LEAGUE TWO ROUND UP A LOOK OVER THE LATEST ROUNDS OF GAMES IN LEAGUE TWO by Mark Walker, PA Media Cheltenham players celebrate promotion on Tuesday
Last Saturday, Conor Thomas’ 82nd minute goal sealed Cheltenham Town a 1-0 victory against Colchester United and sent his side back to the top of the table as the yo-yo race for the Sky Bet League Two title continued. Overnight leaders Cambridge United missed the chance to guarantee promotion with a win, and instead, slipped to second as Stevenage secured a surprise 1-0 win at the Abbey Stadium courtesy of a Luke Norris header just after the hour mark. At the other end of the table, relegation-threatened pair Southend United and Grimsby Town both kept their fights alive with victories. For Phil Brown’s Shrimpers it was win or bust, as it will be for each of their last two games, and they edged Leyton Orient 2-1. Tyler Cordner gave them the lead, only for James Brophy to hit back before Matt Rush got the winner in the 76th minute with his first senior goal. For bottom-club Grimsby, there was an equally important win at Oldham Athletic. The Mariners went behind to Conor McAleny on the half-hour, but responded swiftly through Matt Green before Jay Matete won it with 10 minutes remaining.
On Tuesday night, Cheltenham secured promotion following a 1-1 draw with Carlisle. Chris Hussey’s stunning 56th-minute free-kick guaranteed the Robins would return to League One for the first time since 2009 after Joshua Kayode put the visitors ahead in the first half. At Exeter, a dramatic collapse for 10-man Grimsby condemned them to a 3-2 defeat - and relegation. Lenell John-Lewis’s penalty and Jay Matete’s strike turned the game in their favour after Luke Waterfall’s own goal put the play-off-chasing Grecians ahead. But, after Matete was dismissed, goals in the final eight minutes from Alex Fisher and Ryan Bowman ensured the Mariners would return to the National League following a five-season stay in the fourth tier. Newport boosted their play-off hopes thanks to a thumping 4-0 success over lowly Scunthorpe lifting the Exiles to sixth, while the Iron still require a single point to be mathematically safe. Salford climbed into the final play-off spot after Ian Henderson’s stoppage-time goal clinched a 1-0 win at Bradford. Elsewhere, Barrow guaranteed their safety with a 2-0 victory and dented Forest Green’s promotion hopes as they dropped outside the play-off places.
Bolton Wanderers beat Morecambe, with the latter hampered by the early dismissal of Kevin TABLE 2020/21 Mellor. Ben Jackson gave Wanderers a 1-0 lead just before the interval and they held on 1 Cheltenham Town 2 Cambridge United with their numerical advantage. Elsewhere in the top seven, Tranmere Rovers beat Barrow 1-0 thanks to David Nugent’s goal, Forest Green Rovers shared a goalless draw with hosts Crawley Town and Newport County did the same at Exeter City. Ten-man Salford City beat Mansfield Town 2-0 to keep the pressure on, Ashley Hunter and Ian Henderson were on target despite Richie Towell’s 68th-minute red card, while Emmanuel Osadebe scored one and set up another in Walsall’s 2-0 win at Scunthorpe. Port Vale beat Bradford City 2-1 and Carlisle United rescued a 1-1 draw with Harrogate Town due to a Joshua Kayode equaliser after Jack Muldoon’s goal had given the visitors a half-time lead.
P 44 44 3 Bolton Wanderers 44 4 Morecambe 44 5 Tranmere Rovers 44 6 Newport County 44 7 Salford City 44 8 Forest Green Rovers 44 9 Exeter City 44 10 Carlisle United 44 11 Leyton Orient 44 12 Port Vale 44 13 Crawley Town 44 14 Bradford City 44 15 Stevenage 44 16 Oldham Athletic 44 17 Harrogate Town 44 18 Mansfield Town 44 19 Walsall 44 20 Barrow 44 21 Colchester United 44 22 Scunthorpe United 44 23 Southend United 44 24 Grimsby Town 44
HOME W D L 12 5 5 11 5 6 11 5 6 12 5 5 11 4 7 12 5 5 10 11 1 9 7 6 11 6 5 12 4 6 9 7 6 9 5 8 10 6 6 9 6 7 8 7 7 6 2 14 7 5 10 5 10 7 7 6 9 7 8 7 9 7 6 7 6 9 5 5 12 4 8 10
F 33 27 26 36 30 26 33 29 37 38 30 27 29 22 23 31 19 29 20 31 31 22 15 16
A 20 20 21 27 22 17 15 26 19 25 22 22 23 19 17 39 25 30 25 30 26 27 28 30
AWAY W D L 11 5 6 12 3 7 11 5 6 9 4 9 9 8 5 7 7 8 8 3 11 9 6 7 6 9 7 5 7 10 8 3 11 8 4 10 6 6 10 7 4 11 5 10 7 9 7 6 8 4 10 6 9 7 4 13 5 6 2 14 1 10 11 6 2 14 4 9 9 5 5 12
F 24 39 28 29 24 29 18 25 31 19 21 30 23 26 14 40 27 21 25 20 12 19 11 20
A 17 24 26 31 26 24 18 24 29 24 27 31 32 32 21 35 28 24 26 26 35 36 28 36
GD 20 22 7 7 6 14 18 4 20 8 2 4 -3 -3 -1 -3 -7 -4 -6 -5 -18 -22 -30 -30
Pts 79 77 76 72 72 69 68 67 66 62 61 60 60 58 56 54 54 52 52 49 47 47 41 40
Last updated 28 April 2021
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