Sheffield Wednesday boss Danny Rohl said his side won a “first cup final” as they gave their Championship survival chances a shot in the arm with a 2-0 win against Birmingham.
Ike Ugbo scored his first two goals for the Owls as they gave their disgruntled fans something to cheer about at Hillsborough.
Thousands of home supporters brandished posters protesting against owner Dejphon Chansiri before kick-off but they were soon celebrating their first league win since New Year’s Day.
The victory repairs some of the damage of last week’s 4-0 defeat at Huddersfield and second-bottom Wednesday are now five points behind the Terriers and safety.
“It was a big, big fight from both teams,” Rohl said. “We fought for every inch today, we had some really good moments with the ball.
“It was a performance from the whole team, all in all it was a close game but we took the win.
“It was important, in our situation, it is just one game with three points and there are 15 games. We have to go.
“I am not speaking about momentum, I am speaking about three points, for me it was a first cup final.
“We know exactly our situation, we know everyone has to be in one direction and if we do this we can be strong and have a chance. But we have to be fighting for 15 games.”
Birmingham missed the chance to pull clear of the bottom three and they are now just six points above Wednesday and looking over their shoulder.
Things would have been different had they been more clinical and boss Tony Mowbray accepts they cannot afford many more games like this.
“We had 25 shots tonight and no goals,” he said. “We had 15 at West Brom last week and no goals.
“We have to be more clinical, we have to take more care. We have got quality at the top end of the pitch but we have to take more care. There is plenty right with the team. The goals are disappointing.
“We have to keep going and believing, there is a long way to go. We have to turn dominant performances into wins.
“I am trying to be positive, they have to shake themselves out of games like this, we have to get in front and win games comfortably.
“I am alright with it, I am not alright to lose football matches, but there is plenty right with the team. We have to take more care.”