Phil Parkinson's Bradford made headlines last weekend with victory in the FA Cup against Premier League title-chasers Chelsea, but they had to rely on a late Filipe Morais strike to earn a point from a 1-1 draw against struggling Colchester United.
Colchester led at Valley Parade through Chris Porter's fifth-minute goal, but Morais levelled for the hosts 13 minutes from time after they had been pushed all the way.
Fellow cup battlers Sheffield United went one better by condemning Swindon Town to their first league defeat in over a month.
Nigel Clough's men went close to knocking Tottenham out of the League Cup at the semi-final stage on Wednesday and substitute Jamie Murphy's late double gave them all three points at Bramall Lane.
Swindon's slip-up allowed MK Dons to hit the summit with a convincing 5-0 win over Crewe Alexandra.
Manchester City loanee Devante Cole scored his first two goals for the club with Dean Bowditch, Carl Baker and Daniel Powell also on target at Gresty Road, as Carl Robinson's men went top ahead of Bristol City's clash with Fleetwood Town on Sunday.
Fourth-place Preston North End fell to a 2-1 defeat at Crawley Town - Lee Fowler with a late winner for the hosts - while fellow play-off hopefuls Chesterfield and Rochdale drew 2-2 with Doncaster Rovers and Coventry City respectively.
Yeovil Town remain bottom after Marcus Maddison's first-half strike gained Peterborough United maximum points at London Road, while Scunthorpe United took another big step closer towards safety by hammering Leyton Orient 4-1.
Tom Hopper's brace was added to by Gary McSheffrey and Liam O'Neil, while Barnsley gained their first win in three against Port Vale and Jonathan Forte's first goal since November helped Oldham Athletic past Notts County 3-0.
