League One roundup: Wolverhampton Wanderers, Brentford march on

By Shane Callaghan, Reporter | 05 April 2014

Wolves and Brentford remain on course for automatic promotion into the Championship after both recorded victories in League One this afternoon.

Wolverhampton Wanderers and Brentford remain on course for automatic promotion into the Championship after both recorded victories in League One this afternoon.

Two second-half goals from Danny Batth and David Edwards preserved Wolves' six-point lead at the summit of the division with a 2-0 victory over Peterborough United at Molineux.

Bakary Sako later missed the chance to cap an impressive individual performance by rattling from the crossbar from the penalty spot.

Meanwhile, the second-placed Bees saw off 10-man Notts County 3-1 at Griffin Park to remain in the hunt for promotion.

Haydn Hollis was given his marching orders for hauling down striker Clayton Donaldson in the box on 31 minutes, before Adam Forshaw kept his cool to stroke from the resulting penalty.

Alan Judge scored before and after the half-time break to open up a three-goal lead for Mark Warburton's men, as James Spencer pulled one back for County late on.

It was the Magpies' first defeat in four games as Shaun Derry's charges slip back into the relegation zone having enjoyed a new lease of life in recent weeks.

Elsewhere, Tom Hitchcock bagged a second-half hat-trick as Rotherham United beat Gillingham 4-3 in the afternoon's most dramatic encounter

Goals from Adebayo Akinfenwa and Myles Weston helped the Gills into a 2-1 lead after Kieran Agard's second-minute opener.

Hitchcock leveled matters before Bradley Dack struck on 84 minutes to give Peter Taylor's troops a 3-2 advantage going into the final stages.

However, there was yet more drama as Hitchock equalised just two minutes later, before pouncing in the dying moments to snatch all three points for Steve Evans's men.

Consequently, United extend their unbeaten streak to 16 matches - 12 of which have been victories - as the Millers leapfrog Leyton Orient into third place.

In contrast, Orient's winless run extended to five games as the Londoners were held to a 1-1 draw with Sheffield United at Bramall Lane.

Dean Cox had fired the O's into a 1-0 half-time lead, but Jamie Murphy was on hand midway through the second half to level matters.

MK Dons beat Coventry City 2-1 at Sixfields to move within three points of Peterborough, who occupy the final playoff place.

Carl Baker equalised for the hosts on 57 minutes following Bamidele Alli's first-half opener, but Izale McLeod was on hand to fire the Dons ahead once more midway through the second half.

At the bottom of the division, Shrewsbury Town boosted their survival prospects by earning a slender 1-0 win over bottom-placed Stevenage at New Meadow.

Jon Taylor's second-half strike proved enough for third-from-last Salop to move within two points of safety ahead of the remaining fixtures in England's third tier

Results in full: Bradford City 2-3 Oldham Athletic, Brentford 3-1 Notts County, Bristol City 1-1 Preston North End, Carlisle United 1-0 Swindon Town, Colchester 1-2 Tranmere Rovers, Coventry City 1-2 MK Dons, Crawley Town 1-2 Crewe Alexandra, Gillingham 3-4 Rotherham United, Port Vale 1-0 Walsall, Sheffield United 1-1 Leyton Orient, Shrewsbury Town 1-0 Stevenage, Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-0 Peterborough