Brentford 3 Weston 31, 55, Dickson 90+4 Carlisle United 1 Harte 81 (pen)
Attendance: 5,089
Carlisle would like to see the back of Myles Weston, the Brentford midfield player, who scored twice after claiming two goals against them in August. “He seems to like playing against them,” Andy Scott, the Brentford manager, said. “Myles has done very well since he came back from injury. I wasn’t pleased about the way we started, but we went on to create more chances than we have in a long time.” Greg Abbott, the Carlisle manager, said: “It might have been different if we had scored when we were on top in the opening half-hour.”
Exeter City 2 Harley 4, 83 Leeds United 0
Attendance: 8,549
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Ryan Harley upstaged Jermaine Beckford by scoring the goals that condemned Leeds United to their second defeat of the season. Beckford had a quiet game under the gaze of clubs interested in signing him and Harley stole the eye. Paul Tisdale, the Exeter manager, said: “When Ryan scored with his head, we knew it was going to be our day. It certainly felt like more than three points.” Simon Grayson, the Leeds manager, said: “On another day we might have got something. There was a full house looking for an upset and that is what happened.”
Hartlepool United 0 Milton Keynes Dons 5 Easter 4, Liddle 22 (og), Leven 54, Baldock 77, Puncheon 82
Attendance: 3,211
Karl Robinson, the MK Dons assistant manager, believes that having the brightest young talent from the top flight can lift his team. “It was great at 3-0 to look at our bench — Andros Townsend from Spurs, called the next Aaron Lennon, Mark Randall, captain of Arsenal reserves, and Sam Baldock, maybe the hottest property outside the Premier League,” he said. Jermaine Easter, Peter Leven, Baldock and Jason Puncheon scored for MK Dons, to add to Gary Liddle’s own goal. “We must put that performance behind us,” Chris Turner, the Hartlepool manager, said.
Huddersfield Town 2 Rhodes 44, 63 Southend United 1 Spencer 90
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Attendance: 14,200
Lee Clark will not give up on his ambition to lead Huddersfield to an automatic promotion spot. “People keep saying there’s only one place to go for but it’s not over,” the manager said. “There’s still a lot to play for.” Jordan Rhodes scored twice for Huddersfield before Scott Spencer replied in his first game since moving from Rochdale on a six-month deal. “I’m grateful to Southend for giving me a chance,” he said. “If I’m on the pitch and the ball is in the right areas, I’ll score. I want to be a part of this team and hopefully the lads will help me get on and progress.”
Millwall 1 Trotter 90+5 Southampton 1 Lambert 90+2
Attendance: 11,524
Liam Trotter, the Ipswich midfield player on loan at Millwall, hopes his late equaliser will erase some painful memories for his new supporters. Trotter was a second-half substitute for Scunthorpe in their 3-2 play-off final victory over Millwall last season. He said: “As long as I give my all for this team like I did for Scunthorpe, everybody will be happy.” Rickie Lambert had put Southampton ahead, only for Trotter to level minutes later. Alan Pardew, the Southampton manager, said: “When you get a break like that to win the game, you expect to see it out.”
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Swindon Town 3 Austin 38, Cuthbert 52, Paynter 74 (pen) Gillingham 1 Palmer 88
Attendance: 6,773
Charlie Austin scored his eighth goal in eight games to show why Championship clubs such as Ipswich and Nottingham Forest are interested in the forward who was signed from Poole Town in October. “It’s flattering to be linked with other clubs, but it is only speculation,” Austin said. Danny Wilson, the Swindon manager, said: “It was a great strike by Charlie, who only trained for one day this week.” Scott Cuthbert and Billy Paynter were also on target for Swindon before a reply from Chris Palmer, whose manager, Mark Stimson, said: “We’ve got to do better.”
Walsall 1 Richards 26 Brighton & Hove Albion 2 Murray 8, Forster 37
Attendance: 3,450
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Jeff Bonser, the Walsall chairman, joined the supporters who spent hours clearing the pitch to ensure that the match went ahead. Their efforts proved to be in vain, however, as goals from Glenn Murray and Nicky Forster condemned Walsall to defeat. Matthew Richards scored Walsall’s goal, but Chris Hutchings, the manager, said: “We deserved a draw and we should have had a penalty in the first half when Darren Byfield was brought down.” Forster said: “It was a difficult pitch, but we moved the ball well and played some good football.”
Wycombe Wanderers 1 Pittman 64 Charlton Athletic 2 Shelvey 11, Bailey 77
Attendance: 6,123
Jonjo Shelvey and Nicky Bailey helped to convince Phil Parkinson, the Charlton manager, that his side will keep the pressure on the leaders, Leeds. “The chase goes on and Leeds will be looking over their shoulders,” Parkinson said. “We don’t want to make it easy for them and, if they do get promoted, we want to push them all the way.” Jon-Paul Pittman scored for Wycombe, whose manager, Gary Waddock, said: “Stuart Beavon had a chance that would have changed the course of the game. Goals change games and we were not able to get our noses in front.”