LEAGUE TWO
BRISTOL ROV 0 FOREST GREEN 0
MANAGER Rob Edwards emerged from celebrating promotion with Forest Green fans on the Memorial Stadium pitch and said: ‘It’s the proudest moment of my professional career.’ He had seen his team produce a fully committed display to earn the point they needed to clinch promotion, and he added: ‘I’m pleased with how brave they were.’
EXETER 2 ROCHDALE 0
MATT TAYLOR’S Exeter stand on the verge of a return to League One for the first time in 10 years, thanks to goals from Tim Dieng and Matt Jay. ‘For the players to reach 80 points with three games to spare is an outstanding achievement,’ the manager said. ‘They need to celebrate that.’
OLDHAM 1 SALFORD 2
OLDHAM’S 115-year stay in the Football League came to a chaotic end at Boundary Park. A pitch invasion by protesting Oldham fans halted proceedings and the final 11 minutes were played behind closed doors. Matt Smith and Brandon Thomas-Asante scored for Salford, with Davis Keillor-Dunn replying.
BRADFORD 2 SCUNTHORPE 1
MARK HUGHES enjoyed his first home win as Bradford manager, calling it ‘important’. Jamie Walker and Charles Vernam scored for the hosts, with Scunthorpe pulling one back through Alex Bass’s own goal.
HARROGATE 3 CARLISLE 0
JACK DIAMOND’S brace and a Rory McArdle goal secured victory for Harrogate. Manager Simon Weaver said: ‘That was a thank you to the fans for their continued support because it’s not been an easy season, especially in recent months.’
HARTLEPOOL 0 SWINDON 3
HARRY McKIRDY’S brace and a goal from Mathieu Baudry kept Swindon in the promotion frame. Manager Ben Garner said: ‘Harry back scoring is huge for us.
He showed great movement.’
LEYTON ORIENT 2 NORTHAMPTON 4
JOSHUA EPPIAH led the way with two goals as Northampton moved into the top three. Mitchell Pinnock and John Guthrie were also on target for the visitors. Theo Archibald and Jordan Brown scored for Orient, who had Shad Ogie sent off late on.
MANSFIELD 2 CRAWLEY 0
MANSFIELD striker Lucas Akins grabbed his first goal for the club against 10-man Crawley. Jamie Murphy also scored for the hosts, while the visitors had James Tilley sent off.
BARROW 1 SUTTON 0
PHIL BROWN will shelve any talks on his future as Barrow boss until the end of the season. ‘I am not celebrating,’ he said. But after preserving their Football League status with a win over Sutton, his stock has increased. John Rooney was the match-winner for the hosts, who had Josh Kay sent off. Sutton’s Rob Milsom missed a penalty.
STEVENAGE 2 TRANMERE 0
STEVENAGE manager Steve Evans compared Luke Norris to Harry Kane after his goals secured their League Two status. ‘He’s a talisman and I’m pleased for him,’ Evans said.
WALSALL 2 PORT VALE 0
PORT VALE must embrace being the hunter rather than the hunted after dropping out of the automatic promotion places, said interim boss Andy Crosby. Sam Perry and Emmanuel Osadebe’s goals pushed Vale down to fourth.