The Latics surged to the top of the tree earlier in the day after an emphatic victory over Crystal Palace, however The Baggies failed to make the most of their game in hand.
Sunderland may even have taken all three points from their tip to the Midlands, however Russell Hoult (pictured) in the home side's goal pulled off a host of saves.
West Brom stay second despite Norwich City's 3-1 gritty victory over Walsall at The Bescot Stadium.
Gary Birch had The Saddlers ahead early, however second half strikes from Ian Henderson, Paul McVeigh and Peter Crouch turned the match around.
The match finished on a sour note with both sides finishing with ten men following the dismissals of Paul Ritchie and goalscorer Crouch.
Steve Jones' early strike for Crewe was enough to seal a solitary goal victory over Reading at Gresty Road.
Sheffield United snatched a last-gasp 2-2 draw against Stoke City at The Britannia Stadium.
Early goals from Gifton Noel-Williams and Ade Akinbiyi had The Potters in firm control, before Wayne Thomas was sent off for picking up his second yellow card for fouling Jack Lester.
Robert Kozluk pulled one back for The Blades before Lester earned a point from the penalty spot with the last kick of the game.
Rotherham remain in the bottom three after Danny Webber's goal early in the second half for Watford sealed a 1-0 win.
Preston heaped more pressure on Derby County following a 3-0 victory over The Rams at Deepdale.
Graham Alexander opened the scoring from the penalty spot, before second half efforts from David Healy and Ricardo Fuller finished off the Midlands side.
A Kevin Braniff goal on the stroke of half time earned Millwall all three points at home to Nottingham Forest, while Alan Pardew remains winless in charge at West Ham after being held by Coventry.
Jermain Defoe had The Hammers ahead after 10 minutes, but a goal shortly before half time against the run of play by Graham Barrett ensured the match finished level.
The course of the Manager of the Month award struck again after Joe Royle saw his Ipswich Town side crash 4-3 at home to Gillingham.
Rod Wallace had the visitors ahead, before Ian Westlake levelled matters for the home side with a debut strike from 16-yards out.
Mamady Sidebe ensured the home side remained ahead at the break with his team's second, before Paul Shaw added a third after 53 minutes.
Stung into gear, goals from Pablo Counago and Tommy Miller had looked enough to bag a point, before Mark Saunders scored the winner three minutes into injury time.
Robert Earnshaw proved Cardiff City's hero yet again after his late equaliser earned The Bluebirds a share of the spoils with a 1-1 draw against Burnley at Turf Moor.
The home side looked the more likely to open the scoring with Richard Chaplow testing Neil Alexander with a 20-yard drive early on.
Robbie Blake should have done better after 20 minutes with his right-footed effort, while at the other end Gavin Gordon came close with a header.
The home side continued to shade the match after half time and deservedly took the lead shortly after when Glen Little's first-time cross was converted by Chaplow from six yards out.
Free-scoring Earnshaw levelled the match with his first effort in the game. The Welsh international capitalised on a Graham Branch mistake to score past Brian Jensen.
Click below for match summaries:
Burnley 1-1 Cardiff
Coventry 1-1 West Ham
Crewe 1-0 Reading
Ipswich 3-4 Gillingham
Millwall 1-0 Nott'm Forest
Preston 3-0 Derby
Stoke 2-2 Sheff Utd
Walsall 1-3 Norwich
Watford 1-0 Rotherham
West Brom 0-0 Sunderland
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