Northampton (17pts) end the year at the foot of the table after losing 2-1 at home to ten man Swindon. Earlier in the day, Plymouth (18) had their keeper to thank for a goalless draw with Aldershot that keeps the Bulls (19) a point clear of the bottom two. Barnet lost 1-0 at Crawley last night and are joined on 20 points by Dagenham after they beat Gillingham 2-1. Bradford pulled themselves clear with a 3-1 win over Shrewsbury, with Bristol Rovers dropping into the bottom six with a 5-2 home loss to Crewe.
At the top Crawley lead by three points from Cheltenham, who beat Rotherham 1-0 last night, with Southend a further point behind after beating Wimbledon 4-1. The Shrews are fourth, four points short of the last of the automatic promotion spots, with Swindon fifth and Burton, who drew 2-2 at Morecambe, sixth. Gillingham round out the play-off spots, a point ahead of Oxford who had a goalless draw with Torquay. Port Vale are two points further behind after losing 2-1 at Macclesfield.