Brentford preserved their place at the summit of the League One table with a 2-0 victory over Port Vale at Griffin Park this afternoon.

The Bees, who have won nine of their previous 10 fixtures in England's third tier, maintained their momentum in the hunt for an automatic promotion place, with Marcello Trotta firing the hosts into a 1-0 half-time lead before Will Grigg put the result beyond doubt with two minutes of normal time remaining.

Consequently, Mark Warburton - who scooped the Manager of the Monthaward for December - saw his team hang onto their one-point lead over second-placed Leyton Orient, who kept up the chase with a 4-0 victory over Carlisle United.

Defender Scott Cuthbert fired Orient into the lead on 43 minutes, before second-half strikes from Jamie Ness, Kevin Lisbie and Shaquile Coulthirst ensured that Russell Slade's men remain within striking distance of high-flying Brentford.

Wolverhampton Wanderers, meanwhile, remain in pursuit of the top two as Kenny Jackett's troops recorded a 2-0 win over Preston North End at Molineux.

David Edwards struck in the 28th minute before Lee Evans doubled his team's advantage early in the second half as the West Midlands outfit bounced back from the 1-0 defeat to Gillingham last weekend.

Wolves sit two points adrift of the O's following the result and three behind Brentford.

Elsewhere, Rotherham United got two successive defeats out of their system with a 4-2 win over relegation-threatened Crewe Alexandra at the New York Stadium.

Steve Evans's men had to come from behind twice in order to achieve the victory, as Bradden Inman and Kelvin Mellor both struck either side of a Kieran Agard equaliser.

Lee Frecklington restored parity once more with a 68th-minute penalty, before Alex Revell and another from the 28-year-old proved enough to down the Railwaymen, who remain in the relegation zone.

Peterborough United's grip on a playoff place grows increasingly tenuous as Darren Ferguson's men slumped to their fourth straight defeat in the 2-1 loss to Swindon Town.

Nile Ranger and Yaser Kasim fired the hosts into a 2-0 lead with 20 minutes remaining, before Nathanial Knight-Percival reduced the deficit.

However, any hopes of a comeback were extinguished when Posh went down to 10 men following the dismissal of Lee Tomlin for a second yellow card, leaving sixth-placed United just one point clear of Walsall.

Results in full: Bradford City 1-1 Bristol City, Brentford 2-0 Port Vale, Colchester United 3-0 Gillingham, Leyton Orient 4-0 Carlisle United, MK Dons 3-2 Shrewsbury Town, Notts County 2-1 Sheffield United, Oldham Athletic 1-0 Stevenage, Rotherham United 4-2 Crewe Alexandra, Swindon Town 2-1 Peterborough United, Tranmere Rovers 1-1 Walsall, Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-0 Preston North End