Peterborough United moved to within two points of Leyton Orient at the top of League One after Darren Ferguson's men secured a 2-1 victory over MK Dons with just nine men.
Posh endured a torrid start to the afternoon after Nathaniel Knight-Percival was dismissed following an altercation with Patrick Bamford.
The numerical disadvantage did not come into effect, though, as Lee Tomlin and Britt Assombalonga fired the hosts into a 2-0 half-time lead, before Izale McLeod halved the deficit on 74 minutes.
Karl Robinson's men were given fresh impetus in their quest to restore parity after Mark Little was dismissed for a dangerous tackle five minutes from the end, but the hosts held on to keep the pressure on the high-flying O's at the summit of England's third tier.
Ferguson's side moved level on points with Wolverhampton Wanderers, who bounced back from their derby defeat to Walsall in midweek with a 1-0 victory away to Shrewsbury Town.
Bakary Sako's 84th-minute penalty was sufficient for Kenny Jackett's men, who were awarded the chance from 12 yards after Jon Taylor was sent off for deliberately handling on the goalline.
Elsewhere, Preston North End moved up to fourth in the League One standings with a slender 1-0 victory over Sheffield United.
Stuart Beavon netted the only goal of the game, as manager Simon Grayson secured the club's first win at Bramall Lane since 1978.
Bristol City spurned the opportunity to pick up their first victory of the campaign, as Sean O'Driscoll's men twice surrendered the lead to Swindon Town and lost 3-2 courtesy of an 87th-minute winner from Nile Ranger.
Mark Cooper's side equalised twice through Nicky Ajose, who cancelled out strikes from Aden Flint and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas respectively.
Meanwhile, Gillingham failed to move away from the foot of the division following a 1-0 defeat at home to Bradford City, with Gary Jones's ninth-minute strike enough to propel the Bantams up to sixth in the standings and heap pressure on Gills boss Martin Allen.
Results in full: Shrewsbury Town 0-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers, Colchester United 1-1 Crawley Town, Gillingham 0-1 Bradford City, Notts County 2-0 Tranmere Rovers, Oldham Athletic 1-1 Crewe Alexandra, Peterborough United 2-1 MK Dons, Port Vale 3-2 Coventry City, Sheffield United 0-1 Preston North End, Stevenage 1-3 Carlisle United, Swindon Town 3-2 Bristol City, Walsall 1-1 Rotherham United
Shane Callaghan
