Subs:

Paul Jones (Exeter City)
Nicky Fenton (Rotherham United)
Danny Hollands (Bournemouth)
Jamie Ward (Chesterfield)
Andy Bishop (Bury)

Manager: Andy Scott (Brentford)

Scott Shearer (Wycombe Wanderers)

Wycombe couldn’t concede a goal at all for a good chunk of the season and Shearer was a major reason for this parsimony. Consistency is perhaps the biggest asset a goalkeeper can possess and Shearer is one of the most reliable custodians outside the Premier League.

Barry Fuller (Gillingham)

Constructive player who can also operate in midfield but impressed more at right back where his sense of adventure and clever distribution offered Gillingham an extra dimension. Sound in his defensive duties.

Jim Bentley (Morecambe)

Bentley is a real lower league stalwart having given sterling service in non league for the best part of a decade before stepping into league football with Morecambe in 2007 and continuing to excel. Has all the usual qualities of an English stopper and reads the game expertly as well. Also offers a genuine threat in the opposition box.

Simon King (Gillingham)

King moved from left back to centre half at the start of this season and was equally impressive in his new role. Good enough in the air his pace and ability on the ball placed him at a different level to most defenders at this level and he should impress in League One next season.

Dean Moxey (Exeter City)

Strong, pacy full back who impressed both defensively and going forward during the 2008-09 season and was his clubs’ star turn during their promotion campaign. Is obviously ready for the next step up but he might even find himself at a higher level than League One next term having created plenty of interest with his standard of performance this season.

Albert Adomah (Barnet)

This was Adomah’s first full season in league football and he was a revelation. His height makes him awkward for full backs to handle but more important is his pace, dribbling ability and assured finishing.
A genuinely exciting prospect who will create a lot of interest if he continues to develop.

Stewart Drummond (Morecambe)

This lean, elegant midfielder was truly coming home when he re-joined Morecambe in January 2008 and his performances during 2008-09 indicated a player obviously happy and confident with himself and his surroundings.
Ten league goals was a fine effort and his probing distribution helped set up many more.

Ben Davies (Shrewsbury Town)

This chunky, extremely talented midfielder is becoming a permanent fixture in this team. Looked to be completely over the serious injury that delayed his entry into the 2007-08 season and was back to his impudent best in The Shrews midfield both scoring and assisting on a regular basis.
Probably the best set piece specialist at this level.

Sam Saunders (Dagenham & Redbridge)

Saunders is a left sided maverick who produced the goods more consistently during the 2008-09 season while remaining a genuine individual talent. Exciting to watch and always capable of the spectacular.

Reuben Reid (Rotherham United)

Having been docked points for going into administration Rotherham were playing catch up from the off in 2008-09 and the outright pace of Reid was one of the main reasons why they were able to make up the deficit with something to spare.
Fast, direct, brave and always looking for the quickest route to goal Reid looks good enough to get back to the Championship level he started at with Plymouth.

Grant Holt (Shrewsbury Town)

Holt had never really convinced during his time with Nottingham Forest but Shrewsbury still had to fork out £170,000 to bring him back into League Two. This was a considerable outlay but Holt gave value for money by hitting twenty league goals.
Not the most elaborate striker but is a reliable source of goals at this level.

Manager: Andy Scott (Brentford)

Well, we haven’t picked any of his players in this team so considering Brentford were champions of the division we have no option but to pick Scott as the manager.
Scott has worked wonders at Griffin Park since taking over, initially as caretaker, in December 2007 and has now led a club that seemed to be in terminal decline back into League One.
On the playing side there was none of the stability and continuity you expect from a title winning side as Scott managed to use 33 players during the league campaign but his side was always well organised and competitive and these were the virtues that laid the foundation for their success.
Brentford were a typical League Two side in many ways; strong, hard working and physical, but they had enough smooth edges to rise out of the pack.
It will be interesting to see if Scott can maintain his excellent start as a manager at the next level as it is likely he will have to establish a more settled side and add a dash more flair to do so. Whatever the case proves to be Brentford can be thankful to Scott for averting a serious decline and gaining them promotion in such a short space of time.

Monday, December 8
Farewell Sicknote

To be absolutely honest I was always a bit of a Darren Anderton fan. I know his manifold injuries made him the target for plenty of abuse from unsympathetic football followers up and down the country but he always struck me as a genuine sort of bloke and the manner in which his career has now finally ended seems to suggest than any former reflections on his honesty and integrity were totally misguided.

I also think Dazza's injuries have tended to bias peoples' judgement in their estimation of him as a player. Basically The Dazzler was a good 'un whose qualities tended to be overlooked in favour of a consideration of how long he had spent on various treatment tables throughout his career.

Unlike most of his well shod contemporaries, however, Anderton (who you would imagine is worth a bob or two) has shown enough desire and love of the game to continue turning out into his late thirties for a club in dire need of all the help it can get.

Unable to play at the exalted levels he graced for the most part of his career Anderton has spent the past couple of years pitching in with Bournemouth as the south coast club endured its' most wretched spell.

Instances of top quality players spending the twilight of their playing days in the third and fourth tiers of the league are increasingly rare these days which is by no means to the benefit of the English game.

While nobody would want to go back to the days when international footballers often ended their playing days having to take up all kinds of menial occupations to make ends meet having been paid a pittance during their careers it is a shame that less and less of our top players end their days playing out time in the lower reaches of the football league.

Most people who have supported teams from the lower divisions for any period of time will have memories of somebody or other with that extra bit of class who ended their careers at some unlikely outpost providing the occasional ray of spectacular sunshine into the darkness that generally shrouds our lower divisions.

Just over twenty years ago I remember standing agog as a forty year old Frank Worthington scored a goal of absolute genius during a fourth division match. It was a goal that any of the all time greats would have struggled to emulate at the height of their powers and I had the good fortune to see it happen on a chilly February afternoon when all I'd done was go along to watch an apparently common or garden fourth division game.

It was akin to a keen bird watcher seeing a Golden Eagle when they'd just nipped into the garden to feed the sparrows.

As I've said though, this sort of thing happens less and less as the modern footballer gets paid more and more and it's a shame for the fans of the lower ranked teams and also their players.

Playing and training alongside players of real class has got to be beneficial to any up and coming player trying to get on in the game and the fans and players of Bournemouth can be especially thankful that a player of Anderton's stature has been prepared to pitch in during the past couple of years.

Without any semblance of the prima donna about him Anderton has rolled up his sleeves to help a desperately struggling side while always trying to stick to the pure footballing principles that had guided him to the top as a player.

Anderton's decision to call it a day was suddenly announced last week with Saturday's home game against Chester to bring down the curtain on an illustrious career.

The scene set it was a question of whether Anderton had it in him to make the occasion, small as it might have looked in the grand scheme of things, a memorable one. Should we ever have doubted?

Anderton was kept on the bench until early in the second half as two struggling and tense sides engaged in a war of attrition before being offered the chance to write his own postscript. He almost did so with a curling free kick that flashed just wide of an upright but waited until almost the last moment possible before signing off.

With only a couple of minutes left and with Bournemouth pressing for a winner against Chester's ten men Anderton took up his station, dead centre, about twenty five yards out. It looked as though Dazza had secretly decided to retire a couple of minutes early as he stooped in a tired looking fashion watching the action in front of him but when a half clearance suddenly fell his way instinct took over and, having let the ball drop, Anderton neatly adjusted his body and smashed a fierce drive straight into the corner to give his side a 1-0 win.

The celebrations that followed the goal were wild with Anderton's victory dash halted by eager teammates who proceeded to show their appreciation with a mass "pile on" with the goalscorer buried but beaming from ear to ear.

Crikey, Darren. You've scored in the World Cup finals and not got as excited as that.

That's how it should be though. Football is great because days when it's Bournemouth against Chester can be just as glorious as days when it's England against Columbia.

Many people would do well to remember that when they're getting all hot and bothered about what's going on in the Premier League and other such places where money rules.

Darren Anderton always seemed to have a sense of perspective and that is perhaps one of the reasons he was able to find enjoyment and fulfilment ending his career at Dean Court whereas many other top players of his generation would perhaps consider it beneath their dignity.

Football England wishes Anderton all the best in everything he does post football and I am sure ours will not be the only good wishes coming his way.

For all his problems with injuries during his career I don't think I've ever heard anyone within the game speak badly about Anderton and his efforts on behalf of Bournemouth were certainly hugely valued and appreciated.

The question now is can the team he left behind recover from their seventeen point deficit at the start of the season to avoid relegation from the league?

Saturday's victory puts them onto plus three points and leaves them seven points from safety so The Cherries still have everything to play for. They will have to look for their inspiration from somewhere else in future, however.

Sicknote, we salute you.

Tuesday, October 14
Merry Millers Making Hay

With the whole world apparently on the verge of falling into the red Rotherham United have bucked the trend of global economics with their flying start to the season and are now, happily, back in the black.

Having had to start the season on -17 points for past financial misdemeanours the Merry Millers have so far made light of their handicap and now have a positive points tally after collecting nineteen points from their first ten games.

Not only has this excellent start seen them putting daylight between themselves and the two other sides who started on a minus, Bournemouth and Luton, they now have several other sides firmly in their sights as they look to force their way from the bottom of the table.

Rotherham's outstanding early season form has not been confined to the league, either. Given their situation you might have thought the club would have paid less attention to their cup ties but this has certainly not been the case. Instead the club have collected a fine array of higher division scalps whilst making progress in both the League Cup and Johnstone Paints Trophy.

The Millers have made it through to the 4th round of the League Cup after knocking out three Championship sides in a row. Sheffield Wednesday and Wolves were both beaten on penalties while Southampton were defeated 3-1 at Don Valley Stadium, the clubs' new home.

In the Johnstone Paints Trophy the club earned more bragging rights with a fine 4-2 victory over Leeds United.

There will now be further chances to test themselves against stiff opposition in both competitions with a trip to Premier League Stoke City awaiting in the League Cup and the visit of League One pacesetters Leicester City to look forward to in the Johnstone Paints Trophy.

While the financial benefits of progress in the cups is obvious, as well as boosting confidence and morale, the league undoubtedly remains the priority for everyone at the club and five more points from their last three games have kept Rotherham ticking over nicely.

Taking a point from their trip to high flying Dagenham & Redbridge was an acceptable return and the subsequent 4-1 home victory over Grimsby was vital in bringing the club to within touching distance of the Mariners.

Last Saturday The Millers travelled to Bournemouth, a team they started the season level on points with, and will have been more than happy to return north with a goalless draw which maintains the nine point gap they have opened over their rivals since the start of the season.

Not surprisingly this game was a tense affair with both sides apparently more worried about the implications of defeat than the benefits of victory.

The point obviously suits Rotherham better at this stage but Bournemouth will also remain convinced that they can beat the drop.

It's hard to tell, looking at Rotherham's squad, whether they are equipped to maintain their fine early season form although they certainly look good enough to end up with their heads above water. Their squad has a definite "journey man" look to it and while there is a decent balance and good experience at the club it will be surprising if they can continue amassing points at their present rate.

The defence is especially experienced with goalkeeper Andy Warrington lining up behind stalwarts like Ian Sharps and Nick Fenton. The likes of Pablo Mills and Mark Lynch can both boast experience of higher grade football although both these players have yet to prove that they are good enough to return to those levels.

Michael Cummins, Mark Hudson and Danny Harrison, in midfield, have also been around the block a few times and know exactly what to expect in League Two while the "Journeyman's Journeyman", Drewe Broughton, continues to plod along in attack to no great effect.

The most interesting members of the Rotherham line up so far this season have been the attackers Alex Rhodes and Reuben Reid and they will need to carry on their good early season work if the club is to continue stacking up the points.

Reid has captured much attention for his dashing displays and the handful of goals he has so far provided but it is Rhodes, operating in wider areas, who perhaps looks the more complete player.

If this pair can remain consistent then The Millers should have no problem staying clear of relegation trouble and if the former Celtic and Birmingham striker Mark Burchill, who scored the equaliser at Dagenham, can finally fulfil some of his early promise then Rotherham may just remain bouyant throughout a season that started in such depressing circumstances.

Wycombe continue to lead the way in this section after securing a point in dramatic circumstances from their trip to Grimsby at the weekend. They trailed to the strugglers from the second minute and looked to be heading for defeat when Tommy Doherty was sent off in the closing stages.

The Chairboys were not to be denied, however, and grabbed a point in injury time with a goal from defender Leon Johnson.

Following in Wycombe's wake are Dagenham, Bradford (who came from two down to win at Accrington with three goals in the last ten minutes), Bury, Shrewsbury and Brentford.

Also making steady progress on their return to the Football League are Exeter City who scored an excellent 1-0 win at Bury on Saturday to move into 7th place.

Wednesday, October 1
Bournemouth Take First Steps On Road To Redemption

Three teams started the season on minus points in League Two thereby facing a guaranteed relegation scrap before a ball had been kicked.

Luton Town, on -30, faced the most difficult task and remain on -19 after taking eleven points from their first eight games. The Hatters will probably be disappointed at this return having dropped points in games they would have expected to win against teams they would have felt they might, possibly, catch.

Losing at Macclesfield and only drawing at home to Chester will have hurt everyone at the club badly and these results are the ones that have prevented the club from making an extremely positive start to the season.

The recent defeat at Rotherham United was also an obvious bodyblow.

Rotherham themselves have made a magnificent start to the season, both in league and cup, and have already eaten away fifteen of the -17 they were saddled with at the start of the campaign. Having beaten Luton they maintained their fine start by collecting a decent point away to Dagenham & Redbridge and are now within realistic striking distance of the clubs above them.

To be fair to both Macclesfield and Chester, the two sides that looked most vulnerable in the early weeks of the season, their form has picked up dramatically of late and they appear safely tucked away in mid table.

The teams that now have most reason to look uncomfortably over their shoulders are Grimsby Town and Barnet. These two sides met at the weekend with Barnet travelling to the east coast to record their first win of the season and thereby overtake Grimsby in the table.

The only goal in this one came from a neat Neal Bishop finish after some thrilling wing play by Albert Adomah and the win will have eased some worried minds at Underhill. Grimsby, on the other hand, are left still awaiting their first win of the season and have only a five point cushion over Rotherham.

Of course Grimsby, or any of the other teams starting on level par, would still be ok if Rotherham overtook them just so long as they stayed in front of Bournemouth and Luton. The last couple of weeks have seen Bournemouth belatedly begin their survival bid in earnest, however, to raise real belief that the relegation issue in this division is perhaps not the foregone conclusion that most people expected.

Having collected only three points, and no wins, from their first six games it looked as though Bournemouth would struggle to make any real impression on the handicap they started with and the prospect of an away game at Bradford then a visit from Darlington did not seem to offer much hope of an immediate upturn in fortunes.

These two fixtures have brought two wins and a maximum six points, however, and provided everyone at the club with a much needed boost.

Going into the Bradford game manager Jimmy Quinn decided to alter the shape of his team and switched the formation to a very continental looking 3-5-1-1.

This move, highly radical in League Two, may have been a slightly desperate reaction to a hugely desperate situation but Quinn also saw it as a means of getting more out of Sammy Igoe, the man selected to play the Peter Beardsley role behind the lone striker.

Igoe has been around the lower divisions for donkeys years and a CV containing Portsmouth, Luton, Swindon and Bristol Rovers suggests he is a player who could be vital to Bournemouth's rearguard action this season.

Many might argue that Igoe, unquestionably a talented individual, has never really lived up to his promise over a steady but unspectacular career and Quinn was certainly hoping to coax more from his man in choosing this new formation.

Igoe has certainly been excellent in the two victories which have been gained since switching to the new system and he will need to continue producing consistently if the move is to be proved successful over a longer term.

Even though the wins over Bradford and Darlington, both by a 3-1 scoreline, have looked great on paper they have been achieved with a certain degree of good fortune and Quinn himself may well consider the points as a huge bonus given that he has already said that he expects the team to take around half a dozen games to get fully acquainted with the new system.

One of the potential dangers of the formation is a lack of support to the striker and an over reliance on the frontman to score the goals. Quinn will therefore be delighted that there have been six different scorers, including an own goal courtesy of Darlo, in these two victories.

This sudden improvement in fortunes will be severely tested again on Saturday when Bournemouth travel to Wycombe, joint leaders of the division, but the trip will surely be made in much better spirits than might have been expected a fortnight ago.

Wycombe lie second in the table behind Bury on goal difference having visited Gigg Lane on Saturday and come away with a draw. Given that these sides had managed only 21 goals between them in 14 games before facing each other I suppose it is hardly surprising that the ensuing draw should be of the goalless variety.

The result ensures that both teams remain unbeaten in the league so far.

Shrewsbury Town are up to third in the table after beating Bradford City, leaders themselves two weeks ago, 2-0 at the weekend.

The Shrews were set on their way by a 4th minute goal which centred around a remarkable, and controversial, incident.

In going to challenge for a centre aimed at Dave Hibbert, the Shrewsbury centre forward, Bradford defenders Graeme Lee and Thomas Moncur collided badly and both ended up poleaxed in the goalmouth clutching their heads.

The referee, Jarnail Singh, saw fit to let the game continue and Ben Davies promptly drilled the ball home to give his side a crucial lead.

Bradford were obviously disappointed at the decision because the injuries were only too real and, by the letter of the law, the game should have been stopped.

To the neutral observer, however, it would have seemed unfair had Davies not been allowed to take advantage of what was, basically, incompetence from the opposition.

The dramatic nature of the incidence was compounded by the effect of the collision on Moncur who initially regained his feet only to quickly collapse on the field and then collapse again having eventually been led from the pitch prompting the referee to wait for over ten minutes before finally restarting the game.

Moncur was detained in hospital but has now been allowed out with, touch wood, no lasting damage.

Tuesday, September 16
Wycombe's Blue Meanies

Wycombe Wanderers have certainly started the season in miserly fashion. Since conceding a goal to Morecambe in a 1-1 draw on the opening day of the season The Chairboys have gone through their next five games without being breached, thereby setting a club record since joining The Football League in 1993.

The club narrowly missed out on promotion last season under the management of Paul Lambert and they have made another solid start under his successor, Peter Taylor. A frugal defence was a vital part of Lambert's side as the club kept a record nineteen clean sheets in the league last season and Taylor has also adhered to the principle that good sides are built from the back.

Goalkeeper Scott Shearer, who missed most of last season through injury, has been excellent on his return to the first team and has been ably assisted by the men in front of him; Craig Woodman, Mike Williamson, Leon Johnson and David McCracken.

Wycombe's most recent shutouts have come away at Rochdale and at home to Brentford. They only managed to score one goal in these two games, however, therefore had to settle for only four points from a possible six and this again suggested that Taylor's team has not yet struck the perfect balance between attack and defence.

With reinforcements having been drafted in to give further attacking options before the end of the transfer window Taylor will be confident that his team will soon be operating properly at both ends of the pitch and their present third place in the League Two table, just one point off leaders Bradford, is one the new manager will be well satisfied with at this early stage of the campaign.

Wycombe made it three wins from three away from home when they edged past Rochdale at Spotland, the only goal of the game coming from Chris Zebroski. Defences were on top throughout this game with one glaring exception when the 'Dale defence inexplicably spurned several chances to clear a routine corner and Zebroski punished them with a thumping finish.

It was a similar story on Saturday when the visit of Brentford drew a crowd of almost 6,000 to Adams Park but on this occasion neither defence made a critical slip. The goalless draw was hardly the result of two teams cancelling each other out, however. Both sides went looking for the victory, both had spells in the ascendancy and both sides had chances to win the game but some tentative finishing and fine goalkeeping ensured that the game remained deadlocked.

The result leaves both sides handily placed and both will have been fairly satisfied with the outcome.

Wycombe will be hoping Scott McGleish, so prolific last season, rediscovers his shooting boots fairly quickly while newcomer Matt Harrold will be eager to show what he can do sooner rather than later.

Expect The Chairboys to maintain their challenge.

Bradford top the table at present and, unlike Wycombe, can't stop scoring at the moment.

Stuart McCall's side looks built to attack with the potent looking strikeforce of Peter Thorne and Michael Boulding enjoying strong support and service from the flying wingers Joe Colbeck and Omar Daley.

Both Thorne and Boulding scored twice in Saturday's 4-1 win over Exeter City and this looks like a combination that can continue to prosper.

Thorne is now at the veteran stage of his career but is obviously enjoying his sparkling early season form which has now seen him plunder eight goals in the opening six league games. The striker was doubtful for Saturday's game with a back problem but was understandably keen to play and any pain he did suffer was eased by his two poachers' goals, one turned in after the keeper had spilled a shot from distance and the other deflected home with his knee.

Boulding, prolific for Mansfield last season despite their relegation, has been overshadowed by Thorne in the early weeks of this season but provided two classy finishes on Saturday to help his new side overturn a half time deficit in emphatic style. His first was a superb header and his second a measured finish from the edge of the box.

Boulding, with his pace and intelligent touches, looks to be an ideal foil for the strong, brave Thorne and Bradford also appear equipped to go the distance this year.

Talking of goals a mention must go to Shrewsbury Town who recorded a superb 7-0 mauling of Gillingham at the weekend with six different scorers. It is nice to see Ben Davies fully recovered from the injury that ruled him out of the first half of last season and he was the man who managed to find the net twice.

The two unlikely front runners at the moment are Bury and Dagenham & Redbridge.

Bury have known only struggle for several seasons now but are undefeated so far and lie second after their 3-1 win over Lincoln City on Saturday. Whether they have the strength in depth to maintain a challenge is debatable but they certainly look a much improved side now that Andy Morrell is around to partner Andy Bishop up front while Efe Sodje and Ben Futcher are keeping things in order at the back.

Dagenham have made a rip roaring start to their second season of league football and bounced back from their 2-1 defeat in a thrilling London derby at Brentford with a cracking 3-0 victory over Chesterfield.

Sam Saunders notched in both these games and has been one of the form players in the division so far. The winger, who failed to score at all last season, already has five in six so far this term.

Tuesday, August 26
Millers Only 8 Points From Safety

Rotherham United were one of three teams in League Two who started the season on minus points and The Millers must be delighted to find themselves only eight points from safety after the first three games of the season.

While they have won all three of their fixtures to make substantial inroads into their starting position of -17 four teams in the section have yet to gain a point. At this stage Rotherham must be very confident about their survival prospects while the dismal starts made by Lincoln, Barnet, Macclesfield and Chester even offer encouragement to the other sides starting in arrears, Bournemouth and Luton.

This Saturday saw Rotherham defeat Chester City 3-1 as the visitors truly woeful form continued. Chester's defending has been atrocious so far and this trend continued as they fell behind in the second minute. There was no hint of any marking as Drewe Broughton headed a free kick back across goal for defender Ian Sharps to slot home from close range.

There was then an element of farce as Rotherham increased their lead before the quarter hour mark. City defender Laurence Wilson reached a through ball ahead of Reuben Reid but when he attempted to clear into touch the ball cannoned against Reid's foot and flew past a startled John Danby in the Chester goal from around the edge of the box.

Kevin Ellison quickly replied for Chester with their first league goal of the season but Rotherham had restored their two goal advantage before the half hour. This goal, scored by Alex Rhodes, came at the end of a neat passing move but once again the Chester defence was far too generous in the space they allowed their opponents during the build up.

Bournemouth will have been hugely disappointed not to make further inroads into their deficit after losing at home by the only goal to Exeter City while Luton were frustrated at only drawing at home to Notts County. Chris Martin fired them ahead early in the second half but the lead was shortlived as Jamie Forrester levelled from the penalty spot after a senseless handball by Sam Parkin who was back defending a set piece.

Parkin did his utmost to atone for this error at the other end but his luck was out.

At the top of the table three teams still have maximum points. Grant Holt's header was enough to give Shrewsbury Town another three points at home to Aldershot while an inexplicable own goal by David Artell clinched Bury's 2-1 victory over struggling Morecambe.

Bradford's fine start continued as they defeated Rochdale 2-0 in front of over 13,000 fans at Valley Parade. Peter Thorne continued his excellent start to the season by setting up Michael Boulding for the opener before notching the second himself when the 'Dale defence managed to leave him unmarked two yards out.

Tuesday, August 12
Old Dogs; New Tricks

It's always nice to see players who are nearing the twilight of their careers strutting their stuff. Generally if a player is still being selected in his mid thirties it is because he has that bit of extra quality which allows him to compete with the younger, fitter, quicker generation. The start of the League Two season saw several fine examples of experienced craftsmen showing their class to the young whipper-snappers around them.

Both Peter Thorne and Jack Lester scored twice for their respective clubs while Darren Anderton scored a cracking solo goal for Bournemouth.

Thorne is now 35 but he scored both of Bradford's goals in their 2-1 victory over Notts County and he is likely to be an important figure if the Bantams are to mount a promotion challenge this time around.

His first goal was a trademark header but the second was something altogether more unusual and special. Reacting with surprising dexterity to a miscued clearance inside the County box Thorne launched into an overhead kick which was perfectly executed with the ball bedding itself snugly into the bottom corner.

There were over 14,000 present at Valley Parade as Bradford continue their laudable policy of offering the cheapest season tickets around and it would certainly be nice to see this likeable club moving back in an upward direction.

Lester, nearing 33, was prolific last season for Chesterfield and carried on where he left off on Saturday with a brace in the clubs' excellent 3-1 win at Barnet. The lively striker had been unlucky to see an effort ruled out for pushing in the first half but finished clinically to bring his side level after the break when played in behind the Barnet defence.

The striker will have been more pleased with his second goal, however. The Barnet defence was at full stretch to repel a determined Chesterfield attack but when the ball ran loose outside the area Lester was following up to score with an instant, sand wedged chip over a crowd of players into the unguarded net. Genuine class.

Chesterfield's win was wrapped up when the nippy Jamie Ward burst clear to finish with assurance and The Spireites look well equipped to make a promotion push this time around.

Three teams who certainly haven't got promotion on their minds just yet are Luton, Rotherham and Bournemouth who start on minus points after falling into administration.

Luton suffered a terrible start in losing 3-1 at home to Port Vale although this scoreline hardly reflected the balance of play. One thing Luton cannot afford to do in their position (-30 points) is to offer any unecessary gifts but they did just that on Saturday.

Trailing 2-1 but pressing hard for an equaliser Luton gift wrapped Vale's clinching goal when goalkeeper Dean Brill came out of his box near the byeline to kick clear but only picked out the nearest Vale player. The cross back into the box should then have provided the Luton defence with an easy interception but this too was fluffed presenting Marc Richards with an open goal which he duly found.

Rotherham's 1-0 victory over Lincoln City, courtesy of Reuben Reid's goal, pulls their deficit back to -14 but Bournemouth had to settle for a single point after Gillingham snatched a last minute equaliser at Dean Court to leave them on -16.

Darren Anderton rolled back the years to step clear of two challengers as he surged forward onto a loose ball in midfield and the former England man was able to keep his pursuers at bay before slipping in a low left footed cross shot to open the scoring in fine style.

Most people expect that the two relegation places will be filled by two of these three handicapped teams but if this trio are looking for teams they might potentially catch then Cheshire is perhaps the county they should keep an eye on.

Macclesfield Town are always a team you have your doubts about at the start of a season and they suffered a 4-0 spanking on their visit to Shrewsbury Town. Under Paul Simpson the Shrews look a sound bet for a promotion challenge, however, so Macc don't need to panic just yet.

Chester City's 6-0 drubbing at the hands of Dagenham & Redbridge should set the alarm bells ringing at the Deva, however. Chester suffered a dreadful second half to last season and this was the worst possible start to 2008-09.

Sam Saunders didn't manage a single goal last season for The Daggers but took advantage of startling generosity from the Chester defence to strike twice on Saturday. Firstly his inswinging free kick from the left hand touchline was allowed to creep inside the far post and then he was able to run through and score unchallenged when a Chester player inexplicably sent a throw in straight into his path thirty yards from goal.

There were long away trips for the two newly promoted sides and both recorded good results. Exeter City came from behind to earn a fine 1-1 draw at Darlington with Danny Seaborne on target while Aldershot Town came away from Accrington Stanley with a 1-0 win thanks to a neat Scott Donnelly free kick.

Thursday, April 24
Wrexham Relegated

It had basically become inevitable but it was still somewhat disappointing to see Wrexham relegated out of the Football League after their defeat at Hereford on Tuesday night.

Wrexham have been continuous members of the Football League since being elected into the first ever Division Three North in 1921 and the club has contributed much to the league in that time.

It is a while now since Mickey Thomas's free kick knocked Arsenal out of the FA Cup but the memory is still fresh and I vividly remember the outstanding Wrexham team of the late 1970's which stormed to the third division championship while enjoying long runs in both cup competitions.

Down the years the club also had one or two notable European nights with their most notable scalp being Porto who they knocked out of the Cup Winners Cup on away goals in the mid 1980's after a thrilling 3-4 defeat in Portugal.

It is probably because my formative years as a football fan coincided with the Wrexham teams of Arfon Griffiths, Joey Jones, Mickey Thomas, Billy Ashcroft and Dixie McNeil et al that I retain a soft spot for the club.

As a supporter of a lower league team myself the games against Wrexham were always important affairs with bigger than normal crowds, higher than usual excitement and generally good games with plenty of goals.

I suppose it's a while since the neutral has regarded Wrexham as that kind of a club, however, and the writing has pretty much been on the wall for a few years now. Wrexham slipped into League Two three years ago after being deducted ten points for falling into administration and they have never really recovered.

They managed a mid-table finish in 2006 but only avoided the dreaded drop on the final day of last season with victory over Boston. This season has proved an equal struggle and relegation was confirmed at Hereford on Tuesday night.

Wrexham have struggled consistently this season and although the appointment of Brian Little as manager initially brought some respite this improvement was not lasting.

Under Little the club showed decent form from January through to the middle of March with several new faces joining the club and a home win over MK Dons being particularly morale boosting.

Such form could not be maintained, however, as the teams' shortcomings remained impossible to fix. The most damaging of these has been a chronic shortage of goals. The inability to hit the net not only made relegation look a certainty for some time it has ensured that the season has been just about as miserable as it could be for the clubs' supporters.

Only one man, Michael Proctor, has managed double figures on the goalscoring front and even he, strangely, has spent half his time on the bench as the club chopped and changed in the vain search for a winning formula.

Even after their best run of the season the club found themselves four points short of safety, albeit with a couple of games in hand. There were obvious games which had to be targeted for three points against other teams in danger but when the crunch games came around victories were not forthcoming.

The home draw with Dagenham was crucial as was defeat at Mansfield. The home draw with Macclesfield was another missed opportunity. Although Wrexham did then manage to sneak a victory over Notts County this had really come too late and it was defeat in the following game that confirmed Wrexham's fate.

Victory at promotion chasing Hereford was always a big ask and although Wrexham battled hard the quality, once again, simply wasn't there. Gary Hooper's goal on the stroke of half time pushed Wrexham to the very edge of the precipice and Theo Robinson's second on the hour pushed them over the edge.

Almost five hundred fans had travelled from North Wales to observe the last rites and they, along with the clubs' other hard core fans, have reason to wonder why the club has fallen so far.

Can Wrexham return? You get the feeling that it won't be easy and significant improvement will be needed in the playing staff. Knowing where to start the rrebuilding might not be an easy task. The club have used a whopping 41 players this season but very few have inspired any real optimism. Yet making further wholesale changes carries its' own risks.

It would appear that the club have done well to secure manager Brian Little for a further two years although sections of the crowd, almost inevitably, are not convinced by the new man.

Little has been around, however, and it gives a positive impression that he is keen to commit to the club for the immediate future. He has a reputation to restore in the game and will want to do so by restoring Wrexham's.

You would also think that he is better equipped to attract players to the club than anyone else Wrexham could realistically bring in as manager at the moment.

How far the club can go to bringing in any players Little identifies has also got to be a concern, however, and it may well be harder attracting decent players to the club now that they are in the Conference.

Extra quality is certainly needed to help out as the club hopes to see a new batch of youngsters emerge.

Wrexham continue to develop and blood young players but recent newcomers have not been of the standard of player the club nurtured in the seventies, eighties and nineties.

In the 70's the club were blessed with the likes of Niedzwiecki, Joey Jones, Thomas, Whittle, Smallman and Ashcroft coming through the ranks and this tradition was carried on by players like Barry Horne, Karl Connolly and Bryan Hughes in subsequent decades.

It is also possible that Wrexham is suffering from a general footballing malaise in its' region. Football seems to be like that. If one or two clubs in an area are doing well it tends to stir the others into action. If a couple of teams start to slide then they seem to take a couple more with them.

Chester and Shrewsbury, perhaps Wrexham's two closest rivals, have both been relegated from the league in recent years and now Wrexham have joined them.

Wrexham can take heart from the fact that both Chester and Shrewsbury have regained their league status but, in general, the area is beginning to look like a backwater and this is something else that will make Little's task more difficult as he tries to bring in the right calibre of player.

It is exactly thirty years ago that Wrexham took the old third division by storm and made the whole of the country sit up and take notice of them. This has been a sad way to mark the anniversary but hopefully this latest fall from grace can shock the club, the town and the whole region into a positive response.

A few years ago Carlisle United found themselves in the same situation and they have been moving forwards ever since. Wrexham would appear to have the potential resources of a club like Carlisle and it must be hoped that their reaction will be equally stirring.

The alternative for Wales's oldest club is not worth thinking about. The alternative is oblivion.

Monday, March 31
Strange Week For Stockport

Last week was certainly an eventful one for Stockport County. The play off contenders, who still have a chance of automatic promotion, managed a decent goalless draw away to Wycombe before making the shorter trip to Chester on Saturday. This was anything but a run of the mill game from start to finish, well, I say finish.

As kick off approached two things became very apparent. One was the fact that the pitch was holding a lot of surface water and the other was that Stockport had brought with them a lot more fans than the home club were expecting.

There was evidently serious danger that the game would not go ahead but the referee finally decided to start on time. In retrospect the official might have been better advised to use the situation with the Stockport fans as a reason for delaying the kick off and giving the groundstaff more time to work on the pitch.

As it was the game kicked off in almost farcical circumstances both on and off the pitch. Conditions were atrocious for the players with the ball holding up on several parts of the drenched surface and it was hard to remain focussed on the game as visiting fans continued to gain entry all around the ground.

The specified away enclosure was patently over populated with people having to stand in the seated area and the situation finally came to a head when the stewards and police began squashing the home supporters into a smaller section of their stand to allow an overspill of Stockport fans to take up residence there.

No doubt the Stocky fans were enjoying the fact that they had basically taken over the ground but on the pitch the going remained tough with both sides struggling to fashion chances.

As the second half got under way the situation seemed to be finally sorting itself out. Having re-housed the Stockport fans the situation in the stands was settling down and the pitch now appeared to be playing better than at any time.

Stockport also appeared to be getting a grip on proceedings. They had just spurned the best chance of the game when, on 62 minutes, the referee suddenly decided to abandon the match.

Conditions were still bad enough to justify the decision but it seemed strange to have started at all only to call it off at that point with the pitch appearing to be playing better and certainly no worse than at kick off.

Stockport should have no problems securing a play off place. They have a ten point cushion as the season nears its' end and they could still force their way into automatic contention. They are five points adrift at the moment but still have to play Peterborough, MK Dons and Darlington before the season is over.

For a team with so much still to play for the decision to send their centre half and captain Ashley Williams on loan to Swansea City last week was one of the more baffling.

The loan move is with a view to a permanent transfer at the end of the season and it has to be assumed that this is a done deal but it still seems strange that the club couldn't have held out until the summer and just done the deal then.

Williams is a highly promising defender who made his full debut for Wales last week in the victory over Luxembourg and there had been previous interest in him which Stockport had resisted.

Cardiff were thought to be keen and Luton failed with a bid of £500,000 last year. Quite how Luton were in a position to make such a bid is now something of a mystery of course.

Having played hard to get until now it is difficult to see why Stockport were not prepared to wait until the summer before cashing in on their prize asset. Surely Swansea's interest would have stood a couple of months delay and Stockport already knew that the player had caught the eye of other clubs.

There was no reason to believe that there would have been no takers for the player had they held on a little longer.

Perhaps the deal offered by Swansea was simply too tempting to turn down, the details have yet to emerge, but with the club so close to the play offs the timing of the move is hard to comprehend.

Williams sat on the bench during Swansea's win at Hartlepool at the weekend and if he fails to break into the Swans' first team before the end of the season the deal will look even more bizarre.

Wednesday, January 16
Posh Go Mental

The most remarkable scoreline of the season was racked up at London Road last night as Peterborough United went goal crazy against visiting Accrington Stanley.

These two sides have very little "previous". Peterborough only gained entry into the Football League in 1960 and, after pitting their wits against each other for one season, Accrington resigned from the league the following year because of financial problems and only managed a return last season.

In the 1960-61 season, when The Posh took the fourth division by storm as they won the divisional championship, the two teams met twice within the space of four days late on in the campaign with Stanley winning 3-2 at Peel Park before Peterborough won the return 3-2. Last season Peterborough won 4-2 at London Road while Stanley again managed a home victory by a 3-2 scoreline.

In this seasons' first meeting Peterborough clocked up a routine 2-0 victory at the Fraser Eagle but all previous encounters were totally eclipsed by the manic goings on in their most recent encounter.

Indeed this was a night that recalled the heady days of 60-61 when Peterborough slammed in 134 league goals during their first season in the Football League, Terry Bly banging in 52 of them. With the chances created last night Bly may well have got close to that total in one go. As it was a final scoreline of 8-2 in favour of The Posh was excitement even enough without the rash of missed chances and close calls that went with the goals.

Despite a convincing 3-0 away win to Championship strugglers Colchester United in the 3rd round of the FA Cup ambitious Peterborough's recent league form had been poor. The culmination of this was a hugely disappointing 1-0 home defeat to Macclesfield at the weekend which was the clubs' fourth defeat in five matches.

Whether Posh boss Darren Ferguson is as combustible as his old man Alex in such times we don't really know yet but the younger Fergie will be feeling a lot better after seeing his side blitz Stanley, a result which really sets themselves up for a promotion push as well as a tilt at West Bromwich Albion in the next round of the cup.

The first incident of note on an incident packed night was a sour one for Peterborough as Jamie Day was forced off in the opening minutes with a nasty looking injury but things started to turn for the better when Craig Mackail-Smith opened the scoring on 12 minutes.

There was a clear sign of the generous defending Accrington were going to exhibit all night as the forward ran comfortably onto a long ball from the back to nudge the ball past advancing keeper Ian Dunbavin before tapping home.

The Stanley defence was agian AWOL for the second Peterborough goal, tucked into an empty net by George Boyd after Dunbavin had got down well to save from Mackail-Smith.

This goal saw Peterborough end the first half with their tails well and truly up and by half time the damage was up to four.

The third came when Boyd, enjoying the freedom of the penalty area, teed himself up a juicy volley after a cut back from near the right hand corner flag and duly despatched his drive inside the near post. Then Aaron McLean joined in the fun by slotting inside the same post after holding off a half hearted challenge.

The visitors might have gone in at half time shellshocked but they came out for the second half determined to put in an improved performance and actually brought themselves just about back into contention.

Paul Mullin slid in at the far post to finish off a neat left wing move and when Shaun Whalley did likewise to capitalise on a similar right wing attack the arrears had been halved.

Peterborough had never stopped making chances, however, and it was hard to believe that they would not convert one of them sooner or later. When Boyd finally did so to complete his hat trick, neatly sidestepping a defender before shooting home emphatically from the edge of the box with fifteen minutes remaining, it was the signal for the floodgates to well and truly open.

Floodgates was by now a very appropriate word as the rain continued to lash down and the pitch was swiftly degenerating into a bog. In fact a mischievous referee might have thought about calling a halt to proceedings as the ball began to hold up in the lying water but Mr Whitestone was not so inclined and The Posh were able to wade through the drowning Stanley defence on three more occasions to take the final score to 8-2.

United's sixth goal was my personal favourite because of the valiant, but unavailing, part played in it by Stanley defender Phil Edwards.

Edwards slid in desperately in front of goal to clear a low centre from the left but could only send the ball back across the six yard line to a waiting Posh forward. He knocked the ball back towards the postrate Edwards who stuck up a boot to attempt a second clearance but this simply put the ball on a plate for McLean who duly slotted home.

The seventh saw Adam Newton aqua planing down the right to send in a juicy low centre which McLean finished neatly and the scoring was wrapped up by Mackail-Smith, thus completing his hat trick as well, who also scored from close range after a fine centre from his partner McLean.

There is no doubt that Accrington will never be able to look back on their defending in this game with any sense of pride but credit must always go to any team rattling in eight goals, especially given the numerous other chances they created besides.

It was good to see so many goals coming from balls pulled back from close to the goalline, traditionally the most dangerous place to get to in football, and also nice to see players so willing to get into the box to take advantage.

Such virtues are often overlooked by todays' "master" tacticians but it remains desperately difficult to defend such situations as well as being hugely exciting and enjoyable for the spectator.

The win leaves Peterborough 5th in the table and just three points behind an automatic promotion place.

There is plenty left to play for for The Posh this season and hopefully this win might see the spirit of 61 return to London Road over the coming weeks and months.

It will be a breathless time for all concerned if it does.

Saturday, December 15
Bees Decline Continues

Automatic relegation from the Football League makes League Two a pretty scary place to spend your time these days. If you are bad enough to drop into that section then there are no guarantees that you will be good enough to stay clear of relegation trouble. There are some clubs which you don't really expect to see struggling at the wrong end of that division, though, and Brentford are one of them.

To the outsider Brentford come across as a solid little club who always produce a competitive side capable of giving anyone at their level a decent game. And it basically goes without saying that their level is League One, the old 3rd division.

After winning promotion to the old Division Three in 1978 The Bees stayed put at that level for 27 of the next 29 seasons. They were promoted once and were instantly relegated and they dropped into the basement on one occasion only to immediately win promotion.

During this period Brentford built a succession of tidy teams mixing steel with a dash of flair and tended to provide a benchmark for the other teams in their section. If you got the better of them head to head then you could probably esxpect to have a good season, lose to them and you might just be in for a struggle.

It was appropriate, looking back to the start of their long run in the third tier, that the club should draft in the experienced Stan Bowles and Ron "Chopper" Harris. Chalk and cheese those two but they provided a useful guideline for the balance that would serve the club well over the next few decades.

Over that period attacking flair and power was provided by the likes of Andy Sinton, Keith Jones, Dean Holdsworth, Gary Blissett, Marcus Gayle, Robert Taylor and Nicky Forster while players such as Terry Hurlock and Chris Kamara added real steel.

Latterly the club were blessed with the defensive talents of players of the calibre of Hermann Hreidarsson, Ivar Ingimarsson and Ibrahima Sonko. There was little suggestion that the club was about to hit freefall.

The precursor to Brentford's dramatic slump was, inevitably, financial problems although at first it looked as though the club had emerged relatively unscathed.

When the club was in distress in 2005 it was taken over, early in 2006, by a Supporters Trust which had a high profile frontman in the former head of the BBC, Greg Dyke.

With the club going well in both League One and the FA Cup there was a genuine feelgood factor around Griffin Park at that time which peaked with a comprehensive 2-1 beating of Premier League Sunderland in the 4th round of the cup.

The two goal hero of that game, Dudley "DJ" Campbell, was then sold to Birmingham City which suggested the clubs' finances were still bleak. With a scarcely impossible 5th round tie to come at Charlton and an outstanding chance of automatic promotion before them this decision looked timid at best and depressingly shortsighted. It is possibly fair to say that the selling of Campbell marked the start of the alarming decline which the club still seems to be in.

Brentford missed out on automatic promotion at the end of that season by three points and then lost in the play off semi finals to Swansea City.

It was significant that the manager, Martin Allen, then left the club to take over at MK Dons in the division below them. Allen probably gained a pay rise but will surely have also seen a club with more financial clout and ambition.

It was not just a manager that The Bees lost around this time. As well as seeing Campbell leave the club were forced, or decided, to cash in on Sam Sodje and Jay Tabb. Recently the experienced goalscorer Lloyd Owusu moved on a free to Yeovil Town.

Allen has never been adequately replaced as manager and it has been impossible to replace such quality players on a shoestring.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing but I honestly don't think it is necessary when talking about the next matter. Martin Allen was always going to be a tough act to follow, especially as his team was already being broken up, and the appointment of his successor was obviously going to be of vital importance to Brentford's future.

I think most people were surprised when Leroy Rosenior was given the job.

Rosenior had been sacked the previous season by Torquay United as the club was lurching disastrously towards the Conference. Under his management the Gulls had provided entertainment but mainly in a Keystone Cops sort of way.

After a bright start Rosenior saw his new club collapse into a shambles and, having taken over in the summer, he was sacked in November.

Scott Fitzgerald was given the arduous task of turning things around but this was a thankless, if not hopeless, task and when the club were actually relegated at the end of last season Terry Butcher had taken over in the increasingly hot seat.

With a generally inexperienced squad Butcher also found it impossible to inspire a revival. The Bees managed a couple of early wins as they began life in League Two this season and revived hope with a couple more as October turned into November.

Since then, however, performances and results have been dire. The club have lost their last six games and these defeats have included a 7-0 drubbing at Peterborough along with demoralising home defeats to Morecambe and Lincoln.

This sequence ended with Butcher becoming the latest managerial casualty at Griffin Park and Andy Scott has been installed as caretaker until some other fall guy is found.

Butcher's departure was quickly followed by that of the Chief Executive Keith Dickens and with the supporters showing increasing dissatisfaction with Dyke and the awful spectre of relegation from the league now a genuine issue the club would appear to be at an all time low.

Whoever takes over will obviously have their work cut out and a pertinent question must be who would want the job at this time?

The most pressing immediate concern has to be results on the pitch and the club faces a massive game this afternoon when they visit fellow strugglers Wrexham. They follow this with a trip to high flying MK Dons and then plunge into the busy Christmas period.

Results over the next few weeks could dictate the way Brentford's season goes. Pick up a couple of wins and the club will probably be sitting reasonably comfortably in mid table. Struggle and a relegation dogfight is definitely on the cards.

In another week of turmoil at the club, however, not all the news has been bad. It has been announced that the club have secured an option to buy land within Brentford to build a new 20,000 seater stadium.

The idea is to sell Griffin Park for housing development, share the new ground with a rugby union club and generate money from it in other ways as well as a multi-purpose modern arena.

The scheme is a popular one with the local community at all levels and offers a real ray of hope for the future. The plan is to be in the new stadium by 2012. The obvious question is where exactly will the football club be by that time?

I think most football followers who have ever come into contact with the club will hope that the answer is safely within the Football League structure, maybe in League One.

That would seem appropriate.

Thursday, November 8
Lincoln Staring Into The Abyss?

Lincoln City are the holders of one unwanted claim to fame. When automatic relegation from the Football League was introduced for the 1986-87 season they were the first team to bite the dust. On that occasion they returned to the league straight away but now, twenty years later, they are in danger of falling from grace again.

Just like twenty years ago it is unlikely that anyone could have seen this coming either. In 1986 the Imps had just been relegated from the old Division Three and went into the season as favourites for promotion only to end it relegated. This time they came into the present campaign having reached the play offs in each of the past five seasons.

Having suffered a comprehensive 4-2 home defeat to Chesterfield this week, however, Lincoln find themselves bottom of the table having played fifteen games.

How and why have things gone so wrong?

This is a very difficult question to answer. The squad is not so very different from the one which took the club to the play offs last season but the signs were possibly already there at the end of the last campaign.

In the final thirteen games of last season Lincoln only managed two wins and were then beaten in both legs of their play off semi final by Bristol Rovers.

In the first fifteen games of this campaign they have only managed two more wins.

Worryingly these two wins came early on when, having been hammered on the opening day by Shrewsbury, they got the better of Mansfield and Accrington in successive games.

In the next twelve games they have managed just three draws and were also thumped 5-2 at home by Hartlepool in the Johnstone Paints Trophy.

Many of the clubs' fans hanker for their former manager Keith Alexander whose work ethic made the club difficult to beat and ensured a physical, committed Lincoln side.

His successor, John Schofield, was dismissed at the end of October along with the clubs' Director of Football John Deehan and the man charged with putting the steel back into the Imps is former Huddersfield boss Peter Jackson.

Jackson will probably want to emulate the hard working approach encouraged by Alexander and looks to have got a good man in alongside him in Neil McDonald, the former Carlisle boss.

If anything positive can be taken from their awful sequence of results it is that the Imps have rarely been beaten out of sight and will feel that they should have taken something from most of the games they have been involved in so far.

That in itself is a bit of a concern, however, and when a team gets stuck in a rut it can be very difficult to get out of it.

The club will be looking to the stars of last season to get things going at Sincil Bank sooner rather than later. Lee Frecklington is a class act in midfield and should be good for some points along the way although whether last seasons' major goal getters, Jamie Forrester and Mark Stallard, have much mileage left in them is more debatable.

This weekend the club have a break from league action and the prospect of a glamour 1st round FA Cup tie at home to Nottingham Forest could be just what the club needs to lift the gloom.

Even if they could pull off a morale boosting victory there is obviously plenty of hard work to be done in the league to turn things around.

When the club suffered relegation in 1987 only one team went down whereas now the danger is double with two teams facing the drop.

At least the Imps are well aware of the dangers on this occasion though. In 1987 the club never hit the bottom of the table until the very last day of the season.

Nobody can say they haven't had enough warning this time around.

Tuesday, August 21
Darlo Lead The Way

It's early days but Darlington lead League Two after their comfortable 3-0 win at Accrington at the weekend. Darlo have flattered to deceive regularly over recent years, however, so Quakers fans won't be getting too excited just yet.

This was a convincing display with Tommy Wright providing a slick finish to give them a first half lead. Pawel Abbott then scored at both the start and the end of the second period to confirm the three points.

There will be sterner tests ahead but at least they have made the best possible start.

Also on maximum points are Shrewsbury Town. The Shrews are managed by former Preston boss Gary Peters and also have five former North End employees on their playing staff.

It was one of these, Dave Hibbert, who fired the only goal of the game against Bradford City from the penalty spot. Most of the credit goes to ex Bury man Marc Pugh, however, who won the spot kick and caused problems throughout with his strong, pacy running.

Promotion favourites Peterborough came a cropper at Rotherham who were worthy 3-1 winners with Derek Holmes getting two as the Millers roared into a three goal lead before half time.

The most exciting game of the weekend saw Paul Ince returning to Macclesfield Town with his new club MK Dons.

The Dons started well but after taking the lead found themselves 3-1 down just past the hour as Macc got stuck into their task, Francis Green grabbing a couple.

Green almost completed his hat trick after Leon Knight had pulled one back for the Dons but saw his fierce effort cannon out from the underside of the bar.

Macc were left rueing this when the Dons grabbed the latest of equalisers as they piled on pressure towards the end.

With the game in its' fifth minute of injury time it looked like Macc had survived when the Dons hit the post but as the ball was half cleared Colin Cameron was lurking to smash it back into the top corner and ensure a share of the points for Incey's men.

Breathless stuff and magnificent entertainment.

Dagenham & Redbridge gained their first league point but were left feeling down after letting slip a two goal lead at home to Wycombe Wanderers.

Sam Sloma scored their first ever league goal and when Chris Moore added to this just after half time three points looked there for the taking.

I suggested fitness could be an issue with the Daggers after seeing them wilt at Stockport on the opening day, however, and Wycombe were able to fight their way back into contention.

Matt Bloomfield pulled one back on 69 minutes and then Jermaine Easter equalised with an injury time penalty after Sergio Torres had been felled in the box.

Monday, August 13
Football England At Stockport County

It is the intention of Football England to get round some of the clubs in the lower divisions this season and provide a review not only of the game watched but the atmosphere and facilities in and around the ground visited.

First up for inspection was Stockport County's Edgeley Park where the home side were playing host to league newcomers Dagenham & Redbridge.

The game itself was a decent affair which was settled in Stockport's favour by a late Liam Dickinson goal.

The home side were the better side throughout and could have put the game to bed early on as Dagenham struggled to come to terms with the pace of league football.

In Matty McNeil and Anthony Elding Stockport have two rangy, mobile forwards and their movement caused plenty of problems in the opening twenty minutes and with Elding, inparticular, showing some deft touches in and around the box several chances came and went.

A couple of angled drives flashed wide and when the home side did find the target Daggers' keeper Tony Roberts showed good positioning and alertness to keep the scores level.

Having survived this testing start the visitors began to get more into the game but although they managed to keep the home forwards at a safer range they rarely threatened themselves against a dominant central defensive pairing of Gareth Owen and Ashley Williams.

On the Dagenham right Sam Saunders displayed a nice touch and looked as though he might create something but never actually did while on the left the combination of Scott Griffiths and Sam Sloma linked with promise on a couple of occasions.

By the end of the first half it was Roberts back in action with a couple of good saves to keep his side in contention, however.

The second half began in more mundane fashion with Stockport struggling to create chances and Dagenham apparently looking increasingly likely to take a point.

Both teams started making their substitutions but it was not so much this that seemed to turn the tide back in Stockport's favour but the dodgy fitness of the visitors.

Several Dagenham players began feeling the effects of cramp and this made their defensive operation more precarious.

Worst affected of all appeared to be the left back Griffiths who had been probably the Daggers' most accomplished performer but who should surely have been replaced after going down for the second time.

Almost immediately he played his side into big trouble with a weak back header that saw Roberts charging from his box to deny Adam Proudlock with a flying challenge that the referee seemed happy enough with but a linesman was convinced had been illegal.

Now there was the prospect of the keeper being sent off but the referee, wisely in my view, deemed a yellow card sufficient punishment and the free kick was wasted.

Stockport were now pushing harder again though and the visitors were visibly buckling as the clock ticked down and eventually, five minutes from the end, they cracked.

The goal was a fine one but again it came down the area patrolled by Griffiths and while he was not at fault it is likely that earlier on he would have been able to prevent the cross that led to the goal.

The ball was pushed up to the substitute Liam Dickinson who swept a lovely ball down the right for Proudlock to run onto and when he centred first time to the near post Dickinson had galloped forward to strike an emphatic finish into the roof of the net.

This was tough on Dagenham after working so hard but the result was undoubtedly the correct one.

Stockport look to be a strong, well organised side who will be hard to beat and if their forwards find any form should be in and around the play offs all season.

The only position where they looked suspect on Saturday was in goal where debutant Conrad Logan did not entirely convince despite having precious little to do. The coming games will give a clearer indication of his ability, however.

Dagenham looked game enough and maintained their discipline defensively but looked, on this evidence, desperately short of firepower.

They can take heart from this performance, however, and will face weaker sides than Stockport during the season.

As for Stockport as a town and a club my impressions were generally favourable. The ground has a capacity of over 10,000 which is perfectly adequate for its' present position but, unlike many of the newly constructed stadiums, has easy scope for improvement if the club did move upwards and need a bigger capacity.

The Cheadle End is the one that generates the atmosphere and there was good noise coming out around the ground from there before kick off and almost constantly throughout the first half.

The mood became more subdued, as did the game, after half time but built again as Stockport began to apply the late pressure which reached a crescendo with Dickinson's goal.

It was disappointing to see that only around a couple of hundred had bothered making the trip from Dagenham. I know it's a long way but this was their first game in league football.

The ones' who had made the trip managed a few chorusses of "Yellows" but they were given little to get really excited about. It is also a fact that the worst part of Edgeley Park is the away end which is uncovered seats behind one goal and does not lend itself to creating much racket.

The Stockport fans had a reasonable range of chants to unfurl although the fact that the electronic scoreboard at the far end seemed to be conducting the choir at times was a little annoying.

"Who needs Mourinho when we've got Jimbo!" seemed a fair question to be asking, however.

Around the ground were a couple of friendly local pubs where the Stockport fans obviously convened in jovial mood and made welcome the pockets of Dagenham supporters who stayed behind for a beer before heading south again but the town centre was not as pleasant.

There were not as many pubs to choose from as might have been expected and fewer still where there seemed any prospect of watching the live game between Villa and Liverpool.

Having located one this was obviously found to contain plenty of people decked out in their replica Liverpool kits and as the game progressed they were joined by the regulation quota of City and United fans.

Whereas the chat in the pubs around the ground had been about the relative merits of and prospects of their two teams between genuine football fans and a lively debate about whether Grimsby was the best away trip in League Two the talk in the town centre pub was simply seperate groups spouting off about how good their team was, nasty digs about the other teams and just the normal pathetic need to feel superior through a club they claim to, and possibly do, actually support.

Nothing at all was said within my hearing in the town centre pub about Stockport County.

Time to go.

One thing I would like to mention about Stockport town centre, however, is that as I wandered back towards the train station I noticed that among the signs erected to direct you towards a range of local amenities was one pointing you to the Air Raid Shelter.

Whisper it gently but someone needs to tell the town council that the war's over.

Summary

Game: 6.5/10
Ground: 6.5/10
Atmosphere: 8/10
Town: 6/10
Token Lower League Fatty: Adam Proudlock

Round Up Of The Rest

Elsewhere in League Two the most impressive performance came from Shrewsbury Town. Fears of a play off hang over were quickly dispelled by a resounding 4-0 win at Lincoln. The evergreen Andy Cooke bagged a brace and is now into the nervous nineties as he approaches a century of league goals.

The bookies favourites Peterborough United also won at a canter despatching Rochdale 3-0 at London Road. There was an early setback for Paul Ince and the MK Dons as they fell to a 2-1 defeat at home to Bury though.

The Dons led at half time but fell to two goals early in the second half from Andy Bishop whilst also having Drissa Diallo sent off.

The other most notable victory was Accrington Stanley's at Wycombe. Predictably it was Paul Mullin on target with the only goal as the Chairboys carried on from where they left off last season.

Sunday, May 27
Super Richard Walker

Bristol Rovers clinched promotion to League One after an excellent play off final with Shrewsbury Town.

The Shrews shaded an open, entertaining game but were undone by two magnificent finishes from Richard Walker.

Shrewsbury started the game in positive mood. Big and strong all over the pitch they were first to the ball and penned their opponents back with a series of attacks. The Bristol defence looked anything but convincing.

In Derek Asamoah, on the right flank, Shrewsbury also had a pacy outlet with which to attack Rovers at will.

The opening goal was not long in coming. Neil Ashton whipped in a cracking free kick in the 3rd minute and Stuart Drummond glanced a header beyond Steve Phillips.

Ashton's cultured left foot would be a danger from set plays all afternoon.

Shrewsbury really had the bit between their teeth and looked to press home their advantage. With the Rovers defence looking anything but assured another goal seemed inevitable but somehow they resisted.

One spot of penalty area pinball looked certain to bring another Shrewsbury goal but a series of Bristol limbs kept the ball out, more by luck than judgement.

From almost nothing, however, Rovers struck back in fine style. Criag Disley combined well with Ryan Green who knocked in a low ball to the near post from the right hand byeline.

The danger was not immediately apparent but Walker, getting across his man, glided an instant effort with his left foot which flew past Chris Mackenzie's left hand.

This was an inspired finish.

Better was to follow. With Shrewsbury continuing to do most of the pressing Walker latched onto a long ball over the top with a decent first touch before lofting an exquisite chip over Mackenzie from the angle, the ball dropping into the net just as a player from each side slid in to join it.

Magnificent.

Shrewsbury continued to press after the break with Rovers looking more organised in defence with a lead to protect.

Steve Elliott made one excellent block to deny Drummond and Phillips made a superb save with his feet from Asamoah's crisp half volley to preserve their lead.

The game, not surprisingly, ended in dramatic fashion. Marc Tierney was sent off for a challenge that looked far worse than it actually was and with Shrewsbury throwing every man they had left forward for a corner Sammy Igoe was able to run clear and shoot into an empty net from 40 yards out.

I don't know how long the ball took to cross the line for the hoardes of Rovers fans watching but it seemed an eternity to me sweating on a 3-1 correct score.

Congratulations not only to Rovers for their victory and promotion but to Shrewsbury who contributed to an enjoyable game.

More people need to realise that how the result comes about is just as important as the result itself.

Saturday, May 19
Bristol Rovers & Shrewsbury At Wembley

Either Bristol Rovers or Shrewsbury Town will be playing in League One next season after they progressed to the play off finals this week.

Bristol Rovers went into the semi finals as the form team and confirmed this with a convincing victory over Lincoln City.

Rovers managed a 2-1 victory at home in the 1st leg, a tight game but one in which they always had the edge.

Craig Disley and Jeff Hughes exchanged goals in the first half before Richard Walker struck the crucial blow early in the second with a smart volleyed finish from a quickly taken free kick.

Theoretically the 2nd leg was set up to be a thriller but Rovers scored twice in the first ten minutes at Sincil Bank and in effect the tie was over.

Lincoln gamely tried to get back into the tie which meant the thrills and spills barely stopped but at no stage did Lincoln get back within touching distance.

Stuart Campbell leathered Rovers into their early lead which Rickie Lambert soon doubled.

Hughes replied for Lincoln but Walker scored again for Rovers before the first half ended with Mark Stallard pulling Lincoln back to two down on aggregate.

The next goal was obviously going to be vital and it was actually a long time coming. With Lincoln desperately throwing men forward Rovers struck again on the break in the last ten minutes through Sammy Igoe and Sean Rigg before the scoring was completed by Lincoln's Hughes.

That meant it was 5-3 to Rovers on the night and 7-4 on aggregate.

So the form team going into the play offs remain the form team and few would probably back against them completing the job.

The team with the task of stopping them is Shrewsbury Town.

Shrewsbury were pitted against MK Dons in their semi final, and unusually the two legged game marked the last games at both teams' stadiums.

The 1st leg at Gay Meadow ended goalless. This was a predictably gruelling affair. The direct approach of the Dons dictated much of the game but the Shrewsbury defence was resolute and all the long balls and throw ins were repelled.

The first half of the 2nd leg at the National Hockey Stadium was in the same vein and remained goalless. The catalyst for Shrewsbury's success was the introduction of the experienced forward Andy Cooke at half time.

Cooke showed that he was in the mood to get involved immediately as he picked up a yellow card. His next contribution was more positive, a resounding finish after being played in over the top.

Keith Andrews bundled in an equaliser for the Dons but Cooke was to have the last word. Michael Symes fed him and Cooke fired home inside the near post to send the Shrews to Wembley.

Their progress was ensured by late saves from Scott Shearer who may well be their most important performer when they face Bristol Rovers in the final.

Sunday, May 6
Boston Fall Through Trapdoor

There were matters to be resolved at both ends of the table in League Two on the final day of the season therefore a day of tension was to be anticipated.

At the top the game between Hartlepool and Bristol Rovers would have a profound effect on the destination of the championship and the make up of the play offs.

Hartlepool needed a better result than Walsall to be crowned champions while Rovers needed victory to make the play offs.

Things started well for 'Pool with Joel Porter finishing crisply at the end of a neat move to give them a half time lead but Rovers, one of the sections' form teams, were in determined mood and rallied after the break.

It took a slightly dubious penalty, converted by Richard Walker, to draw them level and with the impetus very much with them they pressed on to grab a late winner when Rickie Lambert powered home a header from Ryan Green's cross.

Lambert made a slow start to his Rovers career after moving from Rochdale but has proved instrumental in their surge into the play offs.

The Gasheads' victory meant that Stockport missed out on the play offs despite winning 5-0 at Darlington. Both Anthony Elding and David Poole notched twice for the Hatters after Darlo had been reduced to ten men.

Walsall would have claimed the title anyway because of Hartlepool's defeat but they finished the season on a high by equalising late on at Swindon through an absolute beauty from Dean Keates.

Swindon, needing a point to be certain of promotion, had led through Jerel Ifil's header and tension in the Walsall ranks was exposed when their manager Richard Money was sent to the stand after getting involved with the officials.

The Saddlers late pressure was rewarded, however, when Keates rocked backwards and smashed a volley with a vertical left peg high into the far corner.

Sweet.

This result meant that the MK Dons' win over Accrington Stanley left them having to be satisfied with a play off place.

At the bottom there were four teams still sweating although theoretically everything could be resolved by the game between Wrexham and Boston United.

A victory here for Wrexham would confirm Boston's relegation and this is how it eventually turned out.

Wrexham's crowd of 12,374 was their biggest in the league since 1980 but although everything worked out fine in the end there was enough nail biting to be done before the job was done.

Boston edged in front during a tense first half when Francis Green finished clamly after a clever through ball to leave Wrexham staring over the precipice.

It took a penalty to get the Welsh side back into things. Their former keeper Andy Marriott spooned a header back into the box following a corner and in the rush for the rebound the referee spotted a push.

Ryan Valentine could not have been as calm as he looked as he stroked home the spot kick.

The game was still on a knife edge, however, and with just over ten minutes remaining Boston had a great chance to retake the lead. A spot of pinball inside the box finally saw the ball drop to Paul Ellender but the defender skied his effort high over the bar from close range.

There would be no recovering from this miss as Wrexham soon afterwards took a vital lead. Mark Jones fed Chris Llewellyn who cut inside from the right hand side to fire home.

Cue suitably manic celebrations. Llewellyn launched his shirt into the crowd and was never furnished with another one, completing the game in his red vest.

This did not hamper his style. The sleeveless wonder soon picked out Michael Proctor with a pin point cross and the header made everything certain. Wrexham were safe and Boston were down.

Hopefully Wrexham can use this brush with oblivion as a springboard for better things while the future of Boston remains shrouded in mystery.

Still mired in financial difficulties with the hint that they cannot satisfy their outstanding football related debts this is a club very definitely looking their maker in the eye.

The result of this game made results elsewhere irrelevent but Bury's draw with Mansfield, thanks to Tom Youngs' equaliser, would have guaranteed their safety whatever had happened at the Racecourse.

The situation was different at Moss Rose, however, where Macclesfield's draw with Notts County left them vulnerable to a Boston victory.

John Miles had the Silkmen ahead in a first half in which they held sway but sloppy defending allowed Andy Parkinson through for an equaliser before half time and the Macc fans were on the edge of their seats for the rest of the game.

With the clock ticking down Paul Ince re-introduced himself to league football and managed to get himself involved in a couple of arguments with the officials before the end of the game.

If Incey is thinking of prolonging this comeback next season I would recommend he re-designs the Macclesfield shirt which is currently in the Italian style and a bit too figure hugging for the Guvnor's good.

Friday, April 27
Squeaky Bum Time

Squeaky bum time? Alex Ferguson doesn't know the meaning of the concept.

Whether or not you win the league, FA Cup and champions league is not a matter for losing control of your bodily functions or hitting the whiskey.

That just happens to you because you're getting on a bit and you were weaned on Glenfiddich, Alex. And the latter probably contributes to the former.

If you want some idea of real pressure in a footballing sense call up your estranged pal Paul Ince, aka The Guvnor, or Chris Casper and ask them what it's like trying to keep a side from falling into the Conference.

Ince's Macclesfield are one of five sides who could still join the long gone Torquay United in falling out of the league this season. Casper's Bury are another.

For everyone involved with these clubs the next nine days will be absolute torture, although theoretically everything could be settled tomorrow if Boston lose and Accrington draw with Macclesfield.

This is not very likely, however, as Boston are able to play their joker tomorrow when they entertain Torquay at York Street. This should provide the opportunity for the Pilgrims to pick up 3 more points and with Accy and Maccy meeting each other at the Fraser Eagle Stadium at least one of these sides will be dropping points, perhaps both.

With Boston currently two points adrift of these clubs victory would see them climb out of the relegation zone, unless their rivals do share the points in which case they will all be level and only seperated by goal difference.

The two other teams involved are Bury and Wrexham who lie one point clear of Accy and Maccy and three points clear of Boston.

Both face tough away fixtures tomorrow, Bury visit Stockport and Wrexham journey to Walsall, and if they both lose, Boston win and Accy draw with Maccy then, lo and behold, all five clubs would be going into the last day level on points.

Confused? You will be.

This is all conjecture of course but that is part of the fun. It's torture on those involved but great fun for the neutral.

If it did all come down to the wire in that way how much pressure would there be at the Racecourse Ground on the final day when Wrexham are entertaining Boston.

That's "Sqeaky Bum Time", Sir Alex.

You'll just be quaffing another quart of Laphroaig just because your team's cocked up the Premier League by losing at Man. City.

You really need to get a sense of perspective, chief.

Bury look the best bet for safety, and not just because they are in the best position at the moment. They will feel they can get something out of their local derby at Stockport and then have the prospect of a home game with Mansfield to complete their fixtures.

Wrexham, level on points with Bury, but with a worrying goal difference, are in graver danger. They travel to Walsall who need a point to ensure promotion and they might hope that the Saddlers are content with such an outcome.

This is unlikely, however, and anything Wrexham gain at the Bescot will be well earned. Then they host Boston.

Having played each other Accrington have to visit the MK Dons while Macclesfield host Notts Co. on the final day.

This would make it seem as though Accrington need a win more urgently than Macclesfield tomorrow.

Macclesfield have done remarkably well under Paul Ince to put themselves even into this fighting position but the strain seems to have been telling recently.

They suffered a damaging 4-1 defeat at Boston and have also lost their last two, 5-0 at Rochdale and 1-0 at home to Bristol Rovers.

The Silkmen need to rediscover their steely side quickly and it is no surprise that Incey is contemplating donning the boots again. His experience, and quality, could prove invaluable.

Boston might have to win both their games to survive but the opportunity is certainly there and they have shown decent form recently, backing up their thumping of Macc with a narrow victory over Chester.

The two certainties are that one of these teams is definitely for the chop and all the managers' involved would gladly swap the "pressure" Sir Alex Ferguson is facing at the moment for their own.

Wednesday, April 18
Hartlepool & Walsall Promoted

Both Hartlepool United and Walsall clinched promotion back to League One at the weekend with victories. Both clubs are promoted at the first attempt following relegation last season and with Swindon Town strong favourites to join them and MK Dons certainties for the play offs at least it is possible that all four clubs relegated last time around could return together at the first time of asking.

Surely this would be a first.

Hartlepool head the table after a phenomenal run of form. After losing at Barnet at the start of November the club went on a remarkable unbeaten run which saw them win 19 games and draw 4 before finally losing, again to Barnet.

This setback has also been shrugged off and with successive 1-0 wins in their last two games against Accrington and Wycombe the Monkey Hangers have sealed an instant return to the next level.

Richie Barker provided the goals in both of these games and has managed 9 in 16 games since joining in January while the undoubted highlight of this magnificent sequence came with a 3-0 win at neighbouring Darlington.

Almost 4,000 Hartlepool fans were present to see Eifion Williams grab a couple of goals in the resounding defeat of their arch rivals.

Walsall have always been in and around the promotion places although a trio of defeats in February then as many draws in March threatened to undo the good work of earlier in the season.

Since then, however, the Saddlers have rallied. Not much has come easily of late but after managing to win the last four games, each by a single goal, Walsall are now celebrating promotion as well and still have eyes on the championship.

Swindon, unbeaten in six games, look odds on to clinch the final automatic spot although they have a couple of tough games to finish the season as they face in form Bristol Rovers and Walsall.

Lincoln City and Stockport County look good bets to join MK Dons in the play offs while Shrewsbury Town currently lie 6th and also have games in hand on those around them.

The two other sides that could force their way into the shake up are Wycombe Wanderers and Bristol Rovers.

Our last report from this section which detailed Stockport's incredible run of wins and clean sheets ensured that the sequence was abruptly ended when they travelled to Barnet for their next game.

The Hatters almost made it to half time a goal up before Oliver Allen breached their defence with a deflected shot that Wayne Hennessey was powerless to stop, the first time he had been breached in Stockport colours.

Second half goals from Dean Sinclair and Liam Hatch then gave Barnet the victory and having been watertight for so long Stockport then conceded 3 at home to Hartlepool in a drawn game before capitulating to an astonishing 7-2 home defeat to Rochdale a couple of games later.

Talk about swings and roundabouts.

Stocky's unpredictable form was highlighted over Easter when they managed a 2-0 victory at home to Chester before falling meekly to defeat by the same scoreline at Macclesfield Town.

I wouldn't like to predict what the rest of the season has in store for Jim Gannon's men.

Wednesday, March 7
Frugal Hatters

Sometimes things happen in football that are truly remarkable, totally unpredictable and without warning.

Stockport County's current winning run is one of these phenomenon.

When Andy Cooke's injury time goal on New Years Day confirmed his own hat trick and Stockport's 4-2 defeat at Shrewsbury there was little reason to believe that the Hatters were about to embark on a record breaking winning run and even less to suspect that they were about to turn inpregnable.

That is what has happened, however. After an FA Cup defeat at Watford Jim Gannon's men have now won nine games in succession and, remarkably, not conceded a goal in any of them.

This has set a record. No other team in the history of the league has won so many games in a row without conceding a goal.

If the club can keep their goal intact a couple of games longer then Steve Death's record of minutes without being breached will be under serious threat, just weeks after we did his profile as well.

This run began with a home game against Boston United and coincided, also remarkably, with the debut of a young keeper brought in on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Wayne Hennessey might have had mixed feelings about being shunted out on loan to Edgeley Park. He certainly couldn't have thought that within a couple of months he would be breaking records and finding himself the centre of national media attention. Hennessey has already been voted the League Two player of the month and now stands on the threshold of immortality.

Sometimes, Greavsie, football really is a funny old game.

Hennessey had an encouraging debut in Stockport's 2-0 win over Boston and he has continued in the same vein ever since, frustrating Peterborough United, Wycombe Wanderers, Wrexham, Hereford United, Mansfield Town, Accrington Stanley, Walsall and Swindon Town in turn.

More importantly this magnificent sequence has seen the Hatters move from 11th in the table to 6th and from a position of being 15 points shy of an automatic promotion place to just 2 points off the pace.

Credit has to be liberally spread about the club for this current run and it is certainly good to see Stockport resurgent after a harrowing few years which have seen the club plummet from the second tier of English football to the verge of oblivion.

Hennessey is obviously attracting the attention at the moment but it is only fair to include the ever present defence in the plaudits. Michael Rose, Gareth Owen, also on loan, Ashley Williams and Rob Clare can also take a bow.

This truly has been a team effort, however, with the 16 goals scored during the run being shared around 7 different players.

Only one of these has scored more than twice and, again remarkably, Anthony Elding the scorer of seven of them also made his debut for the club in the first match of the sequence against Boston.

Elding arrived from Boston in the January window in time to play against his former club and although he failed to find the net against them he has been prolific since.

Having struggled to make an impact in league football with the Pilgrims after serving an apprenticeship in non league Elding was another player who could hardly have envisaged such a fantastic start to life at Stocky.

One man who might reasonably expect to be showered with praise is manager Jim Gannon who has put this side together and guided it through its' present run.

Most remarkably of all, perhaps, is the fact that Gannon failed to win the Manager of the Month award in either January or February.

At least he has been left free of the dreaded curse, however.

The next team on the fixture list is Barnet. Whether they can stop Stockport winning, or even just score against them, this has been a fantastic effort from all at the club and meriting the highest praise.

Of course it will mean all the more if it proves the springboard to a promotion.

Wednesday, February 28
Bristol Belongs To Rovers

Just at the moment it's a good time to be a Rovers fan in Bristol. Man, woman, boy or girl if you're sporting blue and white you most definitely have the bragging rights over those in red.

Indeed the City fans will not have fancied getting up for work or school this morning after their team had been knocked out of the Johnstone's Paint Trophy in the Southern Area final by the arch enemy.

This was a blow for the underdog. Rovers have suffered a spluttering campaign in League Two while City are well placed in the League One promotion race and also distinguished themselves with an excellent FA Cup run.

Perhaps the favourites simply couldn't find the motivation to match Rovers over the two legs. The Pirates have a decent team who probably should be higher in their division and when you are used to being the butt of the local banter getting up for a game of this sort is usually pretty easy.

The first leg at Ashton Gate had finished goalless and initially it seemed as though City were in the mood to impose themselves at the Memorial Stadium. The early promise of the visitors quickly faded, however, and from then on Rovers always looked the more likely winners.

The early chances in the second leg fell the way of the men who had come closest in an extremely tight first meeting.

Steve Brooker had hit the bar for City at Ashton Gate and twice called Steve Phillips into action in the early stages last night. Neither save was particularly testing, however.

Craig Disley had spurned Rovers best chance at City when failing to score when clean through but almost made amends with a couple of efforts in the return. First he fired straight at Adriano Basso and then saw a fine effort from distance whistle just the wrong side of the post.

Basso then had to make a cracking save to deny the dangerous Rickie Lambert. The powerful front runner would be an influence all night.

While there was no doubting the general dominance of Rovers the tie remained poised and it took a splendid headed goalline clearance from Steve Elliott to deny Jamie McCombe as City briefly threatened.

The defining moment came on 65 minutes though and it was the Gasheads celebrating. City could only half clear a centre and as the ball dropped Lambert smashed it home on the volley from the edge of the box.

Despite desperate late attempts from the visitors to rescue the situation with the giant defender McCombe thrown forward from defence there were no clear opportunities for City to equalise and despite the obvious nervy atmosphere as the clock ticked down Rovers were home.

This completed a cup double for the Gasheads over City.

The Rovers' backed Bristol Academy ladies team had previously knocked Bristol City Ladies out of the Womens FA Cup competition.

In the womens' game it is Rovers who are the pre-eminent team, however, and they were able to live up to their billing as favourites.

At least the City ladies were able to score and had led in their tie before finally losing in extra time.

As I said, though, a good time to be a Rovers fan for the whole family.

The potential consolation for City and their supporters is of course promotion to the Championship. The club is handily placed in the play off places and have a decent looking run in to the season.

With Yeovil and Nottingham Forest still to visit Ashton Gate automatic promotion is still very much in their own hands and if they can put this disappointing episode behind them and recapture the form which they displayed against Coventry and Middlesbrough in the FA Cup then there is no reason why they can't end the season on a high.

For Rovers there is the prospect of a trip to Cardiff to face Doncaster Rovers but little chance of forcing their way into the play off picture having taken only one point from their last three league games and now facing a run of three away games on the bounce.

The last question is will the atmosphere of the Memorial Stadium now inspire the womens' team to match the mens' achievement?

The ground will host the WFA Cup semi final tie between Bristol Academy and Arsenal Ladies and the home team will need all the support they can get to cause an upset of their own.

Personally I can't see it happening. To be honest if the Arsenal Ladies team had turned up by mistake last night I don't think Bristol Rovers would now be planning their day out in Cardiff.

Wednesday, January 3
Hartlepool On Record Breaking Run

Hartlepool United are not a team generally associated with long winning runs but at the moment Danny Wilson's men can do no wrong.

Since losing at home to Barnet at the beginning of November Hartlepool have won nine league games on the trot. The best the club have ever managed before was seven.

In the last eight of these games they have not conceded a goal. This means it is now 772 minutes since the ever present Dimitrios Konstantopoulos has had to pick the ball out of his own net.

Some going although he still has plenty of work to do if he is to beat Steve Death's record breaking 1103 minutes during which he went unbreached for Reading in the late 1970's.

The real "glass half empty" man, and Hartlepool might have a few of those among their support, could still point out that the team have hardly set pulses racing during this outstanding run and it is true that the biggest winning margin in the nine games is a modest 2-0.

This should not be a time to quibble, however. After all, this is the best sequence of results the club has managed in its' entire history and has moved the team up from 16th in the table to 5th.

The club record for straight wins was equalled on Boxing Day at home to Grimsby Town when goals from Jon Daly and Andy Monkhouse went unanswered in front of 5,500 fans.

It looked as though the current team were going to have to settle for a share of the record when the next game against Peterborough went into the final minute still goalless.

Victory number eight was secured by a last gasp Darryl Duffy goal, however, and another hard fought single goal success at Mansfield on New Years Day, courtesy of another Monkhouse goal, made it nine on the bounce.

If The Monkey Hangers are going to stretch this fantastic run even further they will have to dig even deeper for after a visit to Shrewsbury Town this Saturday they then host MK Dons.

Tough fixtures but confidence must be sky high and with a proven manager like Danny Wilson at the helm the club have put themselves in a great position to claim a play off spot at least.

Thursday, December 28
Macclesfield Resurgent Under Ince

There is no question that the appointment of Paul Ince as manager at Macclesfield Town has provided football with one of its' major talking points this season.

It might have been expected that the services of an ultra competitive former England captain who has experienced life with a string of top clubs both at home and abroad would have been highly sought as a potential manager.

This did not prove to be the case but Ince apparently had no qualms about taking on the unenviable task of trying to salvage Macclesfield Town's season when they offered him the job.

Macc were adrift at the foot of the table when Ince took charge and with just about the smallest support in the Football League and one of the least inspiring stadiums it seemed as though Ince had landed himself just about the biggest challenge available in the domestic game.

Nobody can suggest that Ince was ever one to shy away from a battle as a player, however, and he has wasted no time in making his influence felt at Moss Rose.

His very presence must have given everyone at the club a massive lift but this alone would not transform surely the most bedraggled defence in the league into one that, while still nowhere near watertight, now displays the basic organisational qualities conspicuously absent before and certainly offers every last ounce of effort to the cause.

Having given themselves some kind of platform from which to build the team is now looking more of an attacking threat by the game and the introduction of loan signings John Murphy and Matthew Tipton has sharpened the teams' cutting edge considerably.

The seeds of revival were sown with morale boosting victories in the FA Cup against Walsall and Hartlepool United and Ince's men have carried that form forward into their league programme and have so far collected 13 points from a possible 15 in December, a run which has seen them climb off the bottom of the table.

Last Saturday Macc backed up a fine home win against Swindon Town with another massive confidence booster by winning their local derby at Chester by 3-0.

This game highlighted the areas which have improved so dramatically since Ince's appointment. Tipton fired the side ahead early on with a clinical drive and after both sides had been reduced to ten men in a fiercely contested first half the Macc defence stood up to some intense Chester pressure after the break.

Although their defending was not always totally convincing the attitude and application of the men at the back could never be doubted.

When the chances came along to clinch victory they were taken in style with Kevin McIntyre and Murphy also finding the target.

With 665 fans lording it over their local rivals the feelgood factor surrounding the club was impossible to miss.

Ince's efforts have already been recognised by the League Managers Association who have voted this victory the performance of the week and there has to be an excellent chance that the fledgling manager is in line for an early manager of the month award.

While the clubs' awful start means there can be no room for complacency or a let up in commitment levels you can hardly imagine these things proving a problem under Ince's leadership.

There follows a massive couple of weeks for the club as Macc travel to Torquay on Saturday to face the side they have left at the bottom of the pile and then there is the prospect of a trip to Chelsea in the FA Cup.

Who knows, after recent results Incey might just be sniffing an upset.

Somehow I doubt it but a positive result at Torquay would certainly mark another huge step on the path to salvation.

Wednesday, November 29
Shocker For Macclesfield Town

This has already been a trying season for all concerned with Macclesfield Town and it has certainly not taken Paul Ince long to establish that life at the bottom end of the Football League is a different kettle of fish to life at Machester United, Liverpool or Inter Milan.

Fair play to Incey, though. He's obviously up for a challenge and there have been some signs of an improvement since he took over at Moss Rose.

While Saturday's game at Stockport gave him more reason for optimism in the shape of another decent performance it also provided him with a shattering piece of misfortune which took all the gloss off his sides' efforts and made his seemingly impossible task still more difficult.

Although Stockport have been in good form recently Macclesfield settled down quickly at Edgeley Park and bossed much of the first half.

Jim McNulty saw a header come crashing back out off the crossbar before the visitors took a deserved lead through Kevin McIntyre's penalty with half time approaching.

With confidence soaring the interval lead could have been doubled as John Ruddy was forced into a fine save from Andrew Teague's volley.

Stockport responded vigorously after the break to put pressure on the Macc defence but Ince will have been pleased to see his side produce a solid display. Inept defending has been their main weakness this season.

Adam Proudlock was the man to whom most of the chances fell and although he was mainly wasteful Jonathan Brain was called upon to make one quality save.

When John Murphy then headed wide of an open goal with the chance to put Macc two up, however, it was the sort of moment that you felt might come back to haunt the visitors.

Nobody could have predicted the dreadful consequences of Stockport's equaliser, however.

Brain made a rash decision to challenge for possession as Proudlock and Teague chased a ball towards the edge of the penalty area.

The Macc keeper missed the ball and Proudlock but made sickening contact with his own defender.

As Proudlock walked the ball into an empty net both Macclesfield players were left grounded with broken legs.

Although Macclesfield went home with a well earned point the incident was a real kick in the teeth for everyone associated with the club, most notably Brain and Teague of course.

You cannot help but wish the players involved and the club as a whole well but their chances of survival seem bleak.

At the top of the table Walsall continue with their steady though unspectacular progress.

They conceded their first home league goal of the season against Notts County but ran out winners anyway having scored twice before half time.

Tommy Wright lashed home the first after being cleverly supplied by Mark Kinsella and Dean Keates got the second with an inswinging free kick that evaded everyone to sneak in at the far post.

There can be no doubt who carries the can for the first goal to enter the Walsall net in the league at the Bescot this season, however. Clayton Ince's defenders will surely have been ribbing him for his bar of soap effort from Ian Ross's free kick.

Having said that, he's a big lad Clayton, they might have let him off.

Swindon also won 2-1 against Bury but they did it the other way round, coming from behind.

Paul Scott headed the visitors in front from a corner but the lead did not last long before Christian Roberts nailed a sweet drive into the top corner from a low ball cut back to him from the left hand side.

Swindon could not find a way through a resolute Bury defence again until the final minute when the visitors suddenly did it for them.

Roberts put in a low ball and John Fitzgerald stabbed it home for a sickening own goal.

Lincoln remain well placed but their form has completely deserted them and they lost again at the weekend at Wrexham.

Wrexham's opener came at the end of a neat passing move but required a huge slice of luck as Mark Jones' shot ballooned up off a defender and looped perfectly into the net.

Chris Llewellyn doubled the advantage on the stroke of half time with an instictive close range finish through the keepers' legs after a soaring header down on the edge of the box.

Mark Stallard slotted one into the top corner when the ball broke into his path following a meaty challenge but the Imps were unable to complete the comeback.

Wycombe also had a setback on the road being well beaten by Hartlepool.

Both goals in this one came from Darryl Duffy and both came as the result of exquisite control.

For his first a magnificent first touch took him clear of not only the last defender but the advancing keeper as well to leave him with a tap in and his second was a low drive set up by another lovely piece of control.

Peterborough took exception to falling behind early at home to Torquay United and promptly spanked five goals past their hapless visitors.

Lee Mansell was the man to blame for scoring too early for Torquay. Only seven minutes had gone when he smacked a peach into the corner when a corner was cleared to him lurking beyond the penalty area.

Shane Huke nodded home from point blank range when the ball lobbed goalwards after Nathan Abbey had blocked from Aaron McLean and then Lee Thorpe showed that he would still rather play up front by knocking in an unnecessary own goal to give Posh the lead.

It was three before half time as Ben Futcher's looping header looked to be on its way even without the help of a teammate on the line.

After half time it was the turn of McLean to be allowed a free header at a corner and then Richard Butcher made it five with a tap in at the far post following a neat right wing move.

Torquay completed the scring with Jordan Robertson showing good composure to dummy the last defender before slotting home but this barely mattered in all honesty.

Torquay need another victory sooner rather than later.

Darlington had to do it the hard way to defeat MK Dons but managed it through Neil Wainwright's goal, the only one of a feisty encounter.

Dave Penney's men have been in good form and this showed as they tested their visitors from the off. Lee Harper saved from Michael Cummins when clever approach play by Brian Close and the impressive Simon Johnson opened the way to goal but Darlo's positive start suffered a setback when Clark Keltie was shown a second yellow for a straight forward trip.

Surely a player can be allowed a cautionary word rather than expulsion for what was not a dangerous or malicious foul. It was simply mistimed.

Darlington refused to let the setback deter them, however, and took the lead shortly afterwards. Harper made a meal of a routine save from Johnson and then his defence failed to take two opportunities to clear before Wainwright punished them with a crisp drive at the far post.

The Dons felt obliged to remove Izale McLeod before half time as, with a booking to his name, he seemed likely to follow Keltie down the tunnel but his replacement Scott Taylor was the man mainly at fault as a string of second half chances came and went.

Credit to Darlo keeper Sam Russell and also the staunch central defenders Paddy Collins and Mark Albrighton for seeing the rearguard action through but the visitors should have got something from the game.

As well as Taylor's multiple chances Drissa Diallo contrived to miss a sitter.

Boston United and Hereford shared the points although Hereford will be wondering how after a remarkable late miss.

Andy Williams opened the scoring for Hereford when he knocked in a cracking right wing centre from Rob Purdie. It was impossible not to wonder where the Boston keeper Alan Marriott was at the time but more of that later.

Boston got level when Jamie Clarke whipped his free kick across the face of the wall and into the bottom corner with the keeper clearly anticipating him going for the other post.

Onto the last minute and a carbon copy right wing centre from Purdie with Marriott again apparently stranded beyond his near post.

In trying to get across his goal this time the keeper even slipped to make Alex Jeannin's task simpler but to his teammates dismay Jeannin sent his shot back across goal and straight into the midriff of the sprawling keeper.

Bad miss Alex.

Shrewsbury managed to get their notoriously soggy Gay Meadow pitch in a fit state to take on Chester and were rewarded with a win.

Chester enjoyed the better of the early exchanges with Gregg Blundell especially lively. Blundell had already forced Scott Shearer into one fine save when he opened the scoring in style.

A superb touch on his chest took him round the advancing keeper and his shot back across goal skidded neatly behind the sliding defender trying to block and the ball nestled in one corner while the drenched defender landed in a huge puddle at the other.

Chester continued to press and Shearer made a fine save to deny Kevin Sandwith while Jon Walters shot into the side netting with only the keeper to beat.

There had, however, been a sign of things to come when Chester's lumbering defender Phil Bolland had been cautioned for a foul on the livewire Derek Asamoah.

Asamoah's pace would be crucial in turning the game around after half time. First he nipped along the byeline with Bolland not daring to intervene to supply Ben Davies with a tap in against his former club and then he made another burst into the box to win a last minute penalty when his cross/shot was handled.

This was an extremely harsh decision by the ideally placed referee as the guy handling the ball was no more than two yards away and had no time to move his arm either towards or away from the ball.

Michael Symes slipped the penalty into the bottom corner and the heated atmosphere boiled over when David Artell took an ugly lunge at Asamoah right on the final whistle and both camps got involved in an hostile exchange.

It was somewhat surprising that only one man was shown a red card and that was Shrewsbury's captain Sagi Burton who, according to manager Gary Peters, reacted after having his privates squeezed in the melee.

Bristol Rovers continued their good run with a 2-0 win over Barnet on Sunday. Stuart Nicholson got the first after charguing down the keepers attempted clearance when an Andy Hessenthaler back pass played him into trouble and Rickie Lambert produced a classy finish in the last minute to confirm a deserved victory.

Rochdale will be happy with their 2-0 win over Mansfield, Chris Dagnall heading home after perfect service from the right wing and John Doolan drilling a free kick into the bottom corner for the second.

Grimsby also won by a 2-0 scoreline against Accrington who look likely strugglers after losing their two best players in the past few weeks.

Martin Paterson pounced for the first after Iain Dunbavin had saved well at full stretch from Gary Croft and Gary Jones flicked in the second with the outside of his right boot after all kinds of carnage had ensued in the Accrington defence as they looked to clear the danger in Keystone Cops fashion.

Saturday, November 25
Miserly Saddlers

Walsall are basing their promotion push on an extremely mean defence. The Saddlers are yet to be breached at the Bescot Stadium this season and were just as frugal last weekend when they went on the road to Hereford.

There was seldom much hint of Hereford penetrating the Walsall back line and with Dean Keates pulling the strings in midfield it was always likely that the visitors would nick the goal that would be likely to bring another victory.

It was goalless at half time with Walsall aggrieved not to have been awarded a penalty to Hector Sam but the decisive goal did arrive just past the hour. Mark Kinsella picked out Chris Westwood following a short corner and his header did the rest.

Three more points for Walsall as they continue to set the pace in League Two.

Behind them Lincoln City slipped up at home to Darlington who have returned to better form of late and were worthy victors in this one after a thoroughly positive display.

Alun Armstrong had gone close on three occasions and Clark Keltie had also put one just wide before Darlo went ahead shortly before half time courtesy of a blunder by keeper Alan Marriott.

Marriott managed to punch a corner backwards towards his own goal and Darren Holloway blasted in with a vengeance.

Lincoln began the second half in more positive mood but were rocked back on their heels when Michael Cummins drilled home through a sea of bodies after his initial free kick had been blocked.

Victory was confirmed when the Lincoln defence failed miserably to clear a Martin Smith cross and Simon Johnson was the man heading the queue to knock in the sitter.

Lincoln grabbed one back through Paul Mayo who smacked in a nice one from the edge of the box but this was of no consolation to the Imps after being thoroughly outplayed.

Swindon Town won on the road at Torquay who are sliding down the table after a promising start and have apparently forgotten where the nets are.

Although Torquay carved out more chances than Swindon they never looked convincing in front of goal while the visitors looked dangerous when within range. They were indebted to a dicey penalty decision for the only goal, however, when the referee decided there had been a push on Lee Peacock. Christian Roberts made no mistake from the spot.

The main reason there were no further goals was Torquay keeper Nathan Abbey who made several fine stops to keep his side in contention.

The game ended in ugly scenes as the assistant referee was spat on from the stands as the sides left the pitch at the end. Passions run high but spitting on people is pretty unpleasant behaviour.

Wycombe and Grimsby were involved in a real battle at Adams Park and it was no surprise that Tommy Mooney and Justin Whittle both needed treatment for head wounds after an early full blooded collision. Both carried on after being patched up.

Grimsby took the lead with twenty minutes left when Gary Croft and Danny North combined nicely to present Gary Jones with an easy chance but Scott Golbourne levelled things up quickly with a fine goal, beating a couple of men before smacking one into the top corner.

The game remained deadlocked despite the fact that Grimsby finished a man short after Tom Newey was dismissed for a professional foul on Kevin Betsy who once again was a constant threat for Wycombe.

MK Dons gave one of their most dominant performances of the season in beating Shrewsbury Town 2-0.

Gareth Edds slapped home a splendid volley after nifty chest control had taken him beyond a defender from Clive Platt’s nod down and Platt got the other after half time with a routine header from a quality assist by Izale McLeod.

Notts County were less convincing against Wrexham but picked up three more points after goals from Andy Parkinson and Jason Lee.

Chris Llewellyn pulled one back for Wrexham but despite some strong late pressure this was another damaging defeat for the Welsh side who are in a real slump at the moment.

Peterborough won a lively encounter at Mansfield. The Stags came closest through Mullins with a header against the bar but with a strong wind blowing the Posh always looked dangerous from set pieces. It was from a corner that Aaron McLean opened the scoring with a meaty header and Danny Crow confirmed victory when reacting quickest to a flick on from a huge throw in.

Bury’s good run came to an end at home to Bristol Rovers who are showing signs of a consistent improvement. Bury applied plenty of pressure but came no closer than Andy Bishop’s header against the bar.

The Pirates plundered the loot with second half goals from Lewis Haldane, slamming home a centre from the right, and Richard Walker who escaped the offside trap as the home side threw men forward with abandon in search of an equaliser.

Chester and Stockport shared the points after a well contested game at the Deva on Friday night. David Poole put Stocky ahead with a neat volley from Jason Taylor’s cross but Jon Walters ended a spell of concerted Chester pressure with a low drive from close range for the equaliser.

Accrington had a bad weekend. They lost at home to Hartlepool after taking the lead through Andy Todd who notched with a low drive after a run across the face of the box.

The game changed with twenty minutes left when Stanley’s James Harris was sent off apparently for spitting at an opponent.

It took two cracking strikes to turn the game around. Eifion Williams found the top corner from just outside the box and then Ritchie Humphreys surged forward from deep inside his own half before swerving home a lovely drive from 25 yards out. Sweet.

Stanley then also saw Ian Craney depart for Swansea on loan with the possibility of the move being made permanent in January. Having seen Gary Roberts leave for Ipswich on the same terms it is hard to see how the club can prosper in the Football League on such a footing.

There were two high scoring games at the foot of the table.

Barnet and Rochdale served up a real end to end encounter which the Bees eventually won 3-2.

This game was ebb and flow from the word go with neither defence looking secure. Darrell Clarke put the visitors ahead midway through the first half from point blank range after Chris Dagnall headed back across goal but goals either side of half time from Tresor Kandol put Barnet ahead.

The first was thanks to good work by Nick Bailey but the second owed everything to pathetic defending as Kandol ran through onto a punt down the middle from keeper Lee Harrison to head over the vainly advancing keeper.

Glenn Murray put Dale back on terms with a guided header from Alan Goodall’s cross but Kandol ensured victory with his hat trick goal in the last minute. This was another header, this time from an Andy Hessenthaler cross.

Macclesfield look doomed as their defensive incompetence continues to contribute greatly to their own downfall.

Paul Ellender was able to tap Boston into a third minute lead at Moss Rose when the home defence remained static twice as the ball bobbled around their box from a free kick.

Colin Heath got Macc level from the penalty spot following a silly foul by Mark Greaves but woeful defending then saw Drewe Broughton and Greaves scoring to give the visitors a two goal half time lead.

Rob Scott stood appealing for offside when he could have just cleared and then missed another chance to get rid before Broughton scored and there were further appeals for a non existent offside before Greaves headed in Francis Green’s centre.

Carl Regan notched after good work by Martin Bullock right at the death but this was a truly damaging defeat against the team nearest to them at the bottom. The truth is everyone is disappearing over the horizon and without a run of victories soon Macclesfield will be doomed by Christmas.

Thursday, November 9
Shakers Six Of The Best

After a dreadful start to the season when they lost their first four games, and seven out of the first nine, Bury are now flying and after completing their sixth straight win they now lie in 8th place just two points off the play off positions.

The Shakers latest win was a 1-0 success at home to Wrexham. The only disappointing aspect for the Gigg Lane club is that after such a fine run, in which four of the victories have come away from home, only 2,500 fans were present to see them make it six out of six.

The real drama of the night came before kick off with a floodlight failure delaying the start by 25 minutes. When the game got under way Bury were clearly ready to go as they swept into the lead on six minutes.

Dwayne Mattis made no mistake when Andy Bishop's miss hit shot fell into his path, lashing into the bottom corner.

The first half was mainly Michael Ingham in the Wrexham goal against the Bury attack and he prevented further damage with saves from Bishop, Marc Pugh and Glynn Hurst.

After the break Wrexham came more into matters and had spells of possession without unduly troubling Kasper Schmeichel in the Bury goal. Even after a determined late assault the on loan keeper had seen nothing to really test him.

A solid display to continue Bury's surprising run of form. Whether Chris Casper can maintain this present run is debatable but if he was to guide Bury into the play offs it would represent a remarkable achievement.

The Shakers are a club who have to sell to survive and while they are making their presence felt towards the top end of League Two they have also made a mark at the top of the Championship.

Preston North End's excellent start to the season which has taken them to within a point of the top of the table owes much to the quality of ex Shakers David Nugent and Simon Whaley.

Wednesday, November 8
Boston Get Out Of Jail

It was get out of jail free cards all round at Boston United this week. Not only were manager Steve Evans and former chairman Patrick Malkinson allowed to retain their liberty after admitting their part in duping the taxman of hundreds of thousands of pounds but the Pilgrims were let off the hook by Notts County to gain a valuable point from 3-1 down.

Jamie Stevens, a 17 year old defender making his debut, put Boston ahead with a strong header but Jason Lee soon levelled for County with a low drive from the edge of the area.

When County came out after half time to score two quick goals it looked like game over. Alan White will have been more than happy with his dipping volley from the right side of the penalty area while Lee repeated his earlier effort from the edge of the box.

Anthony Elding got Boston back into contention with a slightly scruffy close range finish before Francis Green grabbed the equaliser with a tap in following excellent work down the right by Jamie Clarke.

This culminated a fine display by Clarke who assisted on all three Boston goals.

It was not particularly gratifying to hear Evans interviewed afterwards when he started thanking his friends, family and the club for all their support as though he was some sort of Oscar winner and not simply a criminal.

It reflects no credit on him or the people he mentioned that his actions seem to have no consequences or provoke any genuine remorse.

At the top of the table Walsall saw off Torquay United with a simple headed goal from three yards by Ian Roper.

Walsall have still to concede a league goal at the Bessie this season while Torquay haven't scored in ages. No surprises about this outcome therefore.

Stockport County are having a great time at the moment and continued to climb up the table after a well earned victory over second placed Lincoln City.

This was an exciting encounter and the first half was end to end with the visitors perhaps shading the action.

Liam Dickinson saw an early volley drop just wide for Stockport but Mark Stallard was unlucky for the Imps with a clever effort which dropped onto the roof of the net with John Ruddy struggling and the Stockport keeper had to be at his best to deny Nat Brown from close range.

After the break Stockport really took over, however, and it was no surprise when Michael Rose put them ahead with an inswinging free kick from out on the right which evaded everyone and crept in at the far post with Alan Marriott waiting to react to a touch that never came.

Adie Moses cleared off the line to deny Tes Bramble but the points were secured when Marriott made a complete mess of a clearance having come out towards the left wing and Michael Malcolm slapped the loose ball straight into the unguarded net from 35 yards out.

Good stuff from the Hatters who are showing welcome signs of revival after several depressing seasons.

Shrewsbury Town and Wycombe Wanderers battled their way to a goalless draw which had little to recommend it. Ricardo Baptista produced one telling double save to keep Wycombe on terms but the chief incident was the sending off of Will Antwi for a rash aerial challenge that brought him his second yellow of the afternoon.

A game to forget, which shouldn't prove too difficult for those involved or present.

Swindon's season is in danger of drifting away and the Wiltshire club mustn't allow themselves to start feeling sorry for themselves after the departure of Poyet and Wise.

Despite taking the lead at home to Hereford through Christian Roberts' strong header two goals by Andy Williams gave Hereford victory.

The first was a beauty. Stuart Fleetwood hared down the left to cross and Williams launched himself into a half volley at full stretch that he controlled superbly into the corner.

The second was more jammy. Cutting in from the left Williams aimed a shot for the far post which the keeper seemed to anticipate perfectly but his contact had been scruffy and the ball bounced in obligingly at the near post instead.

MK Dons heaped more misery on Grimsby Town with a 3-1 win at Blundell Park where all the goals came after the interval.

Izale McLeod is not exactly a secret weapon for the Dons but Grimsby weren't paying him much attention as he headed home the opener from just two yards out and an Aaron Wilbraham brace secured victory.

Wilbraham wandered through the vast open spaces of what should have been the Mariners defence to lob home the second and knocked in the third from about a yard out after one effort had been saved and another blocked following a corner.

Ricky Ravenhill's sweet left footed volley from the edge of the box was the goal of the game but this was little consolation to Grimsby who would have expected to be challenging near the top end of the table, not languishing towards the bottom.

Peterborough United came from behind to blitz Accrington after receiving the boost of a dodgy penalty award.

Ian Craney had driven Accy ahead in the first half after holding off a defender but when the referee adjudged a spot of jostling between Michael Welch and Ben Futcher to be worthy of a penalty Posh went into overdrive.

Trevor Benjamin's emphatic penalty was the first of three goals in four minutes. Danny Crow followed up swiftly to poach the second after a shot had been parried and then Aaron McLean showed great determination to stay on his feet under severe pressure before slipping his shot underneath the keeper.

Craney got Stanley back into things with a corner that swung straight in at the far post but Crow wrapped things up for Posh with a bouncing volley which was helped into the roof of the net by a desperate defender on the line.

Darlington beat Chester in a mundane game on Friday night. Michael Cummins knocked in a loose ball for the only goal while Ashley Westwood was sent off for Chester after a pointless elbow on Simon Johnson when it appeared as though the defender simply couldn't be bothered chasing his forward any longer.

Bury won their derby game at Rochdale 3-1 to maintain steady progress up the table.

Dale went ahead through a fine strike by Chris Dagnall who reacted sharply near the left hand byeline to sweep a shot into the far corner when the ball was inadvertantly knocked back into his path following his initial cut back.

Bury were not behind for long, however, as John Fitzgerald hammered an arrow like drive into the corner when the ball fell his way at a corner.

Bury's victory then came courtesy of two penalties despatched by Andy Bishop.

Both were for fouls on Dwayne Mattis and the second saw Jon Boardman dismissed for a professional foul.

Never has the term been less appropriate. The incident was a catalogue of incompetence.

There was no Rochdale defence at all as Mattis was played through the middle as the home side threw men forward in desperate search of an equaliser.

Mattis then produced an awful touch which was an open invitation for Boardman to come across and take possession but the lumbering defender did not take the hint and finally produced the most awkward sliding challenge imaginable to upend his opponent.

Bristol Rovers are hardly convincing at the moment but their results have improved of late and offer something to build on.

Craig Disley got the only goal late on to defeat his former club Mansfield Town. Sammy Igoe produced a telling chip into the centre and the timing of Disley's run was perfect as he arrived to head home from point blank range.

There was only one goal in the game at Hartlepool as well and it went to the visitors, Barnet. This was a neat effort from Barry Cogan whose smoothly meandering run was a little reminiscent of Bobby Charlton and his crisp drive into the far corner would not have disgraced the "comb over king" either.

The game between Wrexham and Macclesfield ended goalless and although Paul Ince took the available positives (what else can he do?) there was little to inspire confidence in the supporters of either club.

The lack of confidence of both sides in front of goal was painfully evident although Macc were somewhat unfortunate to see Martin Bullock's drive rebound from the foot of the post and John Murphy's header, both late on, cleared off the line.

Ince has to instil self belief and some defensive stability quickly if his side are to have any chance of surviving although loan signing Murphy is normally good for a few goals.

Sunday, October 29
Not So Good, Pretty Bad, Down Right Ugly

This was a weekend on which League Two did not cover itself in glory. There were not many goals around and most of those scored came from poor defending, flukes or penalties.

In among the dross was a fair degree of nastiness as red cards were brandished with more regularity than usual in this division.

With four of the top six teams facing each other there was a change in leadership after two extremely tight contests.

Lincoln City take over at the top after their 1-0 win at Swindon Town.

With Dennis Wise having bailed out of the County Ground veteran defender Ady Williams has been put in temporary control. It was a crucial error by Williams the player which helped decide the game.

Williams should have made a strightforward interception from Mark Stallard's flick but he missed it completely to leave Jamie Forrester clear.

In his present form Forrester was never likely to miss and he made no mistake, burying a confident finish to send the excellent away following, just shy of 1000, home happy.

Walsall and MK Dons could not find a goal between them in an especially rugged encounter.

Walsall still haven't conceded a goal at the Bescott but came mighty close here. Clayton Ince was the busier keeper and made a handful of decent saves as the Dons looked the stronger outfit. He was lucky when a Lloyd Dyer centre flew over his head only to rebound into his arms from the inside of the far post.

Overall Ince deserved this stroke of luck and a draw was perhaps, just about, the right result.

Wycombe Wanderers edged a scrappy, ill tempered game at Boston thanks to a late, late Matt Bloomfield goal.

There were three sendings off here, two for players and another for Boston boss Steve Evans.

Evans became involved in a petty squabble with Wycombe's Tommy Doherty as the ball ran towards the dug out area for a throw. The referee seemed to indicate that Evans had left his technical area as he banished him to the stands.

The trouble is that at Boston the technical area is about as big as a standard size 30cm ruler. Anyone with a shoe size of 6 or above would struggle to remain inside it unless they had feet like Charlie Chaplin.

The ref perhaps was looking to get even with Doherty for his part in the altercation because he soon sent him packing too after showing a few studs too many in a challenge.

Boston's numerical advantage, on the pitch, didn't last long as Drewe Broughton was then shown a second yellow, neither of which incidents involved any real sign of malice.

Football was at a real premium throughout although Wycombe took the points home after Bloomfield scored in the 3rd minute of 7 in stoppage time. Bloomfield was surely intending to centre from way out on the left touchline but saw the ball disappear into the far corner of the Boston net.

Notts County were brought back down to earth after their Carling Cup heroics in midweek by Bury.

The only goal here was the result of another defensive howler, this time by Alan White, who missed the ball completely to leave Andy Bishop running through on goal.

Bishop rounded Kevin Pilkington before firing home before two retreating defenders could intervene.

County rallied after half time but found Kasper Schmeichel in fine form in the Bury goal.

Peterborough and Grimsby shared four second half goals after an opening period notable only for the sending off of Grimsby's Gary Jones for a lunging challenge that did not seem to really connect with anything.

Grimsby twice took the lead despite their disadvantage. Ciaran Toner netted on the rebound after Peter Bore's effort was parried and Bore restored their lead later on after latching on to a truly awful back header by Guy Branston.

Posh levelled through Ben Futcher's towering far post header and then with Trevor Benjamin's close range effort.

Anything less than a point would have been unfair on Grimsby, however.

It was a goalkeeping howler that settled the clash between last seasons' promoted sides, Hereford and Accrington.

With the game apparently deadlocked at 0-0 Stanley's Ian Dunbavin somehow managed to throw Alan Connell's meek effort into the roof of his own net. A slight deflection on the original effort was no real excuse.

Torquay and Shrewsbury could not find a goal between them at Plainmoor. Ben Davies saw his powerful penalty saved by Nathan Abbey after Lee Andrews was pulled up for handball while the closest Torquay would come was a long range effort from Adam Murray which cannoned off the crossbar.

Hartlepool and Darlington also ended a stalemate in front of a packed Victoria Ground.

Hartlepool did most of the pressing but could not unlock a stubborn Darlo defence. There was one massive scramble late on when Michael Nelson's header was cleared off the line and Sam Russell managed to scoop away the follow up effort but in general there was little sign of a breakthrough.

If Paul Ince didn't realise that an astonishingly generous defence was his biggest problem as the new Macclesfield manager then he does now after his first game in charge.

His team twice took the lead against Mansfield but still ended up defeated.

All the goals came after half time the first going to Macc when a Colin Heath centre (surely) flew like a bullet into the far corner.

Giles Coke brought Mansfield level after Jon Brain made a hash of collecting Richie Barker's header but David Morley restored Macclesfield's advantage with less than ten minutes to go with a sweet finish from around the penalty when a cross was nodded down in his direction.

Barker had Mansfield quickly level again with an all too easy far post header before Morley turned villain by handballing for a last minute penalty which Barker slotted without fuss.

It is hard to see how Ince can turn things round at Moss Rose in such a short space of time. We wish him well, however.

Stockport enjoyed a 3-1 win in their derby game at Rochdale.

Ashley Williams broke the deadlock with a sweet 35 yard strike which flew right into the corner of Matt Gilks' goal. The keeper could have made an effort, however.

Yet another handball offence allowed Mark Robinson to increase the lead on the stroke of half time before a penalty for a good old fashioned foul saw Gary Jones get Rochdale back into it early in the second half.

Dale pushed forward in increasing numbers looking for an equaliser but this simply gave County more opportunities to kill the game off on the break.

Tes Bramble managed to waste one of these when he went round Gilks only to shoot wide of an open goal but he then accepted a similarly easy chance when he was allowed to continue from what would have been a massively offside position because James Sharp was lying injured behind play.

Barnet scored a narrow but vital win over Chester.

Dean Sinclair scored the only goal of the game from the spot after a silly foul by Kevin Sandwith and the Bees had to sweat on the result after Nick Bailey saw a second penalty saved later on.

Chester seldom looked like taking anything from the game and were also hampered later on by Roberto Martinez's sending off for a second yellow.

Wrexham overcame a sending off of their own to defeat limp Bristol Rovers 2-0.

Chris Llewellyn had opened the scoring with an absolute beauty before getting himself sent off for an ugly lunge at Steve Foster.

Daft really because Llewellyn was giveing Foster a hard time without looking to maim him and had neatly skinned him before drilling in his 20 yard opener.

Wrexham held on for the half an hour or so remaining without much difficulty and confirmed victory late on when Tom Craddock scored.

Craddock was initially looking to just hold up possession and wait for support but when nobody could be bothered making the effort he literally walked around the last defender before lacing a low cross shot into the far corner.

Game over on a forgettable weekends' action.

Tuesday, October 24
Seven At Sincil

Walsall remain leaders of League Two after grafting their way to a 2-1 win at Accrington.

The home side had the better of the first half but missed the incisive Gary Roberts, loaned to Ipswich, and once Clayton Ince had borrowed a cap from one of the travelling Saddlers followers he was able to deal with everything the home side threw at him with relative comfort.

Hector Sam drew first blood for Walsall scoring on the rebound after a James Constable effort had come back off the bar.

Stanley continued to press but still lacked conviction until Ian Craney whipped a sweet free kick into the top corner of Ince's goal.

The visitors grabbed the deciding goal with five minutes remaining when Mark Wright capitalized on hesitant defending to force home a centre.

There was little in Walsall's performance to make the heart beat faster but they will be happy enough at having got the job done.

Behind them Lincoln City's latest victory came with more of a flourish. The Imps smacked seven goals past Rochdale although the visitors did contribute to their own downfall with some woeful defending.

Jamie Forrester got the ball rolling on 4 minutes after being released cleverly by Mark Stallard. Stallard was the next man on the scoresheet after being fed by Lee Frecklington who had charged down an attempted clearance.

Alan Goodall replied for Rochdale with a smart volley and the game remained in the balance until the stroke of half time.

Rochdale managed to scramble two off their own goalline but also had a couple of clear chances to draw level.

The next goal came to Lincoln, however, and the second half then turned into a rout. Forrester struck either side of half time to complete his hat trick and on both occasions 'Dale had chances to clear beforehand but didn't take them.

Jeff Hughes scored the fifth with a shot that deflected twice before finding the target, Stallard got his second after good work by Ryan Amoo and Hughes completed the scoring with a far post finish from Forrester's centre.

One to forget for Rochdale but Lincoln look equipped to maintain a challenge. After losing out in the play offs for about the last 37 seasons it would be nice to see the Imps manage an automatic promotion.

Swindon stayed in touch with a good win from their tricky trip to Shrewsbury.

Fola Onibuje striuck early, pouncing after Chris Mackenzie was unable to hold a Lee Peacock drive, but Ben Davies levelled things up with a cracking free kick midway through the second half.

The winner came from Aaron Brown who tried his luck when a half cleared corner fell to him on the edge of the box and found his luck was in as a deflection helped his shot into the net.

What sort of disruption the departure of Dennis Wise and Gus Poyet will have on Swindon remains to be seen but hopefully the club will not suffer too greatly. They have been scarcely rewarded for showing such ambition in the appointment of this pair in the summer.

Wycombe produced a dominant display to see off Peterborough. The final 2-0 scoreline barely reflected their superiority.

Kevin Betsy was again outstanding and forced a top save out of Mark Tyler in the first half. It would not be the last of his goalkeeping excellence.

Tommy Mooney was also guilty of a bad miss as the home side failed to capitalise on their pressure.

The pattern of play remained unchanged in the second half and after two more top class saves from Tyler the home side finally took the lead when Betsy finished clinically at the near post from an Anthony Grant centre.

Jermaine Easter confirmed victory late on when he fastened onto a header back across goal by Russell Martin to score.

Notts County came away from Grimsby with a creditable 2-0 victory to apparently confirm that these two sides have traded places since last season.

Kevin Pilkington needed to be sharp to keep the Magpies level before half time but when County got their chances after the break they were ruthless in front of goal.

Junior Mendes flung himself headlong to dramatically head the first from David Pipes' centre and Jason Lee sealed victory with a more mundane header from a deep free kick.

MK Dons came a cropper at home to a determined Hereford United.

Hereford started brightly to deservedly lead and then hung on grimly in the face of an all out aerial bombardment in the second half.

Adolfo Baines had already needed to make a double save to deny Stuart Fleetwood before the visitors took the lead in the 8th minute. Alan Connell was the man on target, mopping up after Baines could not deal with a Fleetwood cross shot.

Rob Purdie had just entered the fray as an early sub when Hereford gained yet another penalty and he again tucked it away to double his sides' advantage.

Cue the onslaught and after Mkandawire had made one goalline clearance Izale McLeod drove through a crowded area to reduce the arrears.

Wayne Brown played his part in keeping his side ahead between the sticks but the predictable nature of the Dons' efforts surely helped the visitors stay in front.

There had been a couple of chances on the break to seal victory before Fleetwood did just that, finishing low from 18 yards to ensure three welcome points for his side.

Darlington had to wait a long time to breach Barnet but there was only going to be one winner once they managed it.

Simon Johnson finally got the Quakers in front in the 75th minute, scoring calmly when sent through one on one with the keeper and three minutes later the Barnet defender Joe Devera put through his own goal to extinguish any faint hopes the Bees might have had of stealing a point.

Macclesfield Town took an unlikely point with them back to Cheshire from their visit to Bristol Rovers having played for long spells with only ten men.

They spent 20 minutes patching up their wounded striker Spencer Weir-Daley in the first half and then saw defender Danny Swailes sent packing for a second yellow card offence with 20 minutes remaining.

The closest Rovers came to profitting was late on when Richard Walker managed to dribble round Jonathan Brain in the Macc goal but could then only shoot into the side netting from the angle.

Whether Paul Ince, watching from the stands ahead of taking over at Macclesfield, had any influence over the performance which saw a man playing with a huge bandage on his head, another man sent off and six others booked we will probably never know.

Mansfield Town battered Wrexham who do not look the same side that started the season with genuine promise.

Matty Hamshaw was once again outstanding for the Stags giving a virtuoso display out wide.

Hamshaw provided a superb through ball for Richie Barker to round the keeper for the opener and then Barker repeated the trick after being released by Alan Sheehan.

Barker would also hit the bar, Alex Baptiste the post and Hamshaw almost brought the house down after surging from well inside his own half past a series of challengers before bringing a fine save out of Michael Ingham.

When the inevitable third goal did come it was from a close range Danny Reet volley.

Stockport should have had more than Adam Le Fondre's glancing header to show for their dominance against Torquay but it always looked like being enough to secure victory.

Bury were also well worth their 2-1 win over Boston United, Glynn Hurst getting the first and Marc Pugh the second. Paul Tait got one back for Boston but the Shakers made sure there were no further slip ups.

Chester City took advantage of a poor refereeing decision to claim the points at home to Hartlepool on Friday night.

The visitors took the lead early on when John Danby's attempted clearance rebounded into the net off Joel Porter but soon afterwards were reduced to ten men when Jon Daly was sent off after an innocuous challenge with Dave Artell.

Ashley Westwood got Chester level on the stroke of half time taking advantage of a fumble by the goalkeeper and Jon Walters netted the winner just after the break from another parry.

Simon Marples deserves most credit for the home sides' victory with a progressive display from full back which produced a series of telling centres.

Daly has since been pardoned by the FA but that does not change what happened here.

Sunday, October 15
Walsall Perfect At The Bescott

Having overcome Wycombe in Saturday's top of the table clash Walsall remain top of Division Two and also boast an unblemished home record.

They have won all seven league games at the Bescott so far this season and have yet to concede a goal on home soil. Fortress Bessie indeed.

With two of the most durable sides in the section meeting when in good form this was expected to be a hard fought encounter and so it proved.

Neither side was giving much away in the early stages with most of the efforts confined from long range. The best of these came in from Matt Bloomfield but Clayton Ince in the Walsall goal saved without much trouble.

This early defensive efficiency made it all the more surprising that when the deadlock was broken it was down to a complete absence of marking at a corner.

Hector Sam just stood by himself at the far post and when the ball came over he was free to head home from four yards out. Sloppy.

Martin Butler showed great strength to force his way clear of the Wycombe defence but Jamie Young stood up well to save. Walsall did increase their lead around the hour mark, however, when Mark Kinsella's low drive from 25 yards crept in by the post.

Wycombe would not give up the ghost but Ince remained in fine form to keep out a couple of Stefan Oakes efforts and a close range attempt by Tommy Mooney.

This was always a game where the first goal was likely to prove crucial and Wycombe were left rueing the moment they fell asleep.

Lincoln City withstood some early pressure at Barnet before storming to a 5-0 victory.

Alan Marriott was in fine form to deny Liam Hatch and Magno Vieira twice but once City took the lead on 26 minutes there was only one team in it.

There had been precious little seen of the Lincoln attack up to that point but when they did venture forward they did so with rapier like incision.

A quick passing move sliced open the Barnet defence and ended with Lee Frecklington squaring for Jamie Forrester to tap into an empty net.

Forrester had his second shortly afterwards, scoring from the spot after being brought down himself by keeper Ross Flitney.

Then Flitney could not hold an effort low down on his goalline and Lee Beevers was on hand to rifle home.

Three down at half time it quickly got worse for the Bees when Nick Bailey rashly brought down Frecklington and Forrester completed his hat trick.

Lincoln made it five in the last minute of the game when Liam Metton bundled home to allow the 665 travelling fans another moment of celebration.

Whether there were still that many Barnet fans inside the ground to see it is debatable.

Swindon enjoyed a convincing win over Grimsby which was marred by a serious looking injury to their outstanding on loan goalkeeper Peter Brezovan.

After an even opening to this clash Swindon assumed complete control and confirmed their growing authority with two goals in the lead up to half time.

Fola Onibuje did the spadework for the first with a driving run down the right and a fierce low centre which Andy Monkhouse inadvertantly turned into Michael Pook's path for an easy finish.

Monkhouse knew more about the next goal, slipping a precise 25 yarder past the sprawling keeper.

Brezovan seemed to break his arm when landing badly after claiming a centre but although Ady Williams had to take over between the sticks in the absence of a recognised keeper a Grimsby recovery was never on the cards.

Lee Peacock added a third late on with a lob over the keeper having looked suspiciously offside in the first place.

Peacock's celebrations were more than suspect and surely he is old enough to know better than to indulge in a spot of on pitch break dancing.

MK Dons came from behind to register an important win at Wrexham.

Wrexham led at the break through Neil Roberts who fired home from close range after a couple of efforts had been blocked by the Dons defence.

Martin Allen had Izale McLeod on the bench for this one but when he introduced him at half time the impact was immediate.

McLeod scored in the second minute of the second period with a reverse drive as he wandered across the face of the box.

McLeod also played the major role in the winning goal, sending a low cross shot to the far post where Sean O'Hanlon arrived to slot home.

Bristol Rovers built on their home victory of last week with an impressive victory at Notts County.

Two quick fire goals at the start of the second half brought the game to life. Richard Walker buried the first after latching on to a flick on to put Rovers ahead but Junior Mendes soon levelled with a shot that managed to find a way in at the near post.

The Pirates rallied though and grabbed the winner when Lewis Haldane's low shot from the edge of the area appeared to nutmeg half the County team before ending up in the back of the net.

Peterborough also had a good win from a testing encounter. Posh defeated Shrewsbury 2-1 with goals from Trevor Benjamin and Danny Crow.

Benjamin scored with a straight forward header from a wonderful right wing centre by Adam Newton. Crow's goal was more eye catching as he slipped a defender before racing away to fire in a shot which was valiantly blocked by the flying Neil Ashton only for the ball to sit up perfectly for Crow to knock home at the second attempt.

Ben Davies pulled one back from the penalty spot after again needing no encouragement to go to ground inside the box but this was too little too late for the Shrews.

Torquay must be concerned by their recent dip in form with Accrington taking all three points from their long journey south.

Ian Dunbavin needed to make one fine stop to deny Mickey Evans before half time but a goal early in the second period by Michael Welch after the keeper dropped a corner set Stanley on the way to victory.

The increasingly impressive Gary Roberts made certain when his pace took him onto a huge punt out of defence and he sat the last defender on his backside before making short work of the keeper in the resulting one on one.

Hartlepool and Stockport couldn't be seperated with Adam Griffin somehow sending a corner straight in at the near post for County and Matty Robson heading in at the far post for Pool from Joel Porter's overhead centre.

The home side went on to dominate the second half without finding a winner.

Rochdale and Chester served up a game of few thrills although David Artell did rattle the Dale crossbar with a strong header. The goalless outcome was certainly appropriate, however.

Herford and Darlington also shared the spoils after their 1-1 draw.

Alun Armstrong was on hand to put Darlo ahead after Wayne Brown had saved bravely at the feet of David Rowson but a glancing header from Tamika Mkandawire gave Hereford their point.

Boston and Mansfield also had to settle for a point each. Dany N'Guessan put Boston ahead after charging down an attempted clearance out wide and then lobbing the goalkeeper who made an extremely unwise dash outside his area.

Richie Barker got Mansfield on terms from the penalty spot when a harsh holding decision was awarded although the Stags certainly merited something from the game, keeping Andy Marriott busy in the Boston goal.

Macclesfield were involved in another rousing game but they again had no points to show for it and they are in a real mess adrift at the bottom.

The basic truth is that their defending has been abysmal all season and yesterday was no different.

Macc actually took the lead when Rob Scott hooked in from close range but two long range efforts by Richie Baker had Bury in front shortly after half time.

His first effort was well struck but Tommy Lee might have felt he should have done better. Lee had no chance whatsoever with Baker's second, a superbly executed curler into the stanchion from the left hand edge of the penalty area.

Glyn Hurst then profited from inept defending to stroll through and score after a basic hump downfield had found the Macc defence AWOL.

Spencer Weir-Daley got the home side back into it with a close range header as the Bury defence decided to start issuing gifts as well but despite a fierce late rally they could not get back on terms, the closest they would come being when a Colin Heath effort was parried onto the post.

One noteworthy point is that there were no red cards at all in the division this weekend, some kind of modern day record perhaps, although the referees do not get off scot free after the awarding of some very dubious spot kicks.

Monday, October 9
Mariners Win

The weekend action in League 2 was rounded off on Sunday when Grimsby saw off Hereford by two goals to one.

The game burst into life after a quiet opening when Grimsby took the lead on 9 minutes. Tony Thorpe headed back across goal from a Ciaran Toner centre and Gary Jones was on hand to volley home from close range but at an angle.

Hereford looked to respond and Andy Williams went close with a curling effort before Rob Purdie slotted home from the spot after being foolishly upended by Andy Butler. This was Purdie's sixth successful penalty already this season.

The pace slackened after this although Wayne Brown was called upon to make one good save to deny Grimsby's Ricky Ravenhill shortly before half time.

Grimsby regained the lead just past the hour mark and it was again Thorpe providing for Jones to score.

Hereford pushed hard for an equaliser but Phil Barnes was equal to efforts from Purdie and Stuart Fleetwood while concerted late pressure came to nothing.

Sunday, October 8
Stags And Magpies Get It On

Lower league fans will tell you that you can't beat the atmosphere at some of their "big" games where the intensity of feeling is considerably higher that that which now exists among the bigger clubs whose support is significantly diluted by the corporate and bandwagon jumping element.

There is something to be said for the argument. Several teams in League Two have away support which is disproportionately large when compared to what they get at home.

This means a decent atmosphere can generally be relied upon when their team rolls up in a far away town.

Such was the case yesterday when Swindon took around 880 fans up to Accrington, contributing to their biggest crowd of the season, and spicing up the atmosphere no end.

Of the local derbies that this division offers, however, my personal favourite is the one between Mansfield and Notts County.

Perhaps the Stags feel this one more than the Magpies traditionally but it is the best either side gets at the moment and they generally do not disappoint.

Plenty of drama, goals and big crowds tend to be the order of the day when these two meet and yesterday was no exception.

There was just over 6,000 inside Field Mill, a good but not a great crowd, with over 1,600 travelling from Nottingham.

The County fans were in great spirits at the start having seen or heard about Forest's televised drubbing at home to Scunthorpe but their good humour didn't last long as the Stags set about them in a manner which suggested that Forest's 4-0 stuffing might be surpassed.

The home side had already threatened consistently before Danny Reet had them ahead on 10 minutes.

The County defence failed to clear a left wing centre allowing Richie Barker to head down to Reet who buried his shot into ther roof of the net from point blank range, right in the faces of the travelling support.

Matt Hamshaw then set off on a typical run which ended with him picking out Barker who should have scored rather than hit the post.

Within minutes Barker was hitting the woodwork again but this time his header from a corner rebounded into Reet's path and he bundled in to put Mansfield two up.

Ian Ross came close for County with a stinging free kick which rebounded out from the back stanchion but in general Mansfield stayed well on top.

Barker tested Kevin Pilkington more than once and Reet was only denied his hat trick by a dubious free kick awarded against him as he challenged Alan White before firing home.

The County manager Steve Thompson later described his half time team talk as "not pretty" and two changes were the upshot as he looked to inspire a better second half showing.

The game became more even but there was little hint that County would get back into the game until Hamshaw was shown a second yellow just before the hour mark.

The winger was sent packing by Dermot Gallgher for the most innocuous of challenges on Alan White. This was the second yellow Gallagher had waved in Hamshaw's direction and the official can work out himself how he viewed either of the incidents involving Hamshaw to be worthy of the same punishment he handed Ben Thatcher for his assault on Pedro Mendes.

Even with a man advantage County looked short of inspiration but Mike Edwards brought them back into contention with 20 minutes left after holding off Jon Olaf Hjelde and prodding home from close range following Tcham N'Toya's centre.

This was County's first effort on target and with their fans now bellowing encouragement they set about trying to muster another.

There were plenty of corners but little clear cut until four minutes from time when Stephen Hunt's header back across goal found Lawrie Dudfield unmarked four yards out to nod home the equaliser.

Extremely tough on Mansfield but another cracking game between these two.

No doubt the County fans were in need of a sedative after all their excitement and they were just in time to take one with England about to kick off.

The match between Accrington and Swindon was more tightly contested with little to choose between the sides throughout.

Fola Onibuje was perhaps the brightest player on view although his end product was erratic. He shot wildly over the bar after fastening onto a weak back header and rounding the keeper but was rewarded for a breathtaking surge away from three defenders in the second half when Ian Dunbavin failed to hold his driven centre and Lee Peacock mopped up.

This goal equalised the first half goal from Andy Todd who flicked in from close range after a driven free kick by Ian Craney.

Swindon had more chances without ever dominating and Peacock was unlucky to see a header hit the bar before slamming the rebound over.

All in all a draw was probably about right, however.

Bristol Rovers scraped a welcome 1-0 win at home to Boston United but there was little convincing about the display and whether this will have a lasting positive effect on confidence remains to be seen.

The Pirates looked a team desperate to win in any way possible and never looked to turn on any style against extremely average opponents.

James Walker grabbed the only goal after being played in by a sweet James Hunt pass. Hunt was perhaps the most creative player on view.

Boston should certainly have equalised when Steve Phillips completely missed a centre but Dany N'Guessan somehow managed to head wide of the empty net.

To compound the visitors misery they had Tim Ryan sent off in stoppage time for encroaching at a free kick. Sometimes a word is enough, surely.

Stockport saw off Barnet in altogether more convincing fashion, the 2-0 scoreline scarcely doing justice to their dominance.

The Hatters had strong penalty claims after just 15 seconds when Lee Harrison appeared to bring down Adam Le Fondre and Tony Dinning was within a whisker of breaking the deadlock with a cracking free kick.

David Poole did open the scoring just past the half hour when he netted after Tes Bramble's shot had been parried by Harrison and Le Fondre wrapped things up early in the second half with a truly magnificent overhead kick.

Liam Dickinson later hit the post with a low drive at the end of a forceful run but this was very definitely a good day at the office for Stockport.

Saturday, October 7
Rochdale Go Beserk

I'm not overly familiar with the intimate details of Rochdale Football Club but they can't have had many 5-0 away wins in their long and decidedly modest history.

They romped to one last night on their visit to a Darlington club in apparent disarray.

The messy situation with the now former manager David Hodgson, sacked for apparently talking to Bournemouth about their vacancy, seems to have had an adverse effect on everyone at the club.

The Quakers also contributed to their own downfall through the crazy early sending off of Craig James but nothing should be taken away from Dales' performance.

They already led when James was sent off just before the quarter hour mark and had assumed complete control after a brief spell of Darlo pressure from the kick off.

Morike Sako scored the opener, firing in low from just inside the box after a half cleared corner was fed straight back into the danger area.

Any semblance of confidence and organisation in the Darlo ranks seemed to vanish the instant the ball hit the net and while their aggresssion had been well placed in a positive opening it quickly manifested itself in an altogether more unpleasant way.

James lunged at Gary Brown with both feet and the red card was promptly, and correctly, issued.

Sam Russell made one good save on his line from Keith Barker as Dale looked to press home their advantage but with virtually no protection in front of him the goals began arriving at regular intervals.

Alan Goodall spanked a sweet 25 yarder in off the underside of the bar, Sako notched his second after easing past a flimsy challenge inside the box and Chris Dagnall finished off an embarrassingly long passing move after being played in by Barker.

This was all before half time and Darlo could be thankful to Russell that the damage was limited to four.

The second half was more sedate although the Rochdale goal never came under any kind of serious threat and the visitors put a real gloss on the scoreline late on when the substitute Clive Moyo-Modise ran onto a John Doolan through ball to score.

The same player should really have made it six when put clean through minutes later but slipped his shot wide.

The result maintained Rochdale's fine revival after a disturbing start to the season when the club lost its' first four games without scoring a goal.

As for Darlo their promising start is in danger of turning into a nightmare and the sooner the manager situation is sorted the better. I'm not sure whether caretaker boss Neil Maddison has thrown his hat into the ring but last nights' result certainly won't have improved his prospects.

Has a caretaker manager ever been officially sacked?

Elsewhere the matches played served up decent fare considering the atrocious conditions. England was in the grip of some evil gales last night and nothing spoils a game of football, so I've always maintained, more than a strong wind.

Except for managers like John Beck and Sam Allardyce of course.

MK Dons will have been miffed at meeting Peterborough in such circumstances. The strapping Dons would have been confident of blowing away many sides in such adverse conditions but Keith Alexander's men can look after themselves and having matched the Dons physically emerged victorious with two late goals.

Having soaked up plenty of first half pressure Posh came close to taking the lead with the best piece of play all night. A sweeping move culminated in Jude Stirling's incisive pass sending Danny Crow away down the wing and his clever ball into the near post was met by Liam Davis who could not quite manage the power, stretching at the near post, to beat Adolfo Baines.

Izale McLeod, naturally, was the most obvious source of danger for the Dons but the closest they came to breaching the Posh defence was Ben Chorley's header from a Dean Lewington centre which drifted just wide.

It was two substitutes who turned the game in Peterborough's favour.

Mark Arber broke the deadlock with a strong header after a huge throw in from Stirling, John Beck would have had orgasms watching this one sail through the air, and Justin Richards confirmed the win nodding in a corner which had come about through Baines having to tip another of his headers over the bar.

The Dons are stuck in neutral at the moment while Peterborough simply cannot make up their minds whether they are promotion contenders or not.

Lincoln overcame their recent jitters to halt Hartlepool in their tracks at Sincil Bank.

With the Imps having faltered badly of late and Hartlepool unable to stop scoring the home side might have approached this one with some trepidation but once our resident tipster Minty had predicted an away win all their troubles were over.

Pool were lively in the opening stages and Lincoln were grateful that Lee Beevers, playing in the centre of defence because of injury to Paul Morgan, was in such assured form.

Hartlepool did force one outstanding chance, however, when Ben Clark's header looked goalbound only for Joel Porter to divert it over from underneath the crossbar. Porter plays for Hartlepool in case you didn't know.

Lincoln opened the scoring in fine style when Mark Stallard showed great vision to spot Jamie Forrester's run and backed that up with slide rule accuracy to play him in. Forrester did the rest in emphatic style.

The goal brought a return of Hartlepool's early season nervousness and their defending in the second half was seldom convincing.

They somehow survived a series of tangles but were punished when a sweeping centre by Nicky Eaden was calmly finished with a sidefoot volley at the far post by Jeff Hughes.

The action remained unrelenting but without further goals.

Wycombe's progress this season has been pretty solid and they defeated Torquay with a minimum of fuss.

Tommy Mooney drilled them in front from the angle of the box in the 5th minute and Russell Martin confirmed victory ten minutes from time after being supplied by the lively Kevin Betsy.

Torquay had their chances between times with Jamie Young saving from Kevin Hill at point blank range while Jamie Ward and Lee Mansell both missed presentable chances.

While Wycombe have their sights set firmly on the top end of the table Torquay will be happy to stay safely away from the lower reaches.

Macclesfield, even this early, look like they will do well to escape an emphatic relegation.

Nothing is going right for them and they will reflect that if you took away the first and last 20 seconds of their game with Shrewsbury then they actually won 1-0.

This is of no importance of course because the actual result was a 2-1 win for the Shrews.

Ben Herd had them ahead after 17 seconds, forcing the ball home after excellent play by Dave Edwards and Andy Cooke combined with unsteady defending to present him with the opening.

Spencer Weir-Daley levelled shortly after half time following a quick free kick by Martin Bullock.

With a quarter of an hour remaining Bullock received his second yellow when the referee decided he had dived in the box when virtually everyone in the ground was expecting to see him pointing to the spot rather than the tunnel.

Tommy Lee now stepped centre stage to keep Macc on terms with a series of fine saves, especially a stunning stop from Cooke's header.

Silkmen hearts' were laddered with seconds remaining, however, when a mis-hit shot from the edge of the box by Kelvin Langmead somehow bobbled its way through a crowded area and snuck past the unsighted Lee.

It can be a cruel game, especially when you're crap.

Chester and Walsall played out a goalless draw which was never short on action.

Chester were dominant in the first half when they had the wind in their sails. They might have been encouraged by the fact that Walsall's debutant keeper Bertrand Bossu was stepping into such testing conditions but the Frenchman obviously served his apprenticeship in the slipstream of Le Mistral as he handled everything Chester, and heaven, could throw at him.

Jamie Hand and Jon Walters twice saw thunderous efforts turned aside as Bossu distinguished himself.

The second half saw Walsall using the wind to their advantage and Craig Pead and Daniel Fox both sent in assisted efforts which John Danby did well to keep out.

Right at the end Chester broke the siege to break forward and Drewe Broughton came desperately close to winning it with a low drive against the post.

Honours even in the end, however, which was surely the most appropriate result.

By the way, having mentioned Minty earlier I think it is only fair to say that his incorrect prediction on the Lincoln game was no fluke. Out of the four games he ventured an opinion on last night he got a clean sweep of four out of four completely wrong.

Way to go Minty. The only expert tipster with the nickname "The Bookies Friend."

Tuesday, October 3
Blazing Saddlers

Walsall are currently blazing a trail at the top of League 2 having enjoyed a fine couple of weeks while those around them flounder on the rock of inconsistency.

There was little sign of the carnage to come in their game against Mansfield during a first half dominated by the defences. Once Mark Wright struck early in the second period, however, it was a case of open floodgates.

Wright was on hand to convert when Jason White could only parry a fine effort by Craig Pead and after Dean Keates had squeezed a free kick beyond White he turned provider to supply Keates with his second and Walsall's third.

The scoring was completed by Anthony Gerrard right at the end who found himself perfectly placed to convert Keates' low, hard free kick from close range.

Swindon will be gutted to have only drawn at home to Boston United.

This looks a bad result on paper and when it is taken into account that Swindon were playing against ten men when the visitors drew level late on it becomes wretched.

Lee Peacock had come the closest to breaking the deadlock before Andy Monkhouse gave Swindon the lead after being played in by Royce Brownlie.

Christian Roberts had a great chance to extend the lead after rounding the Boston keeper Andy Marriott out wide but from the angle he could not place his shot through the retreating defenders.

This and other misses scarcely seemed to matter when Francis Green got himself sent off with just over 20 minutes remaining.

Green managed to pick up two bookings in the same incident. It was not clear if he had been booked for simulation or for his part in the subsequent altercation with Ady Williams inside the Swindon box.

It was obvious that his second yellow was for speaking out of turn to the referee, however.

Boston stuck at their task but it appeared highly unlikely that they could fashion an equaliser but when Dany N'Guessan's 20 yard shot with two minutes remaining deflected goalwards the Pilgrims had their point.

Wycombe suffered a setback at Accrington who seem to be getting better by the game at the moment.

Stanley took the lead after a bright, open start to the game with Ian Craney whipping home an excellent free kick.

Wycombe came back strongly after half time and equalised through defender Will Antwi who was on hand to tap home from Tommy Mooney's header after Ian Dunbavin made a hash of Chris Palmer's free kick.

The Chairboys went looking for a winner with Mooney and Ikechi Anya going close but the winner came at the other end right at the death.

Substitute Andrew Mangan was too strong for Antwi and having surged clear he beat Ricardo Batista all ends up with a clinical finish.

Harsh on Wycombe but Accrington are a side brimming with endeavour and confidence at the moment.

Lincoln suffered their second surprising defeat of the week after crumbling 2-0 at home against Bury.

Although Kasper Schmeichel was required to make one outstanding save from Mark Stallard the visitors were giving as good as they got from the start and Andy Bishop was unlucky to see a strong header cleared off the line.

Shortly before half time Richie Barker slammed Bury ahead after a shot had been charged down inside the area and not long into the second half Glynn Hurst doubled the advantage with a header from Tom Kennedy's cross which Alan Marriott reached at full stretch but could only help into the net.

Schmeichel then produced another fine stop to deny Jamie Forrester but the Imps could never place the Shakers under prolonged pressure and the victory was well deserved.

Barnet drew yet again this time after a thrilling encounter with the MK Dons.

This game ebbed and flowed throughout with neither defence looking to have any authority.

Lee Harrison made a double save to deny Izale McLeod before the game exploded into life shortly before half time.

Barnet took the lead through an Ian Hendon penalty after Tresor Kandol had been dragged down at a free kick only for the Dons to retaliate immediately.

Sean O'Hanlon forced Liam Hath to clear from his own line with a header before notching from close range after Aaron Wilbraham headed a Dean Lewington centre back across goal.

Barnet looked to have taken control as they forged into a 3-1 lead after 57 minutes.

Kandol provided the fitting finish to a quality pass from Dean Sinclair and then Richard Graham pierced a crowd of defenders on the line after Kandol went round the keeper wide of goal and pulled back into his path.

The Dons probably weren't too concerned as they must have realised that the game was bound to finish a draw because it seems to have been made a law of the land that Barnet games finish all square.

Clive Platt blew a one on one with Harrison by spooning over but Ben Chorley's penalty had the Dons back in it after Hendon was adjudged to have fouled Wilbraham.

The inevitable leveller came in the last minute from Lloyd Dyer and although John Paul McGovern then sent in a fine strike for the Dons they must have known that Lee Harrison would make his fine save and ensure the draw.

Torquay were left to rue missing plenty of first half chances as they eventually fell to defeat at home to Notts County.

Kevin Pilkington was a busy man in the County goal and he carried his good form on into the second half with important saves from Leo Fortune West and Lee Mansell.

No-ones games have produced as many late goals as Torquay's this season so when four minutes of stoppage time was announced nobody would have felt the goalless draw was inevitable.

So it proved as the visitors snatched victory with Lawrie Dudfield's header from Austin McCann's centre.

Hartlepool are the form team of the section at the moment and swept Wrexham aside with genuine ease, ending up 3-0 winners.

Jon Daly was the hero with a hat trick which included two fine headers and a neat finish from Willie Boland's perceptive through ball.

More goals could easily have come as Daly continued to threaten and Joel Porter proved a handful all afternoon.

Although there was only one goal in the game between Stockport and Peterborough this was pretty entertaining stuff.

Stockport were unlucky when Adam Proudlock's spectacular bicycle kick flashed just over and were shaking their heads after two shots were blocked in a desperate scramble before Jason Taylor fired another effort wide.

Posh were also dangerous, however, and County keeper John Ruddy, on loan from Everton, was required to make two decent saves to deny Trevor Benjamin.

Benjamin got his reward in the opening moments of the second half, lashing home after sloppy defending.

More excellent keeping ensured that this remained the only goal. Ruddy was at his best to keep out Danny Crow while Mark Tyler made a string of crucial stops for Posh.

Rochdale and Shrewsbury shared the spoils at Spotland. James Sharp had the home side ahead early with a looping header from Lee Crooks' corner and it took two quality saves from Shrews' keeper Chris Mackenzie to keep his side in contention.

Andy Cooke made sure these saves counted for something by slotting in from Derek Asamoah's perfect low centre and this was the signal for the visitors to assume command in the search for a winner.

Rochdale held out for a point that was certainly merited overall.

Chester scored a comfortable 2-0 win over Bristol Rovers who have had little spark at all in their recent performances.

Kevin Sandwith got Chester on their way with an impressive free kick which Steve Phillips reached but could only push against his post from where it bounced into the net.

Rovers could bemoan their luck over this especially given that Rickie Lambert also had an effort pushed onto the post by John Danby minutes later only for this effort to rebound to safety.

This was a rare moment of encouragement for Rovers in a first half dominated by the home team and there was no doubt Chester merited the 2-0 interval lead given them by Roberto Martinez's sublime chip from the edge of the box which again went into the net via the post.

Hereford edged past the apparently doomed Macclesfield Town with a late goal from Alan Connell who managed to send a low shot through a sea of legs on the turn for the winner with ten minutes left.

Wayne Brown also did his bit towards the victory with fine saves from Kevin McIntyre and Matthew Tipton, both from free kicks, but in truth the scoreline should have been more convincing.

Friday night saw two teams straining for confidence conjure up a 2-2 draw.

Darlington looked likely to run away with this one as goals from Alun Armstrong and Martin Smith had them two ahead after 25 minutes.

Armstrong drilled home from close range after Smith had headed down into his path while Smith showed good strength to take full advantage of good approach play by Ngoma and Cummins.

At no stage did Darlo's defence look as confident as their attack, however, and after several narrow escapes they got themselves in one scrape too many when Darren Holloway was sent off and conceded a penalty after taking out Tony Thorpe.

Ciaran Toner, impressive all night, despatched the penalty and the hosts were suddenly all over the place.

There was little prospect of a nervous defence holding out and so it proved, Ricky Ravenhill bringing Grimsby level after some chaotic defending by the panic stricken Darlo rearguard.

Friday, September 29
Is That All You Take Away?

There was some cracking action in League Two this week and some tasty atmospheres with a spate of local and localish derbies taking place.

The biggest game of the week saw Swindon visit Wycombe for a lively encounter played before a raucous crowd of just over 6,000.

1,600 had ventured out of Swindon and made themselves heard even as Wycombe dominated the first half.

Kevin Betsy was the man most likely early on, putting one header too high and forcing Peter Brezovan into a flying save with another effort.

Both sides suffered the loss of a striker during the first half with Lee Peacock limping off for Swindon and Wycombe's Jermaine Easter following shortly afterwards.

Swindon had barely fashioned a chance before taking the lead in the 50th minute. Royce Brownlie bullied his way onto a Christian Roberts flick to shoot low and true into the corner.

Now the atmosphere fairly crackled, Wycombe fans trying to urge a response and Swindon's travelling hordes gloating happily over their somewhat fortunate lead.

Wycombe did not hesitate in looking to get back on terms. Chris Palmer put one chance just wide and Brezovan was called into action again by a close range Tommy Mooney attempt.

It looked as though Swindon were going to hold on and take all three points home with them when Wycombe brought the house down with a last gasp equaliser.

Palmer showed good skill and composure to shimmy his way out of a tight spot along the left hand byeline before sending over an inviting cross which Mooney met squarely on his forehead to bury a header high into the net.

A fitting end to a well contested game.

Shrewsbury Town against Walsall is not recognised as one of footballs' biggest rivalries but the fixture has tradition. In 1961 the game set a record attendance for Gay Meadow when 18,917 crammed in for a game which saw Walsall promoted.

We can't be sure how many made the 40 mile trip west on that occasion but 1,900 journeyed this week for what might be their last look at the misleadingly named old ground, contributing to an attendance of 6,593.

This was another tightly fought game.

Walsall got off to a great start and led inside five minutes. Martin Butler did the spadework and his fierce cross cum shot landed perfectly on Tony Bedeau's head two yards out.

This prompted the visitors to pile forward in search of further goals but Shrewsbury weathered this storm and having clawed their way back into the game proceeded to have the better of the last hour.

Stewart Drummond was just wide with a glancing header after a typical burst forward by Ben Davies but when Michael Symes and Derek Asamoah combined to present Neil Sorvel with a shooting opportunity to the right of goal he made no mistake with an assured volley into the far corner.

Asamoah gave Davies a shooting chance right on half time but his crisp effort flashed over the top while Clayton Ince needed good reflexes to deny Asamoah after break. The keeper was beaten when Dave Edwards sent in a piledriver but the effort was marginally outside the angle.

This pressure was spent by the closing stages, however, and Walsall could have nicked victory at the end. During a strong finish Craig Pead unleashed a tremendous drive which shuddered the crossbar.

Another fair result.

Torquay will be cursing themselves after letting a two goal lead slip at the MK Dons and eventually coming home empty handed.

While the Dons went aerial in the first half all the damage was done at the other end by the pace of Jamie Ward, one of the players of the moment in League Two.

Ward struck early, burying a confident shot after latching onto Matt Hockley's thropugh ball. Then he doubled the visitors advantage in first half stoppage time when fastening onto a pass from Adam Murray.

The Dons had applied plenty of pressure and could look back on a huge corner and free kick count but had nothing to show for all their bombs into the box.

Clive Platt had been on the end of most things but without finding a way past Nathan Abbey.

The game was turned on its' head by a controversial decision early in the second half. Handball was awarded against Torquay's Steve Woods, nothing too contentious about that, but when Abbey went full length to deny Izale McLeod's penalty the decision to penalise Torquay for encroaching and have the kick taken again seemed harsh.

These decisions always seem so random. Somebody steps inside the box everytime a penalty is taken but normally the officials just ignore it. Sometimes they decide to make themselves noticed.

Was there only Torquay players encroaching, ref?

Anyway, McLeod wasn't going to miss twice and the Dons were back in it and buoyed into launching yet more missiles into the Torquay area.

Abbey had been forced into another fine stop by McLeod before the lively striker levelled things up just before the hour mark.

There didn't seem much hope of Torquay surviving now and so it proved with Aaron Wilbraham, another giant, netting the winner on 83 minutes.

Torquay gamely tried to respond but despite five minutes of stoppage time they could not find a way back. Five minutes injury time is normally enough for three goals in a Torquay game.

There was only one winner when it came to travelling support this week, however. The 2,200 Lincoln fans who ventured to Boston for the Lincolnshire derby not only made up over half the gate but put the efforts of Swindon and Walsall in the shade.

They trudged home unhappy, however, after seeing their unbeaten away record ended at one of the unlikeliest of venues.

The fact that Boston would be lifted by the occasion was obvious from the off as they attacked with purpose. Tim Ryan fired a ball goalwards which found Anthony Elding lurking in the jaws of goal.

With glory beckoning he somehow managed to spoon his effort over the bar.

Lincoln responded and Andy Marriott was at full stretch to stop a Paul Mayo 30 yarder before Jeff Hughes saw his astute lob clear the keeper but refuse to come down in time to find the gaping goal.

Back came Boston in a typically rousing derby with Elding forcing Alan Marriott (no relation to his brother in the Boston goal as far as I'm aware) into a save with a decent snap shot and Francis Green coming the closest yet with a header which Lee Beevers desperately cleared off the line.

The second half saw more of the same as both sides looked determined not to score. Ryan and Green were just off target for Boston while Beevers missed for Lincoln with a sitter that made Elding's earlier chance look like a Chinese crossword.

Hughes lifted a free kick into the box but when Andy Marriott came into a clutch of defenders to collect they all somehow managed to miss it and were left looking on as the ball bounced through to Beevers, all alone in front of goal five yards out.

It didn't seem possible to miss but Beevers managed it, poking wide to the delight of the home support and much to his own embarrassment.

Boston finally broke the deadlock shortly afterwards when Green's shot deflected in off Paul Morgan which prompted an inevitable seige from Lincoln.

Jamie Forrester saw a goal chalked off for offside but in truth Boston withstood the late onslaught with surprising comfort.

The team to watch at the moment are Hartlepool. Having scored five at Peterborough on Saturday they went to Grimsby in midweek and rattled in four.

They looked in confident mood from the start and were quickly looking for goals.

Phil Barnes was called into action in the Grimsby goal in the very first minute by Joel Porter after good build up play by Anthony Sweeney and Gary Liddle. This would set the tone for much of the nights' action.

Hartlepool continued to press but when the opening goal arrived it went, totally against the run of play, to Grimsby with Nick Fenton heading home Peter Beagrie's corner.

This prompted a better spell by the Mariners with Ricky Ravenhill almost extending the lead with an effort against the post.

Gradually Hartlepool regained control, however, and by the end of the half were camped in Grimsby territory. It looked as though they would be going in at the break trailing, however, until two serious errors of judgement by Beagrie, who should know better at his age, brought them back on terms.

Beagrie first of all decided it would be best to dribble his way out of his own box and when he was promptly robbed by Matty Robson his next decision was to haul his opponent back by the shirt.

Penalty, and if Beagrie had been doing his homework he would have realised that Hartlepool have now decided to start scoring from the spot. Jon Daly did the honours in emphatic style.

Hartlepool came out eager to press home their advantage and took the lead when Liddle fired a splendid free kick in off the post.

The game became more evenly contested from here on in although the visitors always looked the more likely scorers as Grimsby's main hope was shooting from distance.

So it proved as Pool notched twice in the last five minutes to confirm victory. Daly got his sides' third after robbing Barnes inside the area and then Porter finished things off with a sweet curling shot after being fed by the tireless Liddle.

Elsewhere the action was less dramatic.

Notts County edged a dour game with Stockport County by the only goal, Junior Mendes providing a neat finish from David Pipe's fine centre after the best move of the game.

Peterborough and Barnet shared a goal apiece at London Road. Peter Gain put Posh ahead after Lee Harrison could not hold a Jamie Day shot with the veteran Andy Hessenthaler steering in the equaliser from Tresor Kandol's centre.

Both sides had chances to win this one, Dean Sinclair failing to beat Mark Tyler in a one on one for Barnet and Mark Arber sending a late header against the bar for Posh.

It would appear that Barnet only deal in draws at the moment, however.

Bristol Rovers came from behind to claim an unlikely victory at home to Hereford United.

Rovers were abject for the most part and fell behind to a Rob Purdie penalty in the first half.

There was little sign of an equaliser and the mood of unrest on the terraces was not helped when Lewis Haldane was withdrawn in the second half rather than his labouring partner Richard Walker.

In one of those bizarre, unaccountable twists of fate Walker then ended up the hero after forcing home balls into the box from James Walker and Aaron Lescott. Walker could even have made off with the match ball after seeing another effort rebound to safety from the bar.

Rochdale had a fine win at unpredictable Wrexham.

Wrexham took the lead when Matthew Gilks made a mess of a simple save to allow Chris Llewellyn to score. I take my share of the blame for this one after saying what a reliable chap Gilks was at the weekend.

No matter, his mates got him out of this one with Chris Dagnall netting two close range goals, both joyously celebrated in front of the 261 travelling army of Dale fans. Happy days.

Bury are another side who seem to enjoy a draw although neither they nor Accrington Stanley could be accused of not going for the win at Gigg Lane.

In a whirlwind first half Bury twice led only to go in level.

Andy Bishop fired in with ridiculous ease from a corner to open the scoring with the highly impressive Gary Roberts confidently despatching the first equaliser after being supplied by Andy Todd.

Both sides were looking likely to score every time they pushed forward and so it proved, Glynn Hurst resoring Bury's lead with a header from Tom Kennedy's pin point centre and Romauld Boco getting Stanley back on terms with a shot which Kasper Schmeichel laid a mitt on but could not keep out.

The second half was not quite as frantic although it was highly surprising that there were no further goals. The keepers deserve their share of praise for this, Ian Dunbavin making a couple of good saves and Kasper Schmeichel one magnificent stop.

It was the proverbial game of two halves at Macclesfield where the home side dominated the first half before visiting Chester took over in the second.

Martin Bullock opened the scoring with a fine individual effort after 10 minutes. Chester's Simon Marples gifted him possession with an errant pass inside the Macclesfield half and Bullock did not hesitate.

Heading straight for goal he surged away from two defenders on a 60 yard dash before drilling home his shot from just inside the area.

As any Champions League boss will tell you Simon, if you give the ball away cheaply at this level you will get punished.

Macclesfield continued to call the shots but could not add to their tally and it was a completely different story after half time as Chester poured forward at will.

Ex Silkman Kevin Sandwith equalised with a strong header just past the hour from Roberto Martinez's corner.

The source of the goal was hardly a surprise. At some stages of the second half it seemed as though Chester were taking corners from both sides of the pitch simultaneously.

The visitors continued to pound the Macclesfield goal but the nervous hosts somehow held out for a point, much to the frustration of the 600 travelling fans in a desperate crowd of just over 2,000.

Finally two of the sections' more entertaining teams, Mansfield and Darlington, served up a disappointing encounter which the Stags won by the only goal.

Danny Reet's finish was excellent, at least, showing good strength and a sharp turn before firing home low across the keeper.

Darlington finally roused themselves at the death but one fine save by Jason White and one awful miss by Gaetano Giallanza condemned them to defeat.

Monday, September 25
Tight At The Top

After this weekends' round of game in League Two there is now only one point seperating the top four sides.

In the battle of the form horses Lincoln City came away from Wycombe with a fine 3-1 win. This was classic away day smash and grab from the Imps and clearly demonstrated why their record on the road is so good.

They had to soak up considerable early pressure from Wycombe who had won their last eight games in all competitions. This was never easy with Jermaine Easter and Tommy Mooney both brimming with confidence.

The strong, seasoned campaigner Mooney and the quicksilver Easter make a formidable combination at this level and they showed their quality to devastating effect as Wycombe took a 9th minute lead.

Easter turned sharply on the edge of the box and measured a sweet curling drive which cannoned back into play with Alan Marriott nowhere. The ball rebounded into the path of Mooney 15 yards out and he didn't hesitate in smashing a volley straight back past the shellshocked keeper.

I always think these goals are the best for the fans. You're up out of your seat thinking you've scored only to be hit by that first pang of ultimate disappointment then the next moment you're celebrating for real. It makes the sensation about ten times more intense.

From here on in, however, there would be nothing but frustration and disappointment for the Wycombe fans.

The Chairboys looked to press home their advantage and laid seige to the Lincoln goal for a spell. The visitors defence stood firm under pressure and when they did allow a chance Matt Bloomfield blazed high.

As the storm began to subside Lincoln began to threaten themselves and Adie Moses, taking a break from defensive duties, saw his header hacked off the line following a corner.

Right on half time Lincoln struck a crucial blow by levelling through Lee Frecklington. This boy is truly on fire at the moment. If Match of the Day covered this league he could have staged his own goal of the month competition for September.

The best bit about this goal was Frecklington's first touch as he killed a bomb into the Wycombe box instantly under severe pressure. His turn and fizzing low drive into the corner of the net wasn't bad either.

The second half saw Wycombe continuing to make most of the running but this was now a squall compared to the earlier storm and Lincoln looked increasingly assured at the back.

The game was decided on the break as Mark Stallard struck twice against one of his myriad former clubs.

Wycombe had obviously forgotten about the back door as Stallard almost walked through onto a simple square ball to slot Lincoln ahead just past the hour and was then left completely unmarked on the edge of the box to take full advantage of a weak headed clearance.

An excellent game befitting two sides in top form.

Swindon continue to falter after their excellent start. This is perhaps not too surprising given that most of their early victories were less than convincing.

They were gifted the lead at Notts County but could not take full advantage. Alan White decided not to play a wayward through ball under pressure from Fola Onibuje believing that there was enough on it to take it safely through to his goalkeeper.

This was never close to being a correct assumption and Onibuje easily nipped between defender and stranded keeper to loft home.

At least White made sure he made amends himself, throwing his burly frame at a right wing corner to level the scores in the second half.

Swindon were cursing their luck and the officials after seeing two efforts hit the woodwork. The second of these, a Lee Peacock effort off the underside of the bar, had them convinced the ball had come down over the line but neither referee nor linesman could be persuaded.

MK Dons had an even worse result, falling to a shock defeat at home to Chester.

Chester are a strange team. They can look relegation fodder for weeks on end and then come up with something like this or a little three game winning spree.

The Dons even took the lead here, Clive Platt netting with ease after a deflected shot fell into his path in what looked like an offside position.

Chester turned the game around after half time with Ashley Westwood levelling with a neat near post finish and Jon Walters taking advantage of rash goalkeeping from Adolfo Baines to net the winner five minutes from time.

Walters was involved in a nip and tuck foot race with a defender chasing a ball through the middle when Baines suddenly decided to launch himself into the equation.

The keeper dashed out to kick clear but was never getting there and after Walters had easily rounded him he took time out to also sidestep the confused defender before walking the ball home.

Taking over at the top now are Walsall after their win at struggling Bristol Rovers.

More bad decision making by a goalkeeper helped the Saddlers into an early lead. Steve Phillips came towards the edge of his box to deal with a basic free kick from halfway but never got close to collecting and Scott Danns only needed to direct his header on target to notch.

Phillips might have made an attempt to collect the corner which led to the second Walsall goal shortly after half time but this time he decided to watch as Dan Fox ran in to head home from two yards out at the near post.

Phillips only has to share the blame for this one with his statuesque defenders.

Andy Sandell slammed home a bullet of a drive for the Pirates from the edge of the box in the last minute but this was too little too late after another disappointing display.

Torquay continue to go surprisingly well but they looked a team in a false position on Saturday despite claiming a point from a 3-3 draw at Macclesfield.

Macclesfield need to do something about their shocking defending quickly or I can only see one outcome. If they can tighten things up, however, they are not without hope as a vibrant attacking display here showed.

Matthew Tipton headed against the bar and Nathan Abbey was forced into two full length saves as Macc dominated the early proceedings.

Typically, however, when Torquay ventured forward the Silkmen's defence crumbled immediately. Kevin McIntyre made a complete hash of an attempted back pass and with Tommy Lee having moved wide to collect Lee Mansell was able to score despite only managing a bobbling sort of shot from 20 yards.

John Miles sent an easy headed chance wide before Macc finally drew level through David Morley. This was also a bad mistake, Abbey fumbling a routine low free kick allowing Morley to bang home from three yards.

Martin Bullock put the home side ahead just after the break, neatly sidestepping a couple of challenges before picking his spot in the far corner.

There was no hope of the Macclesfield defence protecting this lead, however, and although Lee Thorpe's header to equalise was a crisp one it would have been harder had he had a defender within five yards of him.

Jamie Ward was also far too sharp when stealing into the near post to convert Thorpe's cross with five minutes to go and apparently condemn Macclesfield to another defeat.

This would have been undeserved, however, and Danny Swailes made sure the home side went away with something by scoring at the far post in the last minute after an effort had been blocked on the line.

Two of Macclesfield's three goals therefore came from defenders but the men at the back need to start doing the jobs they are paid for otherwise their days as a league club may be numbered.

Shrewsbury and Darlington shared the spoils after an entertaining clash. Darlo led twice in this one through Gaetano Giallanza and Neil Wainwright but were pegged back by Michael Symes and a Ben Davies penalty.

Darlo's keeper Sam Russell was in inspired form to keep the visitors in the contest but will still be disappointed after allowing Symes' soft header to drift past him.

Mansfield are obviously not a team to trust. I had them down as the days' banker home win against Accrington Stanley (at value for money) but they managed to only draw 2-2 and could even have lost at the death.

The Stags saw an early effort ruled out for offside before falling behind when Paul Mullin headed home from close range after clever work inside the box by the impressive Gary Roberts.

From here on in, however, Mansfield should have swept to victory.

Ian Dunbavin was in good form between the sticks for Stanley but Mansfield have only themselves to blame for squandering two penalties, Richie Barker and Alan Sheehan being the guilty parties.

Matt Hamshaw did level with a free kick from the left which found its way inside the far post and when Michael Boulding skipped through a feeble offside trap to score with ten minutes remaining it looked like the Stags would win out after all.

In a rousing finish, however, Stanley earned a point through Mullin's simple header, flicking on a deep free kick as the keeper made an ill advised venture from his line.

Phil Edwards then had a great chance to nick victory for the visitors but could only shoot against the post from an ideal position.

Stockport came away from Grimsby with a creditable and fully deserved 1-0 victory. Phil Barnes had already made a full length penalty save to deny Mark Robinson before he was beaten all ends up by Keith Briggs' 30 yard screamer.

Although Stockport somehow failed to increase their lead they seldom looked in any danger of conceding against a limp Grimsby attack.

Barnet seem to be playing okay but can't lift themselves away from the drop zone.

They were behind twice at Bury to Glyn Hurst goals and although Tresor Kandol had equalised once with a smart looping header they looked to be heading for defeat after Jason Puncheon was sent off for violent conduct after retaliating to a couple of dodgy challenges in quick succession.

They were handed a lifeline late on when Kasper Schmeichel came storming from his line to poleaxe Ismail Yakubu near the touchline and Ian Hendon smashed home the resulting spot kick.

Both these sides might be in for another twitchy season.

Rochdale handed out a thumping 3-0 defeat to Boston on their own ground and the Pilgrims might find progress difficult without Julian Joachim.

Chris Dagnall got the first two, one bundling home, the other a comprehensive finish. John Doolan completed the scoring in the last minute strolling through a vacant Boston defence to score with ease.

Although Boston did manage to test keeper Matthew Gilks on numerous occasions there was nothing the capable Rochdale stopper found too taxing.

On Sunday Wrexham narrowly defeated Hereford in a disappointing contest.

Steve Evans headed the only goal from a Darren Ferguson centre with John McAliskey also seeing a couple of efforts cleared off the line for Wrexham.

Hereford felt aggrieved when Alan Connell's header was tipped onto the underside of the bar and deemed not to have crossed the line but only had themselves to blame late on when Tamika Mkandawire shot wide of an open goal.

The game of the weekend came at London Road where Hartlepool suddenly remembered where the net was.

The opening exchanges were pretty tentative but once Gary Liddle opened the scoring on the half hour with a low free kick in off the post the floodgates well and truly opened.

Two minutes later Jon Daly had put Hartlepool two up from the penalty spot and right on half time he made it three with an assured finish after being released inside the box by a lovely Joel Porter back heel.

When Liddle was sent through a square defence to make it 4-0 to the visitors shortly after half time it looked to be game over but Peterborough suddenly hit back.

Richard Butcher drove home at the near post before two stunning strikes put Posh right back in contention. Peter Gain sent in a precise shot from 25 yards before Dean Holden drove home a real sizzler from 30 yards out.

Suddenly it was panic stations in the Hartlepool defence and Holden fired wide and Danny Crow had a shot blocked as the visitors held on desperately.

With six minutes left, however, Matty Robson struck on the break with a left footed cross shot and the points were sealed. That made it Peterborough 3 Hartlepool 5 if you've been struggling to keep up.

Tuesday, September 19
All Change At The Top

Swindon Town relinquished top spot at the weekend after suffering their second defeat in a week. Losing at Wrexham was not too disturbing but Dennis Wise will have been unhappy at being defeated on his own ground by Peterborough.

Peterborough looked ripe for the slaughter after some poor results and performances in recent weeks but Keith Alexander got the reaction he had asked for from his players at the County Ground and they matched their high flying hosts throughout.

Mark Tyler was mainly tested from set pieces as Swindon struggled to break down a dogged Posh defence. Paul Evans was trying his luck again from a variety of distances and angles but Tyler was alert to his danger.

At the other end the visitors looked more capable of creating clear chances although when they did take the lead on the stroke of half time it was something of a gift.

Petr Brezovan has been excellent in goal for Swindon so far this season but he made a real mess of gathering a regulation effort from Richard Butcher and after some scrambling Trevor Benjamin netted.

The second half saw Posh continuing to hold Swindon with reasonable ease although they almost gave away a gift of their own when a weak back pass allowed Christian Roberts a free run on goal. His effort struck the inside of the post, however, and Swindon would come no closer.

Top marks to the Posh defence and Ben Turner in particular. Making his debut Turner suffered a nasty head injury early on but showed the required grit, determination and stupidity needed in that position to carry on and give a fine performance with his head bandaged.

MK Dons got their challenge back on track with an eventful victory at Lincoln City.

Referees have been instructed to clamp down on shirt pulling at corners but after the referee here gave a really suspect penalty for that offence in the first few minutes it simply set the tone for an erratic performance from the official.

There was no clear cut evidence of malpractise when Mr Taylor pointed to the spot to award the Dons a 5th minute penalty which Izale McLeod converted to give them the lead.

The trouble with refs sticking their necks out in this manner is that many of them don't appear to have the bottle to stand by their decisions. There was more than a suspicion of Mr Taylor wanting to even things up during the rest of this match.

By the end of it he was perhaps not sure which side deserved the benefit of his next call.

Anyway, the game was still full of excitement and incident.

Aaron Wilbraham extended the Dons lead with a soaring header after good work down the right by Gareth Edds with Lincoln getting back into the game in first half stoppage time with an absolute cracker from Lee Frecklington, driving home from distance.

Lincoln were handed a penalty of their own in a frantic start to the second half but Jamie Forrester's low effort was weak and Adolfo Baines pounced to save.

Another towering header, this time from Clive Platt, put the vistors 3-1 ahead but then McLeod was shown a second yellow card to be dismissed in his first game back from suspension for a straight red offence. Naughty boy.

With Lee Beevers pulling a goal back almost immediately the Dons had half an hour to hold on to their now precarious advantage.

Despite fierce pressure and six minutes injury time they managed this to reaffirm their status as promotion contenders.

The individual performance of the day came from Stockport's Adam Le Fondre who scored four goals in his sides' 5-2 win over Wrexham.

Le Fondre also won the penalty from which Stockport took the lead, Mark Robinson converting.

His first came when Michael Jones could not tame a 30 yard back pass fired high and at pace and the striker nipped in to walk home a gift.

His second was a smart overhead kick from a header back across goal and he also struck twice late on as gaps where left at the back as Wrexham pushed forward trying to rescue something from the game.

Amid a partisan atmosphere and some comedy defending it seemed appropriate that there was a beach ball resting against the back of the Wrexham net and Le Fondre used it as a target when twice put clear by Tes Bramble.

Wrexham were given hope by Danny Williams who pulled the score back to 2-1 and 3-2 with quality goals of differing type.

First he slammed home a beauty from 35 yards before finishing adroitly from close range.

In the end Wrexham's defensive deficiencies proved too much to overcome and they have now conceded ten goals in their last two games. Disturbing after a solid start to the season.

Wycombe are the new leaders of the division after recording their sixth win on the bounce at Rochdale.

Rochdale looked to make use of their tall strikers and gave Wycombe a genuine test but the visitors always looked to have more about them.

The partnership of Tommy Mooney and Jermaine Easter up front caused all sorts of problems for the Dale defence and Easter will be wondering how he failed to add to his impressive early season tally.

Mooney showed him how it should be done after combining with Russell Martin. Taking all the time he wanted Mooney took aim and fired clinically into the top corner with the home defence all over the place.

Wycombe's one truly worrying moment came when goalkeeper Ricardo Baptista got himself in a tangle with Dale's Morike Sako outside his penalty area and was relieved to be shown only a yellow card.

Matt Bloomfield also had to clear one effort off the line in the second half as Rochdale pushed forward but the visitors always looked capable of killing the game on the break which they belatedly did in stoppage time when Kevin Betsy spoon fed Jonathon Dixon.

Elsewhere Accrington Stanley enjoyed another win and their victory over Boston pushes the Pilgrims into the relegation mire.

Gary Roberts scored again after shocking defending and after David Farrell had equalised Andy Todd was on hand in stoppage time to give Stanley the points.

Barnet threw away a two goal lead to lose at home to Notts County.

An Ian Hendon penalty and a Jason Puncheon tap in seemingly had them in control but County were level within seven minutes of Puncheon's goal.

Alan White rose to head home and Andy Parkinson netted with a sharp finish to turn the game on its' head.

After the break Jason Lee was sent through a square and static home defence to score comfortably. Neither of these sides seem able to quite make up their minds yet.

Lewis Haldane gave Bristol Rovers the lead with a fine goal at Darlington but the home side hit back in stoppage time to claim a point through Martin Smith.

Grimsby also left it late, scoring twice in injury time to win at Chester.

Gary Jones and Andy Taylor were the men on target although the villain of the piece was actually Chester's Ashley Westwood. He was in pole position to clear into the stands before the first goal but allowed the ball to run thinking his keeper would get there first.

This was a serious error of judgement, however, and Jones was able to score with ease as Westwood stopped. Just deal with it chief, there's only two minutes left.

Shrewsbury enjoyed their second 3-0 away win of the week, this time battering Hartlepool.

The home side contributed to their own downfall with Jon Daly lashing a great finish into his own net to send the Shrews on their way. Victory was confirmed late on by two headed goals from Stuart Drummond and Michael Symes.

Hereford inflicted another damaging defeat on Bury with Andrew Williams' late goal while Torquay have climbed into the play off places after their 1-0 win over Mansfield.

Jamie Ward was on target after a scramble and looks a likely signing having been taken from Aston Villa in the summer.

Walsall were comfortable winners over desperate Macclesfield with Hector Sam and Scott Dann on target in their regulation 2-0 success.

Friday, September 15
Wrexham Collapse Against Accy

Wrexham were undefeated before their visit to Accrington Stanley this week and had only conceded 4 goals in 6 games.

Now they have lost and have shipped 9 goals in 7 games. Do the math yourself, it was a 5-0 hiding.

There was little sign of the carnage to come in a quiet opening but Stanley had just started to get on top before they took the lead on 41 minutes.

Andrew Procter headed over from close range and then Paul Mullin was left with a tap in after Michael Ingham could only parry a shot from Gary Roberts.

In the second half Wrexham simply capitulated, conceding three further goals in the opening ten minutes.

Ian Craney saw his corner creep in through a crowd of players at the near post, Gary Roberts took advantage of a defence parting with Biblical, Red Sea proportions and Paul Cavanagh knocked in a free kick while Ingham was casually setting up his wall.

Roberts again had the freedom of the Wrexham half as he raced onto a forward punt and lobbed Ingham as the keeper made a futile dash from his area.

Everyone at Wrexham will be hoping this abject display was a one off, especially the 800 fans who travelled to witness the embarrassment.

Stanley seem to have now adjusted adequately to the demands of league football.

Another 5-0 drubbing was handed out by Walsall to Peterborough in a tempestuous affair at the Bescott.

Walsall were two up inside 17 minutes through Daniel Fox's 25 yarder and Michael Dobson's tap in. At that stage Posh had reason to feel aggrieved as they had had two goals disallowed and seen Clayton Ince make a decent save from Trevor Benjamin.

From here on in they did themselves no favours and seemed determined to be at loggerheads with the officials throughout.

Now you are not allowed to say such things in this day and age but it is perhaps not the best idea to have a referee of Asian descent and a female assistant officiating in the same game.

While those involved here are obviously qualified officials with every right to take charge of football games pairing them together for the same game is likely to encourage a feeling of distrust and animosity among players and fans.

This is not the fault of the officials but it is likely to make their jobs more difficult.

Anyway, Walsall soon increased their lead with Dobson on hand for another simple finish after the ball was cut back from the byeline.

Peterborough, with paranoia perhaps setting in, claimed forlornly for a foul in the build up.

Walsall would not add to their score until 15 minutes from time which was a major surprise as they laid seige to the Peterborough goal for long spells, particularly in the lead up to half time.

Walsall were reduced to ten men just past the hour when Anthony Gerrard was given a straight red after kicking Benjamin in the face. This looked a complete accident, however, and the dismissal unnecessary.

This did not stop the Saddlers coasting further ahead. Martin Butler struck twice, the first with a splendid diving header after being set up by the excellent Mark Wright, the second after being set up by the entire Posh defence.

Peterborough ended in complete disarray with Paul Carden and Guy Branston both receiving their marching orders in the last five minutes.

Posh manager Keith Alexander must have been fuming but he refrained from aiming too much abuse at the referee, perhaps as he himself had been sent to the stands by Mr Singh in the past.

The big game of the week saw Swindon sneak a 2-1 victory over MK Dons.

This game was a powder keg waiting to explode and it was Christian Roberts who lit the blue touch paper.

Roberts had missed the bast chance of the early stages before piling into a late challenge right in front of the dug outs.

Dennis Wise and Martin Allen were probably waiting for an excuse to lock horns and a mass confrontation ensued. This was eventually sorted with Roberts escaping with a yellow card.

Plenty more yellows followed including one for Paul Ince; surprise, surprise.

The Dons took the lead when Jon Paul McGovern was played into space on the edge of the box and fired home in clinical fashion.

It was Swindon's wingers who then came to the fore, however, and Adolfo Baines needed to make decent saves from both Curtis Weston and Andy Caton.

The game turned on half time when the referee was persuaded by his assistant that Ince had been fouled in the box. Jack Smith stroked home the penalty to give the home side a huge boost.

Early in the second half the ref made his own mind up that Caton had been fouled and, with Smith off injured, Paul Evans stepped up to score from the spot. Baines will be disappointed not to have kept this one out, however.

Lee Peacock headed over with a great chance to clinch the points and almost lived to regret the miss when Ben Chorley smacked a late volley against the bar.

Swindon held on for three vital points in front of a crowd of 8,304.

Wycombe's great form continued with a 2-1 win at Hereford, both goals coming from the in form Jermaine Easter.

Easter's pace was crucial for both goals. First he surprised a casual Mkandawire to poke home when there seemed no danger and then he reacted quickest in a crowded area to fire home off the underside of the bar.

After looking a dodgy signing last season Easter looks an inspired purchase at the moment.

In between his goals Andrew Williams replied for Hereford with a classy effort of his own.

Lincoln are also going well although they made hard work of seeing off rock bottom Macclesfield.

Jamie Forrester was instrumental in the goals scored by Scott Kerr and Lee Beevers but a reply from Robert Scott right on half time set up a nervy second half in which the Silkmen pressed hard for an equaliser.

Barnet and Boston served up a six goal thriller for the sparse Underhill crowd with the visitors being pegged back three times.

Having started the better Boston took the lead in bizarre fashion when David Galbraith's free kick from the touchline sailed in at the near post.

Magno Vieira equalised with a tap in and then scored another sitter after Tim Ryan had put Boston back in front from the penalty spot.

Ryan put Boston ahead again on 84 minutes again from the penalty spot but Barnet were rescued at the death by Giulian Grazioli who buried his chance at the far post when a centre was flicked on in his direction.

Boston will feel hard done by but a draw was certainly fair enough after a cracking contest in which Barnet's Jason Puncheon was outstanding.

The veteran striker Andy Cooke enjoyed a memorable night at Stockport as his hat trick gave Shrewsbury a 3-0 win.

Cooke's first came on the stroke of half time, a powerful near post header from a Ben Davies centre. After the interval he struck twice more in dramatic fashion with a dipping volley and a low drive off the post.

Darlington remain unconvincing but snuck past Bury with a Barry Conlon penalty while Hartlepool are showing signs of improvement and saw off Mansfield 2-0 with a Joel Porter double.

Struggling Rochdale scored their first win of the season, Morike Sako's goal being enough to beat Grimsby. Isiah Rankin had the chances to level but was unlucky to see one effort strike the bar before wasting a one on one with woeful control.

The games between Chester and Notts County and Torquay and Bristol Rovers both finished goalless.

Sunday, September 10
Wrexham End Swindon's Winning Run

Swindon's visit to Wrexham was always going to be a serious test of their winning start under Dennis Wise. In the first half, however, the league leaders looked in the mood to confirm their promotion credentials.

With new signing Paul Ince on the bench the visitors dominated proceedings, controlling midfield with impressive passing movements.

It took a remarkable free kick from Paul Evans to break the deadlock, however. Evans has made a habit of scoring in spectacular fashion during his career but evidently no-one had warned Wrexham keeper Mike Ingham who was caught flat footed by Evans' 40 yard drive.

Swindon continued to press and Christian Roberts wasted one fine chance before being denied by a highly suspicious offside flag.

Wrexham came out determined to put up a fight to keep their own unbeaten record intact and were hugely improved in the midfield areas where Mark Jones, Danny Williams and Darren Ferguson began to dictate.

Jones saw an effort scrambled off the line and Petr Brezovan made an excellent save to deny Chris Llewellyn before spoiling his good work by upending the striker to concede a penalty.

Ryan Valentine converted and Jones then netted the winner with a deflected drive.

Ince came on and had a chance to grab a point for his side but was off target. Goalscoring never was his strong point mind you.

A super result for Wrexham but this should prove only a blip for Swindon.

Lincoln City move into 2nd after their fine win at Shrewsbury. Lee Frecklington scored the only goal of the game with a precise low drive although the Imps were grateful to see Ben Davies's penalty rebound from the bar.

Wycombe continued their good run despite losing Anthony Grant to an early red card.

Grant is on loan from Chelsea and undoubtedly has potential but this was his second sending off of the season and his temperament will need to improve.

He was booked along with Chester's David Artell after a reckless collision and then picked up a second yellow for needlessly booting the ball away after the whistle had gone.

Within two minutes of his dismissal, however, Wycombe had the lead through Kevin Betsy's powerful header.

Chester looked pretty clueless in their attempts to break down the ten men and Wycombe continued to look the more likely scorers with Betsy remaining a source of danger.

MK Dons gave their poorest display of the season and were fortunate to take a point from their goalless draw with Hartlepool.

The visitors had the better chances throughout but missed again from the penalty spot. James Brown became the fourth player to miss from the spot for Hartlepool this season in what is becoming something of a plague.

Anthony Sweeney also managed to scoop over the top from inside the six yard box in the second half while Clive Platt came closest for the Dons, hitting the bar late on although defeat would have been too cruel on Hartlepool.

Grimsby will hope that their season takes off after coming from behind to beat Walsall.

Martin Butler had the freedom of the six yard box to tap the visitors in front but Paul Bolland equalised before half time and the substitute Peter Bore won it with a looping header.

Both these goals were eminently preventable with the Walsall defence spurning chances to clear and the Saddlers look as though they might struggle to keep up with the early pacesetters.

Notts County roared into a three goal half time lead against Accrington Stanley.

The Magpies were totally dominant but only emphasised their superiority by taking advantage of the visitors' frailty at set pieces.

Mike Edwards was left unmarked to head home Dan Martin's free kick and then Martin saw his corner squirm straight into goal at the near post.

Martin grabbed his second with a crisp low free kick which Ian Dunbavin clearly anticipated would be directed at the other corner of his goal. Wrong!

County were happy to go through the motions after the break and were never in serious danger even though Stanley suddenly pulled two goals back in stoppage time.

Gary Roberts slammed home a penalty and Paul Mullin slotted home from close range but there was no time to complete a full comeback.

Torquay took the points at Bury thanks to Mickey Evans's first goal for the club. Evans steered his header home skillfully from Jamie Ward's pinpoint centre.

Bury rarely threatened although Tom Youngs did send a header against the bar.

Peterborough have faltered after a promising beginning and were well beaten at home by Darlington who were faster and more creative by far.

The Quakers were three up inside 25 minutes with Julian Joachim causing particular problems.

They took the lead after just two minutes with Barry Conlon scoring from the spot after a foul on Gaetano Giallanza.

Joachim added the second with a fine finish at the end of a pacy 40 yard surge through the heart of the Posh defence. Then he added a stylish third after combining neatly with Giallanza to pick his way through the defence.

Giallanza spoiled the win by getting himself involved in a skirmish with Adam Newton for which he was sent off.

Danny Crow was able to reduce the arrears with ten minutes remaining after being teed up by a strange attempted clearance by a Darlo defender but there was never the suggestion of an unlikely comeback.

Mansfield were also out of the traps far too quickly for Hereford.

Their quick and incisive football had already threatened on several occasions before they took the lead in bizarre fashion on 19 minutes.

There was confusion after a deflected shot had come back off the crossbar but this hardly excused Tamika Mkandawire heading into his own net. I don't think Hereford have been refusing to let him leave recently.

Richie Barker bundled in the second at the near post before half time and Danny Reet extended the lead shortly after the break with a close range header.

The Hereford sub Alan Connell reduced the arrears but Mansfield were quick to respond, Barker notching again from the penalty spot for a 4-1 win that was every bit as emphatic as the scoreline suggests.

Barnet came out on top in a strange game at Macclesfield.

Virtually nothing happened at all in the first half but the game went goal crazy after the interval.

Matt McNeil started the ball rolling when he charged down an attempted clearance from Ian Hendon and saw the ball lob into the net.

Barnet hit back with some help from Macc's goalie Jonathan Brain. Brain rashly conceded a penalty from which Hendon equalised before flapping at a gentle effort from Nick Bailey and allowing Barry Cogan to pounce.

Matthew Tipton drew Macc level from close range and the home side began to look the more likely winners.

They appear to have serious problems at the back, however, and these were again exposed as Barnet broke forward to snatch victory.

Bailey was left completely free from a corner and had no hesitation in accepting the gift by heading home from close range.

Bristol Rovers and Rochdale played out a dire goalless draw with Rickie Lambert, recently transferred between the sides, looking on from the stand.

Rovers had the chance to win it when a bad tackle by James Sharp ended Lewis Haldane's involvement and also conceded a penalty.

Richard Walker's weak drive down the middle was kicked to safety by Matthew Gilks, however.

The closest Dale came was a header against the bar from on loan Keith Barker but in truth 0-0 was the most appropriate result.

Finally Boston got the better of Stockport in a game which could well prove important come the end of the season.

Stockport will consider themselves somewhat unfortunate, however, after a lively enough display in which Glenn Murray and Adam Le Fondre caused plenty of problems for the home defence.

The Hatters spoiled their early dominance by conceding a penalty from which Tim Ryan opened the scoring. Jason Taylor brought the scores level soon afterwards with a deflected shot but Anthony Elding scored what proved to be the winner on 39 minutes with a sharp drive into the top corner.

The second half was far more subdued as Boston protected what they had with relative ease.

Tuesday, September 5
Carnage At The Hockey Stadium

It was a strange sort of week in League Two with the fixtures sprawled out over three days and it got no stranger than the MK Dons fixture against Notts County at the Hockey Stadium Thingy.

The referee, Danny McDermid, might have known he was in for a funny old afternoon when he awarded County a penalty early on only to be alerted to the fact that the linesman had already flagged for offside.

There was scarcely a dull moment from then on.

County had started brightly with Dan Martin particularly impressive. Martin twice forced good saves out of Adolfo Baines as well as seeing an inswinging corner graze the crossbar.

The game was turned on its head just after the half hour, however, when the visitors were reduced to ten after the sending off of Matt Somner for a second yellow.

The Dons took the lead on the stroke of half time. Kevin Pilkington grabbed an errant back pass that was sailing over his head and was perhaps lucky to stay on for what could have been deemed a professional foul.

No matter, Lloyd Dyer slammed home the free kick when it was touched sideways to give his side the lead.

Shortly after half time Dyer made it two with a deflected drive and on the hour County were reduced to nine with the dismissal of Alan White.

Jon Paul McGovern then put Scott Taylor through for the third and a drubbling looked likely.

Amazingly County managed to fight back and goals from Jason Lee and Martin, whose free kick went straight through Baines, set up an unlikely finish but the Dons held on.

Swindon's progress remains serene.

Two close range goals from set pieces by Lee Peacock gave them the points at Chester.

The home side did not threaten often, even after the sending off of Jered Ifill, and when they did Petr Brezovan was again an imposing figure in the Swindon goal.

Wycombe will be happy with their progress and edged out Mansfield in an entertaining clash through another Jermaine Easter goal.

Easter showed just how sharp he is at the moment with a close range finish but the visitors were unlucky to leave empty handed after playing their part in a good match.

Both Simon Brown and Michael Boulding saw efforts strike wood while Jamie Young was called into action on several occasions in the Wycombe goal.

Lincoln defeated Accrington Stanley 3-1 with two Mark Stallard goals while Stanley were another team to finish with nine men after the dismissals of Michael Welch and Peter Cavanagh.

Star of the show was Jamie Forrester who was unlucky not to get on the scoresheet himself while assisting in all three goals.

Hartlepool managed their first win of the season but were hardly convincing against Boston United.

Paul Tait had seen a header strike the underside of the bar for Boston before Antony Sweeney fired home a loose ball for Hartlepool.

The home side were reduced to ten men after John Brackstone saw red for an outrageous foul but they went further ahead when Jon Daly took advantage of a nice through ball from Willie Boland.

Dany N'Guessan pulled one back for Boston who were then also reduced to ten after the late, soft, dismissal of Paul Ellender.

Darlington could only manage a 1-1 draw at home to Torquay although they did have to come from behind after Lee Thorpe converted a generous penalty.

Kalu N'Goma equalised on the stroke of half time after Barry Conlon's knock down and both keepers were called upon to keep the scores level after the break.

No doubt who will be happier with their point, however.

Two sides who are struggling badly, Grimsby and Macclesfield, also drew 1-1 at Blundell Park.

Ciaran Toner put the home side ahead from the penalty spot but Andrew Teague levelled with an unchallenged header from Carl Regan's fine centre.

Walsall dropped points at Barnet but will not be dismayed with a point after falling behind to Dean Sinclair's close range volley.

Dean Keates equalised with a deflected drive in the second half and although the game became pleasantly open after this there were no further goals.

Rochdale dominated their game with Hereford but ended up only drawing.

It looked like the game would end goalless until the referee gave strange penalties at either end within a minute of each other in stoppage time.

Rob Purdie scored the first to give Hereford the lead but Gary Jones kept his nerve to give Dale a point which was the least they deserved.

Whether Rochdale retain their league status this season is another matter, however.

They sold Grant Holt to Nottingham Forest last season and last week took £200,000 from Bristol Rovers in exchange for Rickie Lambert.

I understand that clubs like Dale have to sell to survive but surely they can't carry on in the league indefinitely when every half decent player they get hold of is sold.

Lambert got off to a losing start with his new club as Rovers went down 2-1 at Stockport.

Glenn Murray had struck twice with calm finishes before Lambert was introduced as a sub and Rovers certainly improved after his arrival.

They could only pull one goal back, however, when Richard Walker slotted home a deflected shot from Lambert and the Pirates are another side who will be deeply disappointed with the start they have made.

Bury have improved of late and were worthy winners at Peterborough after riding some first half pressure.

The Shakers generally looked the more likely winners after the break although both sides hit the woodwork.

The game was decided by an injury time penalty calmly converted by Andy Bishop who had been brought down for the spot kick.

A bad day at the office for Peterborough was compounded by a nasty looking injury to Simon Yeo.

Monday, August 28
Swindon On A Roll Under Wise

Swindon Town have yet to do anything out of the ordinary under Dennis Wise but they still keep on winning. There 2-0 victory over Stockport County made it five wins out of five in the league.

Wise has got them well organised and hard to break down. Not a bad starting point. In attack they are doing just enough. I would expect them to improve over the coming months which is a worrying thought for those hoping to challenge at the top of the table.

Aaron Brown gave them the lead with a free kick which was basically ignored by James Spencer in the Stockport goal and Christian Roberts made certain of the points with a low drive on 63 minutes.

Most of the limited excitement was provided by Ricky Shakes who was a consistent threat down the right and almost snapped the post in half with a stunning effort from near the touchline.

Walsall also seem to have found the ability to win when not playing especially well.

The nearest they had come to scoring against Darlington had been a bizarre pot shot towards his own goal by Darren Holloway which Sam Russell did superbly to keep out before a poachers' headed goal from Martin Butler put them ahead on the stroke of half time.

Darlo had chances in the second half to get something from the game but failed to cash in, Gaettano Giallanza being the main culprit.

MK Dons also eked out a narrow victory on their visit to Boston.

Dean Lewington was excellent with a progressive display from left back and he had already created a fine chance for Aaron Wilbraham before picking out Clive Platt to head the only goal of the game.

The Dons success was marred by the sending off of Izale McLeod for a stupid stamp on Paul Ellender. Good refereeing on this occasion by Mr. Russell who obviously anticipated McLeod's reaction to an awkward tangle of legs and kept an eye on the incident as the ball moved away.

Boston rarely looked like taking advantage of this setback, however, although Bob Davidson did send a header wide in the last minute.

Notts County and Peterborough fought out a bruising goalless draw at Meadow Lane.

The respective managers of these two sides, Steve Thompson and Keith Alexander had accused each other of being long ball men in the build up and neither did anything to make the other think again.

The most surprising statistic of the afternoon was that only two yellow cards were dished out in total. Had this game been in the Premier League there would probably have been a handful of reds.

The most incident packed game of the weekend came at Mansfield where Lincoln City enjoyed a 4-2 win.

Jamie Forrester stole the spotlight by firing all four as the visitors stormed clear inside 50 minutes.

They had another hero at the other end, however, in goalkeeper Alan Marriott who was kept busy throughout and enjoyed an inspired afternoon.

It had been almost all Mansfield until the quarter hour mark when Lincoln went ahead through Forrester's penalty. Alex Baptiste is a man with a growing reputation but he began an afternoon to forget with a terribly mistimed tackle on Lee Frecklington to concede the spot kick.

Forrester's second was his best, checking back to the edge of the area to create space before driving a curling effort into the far corner.

Baptiste's sliced clearance was the prelude for the third goal, the ball falling to Ryan Amoo whose centre picked out Forrester at the far post. Carl Muggleton kept out his first effort superbly but was helpless as the rebound fell kindly for the striker.

Marriott saved his best till the end of the first half when he twice brilliantly denied Simon Brown before plunging to keep out Richie Barker's penalty.

Forrester got his fourth shortly after half time with another penalty but to their credit Mansfield kept plugging away at the Lincoln goal.

Danny Reet finally found a way past Marriott with a low drive on 66 minutes and then Barker slammed home yet another penalty in the very last minute.

This must be some kind of record, four penalties in the same game and all correctly awarded.

Wycombe were easily too good for Macclesfield at Moss Rose, goals from Jermaine Easter and Tommy Mooney the least their dominance deserved.

Easter was particularly impressive, full of pace and adventure and his opening goal was a fine finish after a typical burst through the defence. He has taken some time to settle since moving from Stockport but he is beginning to look a good signing.

Macclesfield's on loan keeper Jonathan Brain was again a busy man and his shot stopping skills are obviously going to be thoroughly tested during his time in Cheshire.

Barnet made it a productive week in Wales by following up their cup win at Cardiff with a good point at Wrexham.

Mark Jones scored another 25 yarder for his video collection and later brought out a good save from Lee Harrison from a similar distance as the home side dominated the first half.

Barnet came out in much more determined fashion after half time though and fully deserved the equaliser Tresor Kandol headed in just past the hour. Indeed they were the more likely winners from then on and saw Jason Norville's shot cleared off the line by Matt Crowell in the last minute.

Hereford took advantage of Hartlepool's poor run to record a 3-1 victory.

Nothing is going right for Hartlepool this season and they trailed at half time despite generally dominating. After wasting several chances they saw Hereford strike in clinical style on one of their rare ventures forward.

Tim Sills started the move and raced into the box to head home when the centre duly came over.

Then the visitors really shot themselves in the foot just after half time. Stuart Fleetwood looked to have no chance of getting to a through ball before the keeper but Michael Nelson decided to barge him out of the way in any case to concede an unnecessary penalty which Rob Purdie tucked away.

James Brown then brought Hartlepool back into things with a shot on the turn but Hereford made certain of victory when Andy Williams scored from close range after an exciting break down the wing by Simon Travis.

Bristol Rovers have had an uneasy start to the season and will be relieved to have defeated Shrewsbury by the only goal. Lewis Haldane showed good pace and then good composure in scoring the only goal.

Late goals seem to be mandatory in Torquay's games this season and there was another on saturday as Chester struck to claim a draw.

Torquay looked uncomfortable for much of this game despite twice leading. This was never more evident than when Nathan Abbey came out of goal to collect a punt forward only to see Stevland Angus head it back towards the unguarded goal. Fortunately the header had been cushioned and Abbey got back to make a scrambling save.

Jamie Ward opened the scoring on the stroke of half time with a resounding finish from Mickey Evans' flick on.

Drewe Broughton levelled things only for Ward to again profit from the work of his partner.

Then came the helter skelter finale. Roberto Martinez fired home through a mass of bodies to bring Chester level again and the visitors could even have won it in stoppage time.

If Torquay can't overcome this nervous tendancy their season will be seriously undermined.

Accrington Stanley had the better of their 1-1 draw with Rochdale. Dale took the lead through Chris Dagnall but were thankful for an excellent display from Matthew Gilks for keeping them in the fixture.

Gilks was only beaten by a Gary Roberts penalty although the best save of all came from his defender Alan Goodall who somehow managed to head a Michael Welch bullet over the bar with Gilks beaten.

Bury will feel a lot better about things after getting their first victory, a comprehensive 3-0 drubbing of sorry Grimsby.

Tom Youngs was left unmarked twice to head easy goals and Nicky Adams smacked home a real screamer on the stroke of half time to confirm victory.

After a shocking start the cup victory over Sunderland and this league success, coupled with the arrival again on loan of Kasper Schmeichel gives Gigg Lane a renewed sense of optimism.

Tuesday, August 22
Keith Alexander Looking Beyond Play offs

After leading Lincoln City into the play offs in each of the last four seasons Keith Alexander looks to be working his magic again at London Road with Peterborough.

Indeed his excellent start will have him hoping he can secure promotion without needing to endure the trauma of another play off campaign.

Macclesfield certainly did not provide the stiffest opposition Posh will face this season but the emphatic manner in which they were outplayed was certainly impressive.

Although the game was goalless at the break this was only down to an inspired display of goalkeeping from the on loan Jonathan Brain.

Brain produced outstanding saves to deny Simon Yeo and Trevor Benjamin before saving well with his feet from Yeo just before the break.

Peterborough were not to be denied after half time, however. Within two minutes Benjamin had launched himself at Jamie Day's inviting left wing centre to give Brain no chance and another two minutes was all it needed before he was mopping up after another instinctive save from Brain had kept out a fierce drive.

Macclesfield's sorry showing then took a turn for the worse as Kevin McIntyre was sent off for a reckless challenge and then an Andy Teague own goal completed their misery.

Teague deflected a Simon Yeo centre goalwards, Brain blocked the ball with his feet only to see Teague deflect the ball back past him with his shins.

Although Danny Swailes did manage to pull a goal back with a header as he fell backwards in stoppage time this was a day to forget for the Silkmen. Posh, however, look good enough to stay in the top six.

Swindon still have a perfect record under Denis Wise after winning 2-1 at Darlington.

Petr Brezovan had to be alert again early on to keep Darlo at bay but Swindon then struck from their first venture forward. Paul Evans was the man on target from a 25 yard free kick.

Christian Roberts drilled in the second from a fine Lee Peacock knock down to put the vistors in control.

Darlington were given a route back into the game when Giallanza tapped in a deep cross on the stroke of half time but they could not complete the comeback after the break despite the introduction of a lively Julian Joachim for his debut.

Joachim finally completed his £100,000 move from Boston last week to leave the Pilgrims boss Steve Evans downbeat.

His mood will scarcely have been lifted by the 5-0 trouncing his side then took at Shrewsbury.

Boston started well enough but fell apart after going behind to a Ben Davies penalty on 27 minutes. Derek Asamoah made it two with a side foot finish from Dave Edwards' cut back to give the Shrews a secure half time advantage.

Asamoah increased the lead midway through the second half after a dreadful mix up between defender and keeper gifted him possession 25 yards out. Despite turning sharply and scoring Asamoah was remarkably hard faced in not squaring to a colleague completely open in front of an open goal to his left.

The scoring was completed by Michael Symes and Dave Edwards who slotted home a sweet goal at the end of a cracking one touch move.

Walsall lost their 100% record but will be happy enough with taking a point from their visit to Lincoln after notching a last minute equaliser.

Scott Kerr opened the scoring with a 30 yard shot which had everyone wondering if Clayton Ince was still on the team bus. Then Lee Frecklington doubled the Imps advantage with a fine diving header after a magnificent cross by Jamie Forrester.

Walsall looked to be out of it until Chris Taylor produced a lovely piece of skill, flicking the ball over an opponents head to send in a low shot from 20 yards. Alan Marriott should have thrown his cap on the effort but allowed it under his body and the Saddlers were back in it.

At the death Carlos Fangueiro rescued a point with a sharp close range finish which Marriott got fingertips to but could not keep out.

MK Dons should be there or thereabouts at the end of the season and they had little trouble in overcoming Bristol Rovers whose unhappy start to the season continues.

Lloyd Dyer opened the scoring with a splendid curving free kick in off the bar and Clive Platt wrapped up the points with a two yard header just past the hour.

Wrexham came out on top in a frenetic derby fixture with Chester.

The tone was really set for a bad tempered afternoon on 25 minutes when Chester's debutant Ricky Ravenshill was shown a straight red card for an assault on Michael Ingham as the Wrexham keeper tried to clear outside his box.

Goals either side of half time by Neil Roberts, a penalty, and Mark Jones looked to have settled this local argument but Steve Evans was dismissed with fifteen minutes to go to even the sides up and Chester got back into the game with a long range belter from Jamie Hand.

Wrexham held firm, however, for an important victory.

Rochdale suffered their fourth successive 1-0 defeat, this time going down to Alan White's close range effort at home to Notts County.

Dale are in big trouble early on alongside their neighbours Bury who succumbed to a Jermaine Easter hat trick at Wycombe. Easter has yet to settle into any consistent form at the Causeway but he has plenty of potential to work on.

He was too quick and strong for the Bury defence and took all three of his unanswered goals with aplomb.

Hartlepool finally managed to score their first goal of the season and Lee Bullock's late three yard sliding finish was desperately needed as Torquay looked like holding onto Martin Phillips' early tap in.

Grimsby and Mansfield also shared the points. Matt Hamshaw, in excellent early season form, produced a good spin and reverse drive to give Mansfield the lead only for Peter Bore to crash in a header off the underside of the bar after good work down the left by Tom Newey and Peter Beagrie.

This had to be a dodgy goal, however, as the ball flew to safety after bouncing in the vicinity of the goalline.

The Stags had the chance to spare themselves their sense of grievance but Stephen Dawson shot the wrong side of the post when through in the last minute.

Barnet got their first points after drubbing an abject Hereford.

Graziloi opened the scoring after being slipped in by a lovely ball although there was not a defender in sight. Nick Bailey got the second thanks to a huge deflection and Jason Puncheon curled in a measured 25 yarder at the end after being given all the time in the world to pick his spot.

The Friday night game between Stockport and Accrington Stanley brought a goal apiece and what a couple of crackers they were.

Glen Murray put County ahead with a beautifully controlled half volley as he lunged at the ball and took it just on the bounce on the edge of the area.

Then with time running out Michael Welch ran to meet a clearance just over the halfway line, chested the ball forward and simply caned a 40 yarder into the top corner. Nice.

Sunday, August 13
Swindon Doing Just Enough

The arrival of Dennis Wise and Gustavo Poyet at Swindon obviously raised expectations at the club considerably ahead of this campaign and the clubs' perfect start is hardly a surprise.

Wise will not be fooled into thinking that there is nothing left to do than simply turn up, however. None of the teams' victories so far have been entirely convincing. Up to now his side is just doing enough.

Wise is not the type of character to let things drift along and while he will be delighted to have maximum points he will be looking for a big improvement in performances during the weeks and months ahead.

Yasterday's victory over Rochdale should have been achieved with far more comfort than the 1-0 scoreline allowed.

The goal was a gift as well as Rochdale defender Alan Goodall sent a strong header flying past his own goalkeeper under no pressure at the far post just before half time.

Goodall then handed Swindon another opportunity after the break by bringing down Ricky Shakes for a penalty. Matt Gilks was able to comfortably block Christian Roberts' weak penalty and would later keep out another spot kick from Paul Evans with his legs after a handball decision against Nathan Stanton.

Despite their keepers' heroics Dale seldom threatened to take advantage by notching an equaliser.

Walsall have also won their first three games after relegation last time and eased past Hartlepool who have made a worrying start to life back in the basement.

Dean Keates rifled home two long range efforts. Dimi Konstantopoulos should have done better with the first after getting a hand to it but was helpless with the second.

In between these strikes Hartlepool, still without a goal, spurned their third penalty of the season when Clayton Ince made a fine save from Gavin Strachan's spot kick.

No need to panic just yet for Hartlepool but they will be eager to get their season going sooner rather than later.

Two sides who will fancy a promotion push this season, Wrexham and Peterborough, ground out a goalless draw at the Racecourse and will both be content with how they have started.

Chris Llewellyn had the best chance of this tight encounter but clipped the top of the bar when through on the keeper. He never looked convincing going through to be honest.

Having benefitted from late goals to win their first two games Torquay were on the receiving end as Lincoln scored twice in stoppage time to win at Plainmoor.

A rasping drive by Darren Garner had put Torquay ahead and with Nathan Abbey saving a Paul Mayo penalty it looked as though their perfect start was to be maintained.

An injury to the referee near the end contributed to six minutes of injury time, however, and Lincoln made their long trip home a happy one but forcing home two close range headers through Paul Morgan and Martin Gritton.

Darlington will be more unhappy than ever that Boston turned down their bid for Julian Joachim this week after the striker destroyed them with a vintage display in his sides' 4-1 win.

Joachim created the opening goal for Paul Tait although the responsibility lay mainly with Darlo keeper Sam Russell. Russell came way out of his goal for a ball he could never get to and although he then laid glove on Joachim's centre the ball fell perfectly for Tait to stroke home.

Darlo drew level on the half hour when Barry Conlon was the only player to react to Martin Smith's awful shot and flicked home from close range.

At that stage the scoreline was about right after a lively opening but the inability of the Darlington defence to get to grips with Joachim proved the difference.

Joachim's pace was a constant menace and it won his side a penalty with just over 20 minutes remaining after his menacing surge was crudely ended from behind.

Tim Ryan put away the penalty although Russell will have been disappointed after going the right way in his attempt to save.

Boston wrapped things up with two further goals, both scored by Joachim in comprehensive fashion. Loose balls fell kindly for him on both occasions and he belted home two absolute snorters to get Boston's campaign up and running in spectacular style.

Other sides gratefully collecting their first points were Bristol Rovers and Accrington Stanley.

Rovers edged out Grimsby with a single goal by Andy Sandell who finished from close range after neat build up play down the right flank.

Accrington saw off Barnet 2-1 to record their first victory back in the league.

The Bees started brightly but quickly faded and Accy's confidence became increasingly obvious as their control increased.

Michael Welch headed a clear chance wide, Paul Mullin headed straight at Lee Harrison with another opportunity and Gary Roberts saw his sliding effort come back off the post after the impressive Ian Craney had fired across goal.

The goal Stanley so badly needed came on 35 minutes after Paul Warhurst misjudged a long punt upfield and inadvertantly flicked on into the path of Romuald Boco. Boco had no hesitation in lobbing an awkward ball over the stranded Harrison.

Tresor Kandol had a glorious chance to wipe out the lead but skewed wide from three yards out from Nick Bailey's cross. Bailey was the Bees chief source of danger throughout.

Boco doubled Stanley's advantage, stroking home after Craney's shot was parried into the box by Harrison and although Simon King's late goal made it an anxious last few minutes Stanley had done enough.

After being disappointed with the 2,600 crowd for their game in midweek the clubs' officials were downright angry that there were 1,000 less for this one.

Hereford look a better prospect for continued league existence and ended Chester's good start with little fuss. Stuart Fleetwood and Richard Rose scored in three second half minutes with neat finishes to give the side their second victory of the campaign.

Shrewsbury claimed victory the hard way after going behind to John Fitzgerald's header at Bury and then failing from the penalty spot.

Alan Fettis saved from Sagi Burton after a foul on Ben Davies. Kelvin Langmead was on hand to score at the far post to level things in the second half, however, and then davies made no mistake from the spot to claim the winner after being upended again.

MK Dons battled to a tight victory at Macclesfield. Clive Platt bobbled home the opener at the near post but Kevin McIntyre levelled from the penalty spot after a spot of pushing from a corner.

Everyone seemed a bit bemused by this decision and the referee might have been affected himself as his display became more erratic thereafter.

The winner came in strange fashion. A through ball was heading towards Izale McLeod in the box but Danny Swailes' attempted interception simply sent the ball spearing into the bottom corner. McLeod could hardly have finished so clinically himself.

Notts County secured a 1-0 win over Wycombe thanks to Junior Mendes. Mendes showed good pace and composure to profit from David Pipe's fine through ball and Wycombe's job was made more difficult when the highly rated Chelsea loanee Anthony Grant was sent off for his second bookable foul before half time.

Stockport earned a welcome point at Mansfield. Keith Briggs gave them the lead in a well contested first half heading home from Glenn Murray's cross.

After the break the Stags were dominant but could not find an equaliser until late on when County old boy Matt Hamshaw capped a fine performance with the equalising goal.

Hamshaw exchanged passes with Simon Brown as he drove into the box but then got slightly lucky as his shot trickled through two pairs of legs into the net.

Thursday, August 10
Posh Confirm Intentions

Peterborough will feel they have a squad capable of challenging for promotion this season and they certainly could not have made a better start. Two wins out of two from a couple of tricky looking fixtures represents a fine start and if the club can refrain from the off field shenanigans that disrupted last seasons' effort they should be in position to make a play off bid at least.

Last night they had to withstand heavy first half pressure at Boston and were indebted to a fine display of goalkeeping from Mark Tyler for being level at the break.

The woodwork also helped in keeping out Mark Greaves' header shortly before half time.

Peterborough looked ready to turn the tables as they came out for the second half in a positive mood but after a quickfire bombardment they were stopped in their tracks by Lloyd Opara's sending off for use of the elbow.

This dismissal actually saw the game become more cagey and chances were less frequent but evenly distributed.

The only goal came four minutes from time and owed much to a strong burst down the wing from Jude Stirling. His centre careered into the air off keeper Andy Marriott. As it dropped Simon Yeo had the sharpest reactions and managed to force the ball home.

Another good win for Posh while the Pilgrims remain pointless despite giving two pretty encouraging displays.

One source of cheer for the Boston faithful is the news that the club have rejected a "sizeable five figure" bid for Julian Joachim from Darlington.

That must have taken some deciding by the Boston board and, if Darlo do not come back with a higher bid, it has to be hoped that Joachim can repay that faith.

Wednesday, August 9
Back To Reality For Accy

There has been no dream start for Accrington Stanley on their return to the Football League, in fact their opening home game ended in more than just defeat on the pitch, it contained a loss of discipline and an angry outburst at the townsfolk from manager John Coleman. The sooner a point or two arrives the better.

Stanley started well enough against Darlington but could not find a way past Sam Russell who was alert in stopping Ian Craney and Gary Roberts.

Far more disappointing for the home side was the way they then gifted their visitors the goals which effectively ended the contest. Michael Cummins sidefooted home on the volley at the back post from a corner, completely unmarked despite his proximity to goal and Martin Smith gratefully accepted the gift when Michael Welch's attempted clearance rebounded off teammate Andy Procter to send him clear.

Accrington tried to come back at Darlo after the break but they seldom threatened and Clark Keltie remained the dominant force in midfield. Late on Keltie tussled with Procter in the midfield, perhaps taking a handle of his shirt but without doing anything apparently sinister and Procter lashed out to earn himself a red card.

This was not the end of Stanley's sense of grievance. Manager Coleman came out to slam the locals for not showing a greater interest in the clubs' return to the league. 2,667 turned out on a miserable night, not a great attendance but one which many other League Two clubs have to live with.

Coleman should be more concerned with trying to ensure that the club keep that fanbase and worry about getting more on further down the road. These things don't happen over night. I saw Cheltenham's manager was saying that he expected the club to get around 6,000 every home game now they've gone up but their first crowd in League One was only 3,500 and that was after winning at Swansea on the opening day. It takes time to change people's habits, just ask Wigan Athletic.

The victory leaves Darlington with maximum points and a variety of clubs join them with two wins out of two.

There is not much surprise that Walsall and Swindon have opened with successive victories.

Walsall eased past Stockport 2-0 with goals from Martin Butler and Ian Roper. Butler struck after a neat assist from Hector Sam and these two have looked a likely combination in the first two games. Butler can probably be relied on to continue producing the goods, Sam has rarely proved himself capable of consistency.

Swindon had to come from behind to finally beat Barnet at the County Ground deep into injury time. Nick Bailey shot Barnet ahead on 18 minutes following a scramble in the area.

Ricky Shakes scored a fine equaliser at the start of the second half, cutting inside from the right at pace to drill a sweet cross shot into the far corner, but that seemed to be that as the seconds ticked away. Then Royce Brownlie tried his luck from fully 30 yards and had a "Gerrard" moment as his shot went screaming into the top corner.

Hard on the Bees who also lost to an injury time winner on Saturday.

Less likely holders of perfect records are Chester and Torquay.

Chester were full of confidence on their trip to Bury and ran out deserved 3-1 victors. Although it took a deflection off Colin Woodthorpe to give them the lead it was appropriate that the original shot had been sent in by Roberto Martinez who had been pulling the strings in midfield from the off.

John Paul Pittman actually pulled the Shakers level on the stroke of half time with a goal out of the blue, exploding away from a couple of defenders to send a shot skidding past Alan Fettis.

Jonathan Walters gave the visitors the points with goals at either end of the second half. His first was something of a farce, a botched clearance followed by a botched shot then Walters water shooting along the sodden pitch to get to the loose ball first and sliding it into the empty net. The second was emphatically despatched into the roof of the net.

Torquay know just how vital points are after scrapping against relegation for all of last season and they have claimed both their victories right at the death.

It had appeared that both they and Rochdale did not want to score as an extremely open game remained goalless until three minutes from time. Lee Mansell had been as guilty as anyone in front of goal but when Lee Thorpe's ball in found a way into his path he finally kept his nerve to fire home the winner.

Wycombe enjoyed a good 2-1 win at Bristol Rovers although the home side were as abject as they had been in defeat at Peterborough on the opening day.

Kevin Betsy opened the scoring shortly after half time after superb work by Matt Bloomfield and Tommy Mooney executed a sweet chip from the angle for the second. Mooney did have the freedom of Bristol in which to work, however.

James Hunt lashed in a fine goal for Rovers but it was totally out of keeping with the performance in general and left them with exactly what they deserved from the game; nothing.

Rovers defender Chris Carruthers later described this Saturday's encounter with Grimsby as "a must win game". Nice to know things can be decided this early in the season.

Mansfield can also feel well pleased after beating MK Dons. The Dons have pace, power and height in their three man front line of McLeod, Platt and Wilbraham and they will cause problems whoever they play this season.

Wilbraham slotted home nicely from Platt's knock down to give the Dons the lead but cracking finishes from Richie Barker and Michael Boulding before half time swung the game the Stags way.

The result was never secure until the final whistle but the performance of Alex Baptiste in subduing the Dons attack showed exactly why he is so highly rated.

Wrexham enjoyed a comprehensive victory over Grimsby at the Racecourse. Darren Ferguson was in great form as the Mariners were given a first half chasing for the second time in four days.

Wrexham had already seen two efforts scrambled off the line before Ferguson sent over the corner that Steve Evans met solidly to head his side into a 16th minute lead. Then Ferguson crossed for Chris Llewellyn to steer a majestic header into the wall of the net from the edge of the box.

Grimsby introdued Peter Bore at half time but although this again produced a dramatic improvement two goal leads are not generally easy to overturn and Wrexham held firm when they came under pressure.

With just over 20 minutes remaining the issue was put beyond all doubt when Matty Done finished neatly after being fed by Llewellyn.

Elsewhere Lincoln had a good 2-1 win at Hereford thanks to a brace from Mark Stallard. His first was somewhat fortuitous coming with the aid of a deflection but his second was a picture book header from Jamie Forrester's raking centre.

Hereford's only response came from a Rob Purdie penalty.

Macclesfield and Hartlepool got off the mark courtesy of a goalless draw. Defences were always on top in this one although Macc's Michael McNeil had some promising moments.

Notts County and Shrewsbury both managed to score but still had to settle for a point apiece.

The Shrews were the ones feeling aggrieved, however. They had led through Ben Davies's close range goal and felt the equaliser from Mike Edwards had been the result of a foul on their goalkeeper Ryan Esson. It was hard to imagine the goal counting had the game taken place in Shrewsbury but there you go.

This has been a very promising start to the season in League Two with plenty of exciting games and some cracking goals. Hopefully some of the less fancied sides can remain among the promotion hopefuls as the season settles down.

Monday, August 7
Grimsby Fightback The Highlight

Teams beaten in the previous seasons' play off final are often suspected of suffering a hangover effect when they return to action. Fortunately for Grimsby they managed to shake theirs off just an hour into the new campaign.

At that stage the Mariners were two goals down and apparently heading for defeat at home to Boston. Mark Greaves had already seen a header strike the post and roll back along the goalline for the visitors before Francis Green shot them ahead just after the quarter hour mark. Green was released through a static defence and shot home confidently.

Shortly after the break Julian Joachim scored with equal certainty from a Paul Tait centre and the points looked secure.

The turning point came with Grimsby's introduction of Peter Bore in place of the transfer seeking Michael Reddy. Within a minute Peter Beagrie made ground down the wing and his centre reached Bore who reduced the arrears with his first touch in league football.

Isiah Rankin had been switched into a central position on Reddy's departure and he now begam to give the Boston defence all kinds of problems with his pace and strength. Rankin smashed home the equaliser and then rattled the bar with another ferocious effort.

The glory was to be Bore's, however, as he rose to head the winner from a Beagrie corner.

A day to remember for the Mariners' fans and one that will be hard to forget for the 600 visiting supporters in a crowd of 5,012.

Two teams who were unable to force their way into the play off picture last season met at London Road and Peterborough enjoyed a comprehensive win over Bristol Rovers.

The warning signs were there early for the Pirates as Steve Phillips was forced into a superb save to deny Danny Crow and Mark Arber headed narrowly wide.

The Rovers defence remained totally unable to quell the home attack, however, and the goals soon started to mount up. Jamie Day struck a sweet left footer for the opener after Lloyd Opara had demolished the left side of the visitors defence. Further goals from Richard Butcher and Simon Yeo had made it three by half time.

Rovers made a double substitution at the break and when Sammy Igoe quickly pulled a goal back it looked as though an unlikely fightback might be under way.

Mark Tyler had to produce a fine save from an Igoe free kick and Andy Sandell had a shot blocked on the line but then Opara was able to take advantage of more shoddy defending at the other end to put the game completely beyond doubt.

Swindon came out on top at Hartlepool as two of the relegated sides met. Lee Peacock, who had already gone close, scored the only goal of the game on 12 minutes with a free header.

The man chiefly responsible for earning Dennis Wise victory in his first match in charge was the goalkeeper Peter Brezovan.

The big Slovakian, on a season long loan from FC Brno, made a string of outstanding saves including two penalty stops.

The first of these had come as early as the 2nd minute. Brezovan parried Joel Porter's spot kick and reacted smartly to keep out the follow up effort as well.

After Swindon had scored he stayed busy throughout. His reaction save from Michael Nelson's close range volley just before half time was probably the pick and he topped off a magnificent display with a subbuteo save from Richie Humphrey's blasted penalty after half time.

To cap an incredibly frustrating day for Hartlepool Eifion Williams and Porter also saw efforts come back off the woodwork during the second half.

MK Dons grabed victory at home to Bury the hard way after having goalkeeper Adolfo Baines-Pilart sent off shortlt before half time. The keeper saw red for handling outside his area as he prevented Andy Bishop from reaching a through ball.

Izale McLeod and Bishop traded penalties in the second half before McLeod came up with a late winner, charging down an attempted clearance before rifling home in fine style.

There was also a dominant performance from the other relegated side, Walsall. The Saddlers were impressive in beating Rochdale at Spotland and were only denied before half time by excellent goalkeeping from Matthew Gilks.

Rickie Lambert almost shocked the vistors just after the break with a 30 yard free kick that whistled just past the upright but in their next attack Martin Butler finally found a way past Gilks. Mark Wright and Hector Sam worked a fine move and Butler produced a clinical finish when played in.

Rochdale's only threat remained Lambert who went close on a few further occasions but this was a one man crusade. Walsall were the better team by some distance.

There were contrasting fortunes for the two promoted sides. Accrington Stanley return to league action got off to a feeble start with a 2-0 defeat at Chester. Drewe Broughton opened the scoring and Gregg Blundell wrapped things up with a late penalty with barely a hint of a response from Stanley.

Hereford, meanwhile, grabbed three points on their visit to Stockport. Michael Rose struck the post early on for Stockport from a free kick but the visitors were value for their half time lead which came courtesy of Stuart Fleetwood's strong run and crisp low finish.

Centre half Tamika Mkandawire almost reached double figures last season in the Conference and he was eager to get off the mark throughout. He had come close in the first half but doubled his sides' advantage with another strong header just before the hour.

Stockport never gave up on this one but despite pounding the Hereford goal for the last half hour they were unable to find a way past the inspired Wayne Brown in goal.

The Hatters struggled all season long last time around against relegation and this start did little to suggest this season will be any different.

Two more sides who were in the dogfight last season clashed at Underhill and Torquay came away with victory after a last minute winner from Lee Thorpe.

Barnet, pushing for a winner themselves, were undone when Paul Warhurst intercepted a long ball out of defence but then sent a woeful attempted back pass that Thorpe raced onto to score the only goal of the game fully five minutes into stoppage time.

Darlington demolished Macclesfield 4-0 although the scoreline did not fully reflect the nature of the game. It did, however, reflect the nature of the two sides' finishing.

Marvin Robinson sent a low shot against the post as Macclesfiewld actually started the brighter but Gaetano Giallanza finished off a fine move to put Darlom ahead in their first attack of note.

Barry Conlon then marked his return to the club by scoring two routine chances to put the home side into the comfort zone by half time.

Robinson continued to spurn the Silkmen's best chances and managed to hit the post again and then fail to hit the target as the ball rebounded kindly to him.

Conlon made no such mistake when presented with another easy chance and wrapped up his hat trick and Darlo's 4-0 win.

Lincon City and Notts County shared the points after a 1-1 draw in front of the divisions' best crowd of the day at Sincil Bank.

Ryan Amoo was off target for Lincoln with a good early chance but the home side were soon in front anyway when a Jeff Hughes corner caused pandemonium in the six yard box and Adie Moses was on hand to lash home.

Lincoln continued to call the shots and Lee Beevers wasted a golden chance to increase the lead with a wild finish before half time.

The visitors improved dramatically after the break and looked the more likely winners after a free kick from Ian Ross was deflected into his own net by Hughes.

This lively encounter was watched by a crowd of 6,046, an attendance swelled by the presence of 1,860 visiting supporters.

Shrewsbury and Mansfield also shared the spoils after a well fought encounter. Matt Hamshaw gave the visitors the lead but they then had to come from behind to secure a point with Simon Brown's goal.

In between the Shrews struck twice from corner kicks through Stuart Drummond and Dave Edwards, all the goals coming before half time.

Finally there was another draw at Wycombe where Wrexham were the visitors. On a day when goalkeepers generally excelled themselves in this section, however, the standard at the Causeway was not so clever.

Michael Ingham dived clean over the top of Tommy Mooney's weak effort to gift Wycombe the lead but that was nothing compared to the antics of Ricardo Batista when Wrexham drew level.

Batista completely sliced his attempted clearance and then compounded the error by setting off in vain pursuit of the loose ball. His kick ran to the worst man possible from a Wycombe point of view and Mark Jones didn't hesitate in sending a glorious 40 yard drive arrowing into the unguarded net.

Wrexham were unlucky not to cap a decent performance with a winner as Chris Llewellyn hit a post and Neil Roberts saw a shot cleared off the line late on.

Football England League Two Team of the Season 2005-06

All the League Two club pages have been updated to include Football England's appraisal of the good and bad of their season and here is our very own League Two Team of the Season. The first one ever, it's a mighty honour to be included.

Manager: Paul Simpson (Carlisle United)

Glyn Garner (Leyton Orient)

Most eyes were focussed on Joe Hart when it came to goalkeepers in League Two during 2005-06 but nobody was more consistent, in our opinion, than Garner.
The Welshman barely put a glove wrong as Orient successfully chased promotion and the clubs' excellent away record was down to this fella in no small part.
Capped by Wales to complete a memorable season.

Jason Crowe (Northampton Town)

Crowe is a versatile sort who can pay in either full back slot or further forward along the flank.
More than capable defensively and willing and able to support the attack he was extremely effective in both halves of the field as the Cobblers surged to promotion.
Was thrust into the limelight too soon with a big price tag on his head earlier on in his career but looks ready to play at a higher level now. Don't rule out him getting the opportunity with his present club.

Gareth McAuley (Lincoln City)

There is seldom a shortage of young, strapping centre halves at this level and it can be difficult to spot the rough diamond among several likely lads.
McAuley looked the pick of this years crop. Tall, strongly built but mobile with it McAuley was dominant in generally sound Lincoln defence and looks to have the game to play at a higher level.
Remains in and around the Northern Ireland squad.

Richard Hope (Shrewsbury Town)

Hope is one of those who never quite fulfilled his early potential but although his chances of making an impression at a higher level seem to have gone he looks set to present a formidable barrier to forwards at the lowe rlevels for some time to come.
Strong, commanding and a fine reader of the game Hope is just entering his prime and is a player Shrewsbury could build a side around if they have the ambition.

Matt Lockwood (Leyton Orient)

Another full back who loves to get forward and knows what to do when he gets there, being a neat passer of the ball and a lovely crosser.
Lockwood has been a fantastic servant for Orient and he has plenty of miles left on the clock yet.
Is undoubtedly a player who could move up another level without a problem.

Josh Low (Northampton Town)

League Two was not exactly flush with dazzling wingers but Low offered good old fashioned entertainment down the right for Northampton. He was also highly effective.
Tricky but strong and quick with it he was one player who was prepared to run at defenders and most found it difficult, if not impossible, to stop him.
An exciting talent.

Mark Jones (Wrexham)

Perhaps the star of the season at this level. Jones has been threatening to show his class for a couple of seasons but really emerged as an important talent during 2005-06.
With all the physical and technical attributes needed to be a top midfielder this young man could go a long way quickly if he keeps working hard.
Wrexham fans should probably enjoy him while they can.

Grant McCann (Cheltenham Town)

One of those un-sung type of players who churn out performances week in and week out and simply make life easier for those around them.
McCann has enough ability of his own to justify his place but will always give that little bit extra to help his mates and the team out.
A managers' dream.

Peter Gain (Peterborough United)

The left side of midfield was a pretty barren position in this division during 2005-06 and although Gain was not the most consistent player in the section he did at least show enough glimpses of real quality to keep things interesting for the fans at London Road.
Scored a couple of absolute beauties, but not enough average goals, and is an astute user of the ball.
There should be more to come from Gain as he is not short of ability.

Danny Crow (Peterborough United)

17 goals was a good but not great return for this gifted forward but he gets our vote as he is a player who genuinely excites the spectator.
The threat of something special is always around with Crow who looks to have all the basic attributes to go far as a striker.
Perhaps he does need to be more ruthless to get the goals his quality demands but this was a good season and the promise of more remains.

Michael Bridges (Carlisle United)

Only played half a season after dropping down yet another level from Bristol City but Bridges set the division on fire with quality that deserved a place much higher up the footballing ladder.
He scored prolifically and the quality of his goals was consistently staggering.
His obvious natural talent is made more devastating by a superbly quick mind and a flawless first touch.
Hopefully he can now stay fit and continue firing the bullets at the next level.

Subs:

Joe Hart (Shrewsbury Town)
Gavin Caines (Cheltenham Town)
Kevin Betsy (Wycombe Wanderers)
Rickie Lambert (Rochdale)
Karl Hawley (Carlisle United)

Manager: Paul Simpson (Carlisle United)

After long years of continual struggle Simpson followed up promotion from the Conference by leading Carlisle to the League Two championship.
The club claimed this triumph in style, playing good attacking football and scoring goals for fun.
He also made the signing of the season in bringing Michael Bridges in from Bristol City and helping him find his best form after a traumatic few years.
Successful and entertaining; you can't ask more from a manager than that.

Football League Division Two Review: Monday, May 29
Cheltenham Enjoy The Breaks To Deny Grimsby

Cheltenham Town emerged victorious from the League Two play offs after enjoying the rub of the green against Grimsby Town at the Millennium Stadium.

Grimsby were denied a clear penalty in the first half and were defeated by an intended cross that sneaked inside the far post. In fairness the ball in by Steve Guinan had been a very testing one.

The game was generally even on a poor playing surface and while Grimsby had the better of the first half Cheltenham improved after the break and scored during their best spell of the game.

Cheltenham started brightly with Steve Gillespie leaving Rob Jones floundering as they challenged for a long ball through the middle. Faced with Steve Mildenhall, however, his composure deserted him and the keeper was able to push the weak effort behind. Then Guinan had an opportunity but also failed to seriously test the Grimsby keeper.

Then Grimsby began to assert themselves with their main danger stemming from Andy Parkinson's pacy running. When he ran at Gavin Caines in the box the defender was tricked into attempting tackles with both feet in quick succession and either could have been penalised with a penalty. Somehow the referee ignored the Mariners appeals.

Then Parkinson skimmed the bar with a curling drive from the edge of the area although Shane Higgs would probably have saved had the shot been a few inches lower. Higgs then did well to get down to a low angled drive from Gary Cohen before Paul Bolland snatched at a shooting chance from the edge of the box and was well off target as Grimsby ended the first half on top.

Cheltenham emerged with much more purpose in the second half and were immediately piling on the pressure with a series of corners which Grimsby were not always comfortable in dealing with.

Although the Robins remained on top there was little sign of a breakthrough until an injury to Gillespie around the hour mark saw the introduction of Kayode Odejayi. Shortly afterwards they took the lead.

Mildenhall made a mess of a clearance after dropping a high ball around the edge of his box allowing Guinan to receive possession around the right hand angle of the penalty area. Checking inside onto his left foot Guinan curled a dangerous ball towards the far post. It was an awful ball for the defenders to deal with and two attackers looked likely to apply the finishing touch. Neither managed contact but Mildenhall, anticipating one, was left stranded as the ball crept inside his far post.

Not long afterwards Cheltenham were offered the chance to seal victory. Grant McCann played a one two with Odejayi, during which they both seemed to have strayed offside, and was clipped inside the box by Curtis Woodhouse as he rounded Mildenhall.

Mildenhall flung himself to his right to parry McCann's spot kick and Grimsby retained hope.

McCann almost made amends with a lovely curling shot at the end of a fine move which came back off the bar. Mildenhall then managed a smart reaction stop as Cheltenham tried to force home the rebound.

Grimsby spent the last ten minutes battering away at the Cheltenham goal but could not force an equaliser. The closest they came was from an excellent right wing move which ended with Gary Jones powering in a diving header from point blank range. Higgs thrust out an instinctive hand to somehow keep his goal intact.

Grimsby's other efforts were less controlled although a dangerous left wing centre only just eluded a posse of attackers. The last chance came from a corner deep into injury time but Justin Whittle's header was off target and Cheltenham were home.

This represented some achievement by John Ward and his players who operate on a shoestring even by League Two standards. Goals might prove something of a problem in the next tier but they possess a strong looking defence and an industrious midfield and could be difficult to beat.

Grimsby look capable of challenging again next time around although they will have to do without the services of Woodhouse who is leaving the club to follow his ambitions of becoming a boxer.

Football League Division Two Review: Monday, May 15
Play Off 2nd Legs

Cheltenham Town 0 Wycombe Wanderers 0
Cheltenham win 2-1 on aggregate.

Wycombe Wanderers came into these play offs in wretched form so it is no surprise to see them bow out at the semi final stage. They will be wondering quite how this happened, however, after battering at the Cheltenham back door all night without success in this second leg.

It is patently obvious why their season has faltered so badly. Before Christmas, when they led the way in League Two, they had Nathan Tyson banging goals in for fun. Since his departure to Nottingham Forest hitting the back of the net has proved a constant problem. False economy?

The burden has fallen almost entirely on the veteran Tommy Mooney and last night was no exception. Time and time again Mooney desperately tried to convert a series of balls in from the flanks. Time and time again he could not quite deliver.

The chances for Wycombe started early and kept coming. Twice in the opening ten minutes Mooney was lunging at right wing centres from Kevin Betsy. One was blocked and the other he couldn't quite reach in front of goal.

Betsy was the main source of danger, terrorising the Cheltenham left flank all night and providing a stream of ammunition. There were no takers in the middle, however.

Indeed for all their pressure the two best saves on the night were made by the Wycombe keeper Steve Williams as he denied Ashley Vincent and Brian Wilson in either half.

Despite not testing Shane Higgs as often or as seriously as they ought a goal still seemed inevitable just through the sheer volume of pressure.

Mooney came the closest yet when stretching for a Danny Senda cross but the ball scraped the bar. Then Jermaine Easter presented him with a chance but his shot was slightly scuffed and bobbled wide.

With the 1,400 visitors baying for a goal and the home supporters baying for the whistle Will Antwi climbed high to head powerfully from a corner but again the ball was slightly off target. It summed up a night of massive frustration and disappointment for Wanderers.

Cheltenham, however, still have everything to play for in the final against Grimsby although they might need similar performances from their outstanding centre halves Shane Duff and Gavin Caines if they are to prevail against a side that beat them twice in the league.

Grimsby Town 2 Lincoln City 1
Grimsby win 3-1 on aggregate.

There was a frantic start to this game and in truth it never settled down. By the end the telling statistics on a night of raw passion and adrenalin were that the three goals had all been headers from set pieces and that Mike Dean had issued seven yellow cards and one red. Flowing football was not on the agenda.

There had only been one effort of note before Lincoln squared the tie on 27 minutes. That came when Curtis Woodhouse crossed for Gary Jones to dive full length and head narrowly wide. The same combination had given Grimsby their victory at Sincil Bank.

That advantage was wiped out when the Mariners centre half Rob Jones had to leave the field for treatment to a cut after a clash with Marvin Robinson.

In his absence Lincoln won a free kick and when Scott Kerr whipped it in Robinson was able to get away from Gary Jones to head home. Game on.

Russell Slade at that point decided he could wait no longer for Rob Jones to return and sent former Imp Ben Futcher into the fray. When Jones then re-appeared on the touchline all patched up and ready for action he did not appear too impressed.

Chances were still at a premium as challenges flew in from every angle. When Junior Mendes fired straight at Alan Marriott in the Lincoln goal it was Grimsby's first effort on target and half time was already upon us.

As is the norm some gaps did begin to appear as the players tired and the massive prize got closer. Both sides remained unable to fashion anything really clear cut, however.

Futcher came forward to head a Tom Newey free kick narrowly over while Simon Yeo saw an effort scrambled away from under the bar by Gary Croft.

Set pieces still looked the most likely way of finding a goal and so it was to prove as Grimsby equalised on the hour to regain the overall advantage. This arrived when Gary Jones headed a corner back across goal and Futcher was on hand to bundle home from close range.

Grimsby had certainly been putting on the pressure leading up to the goal and now Lincoln needed to respond if they were to save themselves. Yeo forced Steve Mildenhall into the save of the night and Nat Brown fired too high from a free kick but there was an obvious degree of desperation in their efforts and little conviction.

The tie was settled eight minutes from the end and yet again it was a dead ball situation that brought it about. Woodhouse swung over another good ball and Jones flicked in his second winner of the tie.

The acrimony didn't stop there though and, bizarrely, it was Jones who could not stop himself from launching a dangerous challenge on Gareth McAuley deep into stoppage time. It was deemed a deliberate elbow and punished with a red card.

Grimsby will appeal against the decision but Jones, having scored two of the goals to get Grimsby to the final, now looks set to sit it out. You could only marvel at his stupidity.

Football League Division Two Review: Play Off 1st Legs

Wycombe 1 Cheltenham Town 2

Although Cheltenham took a giant step towards the play off finals with this victory over Wycombe the damage could have been worse. Wycombe's goal came in the fourth minute of injury time and provides them with some hope for the return.

Wycombe started the game quite brightly and asked most of the questions in the opening half hour. Shane Duff was excellent at the back for Cheltenham with a series of interceptions and clearances, however. His most telling intervention came early on with a vital block on Russell Martin.

The course of the game changed when Wycombe lost their veteran playmaker Robert Lee who was forced off after a clash with Steve Guinan which left him needing stitches above and below the eye. Guinan was booked for the challenge. Wycombe thought that was insufficient punishment, Cheltenham boss John Ward thought it harsh.

Cheltenham instantly seized control and Kayode Odejayi forced a good save out of Steve Williams with a 20 yard drive. Just before half time the swing in fortunes was emphasised by a Cheltenham goal. Duff rose highest to head down Grant McCann's free kick and John Finnigan rifled home.

Just after half time Duff was again ideally placed to prevent Tommy Mooney from equalising and Jermaine Easter was not far away with a shot on the turn shortly after coming on as a sub.

Cheltenham continued to have the better chances though. Both Guinan and Duff were presented with clear opportunities by McCann but were off target with their headers.

On 75 minutes the second goal did arrive. McCann fed Odejayi who in turn picked out Guinan whose drive deflected into goal off Roger Johnson.

Wycombe responded urgently as they sought the goal which would allow them some hope in the second leg. This pressure finally brought a reward in the 94th minute when Mooney drove home after Martin's free kick was only partially cleared.

Cheltenham remain clear favourites.

Lincoln City 0 Grimsby Town 1

Lincoln will be wondering quite how they lost this one but now have to travel to the second leg more in hope than expectation.

The home side had dominated the early exchanges and thought they had taken the lead on 17 minutes. Jamie McCombe rose above a couple of challengers to power home a header only to see the referee penalise him for a push. It was something another ref might have allowed.

Three minutes later Marvin Robinson also had the ball in the net but this time the offside flag which denied him as he tapped home a rebound looked clear cut.

It was still difficult for the home side to take when Grimsby then proceded to take the lead.

Curtis Woodhouse did well along the left hand bye-line before squaring for Gary Jones who had the easiest of chances and duly scored without fuss.

Still Lincoln came forward and Steve Mildenhall was forced into two fine saves from a low Jeff Hughes free kick and a rasping Lee Beavers drive.

Just after half time Lincoln were spared further damage by the cross bar which took the full brunt of a Paul Bolland screamer. The visitors also threatened at the end of the half when Andy Parkinson cut in from the left to curl a fine effort just beyond the far post.

Lincoln had found chances harder to come by in the second half but almost rescued a draw right at the death. Nat Brown saw his header cleared off the line following a corner before Gareth McAuley struck the post from the rebound.

Despite their deficit Lincoln can take some heart from their performance. Blundell Park is not the easiest place to visit, however, and Grimsby are strong favourites for Cardiff now.

Football League Division Two Review: Tuesday, May 9
Everything Settled At The Kassam Stadium

There were endless possibilities as to how the League Two season would wind up but they all depended on Leyton Orient failing to win away from home at Oxford. If the O's did triumph then they would claim the last automatic promotion spot and Oxford would be relegated.

Not surprisingly the Kassam Stadium was full to bursting for this crucial encounter. The 12,243 crowd included 4,603 visiting supporters. The atmosphere was electric.

Jim Smith had surprised some Oxford fans by selecting Billy Turley in goal but this initially looked like a master stroke as Turley produced fine early saves to deny Craig Easton and Lee Steele, the latter with the help of a post.

These interventions became even more significant when Oxford then took a 14th minute lead. Andy Burgess whipped in a testing free kick which found Eric Sabin unmarked six yards out. The finish wasn't true but was good enough.

This goal would have sent shock waves around the grounds where the six other sides in danger were playing but by the time the news got to those places Orient were already level.

Wayne Corden made ground down the left before picking out Easton with his centre. Turley looked to have saved the header but somehow let it spill from his grasp and trickle over the line.

Orient proceeded to boss the remainder of the first half although it was Oxford who had the best chance. Sabin was put completely clear only to spoon his shot over the bar in ugly fashion.

The visitors continued to dominate after the interval and took a deserved lead on 63 minutes. Steele sent Gary Alexander racing away and his finish was clinical, lifted over Turley high into the net.

Within two minutes Oxford had responded, however. Another Burgess free kick found Chris Hargreaves and although Glyn Garner pulled off a superb save from his header Chris Willmott was on hand to put away the rebound. Game on again.

The Oxford substitute Steve Basham came close to putting the home side back in front but saw his header clawed out by Garner at full stretch. Then came the news that Grimsby had taken the lead against Northampton. This meant that the draw would be of no use to either side.

It remained Orient who looked more capable of snatching a winner as both sides threw men forward recklessly. Oxford's task was made almost impossible when Willmott was dismissed after an off the ball tussle with Jon Mackie and as the game entered stoppage time Orient took advantage.

A quick break left them with a six against two situation and Steele was the man in position to slide home the winner from point blank range.

Orient therefore had everything to celebrate while Oxford were left contemplating the loss of league status after 44 years. Ironically they had gained entry into the league after the demise of Accrington Stanley who now return as Oxford bow out.

It is hard to imagine that Oxford will not return some time soon, however.

Grimsby would have been in the play offs even without Steele's late goal after they conceded an injury time equaliser in their game. They had led Northampton through Jean-Paul Kamudimba's penalty but saw Ryan Gilligan head home from a corner to earn a share of the spoils.

They will meet Lincoln City in the semi finals after the Imps confirmed their place with a 1-1 draw at home to Rochdale. Gareth McAuley headed them into the lead only for Ricky Lambert, who else, to level late on from a free kick.

Although Oxford's defeat meant everyone else was safe anyway all the clubs in danger before kick off helped themselves by getting something from their games.

Macclesfield pulled off a fine 3-2 win at Bristol Rovers. Lewis Haldane smacked home two beauties for the home side but Marcus Richardson also hit two for the visitors after David Morley had given them an early lead.

Barnet won on their travels for the first time since August at already relegated Rushden. Liam Hatch and Nicky Bailey were on target in a 2-1 win to secure safety to the delight of the 1,491 travelling fans.

Torquay escaped with a tense goalless draw at home to Boston. Their recent run of victories meant they deserved their reprieve. Stockport were also sweating as they fought out a 0-0 with Carlisle. There were huge celebrations at the end for the five figure crowd as Stockport's safety was confirmed and Carlisle were crowned champions.

Finally Notts County and Bury drew 2-2. Notts County looked in serious trouble at one stage as Bury took a two goal lead through Dwayne Mattis, superbly fed by Brian Barry-Murphy, and Tom Youngs.

Late goals by Dan Martin and a Julien Baudet penalty earned them a point although they were still thankful for Orient's win at Oxford.

At the other end of the table Wycombe will be relieved to be going into the play offs on the back of a good win at Peterborough after their dismal run of form.

Jermaine Easter opened the scoring with a sumptuous curled effort before Mike Williamson confirmed victory late on with a stooping header. The bad news for Wycombe was an injury to Easter which saw him hobble off and makes him a doubt for the games against Cheltenham.

Cheltenham themselves will be in confident mood after rounding off their league campaign with a 5-0 win at Mansfield. Steven Gillespie and Ashley Vincent notched before half time and Grant McCann grabbed the third with the goal of the game shortly after the break. McCann played a short corner and received possession back at the angle of the penalty area before sending a sweet drive arrowing into the far corner. A David Bird penalty and a Kayode Odejayi goal completed the rout.

Manager John Ward may now have a selection problem for the play offs, however. He had rested five players at Field Mill and the replacements have given him plenty to think about.

In the games that had nothing but pride at stake Darlington and Wrexham drew 1-1 while a Kelvin Langmead goal gave Shrewsbury victory at Chester.

The best thing about the final weekend action was the size of the crowds up and down the country. How much easier life would be for these clubs if they were getting that kind of support week in and week out.

Football League Division Two Review: Tuesday, May 2
1 From 2 For Promotion; 1 From 7 For Relegation

The third and final automatic promotion place is now a straight fight between Leyton Orient and Grimsby Town while any one of seven teams could join Rushden & Diamonds in the Conference next season.

Northampton Town clinched promotion with their single goal victory over Chester City at Sixfields. Scott McGleish was once again the Cobblers goalscorer and he had already gone close before heading home a long throw in from David Hunt.

Chester, much improved in recent weeks, were resolute opponents but seldom threatened an equaliser as Northampton called the tune. Once again the conductor in chief was Josh Low who has had an excellent season down the right hand side. He looks to have the quality to make an impact at the next level and beyond.

Leyton Orient moved ahead of Grimsby in the fight for the third spot. The O's defeated Peterborough 2-1 while Grimsby were held 1-1 at Macclesfield.

Yet another Matt Lockwood penalty set Orient on their way and Wayne Corden got the second twenty minutes from time. It was just as well he did as Lloyd Opara's goal five minutes from the end set up a frantic finish. The Posh now have to rely on Rochdale winning at Lincoln next weekend to have any hope of making the play offs.

Grimsby will be disappointed to have dropped points at Macclesfield after taking the lead through a Gary Jones header five minutes before half time. The Mariners could not take this lead into the interval, however, as Marcus Richardson struck back for the struggling Silkmen.

Cheltenham Town confirmed their place in the play offs with a comfortable 2-0 win over Notts County who could also still go down. Steve Guinan scored early and Ashley Vincent struck late after copming on as sub to settle the issue.

Wycombe will also be in the shake up despite their dreadful second half of the season. Wycombe somehow managed to lose at home to Darlington in a game that exploded into life just before the break.

First the impressive Simon Johnson rattled the bar for Darlo before the visitors were reduced to ten men after skipper Matt Clarke took out Ian Stonebridge with the forward through on goal. From the resulting free kick Tommy Mooney was denied by the post.

Early in the second half Darlington took the lead with a fine goal from David Duke who cut in from the left to send a low cross shot fizzing into the bottom corner.

From there on in it was back to the walls stuff from the ten men but they survived with only one major slice of luck. This came when another Mooney effort rebounded from both posts before being cleared. Can Wycombe recover form to make a showing in the play offs?

Lincoln grabbed a precious win at Shrewsbury to put themselves in pole position to claim the last play off spot. If they do so it will be the fourth time in succession that they have got there, a testiment to the good work of Keith Alexander.

Gareth McAuley was the man on target as the Imps edged a tense encounter. Now only a point is required from their final game to give themselves another ticket in the lottery.

Bristol Rovers hopes of making it disappeared after a dismal 2-0 defeat at Rochdale which saw Craig Hinton dismissed and Ricky Lambert put away another penalty before Ernie Cooksey's last minute clincher.

At the foot of the table Rushden's fate was sealed at Boston where Lawrie Dudfield and Danny Thomas scored in the final couple of minutes for a 2-0 win. It was a pretty limp exit for the Diamonds who made such a positive start to life in the Football League before fading badly.

Rushden spent five seasons in the league reaching the play offs in their first season and winning the Division Three title in their second. They were relegated immediately, however, and finished just one place above the trap door last season. This time around they have not been so lucky.

The team now in greatest danger of joining them is Oxford United. They managed a 1-1 draw at Wrexham thanks to Tcham N'Toya's penalty but will need to beat Leyton Orient at home at the weekend to have any chance of surviving.

The main reason for the seriousness of their plight is Torquay's surprise win at table topping Carlisle, their third in succession.

Torquay took full advantage of the home sides' comfort zone by flying out of the traps to take an early lead. They had already threatened before Kevin Hill gave them the lead on eight minutes.

Although Carlisle retaliated in front of a 13,467 crowd Torquay continued to match them attack for attack throughout the first half. Four minutes from the break Jo Kuffour extended their lead with a smart snap shot.

The second half, inevitably, saw a rearguard action of Alamo proportions. Zigo Aranalde's looping header just three minutes into the second period suggested the visitors would be denied but that was not the case as the Devonians managed to hang on for dear life and at the end it was they and their 350 fans who were celebrating in style.

Elsewhere the games between Barnet and Stockport and Bury and Mansfield failed to produce a goal between them and of those sides only Mansfield are certain of league football next season.