The Iron fell to a late defeat at home to Oldham on Saturday, with Carl Winchester’s 84th minute strike enough to give Lee Johnson’s side all three points.
The Latics midfielder’s slaloming run and finish proved to be decisive, leaving the Iron in 18th place and lifting Oldham into the final play-off position.Kevin van Veen made his debut for Mark Robins’ side, but was unable to help his new side find a goal on what proved to be a frustrating afternoon for United.
Despite the result, the Iron are still only seven points off the League One play-offs and have a couple of games in hand over their rivals.
Elsewhere on Saturday, Bristol City remain at the top of the table after a 0-0 draw away to fellow promotion rivals MK Dons.
Neither side could break the deadlock, with Bristol City yet to concede a goal in 2015, although they played the last five minutes with 10 men after Luke Ayling’s dismissal.
That gave Swindon the chance to close the gap at the top to just one point, which they did following a 2-0 win at home to Barnsley.
Raphael Rossi Branco’s first half strike and Ben Gladwin’s effort in the second was enough to secure victory for the Robins who remain firmly in the promotion race.
The Iron’s opponents on Tuesday, Coventry, lost 1-0 to Preston, who continued stay within touching distance of the top two. Kevin Davies’ 150th career goal was the decisive goal.
Chesterfield are 5th in the League One table following a 1-0 win away to Notts County. Caolan Lavery’s debut strike was enough to seal the win, but leaves County winless in four.
Sheffield United dropped out of the top six after a 2-0 defeat away to Gillingham who moved above the Iron and further away from the bottom four.
Two goals in the last five minutes from Jermaine McGlashan and Cody McDonald sealed the win for the Gills, while inflicting a third straight away defeat on the Blades.
At the bottom of the table, Yeovil began life without Gary Johnson with a 2-1 win at home to fellow strugglers Crawley Town, leapfrogging them in the process.
Gozie Ugwu and Ajay Leitch-Smith cancelled out Izale McLeod’s opener to complete a turnaround that lifts the Glovers up to 22nd, with only Leyton Orient below 23rd placed Crawley.
Crewe picked up another vital win against Colchester to pull further clear of the bottom four, picking up a 3-2 away win.
James Jones, Nicky Ajose and Anthony Grant cancelled Chris Porter’s opener, with Jack Marriot’s late strike a consolation for the hosts.
Fleetwood and Peterborough shared the points following a 1-1 draw, while the game between Port Vale and Bradford ended 2-2. Walsall also enjoyed a 2-0 win at Doncaster.
Next up for the Iron is a trip to Coventry City, with Mark Robins’ side hoping to bounce back from Saturday’s defeat and also extend their unbeaten away run.