Bournemouth edged past Brighton in a closely-fought south coast derby thanks to a solitary goal from Liam Feeney. The result means Bournemouth jump up to second place, closing the gap between them and Brighton to just three points, although the league leaders have two games in hand.
Tranmere Rovers stunned Southampton, with goals from John Welsh and Dale Jennings giving them a surprise 2-0 win.
Huddersfield and Colchester played out a goalless draw at the Galpharm Stadium. Huddersfield are now level on points with Bournemouth, while Colchester slip down to 10th.
Peterborough thumped helpless Hartlepool 4-0 at London Road. Three goals in six-second half minutes from Craig Mackail-Smith, Tommy Rowe and Lee Tomlin, and a late fourth from James Wesolowski, condemned the away side to a miserable defeat.
New manager Chris Powell got his managerial career off to a winning start as Charlton got their play-off hopes back on track with a solid 2-0 win over Plymouth. Scott Wagstaff put the home side ahead after 22 minutes, when he took advantage of a poor back pass.
Nathan Eccleston wrapped things up in the closing stages when he burst through a sleepy Plymouth defence. To make matters worse for the away side their star striker Bradley Wright Phillips has just signed an 18-month deal with the Addicts.
Lowly Dagenham & Redbridge suffered another home defeat, with MK Don’s Daniel Powell scoring the only goal of the game. The Dons now move into the play-off zone, while Dag & Red slump down to second from bottom.
In the West Country derby Bristol Rovers triumphed 3-1 over Swindon, giving them their first win in thirteen league games, and a popular first win under new manager Dave Penney. Meanwhile, Swindon’s poor run of form continues, with this being their third consecutive defeat.
Exeter got back to winning ways with a 2-1 win over rock-bottom Walsall. Richard Duffy gave Peter Tisdale’s side the lead after just four minutes when he latched onto a cross. Daniel Nardiello doubled their lead, before Julian Gray got a late consolation for Walsall.
In other games, four second half goals gave Leyton Orient a thumping 4-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday. And an impressive Francois Zoko volley ended Notts County’s eight game unbeaten run, as Carlisle won their first away game in six attempts.
Elsewhere, Oldham beat Brentford 2-1 to keep themselves on the cusp of the League One play-off places in seventh. The goals coming via the continental sources of Oumare Tounkara and Felipe Morais. And finally, Rochdale triumphed 1-0 away at Yeovil, thanks to Gary Jones' 11th strike of the season.