Rotherham, reduced to 10 men at half-time when Guy Branston was sent off, could only draw 0-0 at Hull so Peterborough, 4-1 winners over Shrewsbury – all the scoring came before the half-hour – and Barnet, who squeezed past Darlington 1-0 at Underhill, went first and second.. Stoke City gave their new Icelandic owners food for thought after a goalless draw with Bury at Gigg Lane, and fourth-placed Preston were held 2-2 at bottom club Colchester United.
There are new leaders in the Third Division. David Platt, the Nottingham Forest playermanager, was suspended from the former portion of his job description, so was unable to materially affect matters at Carrow Road when his side lost 1-0 to Norwich City, Darryl Sutch scoring his first goal for over two years.
In the Second Division, none of the top six won, which meant Brentford, 1-0 victors at Wrexham, and Luton Town, who beat Burnley 2-1, Neil Midgley scoring twice, were the day’s biggest beneficiaries. The leaders, Notts County, were held to a 1-1 draw by Gillingham and second-placed Wigan Athletic recovered from 2-0 down to gain a point from a 2-2 draw at Blackpool. The first was a solo effort, running half the length of the pitch before beating Alan Miller with a right-foot shot.

His second was set up by Alan Mahon, who scored Rovers’ third from the penalty spot.
Bolton Wanderers earned their second win under Sam Allardyce when Crystal Palace succumbed 2-0 at the Reebok Stadium. Ade Akinbiyi went one better for Wolverhampton Wanderers, his hat-trick without reply sinking Grimsby Town at Molineux. He has found the net eight times since arriving from Bristol City.
Tranmere Rovers’ Andy Parkinson made light of West Bromwich Albion’s unbeaten away record when he scored twice in four first-half minutes at Prenton Park to set Rovers on their way to a 3-0 win. Danny Cadamarteri, on his loan debut from Everton, pulled one back for Fulham but County clung on.
Birmingham City dropped down to sixth after their 2-2 draw with Portsmouth at Fratton Park. Both Pompey’s goals came from Alan McLoughlin penalties, which sandwiched the Midlanders’ strikes by Brum substitute Stan Lazaridis and Michael Johnson.
Dave Bassett’s Barnsley beat one of his former clubs, Sheffield United, 2-0 in the Yorkshire derby at Oakwell Neil Shipperley scored both goals.

An upset was never on the cards from the ninth minute, when Chris Beech put the Terriers ahead. Ben Thornley doubled their lead 10 minutes before half-time.
Stockport County moved up two places to seventh when they beat big-spending Fulham 2-1. The usually impregnable Fulham defence was breached twice in the first 22 minutes as Ian Moore outsmarted Rufus Brevett on the right and bent in a shot and then a Chris Coleman header out of defence fell to Kevin Cooper and he lashed the ball back in from 22 yards. But how they were made to sweat.

Walsall punished Charlton’s sluggish start at The Valley when, in the 36th minute, Gabor Bukran fired in from Darren Wrack’s short free-kick The lead didn’t last until half-time. Andy Hunt turned briskly to fire in after Martin Pringle’s shot had been blocked.
Midway through the second half, the Charlton midfielder Graham Stuart struck to give the Londoners their seventh win in eight matches.
In Yorkshire, Huddersfield Town followed their midweek defeat of promotion cocontenders Ipswich Town with a 4-0 disposal of struggling Swindon Town, Dean Gorre scoring twice in the second half. Charlton Athletic, the team most closely pursuing newly cash-rich Manchester City at the top of the Nationwide First Division, were blessed with a game against early-season strugglers Walsall and duly narrowed City’s lead to four points. Sunderland were under constant threat as the red tide swept swept forward, though they did manage to relieve the pressure on occasions – even before the dramatic final 15 minutes..

Charlton Athletic, the team most closely pursuing newly cash-rich Manchester City at the top of the Nationwide First Division, were blessed with a game against early-season strugglers Walsall and duly narrowed City’s lead to four points But how they were made to sweat. From the free-kick that followed, Ziege dispatched a sweeping left-foot shot which Sorensen only just managed to tip over and then the hapless Ricard headed wide with the Sunderland goal at his nominal mercy.
Sunderland were the brighter in the initial stages of the second half, but were soon suffering from their numerical disadvantage. Juninho shot over the visitors’ bar from the edge of the area, O’Neill had a left-foot drive pushed into the side-netting by Sorensen and Deane miscued from 15 yards. Sunderland, it seemed, were taking control.
But they suffered an almighty jolt in the 33rd minute. Chris Makin’s crude challenge on Ricard fully merited a yellow card and the right-back only had himself to blame as he made his inevitable departure, having been booked 12 minutes earlier for stupidly disputing a free-kick awarded against him Still, it could have been worse for Reid’s men at half-time.

Both were yellow-carded, but the whiff or cordite remained in the air as Sunderland finally settled into something resembling their customary slick-passing stride.
They ought to have taken the lead in the 25th minute, but Phillips, after eluding Gary Pallister out on the left, failed to produce a clinical finish as he cut into the penalty area, firing tamely into the arms of Schwarzer. It was all sparked by Deane crashing to the ground, an inch or two outside the Sunderland box, under challenge from Butler. The big defender stood over the poleaxed striker making his feelings clear and then fell to earth himself when Deane clearly elbowed him as the pair squared up again in the goalmouth. But for several minutes the contest then descended to the base level of a bitter local dispute. The German wing-back eluded Butler’s challenge, but was dispossessed by the covering Steve Bould before he could unleash one of his fearsome left-foot shots.
The first attempt on either goal came in the 12th minute, as Keith O’Neill crossed from the left and Brian Deane sent a looping header a foot wide of Sorensen’s right-hand post.