Port Vale boss Andy Crosby urged his squad to stick together after their 1-0 defeat to in-form Derby.

Arsenal loanee Tyreese John-Jules came off the bench and scored with his first touch as the Rams made it four wins on the spin.

For Vale it’s an 11th league game without a win, a run which stretches back to mid-September.

And Crosby said: “It was a game of fine margins. They take advantage of a blocked clearance and it falls perfectly for their wide player, he executes an inch-perfect cross and the forward scores a good finish.

“We walk away being defeated 1-0. I thought we had better spells with the ball.

“The game kicks you doesn’t it. You have to fight and stick together during this difficult period.

“The dressing room and the whole football club. We don’t let the cracks appear because when that happens it just continues.

“We have to look after each other, boost each other and give each other confidence and belief.

“When you have senior players like I have in there and the management staff I have, we know how the players are feeling.

“They crawl off the pitch at the end of the game when you’ve been beaten 1-0 by one of the bigger clubs in the league.

“We’ve pushed them, but unfortunately come off the wrong side of the result.”

Rams’ first-team coach Matt Hamshaw stepped in for Paul Warne’s media duties.

And he said: “It’s a great feeling. It’s a difficult place to come to so to win 1-0 and a clean sheet, we’re really pleased.

“JJ wrote his own script by scoring with his first touch. He’s been disappointed with injuries since coming in so a huge shout out to the medical team for getting him right.

“It was a huge squad effort. It was a really good night. A huge thanks to the fans who stuck with us all season.

“It’s tough for players when they get injured, but I don’t feel that sorry for him, he’s had a good career already being at Arsenal!

“It’s brutal as a player when you’re not playing. You just want to be part of the team. But you feel out of it, no matter what the gaffer does.

“I’m just really pleased for him. He’s a great lad, let’s hope he stays fit because he’s a huge asset for us.”

Charlton head coach Michael Appleton praised the ice-cool finishing of Alfie May as his took his season’s goal tally to 17 with a double to down his former club Cheltenham at The Valley.

May was signed in the summer from the Robins to score goals. That is exactly what he is doing – and at a prolific rate.

The Charlton striker’s brace against his old employer means that he now has 29 league goals in 2023 – a figure only matched in England by Manchester City’s Erling Haaland.

May struck twice from the penalty spot to see off Cheltenham.

Appleton said: “It’s difficult for him because he knows them so well – whether it is the goalkeeper or the outfield players. There was certainly more pressure on him tonight than there probably would be against anyone else.

“For him to have the calmness and nerves of steel to slot the two penalties away just speaks volumes of him.

“I keep reading that I’m not playing him in the right position but he’s doing alright considering that because he has scored a lot of goals from there and he looked like he could have got two or three more in that first half.

“He’s in a good place and I’m glad he’s in a good place because when he is then he is hard to stop.

“It’s the most satisfying victory since I’ve been here. We didn’t get off to the start we would’ve liked and it was a poor goal from our point of view to concede – for lots of reasons.

“After that we should have been out of sight by half-time with the amount of opportunities we had. I know the keeper made some good saves but we have to be more clinical in front of goal than what we have been tonight and certainly that first half – but the players held their nerve and limited them to very little, especially second half.”

Town saw their three-game unbeaten run in the league ended despite taking a 10th-minute lead through Will Goodwin’s header.

Lewis Freestone tripped Miles Leaburn for the first penalty, with Will Ferry deemed to have handled Tyreece Campbell’s cross for the second. #

Manager Darrell Clarke said: “When you come to places like Charlton you need the rub of the green – one or two decisions to go your way – and it didn’t quite happen.

“We started the game really well and then gave a really sloppy penalty away, we shouldn’t be diving in there.

“It’s a frustrated changing room. We thought it was a foul in the lead-up to the second penalty and he’s never going to try and deliberately handball it there.

“If we’d have got the second goal it would’ve made it interesting. I said to the boys we can’t afford to be too downbeat. We have got to stay positive. The lads have given me everything and that’s all you can ask.

“We’ve got a big squad but lacking a little bit of quality, rather than quantity. That will be the way it is until the window opens.

“We are massive underdogs in every game we play.”

Wigan manager Shaun Maloney was thrilled with every aspect of his side’s 3-0 victory over 10-man Fleetwood at the DW Stadium.

The home side led 2-0 thanks to goals from Jordan Jones and Sean Clare when Joshua Earl was sent off for the Cod Army in first-half stoppage time for simulation in the penalty area.

The second period was only damage limitation, with Tom Pearce firing home a cracking free-kick just past the hour mark to put the icing on the cake.

“I thought the first half was very good and the contest changed in the second half after the sending off,” said Maloney.

“We had some brilliant individual performances, which always helps.

“I know we have some really talented players – (Martial) Godo, (Stephen) Humphrys and (Jordan) Jones were brilliant – and when we got them into good positions their talent took over.

“But I still loved the fact they gave me just as much out of possession as in it.

“In the second half, the game became reasonably controlled, the game was very, very different.

“Some games when we play the way we did tonight, I really enjoy watching it.

“But in other games, you can also enjoy the fight equally as much.

“And you have to show both sides if you want to get anywhere in this league.”

For Fleetwood manager Lee Johnson, it was a night that started badly – as Wigan led inside four minutes – and got progressively worse.

“It was a tough watch for sure,” he said. “This team has a lot to do, we knew that when we came in, the position we picked the club up in.

“But we’ve got a responsibility to the town, in my view, to the staff, to the people who work at the club, to give more than we gave in the first half.

“And that is what really, really hurts me.

“The game-changing moment, even though we were already 2-0 down, was obviously the penalty…or the sending off.

“It’s definitely not simulation, there’s no doubt about that, there is definitely contact.

“So the referee, in my view, has to either give a penalty or a goal kick, it’s as simple as that.

“We’ve been let down by the system in that sense and that’s where it becomes really frustrating for me as a manager because you can’t even appeal two yellows.

“The system seems pretty broken in that sense because we’re going to lose a player for a game that we don’t deserve to.

“In the second half, we salvaged a little bit of pride, in terms of the effort and the energy and the work rate.

“But there’s a lot to do, the confidence wasn’t there in the first half to play the way we wanted to play and it got progressively worse.

“Good players were making bad decisions too often and we might have to adjust how we look to start games.”

Oxford’s new boss Des Buckingham was delighted to get his first point since taking charge in a 0-0 draw with League One leaders Bolton at the Kassam Stadium.

The U’s bounced back well from their surprise 2-0 defeat at Cheltenham on Saturday and denied Bolton a ninth successive win.

“I think I’ll settle for that, on the balance of play,” Buckingham said afterwards.

“They’d scored seven goals at the weekend, they’re a very good team and they’ll be up amongst it at the end, with us, I’m sure.

“But we’d asked for a reaction after Saturday and I’m very pleased with what I’ve just seen this evening.

“We created a lot of chances, certainly in the first half, which we couldn’t capitalise on.

“But I thought we deserved at least a point.

“That point may turn out to be an important point at the end of the season, you have to take points off these sorts of teams.

“We created good goalscoring chances which we couldn’t take. But they will come. As long as we’re creating, that’s the most important thing.

“The goalkeepers on both sides earned their money tonight, but I thought our back four, in front of James Beadle, performed extremely well.

“Very pleased to come away with a clean sheet and very pleased to come away with my first point as the manager, and that it puts us in a solid position to move on.

“Elliott Moore is a very good leader off the field and it was good to have him back in the team, and you see the difference when he’s in the side.

“He’s a calming presence and he gives us different ways of playing out from the back.”

Oxford stay third in the table, just outside the automatic promotion places.

Bolton manager Ian Evatt was happy with his team’s showing, as they equalled a 123-year-old club record of seven consecutive clean sheets.

And they remain the League One leaders.

Evatt said: “We’ve stayed top, which is great, but it’s not about where we are now, it’s about the process and the performance.

“Tonight I think we’ve shown what a good team we are, especially in the second half.

“We dominated the second half and really should have won the game – but it happens.

“There are no negatives to take from tonight. We’ll park it now and move on to the next one.

“They had two chances but other than those we had possession, it was just working out where the space was.

“Their strategy was quite clever, but after we figured it out it seemed only a matter of time before we would get that goal.

“It shows the nature of football that on Saturday we scored seven, and tonight we probably created as many chances and opportunities and have not scored.

“But the performance was excellent.

“The clean sheets record is nice but it’s a team game. Nathan Baxter has made some good saves but also our back three were excellent.

“And we defend from the front and when you have control of the ball, it means the opposition can’t score.

“The dominance we had in the second half is what pleased me most. We just couldn’t finish it off with a goal.”

Northampton boss Jon Brady hailed his players for executing the perfect game plan in their 2-1 win at Blackpool.

Sam Hoskins scored the winner for the second time in four days as the Cobblers racked up their third league win on the spin to move seven points clear of the relegation zone.

Kieron Bowie put Northampton ahead with a cool first-half finish but Jordan Rhodes equalised for Blackpool midway through the second-half.

In an even game, the hosts pushed for a winner but Hoskins – who also made the difference in Northampton’s 2-1 win against Cambridge on Saturday – intercepted a wayward Blackpool pass and finished neatly to bag the points.

“I’m delighted for the players and the fans who have travelled tonight, really good,” Brady said.

“I think there’s confidence within the group and we tried to keep continuity with the same team apart from one change that was forced upon us tonight. We came with a game plan and the boys delivered it superbly tonight.

“They were two great finishes. Through the night you might have to suffer here and there but we forced them to play a lot of long balls and really they throw it away to try and get it back.

“We had a game plan, we knew that was going to happen and the way that we jumped them I thought it was quite good. We picked a lot up and we played some good stuff back through them because they try and counter press.

“When they came forward, we broke their backline so I was really pleased.”

In contrast, Blackpool manager Neil Critchley described his teams’ performance as lethargic following back-to-back 4-0 wins.

The Tangerines carved out several decent chances but a combination of poor finishing and excellent goalkeeping from Northampton’s Max Thompson kept them at bay.

Rhodes’ 11th goal of the season looked set to swing the momentum in the second half but they were unable to kick on and Critchley admits Blackpool have crashed back to reality after the high of their previous two performances.

“It is a disappointment. This game has a habit of reminding you of how difficult it is and we weren’t at our best all evening,” he said.

“The players gave it their all, we looked a bit lethargic and there was a little bit of mental fatigue.

“That’s where you have to grind out the result, but our quality wasn’t good enough all the way through the evening.

“The first goal is important in any game and we had a couple of opportunities to go 1-0 up but we didn’t take them. When they go 1-0 up it becomes doubly difficult.

“In the second half we created a chance and scored and at home with momentum we felt we could go on to win the game but we give them their second goal.”

Darren Ferguson believes Peterborough showed their maturity as they came from two goals down to draw 2-2 with League One promotion rivals Stevenage.

Emphatic volleys from Luther Wildin and Ben Thompson gave the hosts a deserved lead when the half-time whistle blew at a chilly Lamex Stadium.

However, Joel Randall reduced the deficit with an outrageous backheel after the break before the sensational Ricky-Jade Jones bundled the ball home from close range to rescue a point for the visitors.

Ferguson was proud to see his young side show such resilience against an experienced Boro team.

“I think my team showed a real maturity,” said Ferguson.

“They bring in ready-made players, that is what they’re about, they’re 27, 28, 29 and know the league. They have played hundreds of games, while we’re the complete opposite.

“I thought it was a really good performance by my team, obviously the decision-making for the goals was poor.

“What we did show was a real character to get back into the game. Most teams here, if they go 2-0 down at half-time they get swallowed up.

“Ricky made the first and scored the second, he was magnificent tonight. That was his best performance for Peterborough, he was very, very good.

“I said to them at half-time, tonight is not going to decide the season but it will tell us a little bit about ourselves. You’re going to suffer in games, so I just said keep believing and don’t change a thing.”

Stevenage boss Steve Evans insists his side got a point against the best team in the league.

“These are the best, the best we have played,” he added.

“I am really proud of my players and I am really proud that we have won so many games and that we are around these lot in the table.

“We will fight, but they are, for me, the best team in the league and we have played Portsmouth who are special. No one would want to play Posh, but we have dealt with that now and we will see them in March.

“The boys are in a good place, the dressing room was devastated that we didn’t win the game in the end because we were 2-0 ahead and it finishes level.

“We were also disappointed with the penalty decision at the end because I think all my players were saying that at the other end, Posh get the chance to win the game and we did not get that chance.

“It ended up like a table-tennis match, and the only foul in the penalty box was in the 98th minute, and I do think that if it was at the Peterborough end they give it.”

Michael Skubala spoke highly of Lincoln’s performance following their 3-0 League One win at Cambridge.

Skubala’s side are unbeaten in three matches following an impressive success at the Abbey Stadium on Tuesday night.

Daniel Mandroiu’s penalty and Dylan Duffy’s effort had the Imps in control at the break before Jack Vale completed the scoring late on.

Meanwhile Cambridge have lost three matches in succession, conceding 10 times in that run.

“It was a good performance,” said Skubala afterwards. “We dug deep, I thought we sustained and dominated throughout which was really pleasing. To a man, there were some really good performances out there tonight.

“We talked throughout the week about how do we get in the box, how do we finish our attacks. The first goal was a really good goal, we worked it round the pitch and kept possession in their half.

“It’s important to come to these places and be able to hurt teams, not just come here and sit back. We knew we’d have to defend but then we had an out ball with Dylan Duffy and I thought he was really good tonight.

“I was pushing the lads at the end because I still believe in behaviours and I still believe in driving them hard. It was really good to see them still driving and pushing after the two weeks we’ve had and the back-to-back games.”

Mark Bonner was frustrated by Cambridge’s recent points return, but felt his side were capable of turning things around.

“It’s really obvious that we want to win more games, score more goals and concede less so it’s all a concern, but nothing that can’t be fixed I don’t think, if everybody shows up, rolls their sleeves up and has a little bit of a belief in themselves that they can do it,” said Bonner.

“Off the back of the international break we wanted to come in and get two really good performances or two really good results and try and take three or four points from these two games.

“To take none, we’re really disappointed because it’s been a bad few days for us.

“We’ve got to be better than that because when you play against these good sides you’ve got to get on top or chase when you get your chances.

“We’re definitely a few wins short of where we should be, but probably only a couple.

“We have to, on one hand remember who we are – playing at this level’s tough for us – and on the other hand do better than we’ve done if we want to make sure that we are a team that’s having a more comfortable season than we’re currently having.”

Exeter manager Gary Caldwell praised the character of his players as they responded to Saturday’s 7-0 mauling at Bolton with a point in a goalless draw with Shrewsbury.

In a Sky Bet League One game that lacked quality, Exeter dominated possession, but lacked a killer touch as their winless run stretched to 10 games.

They have only scored two goals in that poor run, which has led to some fans to call for Caldwell’s dismissal.

However, the 41-year-old Scot said: “The performance was there in terms of character, in terms of fight and showing they care about this football club, 100 per cent.

“The quality can be better but I think, after the performance in the second half and the result on Saturday, I have seen a reaction.

“I would like to have seen more and seen more quality, but we have to understand where the players are psychologically at the moment, after the run that we’ve been on and what happened on Saturday and I thought a lot of them came out with a lot of credit tonight.

“We created half-chances without really looking like scoring but I thought it was an improvement and it gives us something we can build on.

“I don’t think it’s a lack of quality, it’s a lack of belief. I think the quality is there and it was there early in the season, it is a lack of belief.

“Football is a difficult game and when you go through difficult periods, it is hard to go out and show your best, so we have to keep supporting them, keep getting behind them and when those opportunities go in and the belief comes back, then we know how good these players can be.”

Shrewsbury boss Matt Taylor was pleased with what his side got from the game and said: “It was a hard-earned point.

“We have got a lot of injuries and everything that can go against us is going against us but we battled and harried and I can’t have any complaints.

“I have said to the players I will go with that every week. That is the minimum requirement.

“I am very happy with a clean sheet, the last away game we lost 4-0 and I thought we should have won the game as we had the better chances.

“I am really pleased with the result, we would have liked three points but the players are out on their feet. We don’t have a huge reserve of players at the moment, they keep giving effort and showing determination.

“The way our players battled for the shirt, for the club and for each other I am exceptionally happy with and you saw the appreciation from the supporters who have travelled a long way on a Tuesday night.”

Reading moved off the bottom of the League One table with a thumping 5-1 home victory over fellow strugglers Carlisle.

Carlisle skipper Sam Lavelle sparked a spell of four goals in 13 first-half minutes when turning a cross into his own net under little pressure.

Luke Plange levelled quickly for the visitors but Harvey Knibbs struck twice to make it 3-1 to the hosts at the interval.

Lewis Wing and Femi Azeez completed the Reading rout with fine finishes in the final 12 minutes.

After a scrappy opening, the game burst into life in the 26th minute when Lavelle diverted a low cross from Jeriel Dorsett into his own net.

The visitors were back on terms just three minutes later when Plange tucked home a close-range volley, before Knibbs pounced in the 32nd and 39th minutes to give Reading a healthy half-time advantage.

Knibbs’ first came after an Azeez cross and scramble in the Carlisle area, his second following a neat turn and shot past keeper Tomas Holy.

Carlisle offered more enterprise going forward after the break but Wing thundered in a superb first-time effort in the 78th minute and Azeez proved similarly clinical five minutes later.

Sam Cosgrove scored a stoppage-time winner as Barnsley snatched a late 1-0 League One victory at home to Wycombe.

Time-wasting tactics from Max Stryjek proved costly as he allowed Tykes’ substitute Cosgrove to gain possession and net his first goal for Barnsley.

The hosts enjoyed their first opportunity eight minutes in when Nicky Cadden skipped his way into the box from the left, but fired wide of the near post.

Reds’ skipper Jordan Williams should have scored after 70 minutes when John McAtee found him at the far post, but Stryjek turned the ball behind.

Matt Bloomfield’s side had the chance to break the deadlock 11 minutes from time when Kieran Sadlier passed to Lyle Taylor inside the box, but the latter saw his effort blocked.

Barnsley finally scored in the first minute of stoppage time in a bizarre turn of events.

After the referee awarded Stryjek possession through a drop ball, the Wycombe goalkeeper went down easily under Cosgrove’s challenge and spilled the ball for the Barnsley man to tap home.

In the aftermath of the goal, protests from Wycombe led to Harry Boyes being sent off after receiving a second yellow card for dissent.

Tyreece John-Jules opened his Derby account as the Rams secured their first away league win for almost two months with a 1-0 victory at Port Vale.

The Arsenal loanee came off the bench to score the only goal of the game as Paul Warne’s side cut the gap on the automatic promotion places.

Vale keeper Connor Ripley produced a string of fine saves to keep the visitors at bay.

Before the break he kept out Kane Wilson and Irish international James Collins twice.

But his best saves came after the interval as he flung himself back across goal to keep out Tyrese Fornah’s deflected effort after being mis-footed.

And moments later he unleashed a full-stretch dive to stop Nathaniel Mendez-Laing’s low drive.

But despite all his hard work, he was ultimately beaten by John-Jules who poked home the winner with his first touch with 13 minutes to go.

A late own goal from Bristol Rovers substitute Tristan Crama helped Leyton Orient secure a 1-1 draw at the Memorial Stadium.

Rovers goalkeeper Matt Cox saved defender Dan Happe’s header with seconds of the game remaining but Crama could only direct the ball inadvertently into his own net, securing Orient a fifth draw in seven League One outings.

Grant Ward had stabbed home in the fourth minute of first-half stoppage time to give Rovers the lead in a game of few chances.

Antony Evans crossed a free-kick low into the box, with James Wilson involved as the ball found its way to Ward on the edge of the penalty area, with the 28-year-old defensive midfielder guiding into the corner of the net.

Substitute John Marquis failed to wrap the game up for Rovers after 80 minutes as he blazed a shot high over the bar, and in the final seconds when released one-on-one, with Sol Brynn saving.

Exeter’s winless run in Sky Bet League One stretched to nine games after a dire 0-0 draw with Shrewsbury, which did nothing to ease the pressure on under-fire manager Gary Caldwell.

Shrewsbury started well and created a couple of half-chances, but it was Exeter that had the best opportunity when makeshift striker Cheick Diabate headed over from Reece Cole’s cross.

Yanic Wildschut fired straight at Marko Marosi and Ryan Trevitt forced the Shrews goalkeeper into a smart stop at the end of a half that was devoid of quality.

Exeter started the second half in the ascendancy with Wildschut firing tamely into the arms of Marosi from the corner of the penalty box, while Cole curled a superb free-kick that cannoned off the angle of post and bar from 25 yards.

Shrewsbury’s Dan Udoh fired wastefully into the side-netting from a rare counter-attack before he was denied by a superb Vili Sinisalo save, low down to his right.

Neither side did enough to win the game, although Trevitt saw his overhead kick land on top of the net as the game entered stoppage time.

However, the boos and chants of ‘Caldwell out’ indicated to Exeter’s Supporters’ Trust owners what action the fans want to see.

Portsmouth got their promotion push back on track as Colby Bishop and Alex Robertson fired them to a 2-0 win at 10-man Burton.

Bishop bagged his 11th of the season to set John Mousinho’s side on their way to victory and Robertson’s first senior goal gave them second-half breathing space.

With both sides having conceded four goals on their way to defeats at the weekend, it was perhaps unsurprising this game had something of a cagey start.

The visitors saw plenty of the ball early on but struggled to create anything to test Max Crocombe in the Burton goal while Will Norris at the other end had to deal with shots from Kwadwo Baah and Mark Helm.

Bishop finally broke the stalemate in the 38th minute when he fired home Pompey’s first shot on target from the penalty spot after Steve Seddon had brought down Abu Kamara.

Pompey doubled their lead, slightly against the run of play, with Manchester City loanee Robertson finding the corner to finish Joe Rafferty’s cross on 63 minutes.

Albion played the six minutes of stoppage time with 10 men after Seddon, booked when conceding the penalty, picked up a second caution for another challenge on Kamara.

Ricky-Jade Jones scored a late equaliser as Peterborough snatched a 2-2 draw against League One promotion rivals Stevenage at the Lamex Stadium.

Fine finishes from Luther Wildin and Ben Thompson gave Boro a 2-0 lead before Joel Randall reduced the deficit with an outrageous backheel shortly after half-time.

As the game was slipping away from Posh, Jones bundled the ball home from close range to rescue a point for the visitors.

Kwame Poku’s header was well saved by Taye Ashby-Hammond as Peterborough controlled the early stages.

However, Wildin broke the deadlock in the 22nd minute with a thunderous half-volley into the top-right corner of Nicholas Bilokapic’s goal.

And it was 2-0 eight minutes later when Thompson’s delicious strike rifled into the top-left corner.

Jones thought he had cut the deficit after directing a corner goalwards, but his effort rebounded off the post.

Peterborough struck back in style when Randall turned Harrison Burrows’ cross into the bottom-right corner with an audacious little flick.

And just as the game seemed to be slipping away from the visitors, Jones got the final touch after a melee in the box involving Ronnie Edwards to salvage a draw.