MK Dons 1 Colchester United 1
Ten-man MK Dons came back from a goal behind to rescue a 1-1 draw against mid-table Colchester at Stadium:MK.
Colchester took the lead against the run of play when former Dons striker Clive Platt coolly flicked home at close range on 12 minutes after great work from Mark Yeates on the left flank.
After the goal, Colchester looked much the better side, and they could have doubled their advantage just before half-time when David Perkins curled a shot in, but the shot was saved.
Things got worse for MK Dons - who had already lost Peter Leven to injury - after 60 minutes when Jason Puncheon was shown a straight red card for a two-footed lunge on Dean Hammond.
However, they managed to grab an equaliser only five minutes later when Aaron Wilbraham was given plenty of space to head the ball home at the far post.
Colchester had plenty of chances to get back in front. Scott Vernon looked certain to score with 15 minutes to play, but Sean O'Hanlon was able to get a last-ditch block in, while Steven Gillespie missed a gilt-edged chance from close range in injury time.
But the game finished 1-1 and both sides would have felt the game was an opportunity missed.
Oldham Athletic 2 Hartlepool United 1
Former West Brom striker Lee Hughes had a shot saved in the opening seconds, but he made the breakthrough in the 21st minute, firing home from close range after some slack defending.
Debutant Dean Windass, on loan from Hull, could have made it 2-0 with a free-kick shortly afterwards, but his effort came back off the crossbar.
In the second half, Oldham midfielder Danny Whitaker forced a good reflex save from Arran Lee-Barrett with a header, but The Latics were two up from the resulting corner.
When Kevin Maher's corner came, Hartlepool could only clear it as far as the edge of the area, and Deane Smalley took the chance to smash home in spectacular style.
Hartlepool got back into it on 67 minutes when Oldham defender Kelvin Lomax failed to deal with a cross and put the ball into his own net.
Lomax almost made amends for his error later when his ball into the area evaded everyone and everything but the post, but the game finished 2-1 to help Oldham keep the pressure on the Dons.
Coca-Cola Football League OneLatest match Monday,
12th January 2009Pld Home Away Overall Pts EP W D L F A W D L F A W D L F A 1 Leicester City 24 10 2 1 25 7 6 4 1 21 12 16 6 2 46 19 54 +27 2 Milton Keynes Dons 24 8 1 4 23 12 8 1 2 26 12 16 2 6 49 24 50 +25 3 Oldham Athletic 25 7 5 1 26 12 5 4 3 18 16 12 9 4 44 28 45 +16 4 Millwall 23 8 3 1 17 10 5 2 4 16 16 13 5 5 33 26 44 +7 5 Peterborough United 23 7 3 1 24 11 5 4 3 21 19 12 7 4 45 30 43 +15 6 Scunthorpe United 23 6 3 2 24 15 6 2 4 18 15 12 5 6 42 30 41 +12 7 Stockport County 23 4 4 4 16 15 6 3 2 18 9 10 7 6 34 24 37 +10 8 Tranmere Rovers 23 8 1 3 22 13 3 3 5 11 16 11 4 8 33 29 37 +4 9 Huddersfield Town 25 5 4 4 19 17 5 3 4 15 19 10 7 8 34 36 37 -2 10 Leeds United 24 6 2 4 23 16 5 1 6 16 17 11 3 10 39 33 36 +6 11 Colchester United 24 3 3 6 11 13 6 2 4 25 24 9 5 10 36 37 32 -1 12 Walsall 23 6 0 5 19 18 3 4 5 14 16 9 4 10 33 34 31 -1 13 Northampton Town 24 5 6 2 17 11 2 3 6 15 20 7 9 8 32 31 30 +1 14 Southend United 23 6 2 3 14 10 2 4 6 15 27 8 6 9 29 37 30 -8 15 Hartlepool United 24 5 4 3 26 21 3 1 8 9 19 8 5 11 35 40 29 -5 16 Carlisle United 24 6 1 4 22 15 2 3 8 9 21 8 4 12 31 36 28 -5 17 Bristol Rovers 23 5 2 4 23 16 1 6 5 17 22 6 8 9 40 38 26 +2 18 Yeovil Town 23 2 6 3 13 15 3 3 6 9 18 5 9 9 22 33 24 -11 19 Brighton & Hove Albion 23 2 4 5 15 19 3 4 5 12 15 5 8 10 27 34 23 -7 20 Swindon Town 23 3 3 6 18 23 2 5 4 16 19 5 8 10 34 42 23 -8 21 Leyton Orient 24 2 3 6 9 16 3 4 6 9 16 5 7 12 18 32 22 -14 22 Cheltenham Town 23 4 3 5 16 21 1 2 8 10 28 5 5 13 26 49 20 -23 23 Hereford United 23 3 4 4 12 11 1 1 10 5 25 4 5 14 17 36 17 -19 24 Crewe Alexandra 23 3 2 6 13 21 1 2 9 13 26 4 4 15 26 47 16 -21