Sheffield United 1-0 Wigan Athletic: Iliman Ndiaye goal gives promotion chasers victory
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Iliman Ndiaye's goal gave second-placed Sheffield United a third successive league win
Promotion-chasing Sheffield United moved eight points clear of third-placed Luton with a win over the Championship's bottom side Wigan Athletic.
The home side took an early lead when James McAtee showed quick feet to break away down the left and send in a low centre for Iliman Ndiaye to tap in at the back post.
Billy Sharp drew an excellent save from Ben Amos and Ndiaye was denied a second by a goalline clearance from James McClean as the Blades threatened to blow the Latics away before the break.
Wigan improved after the break and Thelo Aasgaard's header drew a smart stop from Wes Foderingham, but they could not find an equaliser and are eight points adrift of safety with six games to play.
Fourth-placed Middlesbrough host runaway league leaders Burnley later on Friday, where a win for the Clarets, who welcome United on Monday, would see them promoted back to the Premier League.
The FA Cup semi-finalists made the perfect start when Ndiaye scored his 13th of the season, and only a superb save from Amos stopped Sharp from making it 2-0 inside 15 minutes.
Sharp, who is looking for his 250th career league goal, drew another good save from the keeper with a header after the interval.
Wigan competed gamely throughout but Aasgaard's header was their only attempt on target and they are now staring relegation in the face under boss Shaun Maloney.
They host mid-table Swansea on Monday in a game they surely must win if they are to avoid an immediate return to the third tier.
Sheffield United boss Paul Heckingbottom:
"I know people might have been expecting us to roll Wigan over but they showed a lot of fight and energy. They worked for each other and they don't seem fazed by the position they're in.
"Iliman won us the game and he's had some criticism off me in recent weeks. I felt he hasn't been in the six-yard box enough or getting enough shots away. Keeping hold of the ball and taking players on comes naturally to him. Sprinting 40 yards to get a tap-in doesn't so we're delighted with his goal from our point of view.
"We love being at home and performing well here. We always want to make this a difficult place for teams to come and play and we'll do that until the end of the season."
Wigan boss Shaun Maloney:
"Sheffield United put us under a lot of pressure in the first 10 minutes and we were disappointed to concede so early.
"After that, I was really happy. I thought we started to control the ball and we defended our box very well. We needed bits of luck at times but the players played through the pressure.
"United have some high profile players but I think we went toe to toe. Their talent took over at times and they created chances but we dealt with it.
"We knew they would have chances but we did come here thinking we could win. At this stage of the season it's about how clinical you are and that's our only disappointment."