LEAGUE TWO
BARROW 1 CARLISLE 2
PAUL SIMPSON’S fifth win in six games in charge of Carlisle further eased their drop fears. The boss said: ‘It has always been my attitude to win as many games as possible and there are still 27 points to play for.’ Jordan Gibson put the visitors in front after 32 minutes before Kristian Dennis put them further ahead after the break. Skipper Ollie Banks netted for Barrow.
BRADFORD 1 PORT VALE 2
PORT VALE made it three wins on the bounce, thanks to goals from Ben Garrity and James Wilson. Assistant Andy Crosby, who led the side in Daryl Clarke’s absence, was delighted: ‘A good week has become a great week,’ he said. Sub Charles Vernam pulled one back for Bradford.
CRAWLEY 3 SWINDON 1
HEAD coach John Yems hailed a ‘very hard-working performance’ as Crawley won for only the third time in 14 home league games. Kwesi Appiah, Tom Nichols and Isaac Hutchinson all netted for Crawley, with Josh Davison drawing Swindon level in the second half. Yems said: ‘It’s complement to the lads and shows the togetherness.’
HARROGATE 1 WALSALL 1
HARROGATE manager Simon Weaver hailed a ‘breakthrough moment’ for on-loan teenager Calum Kavanagh after his stoppage-time header rescued a point. The hosts had gone behind to Conor Wilkinson’s penalty and Weaver said: ‘I was pleased that the players’ heads didn’t drop.’
LEYTON ORIENT 3 ROCHDALE 1
ORIENT boss Richie Wellens admitted his side’s equaliser transformed the mood of the crowd. Alex Newby had put Rochdale ahead, but goals from Paul Smyth, Ruel Sotiriou and Harry Smith turned the game around. ‘I sensed a change of feeling in the ground, particularly after 25 minutes where it could have been a long afternoon,’ Wellens said. ‘I felt the win had been coming.’
NORTHAMPTON 0 BRISTOL RVS 1
JOEY BARTON praised his Rovers team’s maturity as they claimed a crucial win at promotion rivals Northampton. ‘It is a real tip of the cap for what a group we have got,’ Barton said. Harry Anderson latched on to Fraser Horsfall’s short back pass to score the only goal after just 38 seconds.
OLDHAM 0 EXETER 2
EXETER boss Matt Taylor saluted another ‘big result’ for his team after they triumphed at struggling Oldham. The visitors moved up to second in the table, thanks to second-half goals from Kyle Taylor and Jevani Brown. ‘It was a pretty brutal game to watch at times,’ said Taylor. Oldham boss John Sheridan was understandably downbeat. ‘It’s another tough one to take,’ he said.
SALFORD 5 SCUNTHORPE 1
BRANDON THOMAS-ASANTE hit a hat-trick for Salford, whose assistant boss Billy Barr said:
‘The players are happy in there. We’ve threatened to do that to teams.’ Matt Smith and a stunner from Stephen Kelly completed the scoring for the hosts, with Joe Nuttall netting for Scunthorpe.
SUTTON 1 TRANMERE 1
TRANMERE boss Micky Mellon was left frustrated after his side were forced to settled for a point. Josh Hawkes equalised for
Tranmere after Ben Goodliffe had put the hosts ahead, and Mellon said: ‘We had some good momentum after winning a couple. We’re just a bit disappointed we’ve not gone on to win the game.’