Stockport gave their automatic promotion hopes a major boost with an emphatic 5-0 win over close challengers MK Dons.
Callum Camps, Paddy Madden, Tanto Olaofe, Connor Lemonheigh-Evans and Neill Byrne scored the goals for the Hatters to earn them just a second win in their last eight matches.
Victory moves Dave Challinor’s team back up to second place – two points behind leaders Mansfield – having dropped below Wrexham earlier in the day.
The Dons looked the much more threatening side early on, with Stephen Wearne forcing a good save out of Ben Hinchliffe, Emre Tezgel sending a left-footed shot narrowly wide and Jack Payne’s free-kick clipping a post.
They went close again when Kyran Lofthouse pulled the ball back to Joe Tomlinson, whose effort was well blocked by Todd Kane.
But it was Stockport who went ahead just after the half-hour mark as Camps capitalised on visiting goalkeeper Michael Kelly’s inexplicable failure to gather an overhit pass into the box to finish into an empty net.
Tomlinson had a great opportunity to score a quickfire equaliser but his close-range shot was saved superbly by Hinchliffe before Alex Gilbey’s follow-up attempt went wide.
It proved to be costly as Stockport soon went down the other end and doubled their advantage through captain Madden, who calmly slotted home after being played in by Camps.
The game was effectively over as a contest shortly before half-time, with Olaofe scoring his 20th goal of the season after latching onto Madden’s looping pass and rounding Kelly.
The hosts further extended their lead early in the second half courtesy of Lemonheigh-Evans’ beautiful curling effort from distance, and nearly added another with Kelly tipping Madden’s shot against the woodwork.
Substitute Ellis Harrison had a chance to reduce the deficit with a free header just after the hour but it was not the Dons’ day and they remain in fourth place – three points behind Wrexham.
Hatters substitute Byrne put extra gloss on the scoreline in the dying moments, prodding in a fifth goal to wrap up a huge win.
Leicester City 1-2 Chelsea: Jackson and Fernandez mark a happy return for Maresca
Chelsea came through a nervy finish to beat Leicester City 2-1 at the King Power Stadium on Saturday.
Enzo Maresca guided Leicester to promotion last season before switching allegiance to Chelsea, who returned to winning ways after two successive draws in the Premier League.
Nicolas Jackson and Enzo Fernandez were on the scoresheet for the Blues as Jordan Ayew’s stoppage-time penalty proved only to be a consolation for the hosts.
The visitors dominated early on and Jackson’s brilliant outside-of-the-foot finish past Mads Hermansen gave them the lead in the 15th minute.
Jackson was involved in Chelsea’s second, too, as his header was saved by Hermansen, only for Fernandez to nod home the rebound in the 75th minute.
Ayew made no mistake from the spot to set up a grandstand finale, but third-place Chelsea held firm to move to within a point of Manchester City, prior to the reigning Premier League champions’ clash with Tottenham later on Saturday, while Leicester dropped down to 16th.
Man United could be without Toone until new year, says Skinner
Marc Skinner revealed that Manchester United could be without midfielder Ella Toone until the new year after she picked up a calf injury in training.
Toone has featured in five games in the Women's Super League this season, but is yet to register a goal or an assist so far this term.
The 25-year-old has missed United's last two games and was not selected in Sarina Wiegman's England squad for their upcoming friendlies against the United States and Switzerland.
She had previously appeared in a staggering 96 straight matches before missing United's WSL showdown with Leicester City last weekend.
But ahead of the Red Devils' meeting with league leaders Chelsea on Sunday, Skinner confirmed they would be without Toone for not only that game, but for the foreseeable future.
"We have three games [after the international break and before Christmas]. There's always the hope, but I think you balance and you go, 'right, if we can get her back, we get her back'," Skinner said.
"But we're just not going to rush her in this moment because it's a calf injury, it's your running mechanism. If we injure the running mechanism, it takes longer.
"So ideally we'd like her back for those games afterwards.
"The projection is she misses this game [Chelsea], she misses the international window, probably misses the first game after that, and then we'll see from there.
"But because it is such a short block of only three games, we'll assess whether it's worth that or actually resetting to come back after Christmas."
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