League Two Review

Another bad day at the office for The Bulls saw them fall further behind at the foot of League Two after their 1-0 defeat at Valley Parade allowed second from bottom Barnet, who won 2-0 at home to Accrington to move four points clear.

With Lincoln not featuring,  Stockport went a point further ahead of these two clubs, after their 3-3 thriller at home to Crewe.  Greg Tansey and Clayton Donaldson both scored a brace apiece for their respective clubs.

Morecambe were another side who started the day flirting with relegation but their fears would have been eased slightly after Kieran Charnock’s 27th minute goal gave his side a hard-earned 1-0 win against high-flying Port Vale.

Southend’s 3-1 defeat at Burton Albion saw them slip closer to the danger zone. While Aldershot, who top the bottom eight clubs, slipped to a 1-0 defeat at Rotherham thanks to Adam Le Fondre’s 17th goal of the season

At the top of the table, Chesterfield took full advantage of Port Vale’s slip up as they reclaimed top spot with a 1-0 win at home to Torquay. The Spireites day got even better with the news that Bury had slipped to defeat at Wycombe. Scott Rendell’s second-half strike was enough to give the home side all three points, ending Bury’s six-match unbeaten run.

Meanwhile, Tom Bradshaw’s fortunate 89th minute equaliser preserved Shrewsbury Town’s unbeaten record at home this season following a 1-1 draw with Cheltenham Town which keeps them in the hunt for automatic promotion.

In mid-table. Their were wins for both Northampton and Gillingham. Northampton who seemed to have found some recent form, won 1-0 away at Stevenage, while Gillingham ran out 4-2 winners at Macclesfield, making it three wins on the bounce for Gary Simpson’s men.

League Two Review

With few goals scored and nearly half of Saturday’s fixtures finishing in stalemate, most sides gained little advantage over their rivals in terms of points earned.

The Bulls 1-1 draw against Cheltenham was a well-earned point for Pitman’s boys but did little to help our efforts of climbing out of the drop zone and up the table. Mainly because fellow strugglers Lincoln, Northampton and Barnet also earned points. Northampton managed a 0-0 draw at home to high-flying Port Vale, despite playing the entire second half with 10 men after Abdul Osman was sent off for a foul on Anthony Griffith. Lincoln achieved only their second win at home in the League after two second half goals in five minutes gave them a 2-1 win against Morecambe, who are now also flirting dangerously with the drop zone. Barnet moved to within two points of the Bulls after drawing 1-1 down in Torquay. It wasn’t all bad news for Hereford though, as Gillingham’s 3-1 defeat at home to Crewe saw their dismal run continue. The Gills now have only goal difference to thank for keeping them a place above the Bulls.

At the other end of the table Chesterfield remain top despite suffering a shock defeat at home to Burton Albion thanks to Shaun Harrad’s winner six minutes from time. The Spireites were previously unbeaten in the league at the B2Net Stadium, winning seven and drawing one of their previous games. However, none of Chesterfield’s contenders could take advantage. Bury were also beaten at home to mid-table Stockport thanks to a Wes Fletcher strike, while Shrewsbury are two points further behind after their 1-1 draw at Stevenage. Port Vale drew with the Cobblers as mentioned earlier but Wycombe and Rotherham prospered from these string of results with the former sitting just four points behind the leaders in fourth after a 1-0 victory at home to Bradford City, while the latter won 2-1 at home to Oxford United thanks to Adam Le Fondre’s brace to sit sixth and a point further back.

Finally in the battle of the mid-table sides, Macclesfield beat Aldershot 2-0 while Southend drew 1-1 with Accrington Stanley.