The League 2 season continued with the latest round of games to kick off the New Year on Bank Holiday Monday.
Doncaster leapfrogged both Plymouth and Carlisle – after they both lost – to go top. Defeats for Cheltenham and Newport again meant they remain in the unwanted relegation places.
Here’s a round up of the League 2 action from the other games played.
Results
Monday 2nd January 2017 – Sky Bet League Two
Accrington Stanley 2-2 Hartlepool United 15:00
Barnet 1-0 Plymouth Argyle 15:00
Blackpool 0-1 Mansfield Town 15:00
Cambridge United 4-0 Notts County 15:00
Carlisle United 1-3 Grimsby Town 15:00
Colchester United 2-0 Cheltenham Town 15:00
Crawley Town 2-0 Yeovil Town 15:00
Doncaster Rovers 1-0 Stevenage 15:00
Exeter City 4-0 Leyton Orient 15:00
Morecambe 0-0 Crewe Alexandra 15:00
Portsmouth 1-0 Luton Town 15:00
Wycombe Wanderers 2-1 Newport County 15:00
Doncaster started the day in 3rd place but a late own goal was enough to give Donny a 1-0 win at the Keepmoat Stadium to see them leapfrog automatic promotion rivals Plymouth and Carlisle to go top! Stevenage slipped to 15th after this defeat, which was a third in a row.
Plymouth – part of a three game losing run last year – were beaten by Barnet at Home Park previously and saw this happen against on Monday. The reverse fixture at the Hive was won 1-0 by the Bees to take them up to 9th and just a couple of points off the play-off places – the Pilgrims dropped to 2nd.
When Carlisle were a goal up against Grimsby they looked good for top spot. However, the Mariners recovered to record a 3-1 win at Brunton Park that meant the Cumbrians dropped to 3rd.
Hartlepool twice came from behind in a relegation battle with Accrington – both sides had eased concerns with wins to end 2016 – to earn a 2-2 draw and a share of the points.
A gap of four points has now opened up between Blackpool and a top 7 place following a 1-0 defeat at Bloomfield Road against Mansfield. Pools couldn’t react to a first half goal as the Stags won for the first time in six.
Cambridge have now won six of the last seven unbeaten – seven from the last 10 in total – to consolidate 7th place. Doing so with an emphatic 4-0 against struggling Notts County. A ninth defeat in a row didn’t mean the Magpies dropped into the bottom two but it did cost John Sheridan his job with him sacked after the heavy defeat at the Abbey Stadium.
The march towards a potential play-off place continued for Colchester with a 2-0 – making is six from the last seven unbeaten – against Cheltenham. This Weston Homes Community Stadium defeat for the Robins meant they stayed second bottom.
Crawley ended successive defeats with a 2-0 win against Yeovil to move above the Glovers into 13th – the visitors are now without a win in five, losing three.
What a seven games it’s been for Exeter! They’ve been unbeaten in this time – winning five – to pull away from the bottom two to remain just five points off the top 7 now following a 4-0 thrashing of Leyton Orient. A run of seven defeats in eight was stopped when Orient came out of 2016 on a two game unbeaten run but that was ended emphatically at St James Park.
Morecambe and Crewe moved a point closer to safety following a 0-0 draw – the Railwaymen would be happier with this point at the Globe Arenas as it ended a run of four defeats in five.
The defeats for Plymouth and Carlisle were capitalised on by Portsmouth who beat promotion rivals Luton at Fratton Park. A 1-0 win – with a late penalty also missed – meant Pompey kept 4th place and moved to within four points of the top 3 ahead of a meeting with leaders Doncaster later this week. The Hatters dropped to 6th.
Wycombe made it eight wins from the last 10 – all unbeaten – when the Chairboys beaten rock bottom Newport County 2-1 at Adams Park to move up to 5th. The Exiles have now lost seven in a row with 2017 starting no differently to how 2016 had ended!
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