Bristol City continued their march towards promotion with a routine 3-0 win over Crewe Alexandra at Ashton Gate this evening.
Aaron Wilbraham and Aden Flint put the Robins two up before half time, and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas completed the rout when he skipped around Crewe goalkeeper Paul Rachubka and fired into an empty net in the dying minutes.
Second-placed Preston North End kept pace with the league leaders and took their unbeaten run to nine games as goals from Daniel Johnson and Jermaine Beckford gave them a 2-0 win over Peterborough United at Deepdale, but Steve Cotterill's side remain 11 points clear at the top of the table.
Swindon Town remain in the promotion hunt but had to rely on a last-minute winner from Jonathan Obika to beat Doncaster Rovers 2-1 at the Keepmoat Stadium, but there were no such problems for MK Dons who ran out easy 3-1 winners against Oldham Athletic thanks to goal from Dean Bowditch, Daniel Powell and Ben Reeves.
Barnsley's six-game winning streak came to an end as they saw Milan Lalkovic sent off in a frustrating goalless draw with Leyton Orient, who despite that point are now three points from safety as late goals from Dominic Samuel and Frank Nouble gave Tony Mowbray a second win as Coventry City boss.
Elsewhere, Jose Baxter fired Sheffield United into an early lead at Wembley-bound Walsall, but Ashley Grimes struck to salvage a 1-1 draw for the Saddlers.
Colchester United beat Yeovil Town 2-0 in a must-win game for the bottom two thanks to goals from David Fox and Jacob Murphy, while Crawley Town twice came from behind to secure a dramatic 3-2 win over Port Vale that boosts their chances of survival.
At Meadow Lane, goals either side of half time from Rochdale pair Ian Henderson and Peter Vincenti cancelled out Garry Thompson's opener and continued Notts County's slide down the table.
It was better news for Chesterfield, however, as a Sam Clucas brace set the Spireites on their way to a 3-0 win over Gillingham.
Results in full: Bristol City 3-0 Crewe Alexandra, Chesterfield 3-0 Gillingham, Colchester United 2-0 Yeovil Town, Doncaster Rovers 1-2 Swindon Town, Fleetwood Town 0-2 Coventry City, Leyton Orient 0-0 Barnsley, Notts County 1-2 Rochdale, Oldham Athletic 1-3 MK Dons, Port Vale 2-3 Crawley Town, Preston North End 2-0 Peterborough United, Walsall 1-1 Sheffield United.
Joe Sharratt
