SHEFFIELD UNITED CUT the gap to safety to seven points as they claimed only their third Premier League win of the season with a 3-1 victory against Luton at Kenilworth Road.
Rob Edwards’ side were the form team in the relegation fight but here they were undone by the Blades, in part due to a lacklustre first half in which Cameron Archer and James McAtee – from the penalty spot – scored to open a two-goal gap.
Luton had taken 11 points from their last six games, with Sheffield United just two in the equivalent period, yet despite dominating possession the hosts were tripped up by a dogged display by the league’s bottom side.
They rallied after the break, halving the deficit with a penalty of their own from Carlton Morris.
Yet in pushing for an equaliser they were left exposed on the break, and on just such an attack Vinicius Souza rattled one past Thomas Kaminski to seal a first win on the road for Chris Wilder’s side and shine a glimmer of hope over their survival bid.
Elsewhere, in-form Ivan Toney struck again as Brentford earned a deserved win at Wolves.
A third goal in four games since the striker’s return from his ban for breaching betting regulations clinched a 2-0 victory at Molineux after Christian Norgaard’s first-half header.
The Bees earned just their third win in 12 Premier League games and gained revenge for Wolves’ 4-1 victory in December and dumping them out of the FA Cup last month.
Pedro Neto twice hit the post and Craig Dawson had a goal disallowed for offside but Wolves failed to score at Molineux in the league for the first time in a year.
Brentford climbed to 14th following a first away win since October, with Wolves 10th, after a victory which should have been greater.
In west London, Rodrigo Muniz scored a brace as Fulham claimed their first win of the year with a 3-1 victory over Bournemouth at Craven Cottage.
Muniz was given the nod over January loan signing Armando Broja and scored twice, while Bobby De Cordova-Reid and Cherries defender Marcos Senesi also got in on the act.
Muniz, who scored his first-ever Premier League goal in last week’s 2-2 draw with Burnley, looked bright from the start during the victory.
Bournemouth searched for a late fightback but the Cottagers held on through seven added minutes to leapfrog their opponents into 12th.