Falkirk stretched their lead at the top of cinch League One to 11 points after a 4-0 thrashing of third-placed Cove Rangers.

Callumn Morrison fired the Bairns on the way to their sixth-consecutive win two minutes before half-time, and Liam Henderson added a second shortly after the restart.

Morrison latched onto a ball from Aidan Nesbitt to hit Falkirk’s third from a tight angle after 65 minutes and Gary Oliver rammed home the fourth, two minutes from time.

The result means promotion-chasing Cove are now without a win in three games since last month’s 7-2 thrashing of Edinburgh City.

Thomas O’Connor’s goal secured Wrexham a 1-0 FA Cup win at Shrewsbury as they reached the fourth round for the second year running.

The hosts went close midway through the first half when Jordan Shipley floated a cross to the back post for Tunmise Sobowale to run on to but he skied his effort over the bar.

Wrexham had an effort just after half-time through Paul Mullin, who won the ball wide and cut in to the box from the left, but Marko Marosi parried away the danger.

Mal Benning made a surging run from the halfway line into the box just past the hour mark, but his effort clipped the crossbar and went out.

The Red Dragons found the breakthrough in the 72nd minute as George Evans played the ball into O’Connor’s path and the midfielder’s deflected strike found the back of the net.

Shrewsbury went close to a late equaliser as the ball fell to Taylor Perry just yards out, but his effort went inches wide.

Charlton manager Michael Appleton remains positive about his side’s fortunes going forward despite them conceding another late goal in a 3-3 draw at Port Vale.

The Addicks led on three occasions, through Corey Blackett-Taylor, Daniel Kanu and Tyreece Campbell, but goals from Ethan Chislett and Uche Ikpeazu were added to by Gavin Massey’s fantastic curling effort in the second minute of second-half stoppage time to earn Vale a point.

It comes on the back of conceding late goals in recent losses to Oxford, Bristol Rovers and Leyton Orient, as well as draws with Burton and Cambridge, amid a seven-match winless run in Sky Bet League One.

“There’s times when I just want to get myself on the pitch and deal with it,” Appleton said.

“But I think I mentioned it last week, and certainly I’ve mentioned it this week, we’ve got to keep putting ourselves in that position – that’s the most important thing.

“So when you’re on a run and got a spell like this, it’s dead easy to lose two, three-nil.

“When you don’t go ahead in a game or you concede the first goal, or allow the opposition to sort of get away from you, you think next week it’s not going happen.

“But the one thing the players are really good at is getting themselves in that position time and time again.

“Now ultimately, at some point, we’ve got to get over the line and we’ve got to see it out.

“But I’m a firm believer that if you do keep putting yourselves into that position, (and add) one or two maybe new faces et cetera to give everyone else a lift, that’ll happen.”

Port Vale boss Andy Crosby believes his team should have taken all three points, even though they had to come from behind three times to secure a share of the spoils.

“We should have won in my opinion,” he said.

“If we continue to do what we’re doing without the ball, we’re going to become a mid-table team that doesn’t achieve what it should do.

“When you give presents like we did away to a team like that, you’re not going to win games of football.

“We dominated the game, we’ve given chances away to the opposition and it’s just a present.

“We’ve had so many opportunities ourselves.”

Crosby’s side have moved up to 14th in the table, one place behind Charlton who they continue to trail only by goal difference.

He also reserved praise for Charlton goalkeeper Ashley Maynard-Brewer, who produced a number of excellent saves.

“Their keeper is the man of the match by an absolute mile,” Crosby added.

“We’ve scored three goals, we should have scored more.

“We’ve collected one point, we should have collected three.”

Cheltenham boss Darrell Clarke hailed midfielder Liam Sercombe’s influence after his quickfire brace sealed a shock 2-1 home win over leaders Portsmouth.

Pompey had taken the lead through a 49th-minute own goal but the Robins responded quickly, with Sercombe’s first brace for the club sealing three valuable points in their battle against the drop.

The vastly experienced Sercombe has scored four goals in his last five games and is clearly enjoying life under Clarke, who also managed him at Bristol Rovers.

“Sercs has done that all his career and he knows where the back of the net is,” Clarke said.

“They were great goals and he is leading by example. He’s an important, senior member of my team and he’s done the business today.

“He did his job and then I took him off to shore it up in midfield and said ‘come and sit with me Sercs – two brilliant goals mate!’ but he was excellent.”

Cheltenham remain in the bottom four, but their sixth win in 15 games under Clarke has given them renewed belief that they can survive.

“The way the boys put their bodies on the line was absolutely tremendous,” he said.

“I am delighted to come back from a goal down and win the game as well. I am over the moon with it.”

Portsmouth were on top for much of the first half, with Abu Kamara a major threat.

But they failed to seriously test goalkeeper Luke Southwood, who made comfortable saves from Sean Raggett and Marlon Pack.

Kamara had the ball in the net before half-time, but the whistle had already been blown for a foul on him and it was ruled out.

But Paddy Lane’s cross was helped on by Raggett and Tom Bradbury deflected it into his own net under pressure from Colby Bishop in the 49th minute.

Portsmouth were in front for less than two minutes, with Will Ferry’s long throw-in hooked in by Sercombe in the 51st minute.

The winner came when George Lloyd dispossessed Conor Shaughnessy in the 54th minute, allowing Sercombe to smash into the roof of the net for his sixth of the season.

Pompey boss John Mousinho felt his team controlled the game and should have had two penalties.

“By the time we went 1-0 up I felt we deserved the lead,” Mousinho said.

“There were five minutes of absolute madness from us when they scored, but after that we dominated.

“We should’ve had two penalties, but ended up with two bookings for diving. It was a disappointing afternoon.

“A lot of stuff didn’t go for us as far as refereeing decisions go, but we didn’t lose the game because of that, we lost it because of our own sloppy errors.

“I can live with today because we performed pretty well, but I’m still puzzled as to how we lost it.

“As much as it’s a blow, we need to dust ourselves down and go again.”

Burton caretaker manager Gary Mills was satisfied with a 1-1 draw at home to Wycombe despite leading in the second half.

A low-key encounter came to life in the second half when striker Bez Lubala thumped home his sixth goal of the campaign but Mills had to concede that Sam Vokes’ clinical volley to equalise was just as good.

“I thought it was a fair result” Mills said. “We huffed and puffed in a game where you had to earn the right to play and it was scrappy at times, perhaps lacking in quality at times but it is a hard-earned League One point.

“You go one-nil up and you expect to see it out, particularly with our recent home record, which has been fantastic.

“A little bit disappointed with their goal. We let them travel forwards, didn’t engage and when the cross comes in, what a fantastic strike from Vokes. He was a handful all day.”

Lubala struck for the second home game in a row and led the line well for Albion, who were short of striking options through injuries.

“Bez has been absolutely immense today, causing their two big physical centre halves plenty of problems and his finish was fantastic,” Mills added. “He is a great lad and he works really hard for the team.”

Albion put youth team striker Dylan Scott on the bench such were Mills’ striking options with the caretaker boss hoping to bolster the squad soon.

“We won’t moan and we will get on with it and hope that we can strengthen. It is a big chance for the academy lads at the moment,” he said.

Wycombe boss Matt Bloomfield had to watch from the stands as he served a one-match touchline ban but was pleased with a hard-earned point on the road.

“It’s a very good point” Bloomfield acknowledged. “Burton have been very resolute recently and hard to beat, not conceding many goals at all so we knew we were in for a tough afternoon.

“We knew it was going to be a completely different game from Monday against Bristol Rovers and we had to prepare as such and make sure the boys were ready to win the battle.

“Any point on the road has to be respectable and based on the way we played I thought we probably deserved more from the game, but it wasn’t to be and we have to take the positives and move on.

“I thought we bounced back really well from conceding and possibly deserved to win but it wasn’t to be.

“Sam had a couple of decent headed chances and we delivered some really good chances in to him but it was a really top volley from him for the goal.

“After that David Wheeler and Sam have both hit the bar and we have had numerous chances to win a football match. We have to be proud of the way we played and build on that.”

Exeter manager Gary Caldwell hailed a superb team performance as the Grecians climbed out of the League One relegation zone with a deserved 2-1 win over Carlisle at St James Park.

Second-half goals from Reece Cole and Sonny Cox gave Exeter a 2-0 lead after they had been in almost complete control.

Dan Butterworth then pulled one back for Carlisle in the 86th minute, which led to a nervy finale, but City held on for a deserved three points.

“I thought we were outstanding right from the start, and in complete control of the game,” Caldwell said.

“We spoke yesterday about how we needed to dominate possession, but that possession had to have a purpose to it and I thought it did from the very first minute.

“Luke (Harris) almost scored with his first touch in a red and white shirt, but they are always a threat with the long balls they play and from set-pieces and throw-ins. We had to defend those moments, but I thought we totally dominated the first half and created chances without scoring, which can be frustrating.

“We added some bits in the second half and scored two brilliant goals. It could have been easier, but I think that is the next step for us because it could have been three, it could have been four, and they scored a brilliant goal when he hits one on the half volley from 20 yards.

“We need to be better and we had to dig in and defend the onslaught that would come. But it’s a fantastic three points and I think a fantastic performance and a big step forward.”

Carlisle boss Paul Simpson was critical of his side’s display and said: “I am hugely disappointed, obviously, to have not taken anything out of the game. Unfortunately, we only started playing with any meaning when we were 2-0 down and it doesn’t matter where you are playing, you can’t do that.

“You have to have a belief that you are going to win the game and I don’t think we had that. I think we turned up today expecting it was going to happen and, unfortunately, you can’t do that. You have to be right from the first whistle.

“I thought we had chances today, particularly towards the end of the game, but if you don’t do those simple, basic things well – tracking runners, getting shots in, passing the ball better and locking on to players – you don’t get anything out of the game.

“We got into some good areas but our quality was really poor. It is really simple, basic things and everybody has to take it, everybody has to deal with it. We have to be better because this was a game there to be won today and I think we have let Exeter off the hook.”

Liam Sercombe’s quick-fire double earned Cheltenham a shock 2-1 home win over League One leaders Portsmouth.

Pompey had taken the lead through a 49th-minute own goal, but the Robins responded quickly with Sercombe’s first brace for the club sealing three valuable points in their battle against the drop.

Portsmouth were on top for much of the first half, with Abu Kamara a major threat.

But they failed to seriously test goalkeeper Luke Southwood, who made comfortable saves from Sean Raggett and Marlon Pack.

Kamara had the ball in the net before half-time but the whistle had already been blown for a foul on him and it was ruled out.

Paddy Lane’s cross was helped on by Raggett and Tom Bradbury deflected it into his own net under pressure from Colby Bishop to put Pompey ahead.

Portsmouth led for less than two minutes, with Will Ferry’s long throw-in hooked in by Sercombe in the 51st minute.

The winner came when George Lloyd dispossessed Conor Shaughnessy in the 54th minute, allowing Sercombe to smash into the roof of the net for his sixth of the season.

Port Vale and Charlton remain separated only by goal difference in the Sky Bet League One table after playing out a highly entertaining 3-3 draw at Vale Park.

Charlton led on three occasions, through Corey Blackett-Taylor, Daniel Kanu and Tyreece Campbell, but Ethan Chislett’s successfully converted penalty and goals from Uche Ikpeazu and Gavin Massey earned Vale a point.

Chances were at a premium in the early stages and Charlton took the lead out of nowhere in the 27th minute when Blackett-Taylor slotted home after latching onto Louie Watson’s header back into the box from a cleared corner.

Vale were level just before half-time, though, as Chislett sent Ashley Maynard-Brewer the wrong way from the penalty spot after Massey’s attempted cross hit Karoy Anderson’s arm in the area.

The visitors started the second half brightly and their pressure told shortly before the hour mark, with Kanu capitalising on some poor defending to poke the ball into the net after a one-two with Tayo Edun.

Four minutes later, the Valiants equalised for a second time thanks to Ikpeazu’s header from captain Nathan Smith’s cross.

The Addicks went ahead again in the 83rd minute courtesy of Campbell’s first-time shot from substitute Terell Thomas’ cross-cum-shot.

But they could not hold on for victory as Massey’s fantastic curling effort from the edge of the area secured Vale a share of the spoils in the second minute of stoppage time.

Burton and Wycombe battled to a share of the spoils from a hard fought 1-1 draw at the Pirelli Stadium.

Second-half goals from Bez Lubala and Sam Vokes cancelled each other out as both sides looked to edge away from the lower reaches of the League One table.

A cagey first half produced few real chances. Former Albion loan striker Dale Taylor went close for Wycombe early on with a close-range header that went wide after Luke Leahy’s long throw had caused problems for the Burton defence.

Albion similarly found their best opportunity coming from a long throw, Jasper Moon’s ball into the box helped on by Ryan Sweeney and fellow defender Sam Hughes firing an angled drive just wide.

The second half needed a spark and Lubala provided it with a thunderous strike on 57 minutes to put Albion in front.

Wycombe responded through Vokes eight minutes later. The striker had found himself frustrated on several occasions until he clinically volleyed home Jack Grimmer’s cross.

David Wheeler saw his rising drive tipped onto the crossbar by Max Crocombe as Wycombe looked to turn the game around.

Vokes flicked a header against the bar too as the game headed for added time but neither side could find a winner to take the three points.

Exeter moved out of the Sky Bet League One relegation zone with a 2-1 win against fellow strugglers Carlisle at St James Park.

The hosts gave a debut to loan signing Luke Harris, from Fulham, and he twice went close in the first five minutes, while Jordan Gibson was high with a long-range effort for Carlisle.

The best chance of a tame first half fell to Carlisle’s Josh Emmanuel, but with only Vili Sinisalo to beat, Zak Jules got back to make an outstanding goal-saving block.

After the break, Exeter’s Jack Aitchison saw a shot spilled by Gabe Breeze, but Sonny Cox could not finish off the rebound.

However, the Grecians finally got the goal their play deserved after 57 minutes when Harris’ cross fell kindly for Reece Cole and he smashed the ball in from 12 yards.

City were on top now and the second goal duly arrived in the 77th minute when Aitchison’s shot struck the base of the post and Cox reacted quickest to turn in the loose ball.

Luke Armstrong hit the post from close range for Carlisle before Dan Butterworth smashed in from 20 yards to give the Cumbrians hope, but despite nine minutes of added time, the Grecians held firm for a much-needed win.

Derby boss Paul Warne believes his side’s away form could be the catalyst for promotion after a 3-1 victory at Fleetwood.

The Rams fired themselves to within two points of second-placed Bolton with a fine fifth straight victory on the road.

Player-of-the-match Nathaniel Mendez-Laing opened the scoring before prolific marksman James Collins hit his 16th goal of the season on the stroke of the break.

Jayden Stockley pulled one back in the second half, but Tom Barkhuizen ensured Derby’s impressive away run went on.

Warne said: “We did enough to win and come the end of the season it doesn’t matter how you win, it’s just important that you win.

“We’ve done well away from home in different football matches. At Oxford and Wigan, they were different matches to today.

“It’s a boost for us. They’re good lads and they want to get near the summit.

“There aren’t many weekends when you know you’re going to have a positive trajectory with a win because of the FA Cup.

“To take ourselves into third is great. I think we’ve got another gear.

“In fairness, at 2-1 I can’t say my blood pressure wasn’t through the roof because it was. Every time they went forward you’re always thinking the worst so to get the third goal was a relief.

“Over the course of the season you can outplay teams at Pride Park, but away from home these games are difficult. It’s winter football.

“We could have been better, but I’ll take three points over a better performance and a draw.

“We need to be better and have more control in games. I thought we overcomplicated it a bit in the second half.

“Our own errors allowed them back into the game and that’s disappointing.

“We allowed the opposition in and then had to weather the storm.”

New boss Charlie Adam is yet to taste victory since taking over the reigns at Fleetwood two games ago.

The Cod Army remained rooted to the foot of League One after a third straight league defeat.

But former Scotland international Adam believes his squad, who have not won in their last 11 games in all competitions, have what it takes to stay up.

He said: “I couldn’t be anymore proud of these lads.

“Again, we’re disappointed with the goals that we lost. But we’ll take positives from the performance, the endeavour, the shape and the organisation. They took everything in.

“They came up against a quality side in Derby, they punished us. But I couldn’t be prouder of these players.

“This group of players are taking on what we’re trying to give them as a staff. If they keep giving me that then we’ll be pushing up the league there’s no doubt about that.

“My two midfielders were magnificent. I said that to them in the dressing room, they’re playing against a Premier League player in Conor Hourihane and I thought they were magnificent against him.

“If they get that level of intensity and quality during games then we’re a good side and I’m looking forward to the rest of the season with them.

“We could have nicked a point. We had chances. But it comes back to moments in games. We conceded a set piece in the second minute of added time in the first half and then we’re 2-0 down.

“If you don’t take your chances with the quality that Derby have you can get punished. But I want to take the positives and we’ll build on that for next week.”

Charlie Adam’s first home game in charge of Fleetwood ended with a 3-1 defeat to promotion-chasing Derby.

The former Scotland international has lost his first two matches, after defeat by the same scoreline at Shrewsbury on New Year’s Day, with his bottom side now winless in nine league games.

Nathaniel Mendez-Laing and James Collins did the majority of the damage in the first-half at Highbury.

Jayden Stockley pulled one back but Tom Barkhuizen sealed a vital three points in County’s promotion push in stoppage time.

Josh Earl squandered a great early chance for the hosts when he nodded wide.

Winger Mendez-Laing used his pace to get in behind and neatly slot home the opener in the 27th minute.

He almost made it two minutes later as he fired wide before Collins bagged a 16th goal of the season with a glancing header from Conor Hourihane’s corner at the near post.

After a poor spell, Stockley gave the hosts a glimmer as he converted Shaun Rooney’s deadly cross with 15 minutes to go.

But Barkhuizen sealed a fifth straight away win for the Rams with his late strike.

With the transfer window now open, Peterborough United’s Director of Football Barry Fry, has warned prospective buyers that the club will not release Reggae Boy striker Jonson Clarke-Harris cheaply.

Clarke-Harris has been in a good vein of form, which has attracted significant interest and is expected to leave the East England club during the transfer window.

The 29-year-old striker, who claimed the Golden Boot after scoring 26 goals in the previous season, has already netted 10 goals in 24 appearances in all competitions this season.

That, coupled with Clarke-Harris’s positive influence on the club makes him a valuable asset and, as such, Fry is adamant that interested parties will have to dig deep to secure his services.

“He won’t be leaving for peanuts. His scoring record is outstanding, and he’s a great bloke to have around the club, even when he isn’t playing. He’s been unbelievable with the younger players,” Fry stated.

Despite being placed on the transfer list at the end of the last season when Peterborough failed to secure promotion to the Championship, Clarke-Harris’s move to Bristol Rovers for £800,000, fell through late on deadline day in September. However, the striker quickly regained his scoring form for Peterborough, including a notable brace against Mansfield.

While anticipating a potential transfer in January, Clarke-Harris had limited starts in recent months, but made a triumphant return to the starting lineup, with a two-goal performance against Barnsley.

Fry emphasized that Clarke-Harris’s value goes beyond his ability to score goals, as he pointed to the striker’s contributions in crucial moments and his support for younger players.

Though Bristol Rovers have reportedly reduced their interest following the departure of manager Joey Barton, reports suggest that Fleetwood Town could pursue Clarke-Harris’s signature during this transfer window.

Cheltenham boss Darrell Clarke was “angry and frustrated” with his side’s inability to turn pressure into goals after their 1-0 defeat to Northampton.

The Robins have been in good form since Clarke’s arrival and they had the better of the first half at Sixfields without creating any clear-cut chances.

Will Ferry hit the post at the start of the second half and that proved a key moment as Northampton forward Kieron Bowie both won and scored the decisive penalty to keep second-bottom Cheltenham three points away from safety.

“I’m pretty angry and frustrated to be honest,” said Clarke. “We got the ball into the final third on a lot of occasions today but we didn’t produce, whether that was the final pass, the cross or the shot.

“We asked plenty of questions of them but didn’t have the end product, which was frustrating, and then we give them a sloppy penalty, which was even more frustrating.

“I feel angry at the minute but we will go again. There are no complaints over the penalty – Lewis (Freestone) has to learn because he’s done it a couple of times now. You can’t be diving in there.

“It was always going to be a game where an error or a bit of quality made the difference and unfortunately we’ve given them a goal and then we lacked quality at the other end.

“We’re better than that and to be honest I see it as three points dropped, not one, because we got into so many areas of the pitch where we could have hurt them but we fell short.”

Northampton have won seven of their last 10 league games and are up to ninth in League One.

“We had to work hard to get the result today,” said Cobblers boss Jon Brady. “People won’t realise just how heavy the pitch was and how hard Cheltenham worked.

“I labelled them Stevenage 2.0 with how they play and it’s no disrespect to them because Clarkey has got a huge tune out of them and they are one of the most in-form teams in the league.

“They don’t let you get out and they don’t let you breathe and we tried to play but it was just so difficult because they suffocate you so we had to change shape at half-time.

“I thought it worked a lot better with two up front and to win and score the penalty was great. It was a shame that we didn’t finish the game off earlier because we had chances to score more goals.

“But overall, to get nine points from 12 over the Christmas period is a brilliant effort and hats off to the players and it’s put us in a good place in the table.”

Stevenage boss Steve Evans branded referee Charles Breakspear “shocking” in a rant after his side’s 2-1 defeat at league leaders Portsmouth.

A lively first half saw Pompey take the lead in the 12th minute when Paddy Lane swept home from Alex Robertson’s pass.

Stevenage equalised after 26 minutes when a Jamie Reid cross was headed home by Louis Thompson against his old club.

But Pompey were back in front seven minutes later as Lane’s cross was backheeled into the net by top-scorer Colby Bishop.

Stevenage substitute Nathan Thompson was sent off for a kung-fu style kick on Christian Saydee late on, while Evans’ assistant Paul Raynor was also sent from the touchline.

Evans said: “Pompey were better than us in the first half. I got it a bit wrong technically, but tweaked things at half-time, and thought we were by far the better team in the second half and should have won the game.

“You’re playing against a team with probably a 90 per cent bigger budget than us. It was one-way domination.

“We should have had what was a clear-cut penalty near the end. Even the Pompey fans would agree. It was bewildering not to get it, then their captain avoids what was a certain yellow card.

“The video doesn’t lie and will show the horrendous decisions made by the referee today. He was shocking. The decisions he made in the second half were disgraceful. But I can’t disagree with Nathan being sent off.”

Portsmouth boss John Mousinho said: “I am very pleased with the result and performance today, especially the second half. I think to come back from conceding as we did in the first half, when not looking likely to at that point, showed character.

“It created a tricky period for us, but we dealt with it well by going in at half-time ahead. We showed a lot of grit and determination in the second half. We were looking more tired than them, but then they had played a game less over the Christmas period.

“The defence stood firm, and Will Norris had very little to do in terms of saves despite a lot of pressure.

“We were determined to start the new year off well, which is what we have done. We needed it. We hadn’t won in three, which enabled the teams behind us to claw their way back a bit. There is still work to do.”