Review Of The League Two Weekend Action

Last updated : 03 April 2006 By Thetashkentterror

Michael Reddy
Grimsby Town took advantage of Carlisle's involvement in the Football League Trophy final as they closed the gap at the top of the table to three points, albeit having now played a game more. A 25th minute goal from Gary Jones and a Michael Reddy effort two minutes from time secured the win for the Mariners over play-off chasing Wrexham.

Northampton stayed third in the table with a tight 1-0 win away to local rivals Peterborough, Scott McGleish scoring the all-important goal in the 21st minute to keep the Cobblers on track for a top three finish. A crowd of 8,637 was in attendance at London Road for a game which saw the hosts cling on to seventh place on goal from difference from Lincoln and fast-improving Bristol Rovers.

Leyton Orient lost ground on Northampton as they could only draw 1-1 away to a Notts County who are tough to beat at Meadow Lane. Wayne Corden opened the scoring for the O's three minutes after half-time but centre-half Michael Edwards popped up with a 74th minute leveller to ensure a point for the home side, who sit firmly in mid-table with neither relegation nor promotion on the horizon.

Wycombe will struggle to clinch automatic promotion now after losing their fourth game in five outings, this time in a 3-1 defeat at home to Bristol Rovers. The Gas were already three up thanks to a Junior Agogo brace on 31 and 74, and a Richard Walker penalty after 54 minutes, before ex-Stockport man Jermaine Easter grabbed a consolation goal in the 81st minute for the home side. It will be scant consolation for Wanderers though who have only taken 14 points from their last 39, Rovers meanwhile are on the verge of the play-offs after winning their last two games.



Cheltenham failed to cement their play-off credentials as they lost 2-0 at Shrewsbury Town, although the Robins still remain sixth in the table. Ex-United loanee Kelvin Langmead scored both goals for the Shrews at Gay Meadow, hitting the net in the 32nd and 75th minutes to send the Shropshire outfit up to 13th after having only lost three home games in the league all season.

Lincoln crashed to their second defeat on the road in four days as they lost 4-2 at Darlington. All the goals came in the second-half through Guy Bates on 48, Matthew Clarke after 57 and Jemal Johnson on 61 for the home side, with only a Marvin Robinson strike on 53 for the visitors holding the Quakers to just a 3-1 lead in an action-packed 13 minutes. Two further goals came in a five minute spell, Johnson scoring his second on 71 for Darlington, only for Jamie Forrester to pull it back to 4-2 as he registered on 76 minutes for City. The win takes the Quakers to within four points of the play-offs while the Red Imps are surprisingly going backwards after an excellent 5-0 win over Grimsby a week last Saturday.

Mansfield made it three home wins in a row as they defeated Jim Smith-managed Oxford United 1-0 at Field Mill. Danny Reet, signed for £25,000 from Sheffield Wednesday in January, scored the only goal of the game in the 84th minute as the Stags took themselves up to 12th in the table, only five points behind the last play-off place. The U's meanwhile are still in relegation danger as they sit in 19th, just four points above the drop-zone.

Boston plunged Barnet deeper into relegation trouble as they sent the Bees back down the M1 on the end of a 2-1 reverse. The Pilgrims were already two up through Lawrie Dudfield on 16 and Mark Greaves on 35 before Lee Roache, who has recently returned from a loan spell at Conference South outfit Yeading, pulled a goal back for the visitors after 73 minutes. Barnet now hover just one point above the bottom two while Boston secured their League Two future for another season with a win that takes them onto 51 points.



Chester made it two wins on the bounce, after only one victory in their last sixteen matches, thanks to a brace from Derek Asamoah that sealed a 2-1 home victory over Macclesfield. Asamoah gave City the lead in the 50th minute only for Kevin Townson to level matters for the visitors on 75 minutes. It was heartbreak for the Silkmen in the last minute though when Asamoah followed up his midweek hat-trick over Boston with the goal that clinched all three points for Chester, and gave City a real chance of escaping the drop into the Nationwide Conference.

Bury secured a huge three points in their battle against relegation with a 1-0 win over North-West rivals Stockport County at Edgeley Park. Jon Daly scored what would turn out to be the winner in the 32nd minute in front of a bumper crowd of 6,014 spectators. The win takes Bury up to 18th with only four or five points more needed to ensure survival while the Hatters slip down to 21st on the back of only their fifth home league defeat of the season.

The game of the day in the division came at the wrong end of the table where the bottom two teams did battle at Nene Park, although only 3,795 people were in attendance for such an important game. Drewe Broughton scored the only goal of a dour match in the 43rd minute as Rushden claimed a 1-0 home win over Torquay, the victory means the Diamonds leapfrog the Gulls and demote the Devon side to last place in the League Two table.

Rochdale had a day off before they play nine games in the last five weeks of the season. Their scheduled game at home to Carlisle now being played on Tuesday the 11th of April at Spotland.


Updated League Two Table : Click here