Peacock steps up to hand King first league defeat

A brilliant free-kick from Lee Peacock was enough to secure a 2-1 win for Bristol City and condemn a 10-man Swindon to their first league defeat under Andy King.

Bristol took the lead after 20 minutes when Matthew Hill was gifted a header from an Aaron Brown cross. Swindon's task was made even harder six minutes after the restart when their captain Alan Reeves was dismissed after appearing to kick out at a City player as the home side lined up a wall. Peacock added insult to injury by firing home an unstoppable left-foot shot from the free-kick to make it 2-1.

Dominic Foley, a loan signing, reduced the arrears with a debut goal when he chipped Steve Phillips after 58 minutes, but it was not enough.

Sam Parkin hit his first league goal of a frustrating campaign to earn lowly Northampton a much-deserved 1-1 draw at home against high-flying Stoke. The visitors looked to be heading back to the top of the Second Division after taking a 36th-minute lead when Adam Sollitt allowed a Marc Goodfellow volley to slip through his hands.

Northampton belied their basement position to create several good chances, with Jamie Forrester inches wide, James Hunt volleying over and Marco Gabbiadini denied on the goal-line. Just as it looked as though Stoke had done enough to reclaim top spot, Parkin, on loan from Chelsea, popped up to head home an 82nd-minute equaliser from Hunt's cross.