Azeem Abdulai scored a hat-trick as Leyton Orient moved into the League One playoff positions with a 6-2 win at Exeter.
Orient were 4-0 up after 34 minutes with two goals in two minutes from their new signing Abdulai and further goals from Sean Clare and Dilan Markanday. Millenic Alli scored twice for the hosts before Abdulai completed his hat-trick and Jamie Donley’s goal piled more misery on to the Grecians.
Orient move sixth, three points behind Stockport who beat Shrewsbury 1-0 thanks to Oliver Norwood’s goal. Only weeks ago the east London club looked to be facing a battle to avoid relegation.
Keshi Anderson helped the leaders Birmingham return to winning ways with a 1-0 victory at the promotion hopefuls Huddersfield.
However, a stoppage-time header from Richard Kone kept the pressure on the Blues as second-placed Wycombe snatched a 2-1 win against a 10-man Barnsley. Jonathan Russell put the visitors ahead, but the evening took a twist when Kone levelled from the penalty spot and Marc Roberts was sent off shortly afterwards. Kone struck at the death as Wycombe stay two points behind Birmingham.
Wrexham lost ground on the top two – and their 22-match unbeaten home run – as they lost 3-2 against Stevenage. Dan Kemp and Jamie Reid put Boro in control and although Ollie Rathbone pulled one back for Wrexham, Jake Young restored their two-goal cushion. Max Cleworth scored in the 90th minute, but Stevenage saw out the game.
Bolton made it two wins from two under their interim manager Julian Darby by beating Northampton 3-1. Liam Shaw cancelled out George Thomason’s effort, but the midfielder gave Wanderers the lead on the stroke of half-time with an own goal and Aaron Collins wrapped up the win.
First-half goals from Matt Godden and Josh Edwards gave the playoff-chasing Charlton a 2-0 win against Bristol Rovers, Rumarn Burrell scored a stoppage-time winner for Burton in a 3-2 victory against Reading, while Lincoln were beaten 2-0 by Blackpool.
Ade Adeyemo’s late goal secured for Crawley a 1-0 win at Mansfield, Rotherham came from behind to beat Cambridge 2-1, while Peterborough were 1-0 winners against Wigan.
In the Championship, Alex Neil described Millwall’s 1-0 victory over Portsmouth as their biggest game of the season as they continued to build a gap to the relegation zone.
Mihailo Ivanovic scored the only goal of the match, for the second fixture in succession, five minutes before half-time with a perfectly timed run and finish. The Lions are now 10 points clear of the bottom three after victories over Luton and Pompey in the last four days.
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Neil said: “It is two away wins on the bounce, you don’t get better than that with two clean sheets. At the moment the players understand the importance of these games, particularly with who they are playing and where they are in the table.
“The one thing I will never do is bluff the players about the importance of the match. I told them today that this was our biggest game of the season, we had to beat them and we needed to put as much distance between us and them as possible. They get it and understand it and you could see what the result meant to them. There is nothing better as a coach than when your players put absolutely everything on the line for you.”
The League Two leaders Walsall had a surprise 2-0 defeat at Fleetwood. First-half headers from Shaun Rooney and James Bolton were enough for the Cod Army to secure a third win in five games and condemn the Saddlers to a second successive defeat.
The loss allowed Notts County to close the gap at the top of the table to 11 points after they narrowly beat Carlisle 1-0 thanks to Alassana Jatta’s strike. Bradford moved third as Calum Kavanagh’s goal was enough to beat Morecambe. They sit level with Crewe, who slipped to fourth after drawing 1-1 with promotion rivals AFC Wimbledon.
Three late goals were enough for Swindon to beat Tranmere 3-1, a 10-man Salford drew 1-1 with Newport and Chesterfield claimed a first win in six league games by beating Bromley 3-0. Grimsby grabbed a 1-1 draw with Gillingham, MK Dons snatched a 2-1 win at home against Harrogate and Accrington’s clash with Cheltenham finished goalless.
