Southend United took advantage of Colchester Uniteds FA Cup commitments by taking over pole position in League Two. The Shrimpers were 4/7 to see off struggling Swindon Town at Roots Hall and did not disappoint with a 2-0 win.

Luke Gutteridge, who was suffering from flu in the week, broke the deadlock after 31 minutes and former Tottenham Hotspur trainee Mark Gower doubled the lead a minute later. Southend are now unbeaten in 11 matches and two points clear at the top of the table although second placed Colchester have two games in hand.

Things are going from bad to worse for Swansea City who slumped to a 1-0 defeat at local rivals Bristol City. Swansea have won just once in their last nine league matches and have slipped to fourth in the table. Despite fielding the in-demand Lee Trundle and new signing Rory Fallon, the Swans could not break down struggling Bristol, 6/4 shots before kick off and were beaten by a Louis Carey goal on the stroke of half time.

Huddersfield Town, at 9/10, kept the pressure on the top two after coming from two goals behind to beat local rivals Oldham Athletic 3-2 and Nottingham Forest saw their play-off hopes dented further by slipping to a home defeat against Barnsley. Two goals inside half an hour for Marc Richards earned the Tykes a memorable victory at large 3/1 odds.

Chesterfield kept up the pressure on the play-off quartet with a 2-1 win at Bournemouth. at 2/1 odds while Blackpool crept further away from the League One relegation zone after winning 3-0 at Hartlepool United at 11/4.

Tranmere Rovers earned their fourth goalless draw in a row at fellow mid-table side Bradford City, themselves struggling in front of goal. Shrewd punters will have got stuck into the 23/10 on offer of this match ending all square.