Darlington climbed to second in the League Two table with Tommy Wright's early goal enough to see off Accrington Stanley.
Darlo climb; Rotherham slip; MK Dons held
Darlington climbed to second in the League Two table with Tommy Wright's early goal enough to see off Accrington Stanley.
Milton Keynes Dons ended their three-game losing streak, but were forced to come from behind and had to settle for a point at home to lowly Macclesfield.
Rotherham slipped to third as they went down 3-1 away to fellow promotion hopefuls Peterborough.
Wrexham claimed an important point in their battle against relegation, scoring twice from the spot to draw 2-2 at Morecambe.
Mansfield put the disappointment of their FA Cup exit at the hands of Middlesbrough behind them to win 2-1 at fellow strugglers Lincoln.
And Dagenham & Redbridge enjoyed a productive night with David Rainford's penalty securing all three points away to promotion hopefuls Wycombe.
Bradford's recent improvement continued as they produced a four-star display to overcome Shrewsbury.
Kyle Nix gave the Bantams an early lead and Omar Daley doubled their advantage five minutes before the interval.
Dave Hibbert (48) replied for the Shrews before Peter Thorne (57) and Marc Pugh (65) traded goals, with Barry Conlon (85) having the final say from the penalty spot.
Notts County edged further away from the relegation zone as they held Brentford to a goalless draw at Griffin Park.
Chester ended the match with just nine men as they were thumped at home by Rochdale.
Adam Le Fondre had already put the visitors in front before Kevin Ellison was dismissed in the 32nd minute for violent conduct.
After that, it was one-way traffic with Paul Butler's own goal adding to Chester's woes before the interval and Tom Kennedy making it 3-0 on the hour mark.
Laurence Wilson saw red four minutes from time before Adam Rundle rubbed salt into Chester's wounds with a late fourth.
Tommy Wright's early goal helped Darlington climb to second in the League Two promotion race.
Wright struck with less than 60 seconds on the clock as Dave Penney's side closed to within five points of leaders MK Dons, with two games in hand.
Jamie Clarke scored the only goal of the game as Grimsby left Bury deep in the League Two relegation mire.
Clarke struck five minutes before the interval to leave the sorry Shakers just three points above the bottom two.
Mansfield claimed a vital victory over fellow strugglers Lincoln but remain in the League Two relegation places.
A brace from Michael Boulding secured all three points for Billy Dearden's side, with the winner coming in the third minute of added time at Sincil Bank.
Boulding opening the scoring in the 49th minute with Jamie Forrester levelling from the penalty spot on the hour mark.
Paul Ince's MK Dons snapped their three-game losing streak, but had to settle for a point at home to Macclesfield.
Michael Symes silenced the home fans with just three minutes on the clock as he grabbed the opening goal.
Sean O'Hanlon levelled in the 50th minute, but the home side could not find their way through the Macc defence for a second.
Bottom club Wrexham came from behind twice away to play-off chasing Morecambe in a match of three penalties.
Wayne Curtis gave the home side an early advantage before Danny Sonner (30) levelled after Wrexham were awarded their first spot-kick.
Neil Roberts restored Morecambe's advantage from 12 yards, only for Michael Proctor to secure a share of the spoils with yet another penalty 11 minutes from time, while Richard Hope was dismissed for a second booking in the sixth minute of added time.
Peterborough claimed a vital victory in the League Two promotion race with a 3-1 triumph over Rotherham.
Charlie Lee (22) and Aaron McLean (81) put Darren Ferguson's side on course to claim all three points.
Ryan Taylor struck late on to threaten a comeback, but Craig Mackail-Smith added a third in the sixth minute of added time.
Stockport came from behind twice to secure a point against fellow play-off hopefuls Chesterfield.
Liam Dickinson struck in the 34th minute to cancel out Steven Fletcher's opener for the Spireites.
Jack Lester put the visitors back in front in the 51st minute only for Anthony Elding to restore parity once again just after the hour mark.
Wycombe's play-off hopes were dented as they suffered a shock home defeat at the hands of Dagenham & Redbridge.
David Rainford scored the only goal of the game in added time at the end of the first half to keep the Daggers three points above the drop zone.
