DIVISION THREE ROUND-UP
After Doncaster Rovers successfully achieved promotion to Division Two over Easter, second-placed Hull had the chance to follow them should they win at Macclesfield and results go their way elsewhere.
Things went to plan at Moss Rose as Marc Joseph put The Tigers ahead after six minutes, but Matthew Tipton earned a point for The Silkmen.
The draw helped ten-man Huddersfield Town to close the gap to four points on Hull as they earned a late 3-2 win against Scunthorpe at The McAlpine Stadium.
David Mirfin gave the hosts the lead before Efe Sodje levelled with an own goal - and Steve MacLean doubled The Iron's lead just before half time.
Sodje was sent off to make matters worse for The Terriers but John McAliskey was the hero for the home side as he struck twice in the final three minutes to keep their promotion hopes well on track.
Torquay are also in the hunt for automatic promotion as they took advantage of Doncaster's promotion party hangover to win 1-0 at Plainmoor thanks to a goal from Kevin Hill.
Carlisle's brave battle against the drop could now be over after they went down to a 2-0 defeat at home to Lincoln City thanks to goals from Peter Gain and Mark Bailey.
York are also deep in trouble after they also went down 2-0 at home, with a Lee Nogan own goal and Paul Brayson's last-minute penalty handing Cheltenham the points.
Yeovil Town came from a goal down at home to Bury to win 2-1 as a Danny Rodrigues double cancelled out David Nugent's opener.
Mansfield enjoyed a solid 2-1 win at Boston thanks to goals from Colin Larkin and Liam Lawrence, with Stuart Balmer's strike not enough for The Pilgrims.
Oxford are just hanging on in the final play-off spot despite losing 2-0 at Darlington with goals from Ryan Valentine and Barry Conlon doing the damage.
Northampton could have replaced Oxford in the top seven, but they only just about earned a point at home to Southend, after Leon Constantine and a Paul Reid own goal had cancelled out Martin Smith's penalty for The Cobblers.
The hosts had to wait until seven minutes from time to finally draw level when John Taylor gave them a point in a 2-2 draw.
Bristol Rovers fell behind early at home to Swansea as Paul Connor gave the Welsh side the lead after just eight minutes, but Graham Hyde and Junior Agogo struck to give The Pirates a 2-1 win.
Ten-man Kidderminster held on to a 0-0 draw at Cambridge despite Abdou Sall getting sent off, while Rochdale handed out a 3-0 defeat to Leyton Orient with two goals from Grant Holt and one from Patrick McCourt.
Match Summaries:
Boston United v Mansfield
Bristol Rovers v Swansea
Cambridge Utd v Kidderminster
Carlisle v Lincoln City
Darlington v Oxford Utd
Huddersfield v Scunthorpe
Macclesfield v Hull
Northampton v Southend
Rochdale v Leyton Orient
Torquay v Doncaster
Yeovil v Bury
York v Cheltenham
