Wigan kept their hopes of European football alive with a frantic 3-2 win over Aston Villa at The JJB Stadium.
What many may have anticipated to be a tepid end-of-season encounter produced a stirring second half after Jimmy Bullard had shot the hosts into a first half lead.
When Juan Pablo Angel levelled straight after the interval David O'Leary's side, buoyant after an Easter Sunday win in the Second City derby, may have expected to kick on.
However it was the hosts who grasped the nettle through Henri Camara's quickfire brace of well taken goals and Liam Ridgewell's scrambled effort, though it ensured a fraught finale, was not enough for the visitors.
For all the second half entertainment it took seventeen minutes of the first period before a chance of note arrived. James Milner was the provider - his cross eluded Pascal Chimbonda and allowed Gareth Barry to spin and shoot. John Filan pulled off a smart parry although Wigan were thankful the loose ball did not drop to a claret shirt.
Bullard it was who claimed the opener with a superb 20-yard volley. Jason Roberts's cross was nicked away from Camara by Gary Cahill but the ball sat up invitingly for Wigan's all-action midfielder to steer the ball away from Thomas Sorensen. A moment of magic quite out of keeping with a subdued start.
Wigan could have extended their superbly executed lead but poor control from Camara lost the initiative of Chimbonda's probing while similar good work from the Wigan strikeforce presented a shooting opportunity to Reto Ziegler but the Swiss skied his effort.
As the half wore on Villa pressed forward but Milan Baros and Angel - not yet fully reacquainted with one another - found the route to goal blocked by a combination of stout home resistance and a disappointing final ball.
O'Leary made a half time change replacing the largely ineffective Craig Gardner with another youngster Gabriel Agbonlahor.
Villa drew first blood in what turned out to be a goal-laden second period - Angel sliding home from close range in the 53rd minute after exchanging passes with Agbonlahor.
Parity was restored only momentarily, however, and once again Wigan were the beneficiaries of a tremendous strike.
Camara, only an occasional threat in the first half, danced away from Cahill in the 56th minute and drove inside the area before unleashing a fierce shot which found the bottom corner.
Incredibly Camara was at it again four minutes later to give his side a 3-1 lead - the Senegalese international driving through a crowd of players after exchanging passes with Chimbonda.
A shell-shocked Villa had the chance to respond themselves almost immediately but Angel inexplicably failed to find his partner Baros in acres of space, plum centre of goal - much to the Czech's frustration.
The hapless Angel then headed J'Lloyd Samuel's cross inches wide but O'Leary's side reduced the deficit and gave themselves a 67th minute lifeline when Ridgewell got a touch to Barry's deflected centre with the ball squirming through the legs of Filan.
The end-to-end action continued in a frenetic vein and Villa were inches away from making it 3-3 in the 80th minute but Ridgewell's header back across Filan's goal had too much height for his defensive colleague Cahill.
With the match entering stoppage time, the home side rode their luck. Filan, in particular, breathed a huge sigh of relief as he misjudged a shot from Angel - fortunately for the Australian the ball landed on top of the net.
Bullard could have wrapped up the points and abated the home side's racing pulses but he blazed over.
