Middlesbrough moved to second in the Sky Bet Championship following an entertaining 3-2 win over Queens Park Rangers on Friday night.
With Brighton and Burnley not in action until their Saturday lunchtime meeting, Boro had the chance to pile the pressure on their title rivals and made a good start when Jordan Rhodes put them in front after 18 minutes at Loftus Road.
The hosts were level on the half hour though, when Jamie Mackie produced a stunning volley which found its way in via the crossbar, and the teams went into the break level.
But it was Boro who regained their advantage in the second half, despite the best efforts of R's goalkeeper Alex Smithies. Grant Leadbitter saw his penalty saved by Smithies, but the resulting corner - taken by the Boro skipper - was nodded home by Gaston Ramirez.
Five minutes later, Boro gave themselves a two-goal cushion from another Leadbitter delivery - this time it was Ben Gibson who benefitted just before the hour mark.
Tjaronn Chery fired home from distance with a matter of minutes remaining to give QPR hope, but Boro finished the stronger and held on for a huge three points in the promotion race.