Bristol Rovers 2 Leyton Orient 1

Attendance 6,425

Danny Coles could face a long spell out after hobbling out of this victory over Leyton Orient with a knee injury. The Bristol Rovers defender helped to give Orient the lead when he turned a cross from Jason Demetriou into his own net, but he atoned for the error with the equaliser before Craig Hinton’s winner. Paul Trollope, the Rovers manager, said: “Hopefully the scan [on Coles’s knee] will show nothing too bad because he is an important player for us.” Martin Ling, the Orient manager, said: “It was the same old story for us - two goals conceded from set-pieces."

Leeds United 3 Brighton & Hove Albion 1

Attendance 22,726

Gary McAllister, the Leeds United manager, insisted that he will be careful in nurturing the talent of Fabian Delph after the 17-year-old midfield player inspired his team to victory at Elland Road. Luciano Becchio and Jermaine Beckford grabbed the goals for Leeds, but Delph’s performance caught the eye. “Fabian is a natural footballer and it is good that he is learning his trade here, but I don’t want to put too much pressure on the kid,” McAllister said. Micky Adams, the Brighton manager, said: “We were beaten by a better side.”

Milton Keynes Dons 3 Carlisle United 1

Attendance 11,194

After watching his side slip to a fifth successive league defeat, John Ward, the Carlisle United manager, challenged his players to turn things around. Danny Graham opened the scoring for the visiting team but Milton Keynes Dons hit back with two goals from Peter Leven and one from Miguel Ángel Llera. “It is a tough time and everyone needs to pull together and make sure we believe in what we do,” Ward said. Roberto Di Matteo, the MK Dons manager, was pleased with the comeback. “We basically started off 1-0 down and the players showed a great reaction,” he said.

Scunthorpe United 3 Crewe Alexandra 0

Attendance 4,790

Nigel Adkins, the Scunthorpe United manager, believes that there is more to come from his team after they moved to the head of the table with this convincing victory. Martyn Woolford, Paul Hayes and Izzy Iriekpen grabbed the goals as the home team recorded their ninth win in ten games. “There is so much more we can get out of this team, but it’s great for our fans to see us at the top of the table,” Adkins said. Steve Holland, the Crewe manager, could find few positives. “We are getting punished for too many mistakes,” he said.

Southend United 1 Stockport County 1

Attendance 7,125

Southend United will lodge an appeal after Dan Harding’s sending-off against Stockport County. Lee Barnard gave the home team a first-half lead at Roots Hall, but they were forced to hang on for a draw after Harding was shown the red card for a challenge on Leon McSweeney. “There was no intent and I cannot understand how it’s a red card,” Steve Tilson, the Southend manager, said. “When you go down to ten men you are happy to take a point.” Jim Gannon, the Stockport manager, said: “We could have easily gone on and won the game.”

Swindon Town 1 Huddersfield Town 3

Attendance 7,071

Despite this latest defeat, Maurice Malpas, the Swindon Town manager, urged the fans to keep faith with his team. Goals from Liam Dickinson, Gary Roberts and Michael Flynn were enough to see off Swindon, who grabbed a late consolation through Craig Easton. “We have got to keep on working harder and harder until the tide turns,” Malpas said. “I can understand the frustrations, but people have got to trust me.” Ronnie Jepson, the Huddersfield assistant manager, said: “We created numerous opportunities and could have had five or six goals very easily.”

Tranmere Rovers 1 Millwall 3

Attendance 5,863

Millwall bounced back from a 4-0 home defeat by MK Dons with this impressive win at Prenton Park. A first-half brace by Tresor Kandol and a goal by Jimmy Abdou secured victory and Kenny Jackett, the Millwall manager, felt that his side showed their promotion credentials. “We have shown we are capable of having a very good season,” he said. “It was very pleasing.” Ronnie Moore, the Tranmere manager, was at a loss to explain his team’s inept display. “I did not see that coming and I want to apologise for the performance,” he said.

Walsall 1 Peterborough United 2

Attendance 4,792

Jimmy Mullen, the Walsall manager, hailed Peterborough United as “the best team we have played this season” after Darren Ferguson’s side ran out comfortable winners. Peterborough hit the woodwork twice and missed several excellent chances, but goals by Shaun Batt and Chris Whelpdale proved enough. Troy Deeney grabbed a consolation for Walsall. “Peterborough came here and taught us a lesson,” Mullen said. “It’s the manner in which we lost that concerns me.” Ferguson said: “How we only won 2-1 I have no idea – the chances we missed were ridiculous.”