke of former boss Steve Schumacher, the Pilgrims hit back from 2-1 down in the second half to share the spoils.
Morgan Whittaker bagged both goals for the visitors and almost conjured up a winner. Argyle also scored at the wrong end of the pitch, via Matt Butcher, gifting Cardiff their opening goal with a misdirected back pass, while Karlan Grant scored the second.
