Watch: Michael Smith scores stunning header but Sheffield Wednesday lose ground to Ipswich Town and Plymouth Argyle

With the game scoreless heading towards the interval, Smith powered home a header from 12 yards with the last act of the half to give his side the lead on the stroke of half time.

The ex-Rotherham United man was found superbly by George Byers who picked the ball up inside the Rovers half before lifting a cross into the path of Smith who used his momentum to direct the header past James Belshaw.

It ended a run of six games without a goal for the 31-year-old and was his third goal of the league campaign since moving from the Millers at the end of last season

Rovers levelled on the hour through Middlesbrough loanee Josh Coburn to earn a draw and leave Wednesday five points behind second-placed Ipswich Town and a further seven points adrift of league leaders Plymouth Argyle.

In League One on Tuesday, Morgan Whittaker’s late goal ensured Plymouth remained top of League One after they launched a dramatic fightback to beat Shrewsbury 2-1.

The leaders fell behind to Jordan Shipley’s strike on the half-hour, but substitute Niall Ennis dragged Argyle back into it with 20 minutes to go before Whittaker snatched victory seven minutes from time. Ipswich needed to be similarly resilient to maintain their pursuit with a 3-2 win at Port Vale after squandering a two-goal lead.

Town looked to be cruising after first-half strikes from Freddie Ladapo and Cameron Humphreys, but it took a second from Ladapo to secure the points after Gavin Massey and Nathan Smith dragged the home side right back into it. Fourth-placed Peterborough had to come from behind to beat Accrington 3-1.

Stanley took a surprise 25th-minute lead courtesy of Harvey Rodgers’ header, but goals from Ephron Mason-Clark, Kwame Poku and Jonson Clarke-Harris turned the tide.

Colby Bishop denied 10-man Oxford victory as his equaliser clinched a 1-1 draw for Portsmouth. The visitors went ahead through Kyle Joseph’s 16th-minute strike from distance, but six minutes after Billy Bodin’s dismissal for a second bookable offence, Bishop intervened to claim a point.

Substitutes Jon Bodvarsson and Amadou Bakayoko both scored late on as Bolton snatched victory from the jaws of defeat at home to Burton.

With his side trailing to Sam Hughes’ opener, Bakayoko levelled with three minutes remaining before Bodvarsson made it 2-1 in the eighth minute of stoppage time. Danny Mandroiu fired Lincoln to a 1-0 win at Barnsley, while Ben Williams’s first-half header secured victory by the same score for Cheltenham over fellow strugglers Morecambe.

Ryan Inniss was sent off as Charlton slipped to a 2-0 home defeat against bottom-of-the-table MK Dons.

Inniss’ foul on Louie Barry, his second bookable offence, resulted in the penalty from which Will Grigg fired the Dons ahead before Bradley Johnson wrapped up the points 12 minutes from time. Lloyd Jones’ 77th-minute strike proved decisive as Cambridge won 3-2 at Wycombe.

Harvey Knibbs and substitute Jack Lankester scored either side of Sam Vokes’ header before Lloyd Jones made sure of the win despite Lewis Wing’s late effort. Fleetwood and Forest Green finished 1-1 after Callum Morton cancelled out Harvey Bunker’s first-half opener, while Derby and Exeter fought out a goalless stalemate at Pride Park.