Blackburn Rovers gave themselves a whole lot of breathing space as the former relegation candidates beat Wigan Atletic 2-0 on Sunday.
South African Benedict McCarthy scored the opening goal just before the break. The forward was well positioned when Morten Gamst Pedersen took a corner kick, and headed the ball past Chris Kirkland from close range.
And Wigan's resistance was broken on the hour when Ryan Nelsen added Blackburn's second, heading home from a McCarthy free kick.
Whether the win was entirely deserved could be debated as Wigan actually created more opportunities, but Blackburn were simply more effective up front.