Ryan Colclough marked his first appearance in 16 months by getting the goal which moved Crewe Alexandra out of the Sky Bet League 1 relegation zone as they beat Sheffield United 2-1.
The 20-year-old forward had been sidelined by a troublesome hernia problem since November 2013 but made up for lost time by coming off the bench to strike a 90th-minute winner which lifted the Alex up to 18th.Finnish striker Lauri Dalla Valle had given the Alex a half-time lead but his goal was cancelled out by Jason Holt 10 minutes into the second half.
Table-topping Bristol City were only able to extend their lead by a solitary point after being held to a 2-2 draw by rejuvenated Barnsley at Ashton Gate.
The Robins were back in action six days after lifting the Johnstone's Paint Trophy at Wembley and they made the perfect start when Marlon Pack converted a penalty after Jean Yves Mvoto fouled Aaron Wilbraham.
However, Jabo Ibehre levelled matters and Josh Scowen scored the goal which looked to be consigning Bristol City to their first defeat in nine games, before Joe Bryan rescued a point which sent his side 11 points clear of second-placed Preston North End.
Notts County started life without Shaun Derry by drawing 2-2 with fellow strugglers Scunthorpe United at Meadow Lane.
Paul Hart had been placed in temporary charge of the Magpies and his reign got off on the wrong note when Iron debutant Theo Robinson opened the scoring inside a minute.
Goals from Gary Jones and Balint Bajner turned the game on its head before Niall Canavan rescued a point for Mark Robins' men four minutes from time.
Rochdale recovered from their derby-day defeat at Oldham Athletic in midweek by beating bottom-of-the-table Yeovil Town 2-1 to move into sixth.
All three goals came in six second-half minutes, with Rhys Bennett and Jack O'Connell putting the hosts two goals up before James Hayter pulled one back for the struggling Glovers.
Colchester United, the team directly above Yeovil, were not in action as their game against Swindon Town was postponed due to the Robins' international call-ups, but Leyton Orient put further distance between themselves and the bottom two following a 3-1 triumph over Port Vale.
The visitors led through Chris Birchall but Chris Neal's dismissal just after half-time proved costly as the O's took full advantage of their one-man advantage; David Mooney levelling from the penalty spot before Neill Collins' own goal and Dean Cox's strike gave the hosts all three points.
Crawley Town sunk into the drop zone after going down 2-1 to Gillingham at home, with Jermaine McGlashan scoring the winner after Bradley Dack and Izale McLeod had traded goals.
Dean Holden's Latics - Rochdale's Tuesday night conquers - went down to a 2-0 defeat against Bradford City thanks to Billy Clarke's second-half brace.
Peterborough United slipped to eighth as Blair Turgott scored the goal which enhanced Coventry City’s survival chances, while Chesterfield were also 1-0 winners, over Walsall, thanks to Sam Hird's 86th-minute header.