Swindon Town remain top of League One after registering a comfortable victory over Chesterfield at the County Ground.
The Spireites had threatened to give the Robins a contest when Sam Clucas cancelled out Jack Stephens' opener midway through the first half.
However, goals from Chelsea loanee John Swift and free-scoring Andy Williams ensured that the Wiltshire outfit retained their place at the top of the table.
Swindon have Bristol City hot on their heels after they picked up a hard-earned win at Scunthorpe United.
Jay Emmanuel-Thomas's penalty set the Cider Army on the way to victory before Luke Freeman wrapped up three points for Steve Cotterill's men, who are behind their local rivals on goal difference.
However, the game's biggest talking point was the fact the Scunthorpe lost two goalkeepers to injury before half time. Sam Slocombe was forced off after only eight minutes and his replacement Jamie Severn was also injured while trying to stop Matt Smith when one-on-one with the forward.
It was left to defender Andy Boyce to play the rest of the game between the sticks and, besides Emmanuel-Thomas's penalty, he kept City at bay until Freeman's winning goal.
MK Dons showed little sign of missing the goalscoring exploits of Benik Afobe as they narrowly beat promotion rivals Sheffield United, with Carl Baker's second-half strike proving enough for Karl Robinson's men.
The Blades dropped out of the top six as Rochdale beat out-of-form Crawley Town with strikes from Scott Tanser, Calvin Andrew and a brace from Ian Henderson against the Sussex outfit, who are now without a victory in more than a dozen games.
Dale also leapfrogged Bradford City, who fell to a shock defeat against bottom-of-the-table Yeovil Town at Huish Park thanks to a debut goal from ex-Dunfermline Athletic forward Gozie Ugwu.
Port Vale have crept into the playoff picture after coming from behind to beat Peterborough United, with Chris Burchill and Ben Williamson securing the points at Vale Park.
Notts County are also within touch of the top six after seeing off a resilient Crewe Alexandra at Meadow Lane. Billy Daniels scored four minutes from time, but the Magpies played out the final seconds with 10 men following Liam Noble's red card.
Gillingham did their hopes of League One survival no harm by scoring three times in the last 10 minutes to beat fellow strugglers Coventry City. John Marquis equalised for the Gills before a Cody McDonald penalty and Jermaine McGlashan's stoppage-time strike sealed victory at the Priestfield Stadium.
Colchester United fell to a fifth straight home defeat at the hands of Walsall. Goals from Anthony Forde and Michael Cain leave the Essex club in the bottom four.
Oldham Athletic made amends for their late collapse at the hands of Doncaster Rovers last weekend by easing to victory at fellow mid-table side Fleetwood Town thanks to second-half efforts from Carl Winchester and Michael Jones.
Doncaster, whose late show against the Latics last week earned them a point, produced another dramatic finish as Harry Forrester's 84th-minute goal saw the Vikings to victory against local rivals Barnsley.
Results in full: Colchester United 0–2 Walsall, Doncaster Rovers 1–0 Barnsley, Fleetwood Town 0–2 Oldham Athletic, Gillingham 3–1 Coventry City, MK Dons 1–0 Sheffield United, Notts County 2–1 Crewe Alexandra, Port Vale 2–1 Peterborough United, Rochdale 4–1 Crawley Town, Scunthorpe United 0–2 Bristol City, Swindon Town 3–1 Chesterfield, Yeovil Town 1-0 Bradford City
Chris O'Keefe
