Luton suffer shock defeat
League One leaders Luton suffered a shock 3-1 defeat at the hands of mid-table Barnsley as they failed in their bid to extend their lead at the top of the table.
Three goals in the space of nine minutes saw the visitors go in with a 3-0 half-time lead to leave the Hatters shell-shocked.
Chris Shuker opened the scoring in the 33rd minute with a shot from six yards before the lead was doubled four minutes later when Shuker’s 18-yard shot deflected in off Luton’s Curtis Davies.
Michael Chopra then added the third with a volley from edge of the penalty box three minutes before the break.
The Hatters came back after the break and were given a sniff of a comeback when Enoch Showunmi turned and converted from 18 yards.
However, their cause was severely hampered when Chris Coyne received a straight red card for a professional foul after he prevented a clear run on goal by Chopra.
Things could have got worse for Luton when Chopra was fouled in the area by Michael Leary and the referee awarded a penalty.
The striker, on loan from Newcastle, stood up to take the spot-kick himself but it was weakly side-footed and Marlon Beresford saved the effort easily.
The defeat – only the Hatters’ second in 19 league games – means Luton stay just one point ahead of Hull while Barnsley have risen one place, leapfrogging Chesterfield, and are eight points off a play-off spot.
Milton Keynes Dons were indebted to keeper Matthew Baker whose injury-time penalty save ensured they shared the spoils with Swindon in a 1-1 draw.
Grant Smith saw his spot-kick turned around the post by Baker after the Robins fought back from going 1-0 down in the first half.
The Dons were desperate for points hovering just one place above the drop zone as they try to avoid a second successive relegation.
Ninth-placed Swindon were also in need of three points as they looked to keep their play-off hopes alive.
However, the Dons took the lead on 13 minutes when Wade Small scored his 10th league goal of the season after cutting in from the right to send a shot in from 18 yards.
Christian Roberts missed a chance to level but, just before half-time, Smith headed home from the six-yard box.
Swindon were by far the better side in the second half and should have won with Sam Parkin in particular guilty of squandering chances.
The Dons were awarded a penalty for handball against Dean Lewington following Igoe’s ball into the box but Baker dived to his left and palmed the shot away to secure a vital point for the Dons.
Barry Fry announced his retirement from football and could leave the game with his Peterborough side in the bottom division following a 3-0 home drubbing by Colchester.
Posh kicked off second from bottom of League One, nine points from safety. They made a bright start to the game with Andy Clarke sending a volley narrowly over but Colchester started to look dangerous on the break.
The visitors who went into the interval ahead when Marc Goodfellow sent in a left-footed volley from 18 yards for his first goal since arriving on loan.
Colchester then went further ahead with Danns making amends for a terrible miss earlier when he turned and shot into the bottom of the goal after 70 minutes.
The drubbing was complete when Marino Keith hit a fierce spot-kick for only his second goal of the season after a penalty was awarded for handball.
