League One
- Lee Bowyer’s managerial career got off to the perfect start as Charlton Athletic beat Plymouth 2-0. Lewis Page smashed a 22-yard half volley to give Charlton the lead in just the third minute. Michael Zyro doubled Charlton’s advantage when he steered a near post header in.
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Scunthorpe have sacked manager Graham Alexander after a 1-1 draw with Rochdale at Glanford Park. Scunthorpe lie in a play-off place in fifth but are now without a win in seven matches and announced on Saturday night that Alexander and his assistant, Neil McDonald, “have both been relieved of their duties.” Rochdale took the lead when Callum Camps hit a long-range shot into the corner after Scunthorpe failed to clear a corner. Striker Ivan Toney equalised for the home side in the 51st minute.
- A Stefan Payne strike for Shrewsbury against AFC Wimbledon was enough to send the Shropshire side top of the league. Payne missed the original chance in the 54th minute, but after the ball bounced around in the area, he was able to poke home at the second attempt to secure a 1-0 win.
- Bottom-placed Bury are one step closer to relegation after falling to a 2-0 home defeat against Wigan, helping Paul Cook’s team leapfrog Blackburn Rovers into the automatic promotion places. The visitors scored with their first shot on target, when Michael Jacobs crossed into the box and Nick Powell netted from six yards. For the second Max Power directed a free-kick towards Cheyenne Dunkley at the back post, allowing the defender to power a header into the net.
- In a key relegation tussle Fleetwood saw off Northampton 2-0 as Kyle Dempsey finished after an intelligent pass from Toumani Diagouraga, before Cian Bolger completed the scoring late on.
- Simon Grayson picked up his first win since becoming Bradford City manager as Dominic Poleon’s goal was enough to down Gillingham 1-0.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shrewsbury | 38 | 23 | 78 |
| 2 | Wigan | 36 | 45 | 77 |
| 3 | Blackburn | 37 | 35 | 76 |
| 4 | Rotherham | 38 | 18 | 65 |
| 5 | Scunthorpe | 39 | 9 | 59 |
League One results: Bradford 1-0 Gillingham, Bury 0-2 Wigan, Charlton 2-0 Plymouth, Fleetwood 2-0 Northampton, MK Dons 0-0 Blackpool, Peterborough 1-1 Bristol Rovers, Scunthorpe 1-1 Rochdale, Shrewsbury 1-0 AFC Wimbledon, Southend 2-0 Rotherham.
League Two
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Forest Green boosted their survival hopes by defeating promotion-chasing Mansfield 2-0 at The New Lawn. Reuben Reid took advantage of Mansfield’s inability to clear by powerfully finishing from inside the area in the 54th minute. Dayle Grubb finished off a fine personal performance by cutting in and scoring the second with a composed finish to leave his team nine points clear of the relegation zone.
- Exeter moved up to fifth by beating Swindon Town 3-1. Kaiyne Woolery opened the scoring for Swindon after the ball dropped at his feet in the box, allowing him to score from eight yards. Jake Taylor levelled things up when he smashed home a cross from Hiram Boateng, before Dean Moxey was fouled in the box, resulting in Pierce Sweeney converting from the spot. Despite pressure from Swindon, Jayden Stockley confirmed the win by sweeping home from eight yards with three minutes to go.
- A Marc McNulty hat-trick helped Coventry City to a 4-0 win over Grimsby, who remain in 22nd place.
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Crewe have almost secured their place in the Football League for another season thanks to a 2-1 win on a bobbly Newport County pitch. Harry McKirdy and Jordan Bowery gave David Artell’s team a two-goal lead and they held on despite Micky Demetriou pulling one back.
- Eight goals were shared between Crawley and Cheltenham, as the latter earned a 5-3 victory.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | Forest Green | 39 | -20 | 40 |
| 21 | Port Vale | 39 | -13 | 39 |
| 22 | Grimsby | 39 | -29 | 37 |
| 23 | Chesterfield | 36 | -28 | 31 |
| 24 | Barnet | 38 | -22 | 30 |
League Two results: Carlisle 1-1 Cambridge, Coventry 4-0 Grimsby, Crawley 3-5 Cheltenham, Exeter 3-1 Swindon, Forest Green 2-0 Mansfield, Morecambe 0-0 Lincoln, Newport 1-2 Crewe, Stevenage 0-1 Colchester, Wycombe 0-0 Port Vale
