LEAGUE TWO
Cumbrians entertain at Colchester but had to settle for a point
COLCHESTER and Carlisle had to settle for a point apiece after playing out an entertaining 1-1 draw.
Colchester almost took a sixth-minute lead when Freddie Sears’ shot clattered the inside of the post.
But Carlisle came close soon after when Jack Armer’s diving header flew inches wide and Colchester goalkeeper Sam Hornby then pulled off a fine save to deny striker Kristian Dennis, after Ryan Clampin had under-hit a back-pass.
Colchester took a 19th-minute lead when Noah Chilvers collected Luke Hannant’s pass and drilled a fine shot into the far corner of the net.
But Carlisle refused to lie down; Dennis’s low 25-yard effort was well saved by Hornby.
And the Cumbrians deservedly equalised in the 44th minute when Dennis glanced home a superb header, following Owen Moxon’s excellent cross from the left.
Colchester were the better side in the second half and Carlisle keeper Tomas Holy made a fine save to deny Chilvers but Hornby saved Armer’s header late on, as the match ended in a draw.
Barrow maintained their perfect start to the new season with a dramatic 3-2 victory over Bradford at Holker Street. Josh Gordon struck the stoppage-time winner – straight after Andy Cook had equalised for the visitors – to make it a maximum six points for Pete Wild’s side.
The back-and-forth affair saw Ben Whitfield open the scoring for the hosts before Bradford drew level just two minutes later through Jake Young.
Josh Kay scrambled in from close range on 85 minutes then the added-time drama ensued, Cook pulling the sides level before Gordon netted the winner a minute later.
It was a similarly thrilling day in Doncaster after George Miller cancelled out Donovan Wilson’s 16th-minute opener for Sutton two minutes into second-half stoppage time and Kieran Agard netted the winner two minutes later.
There was late drama too at Stevenage, where the hosts were able to take advantage of a red card issued to Stockport’s Ash Palmer in the 87th minute of their home contest.
Substitute Callum Camps, who came on for the injured Will Collar late in the first half, netted the opener for Stockport on 58 minutes. But Palmer’s punishment proved costly after Luke Norris equalised from the spot and Jamie Reid fired in the winner in the fifth minute of added time.
Walsall emerged unscathed and with all three points despite dropping down to 10 men after Taylor Allen was shown red late in the second half of their clash at Newport.
The hosts were ultimately the architects of their own undoing, with Mickey Demetriou’s 63rd-minute own goal sealing a 1-0 win for the visitors.
Swindon’s Harry Mckirdy also saw red late in the first half at the County Ground. Visitors Salford could not pull ahead despite the man advantage as the sides played out a goalless draw after the restart.
Crewe beat Harrogate 3-0 at home thanks to scores from Dan Agyei, Kelvin Mellor and Courtney Baker-richardson.
Scott Kashket’s ninth-minute header proved decisive in Gillingham’s 1-0 win over Rochdale, while Riley Harbottle’s goal on the hour gave Mansfield victory over visiting Tranmere by the same margin. Leyton Orient bagged a 1-0 win at Crawley.