League One
Chesterfield may not be the most obvious hotbed of sporting drama, but the Proact Stadium was the place to be on Saturday – so long as you were in the away end. Admittedly, it may not have seemed that way to the travelling Wigan contingent when Dan Gardner put the home side ahead from all of 30 yards shortly after the hour. Some may even have been tempted to head for the exit when Leon Barnett put through his own net six minutes later to leave Dean Saunders’ men firmly in control. But football is all about keeping the faith, and Wigan showed why with a dramatic late rally that brought three goals in the final nine minutes. Barnett got the party started, atoning for his error with a fine strike, and Craig Davies then levelled the proceedings from the spot, setting the scene for substitute Jordy Hiwula to score a dramatic late winner.
The surprise of the day came from the Bescot Stadium, where a sixth-minute goal from Craig Jones ensured Bury – previously without a league win this season – claimed bragging rights against the division pacesetters Walsall. Looking to bounce back after suffering a first defeat of the season in midweek, when they were bundled out of the Football League Trophy at Morecambe, Dean Smith’s side instead spent the afternoon pressing in vain for an equaliser.
Walsall’s loss was Gillingham’s gain. Jake Hessenthaler scored against Doncaster in the 66th minute at the Priestfield Stadium to seal the points for Justin Edinburgh’s side, who went a point clear at the top as a result. A lone strike also proved enough for Blackpool, who saw off Scunthorpe courtesy of a goal from Brad Potts that gave them a first win since January.
In fact, away wins were the order of the afternoon. Swindon racked up a 3-1 victory at Crewe, where Adam King put the home side ahead on the hour only for Mark Cooper’s men to send Crewe to the bottom of League One with goals from Tom Smith, Wes Thomas and Nicky Ajose. At Boundary Park, goals from Reece Burke and Devante Cole gave Bradford a 2-1 victory over Oldham, who had Jonathan Forte sent off. Shrewsbury also won on the road, Jordan Clark’s late strike giving the visitors their first league win of the season at Barnsley after Sam Winnall had cancelled out Mark Ellis’s opener.
At Roots Hall, Southend beat Peterborough to notch up a first league win of the season. Adam Barrett struck from close range just after the half hour before Noel Hunt nodded home with 20 minutes remaining, ensuring Marcus Maddison’s late strike was no more than a consolation for the visitors.
And Fleetwood drew 1-1 with Rochdale after Chris Maxwell saved a stoppage-time penalty for the home side.
League Two
When will managers learn? After guiding his Leyton Orient side to five wins in five games, Ian Hendon should probably have retreated to a beach in the Bahamas, surfacing periodically on Skype to talk his players through match tactics and dish out the odd rollicking when required. Instead, he went and accepted the League Two manager of the month award. The upshot was inevitable: Orient crashed to a 4-0 defeat at Exeter, with Alex Nicholls scoring either side of a pair of Tom Nichols penalties. David Wheeler subsequently added a fourth, but the manager of the month curse was, as ever, the real winner.
Orient’s defeat allowed Wycombe to make up ground on the leaders, a Michael Harriman brace giving them a 2-1 home win over Hartlepool that leaves them a point behind Hendon’s men. Third-placed Plymouth were unable to capitalise, however, slipping to a 2-1 defeat at Stevenage as Teddy Sheringham tasted victory for just the second time as a manager.
There was a big dollop of drama at Yeovil, where Paul Sturrock’s side slipped to a 4-2 defeat against Morecambe despite Harry Cornick and Omar Sowunmi giving the home side a two-goal lead. Yeovil’s problem lay in the first-half dismissal of Shaun Jeffers; that, and goals from Aaron Wildig, Andrew Fleming, Lee Molyneux and Kevin Ellison after the break.
They say the best things come in threes, and sure enough three sides found the net three times. At Carlisle, Derek Asamoah was on target twice for the home side as they put Barnet to the sword 3-2. York won 3-0 at Newport, claiming their first league away win of the campaign as James Berrett, Reece Thompson and Vadaine Oliver all found the net. And Luton – who, funnily enough, had lost three straight matches – also broke their League Two duck with a 3-1 win at Cambridge.
