Bournemouth moved to within a point of the summit of the table as the top three all failed to win in League One this afternoon.
The Poppies condemned strugglers Portsmouth to their ninth straight defeat in a convincing 2-0 victory.
Tranmere were beaten as Charlie MacDonald scored his first goal in a 2-1 win for Leyton Orient, while Doncaster lost 2-1 at home to Walsall and Swindon were held against bottom side Hartlepool.
Sheffield United kept up the pressure with a fine 2-1 win at Shrewsbury with Dave Kitson scoring.
Oldham did their survival hopes no harm as they beat MK Dons 3-1 and Freddie Sears' fourth goal in five games gave Colchester a 1-0 win over Preston and some breathing space from the relegation places.
Yeovil made it six straight league wins with a 1-0 win at Coventry.
Results in full: Bournemouth 2-0 Portsmouth, Brentford 2-2 Bury, Carlisle 2-1 Stevenage, Colchester 1-0 Preston, Coventry 0-1 Yeovil, Doncaster 1-2 Walsall, Leyton Orient 2-1 Tranmere, Notts County 1-1 Crewe, Oldham 3-1 MK Dons, Scunthorpe 2-1 Crawley, Shrewsbury 1-2 Sheffield United, Swindon 1-1 Hartlepool
