League Two Round-up

Swindon 1 Darlington 1

Martin Smith came off the substitutes’ bench

to earn Darlington a point, although they could

have claimed all three at Swindon.

Smith struck on 71 minutes with his side’s first

serious chance of the game and then headed wide

after fellow substitute Tommy Wright had hit the

underside of the bar.

All Swindon had to show for an hour of dominance

was a goal after nine minutes when fullback

Andy Nicholas took advantage of hesitancy

in the Darlington defence.

Christian Roberts hit the bar from 25 yards and

missed an easy chance just before the break while

Darlington goalkeeper Lee Jones made two fine

saves from Lee Peacock.

Swindon manager Paul

Sturrock said: "Some good

keeping and mediocre finishing

cost us. For the first

30 minutes this was the

best I have seen us play and

the team were doing what

wanted. We have to make

sure that this does not feel

like a defeat because sometimes

when you play badly

over the last 20 minutes

that is the impression you

are left with."

Darlington manager Dave Penny has now

presided over a run of four wins and four draws in

the past eight matches and seen his side move

closer to a play-off position.

He said: "We came here expecting to win but I

am pleased we got away with a draw after giving

away such a stupid goal. This is a big week for us

with a number of important games and it was

great to come to a place like Swindon and get a

positive result."

Swindon’s draw denied them an opportunity to

put pressure on leaders Walsall, leaving Sturrock

to lament his side’s lack of goals.

He said: "We have strikers as good as any in the

division but the goals should also be coming from

other areas on the pitch to share the burden."

Bury 0 Wycombe 4

Tommy Mooney netted

for the first time in 10 games

as Wycombe boosted their

promotion chances.

"Captain Marvel" Mooney

was applauded from the

field by both sets of fans

after a dazzling display.

"Mooney has been first

class for most of the season.

We played as well as the

scoreline suggests. The team

was first class," said manager Paul Lambert who

also saw Tommy Doherty, Scott McGleish and

Jermaine Easter find the target.

Bury manager Chris Casper said: "We were

beaten by the better team, but I’m deeply hurt

and so are the players."

Hereford 2 Barnet 0

Hereford debutant Danny Thomas won the

game for the home side with a last-minute strike

after Ben Smith, who joined Hereford from

Weymouth three weeks ago, had given his new

side the lead.

Hereford manager Graham Turner said: "It was

a good result for us, having scored two goals and

hitting the woodwork three times."

Barnet boss Paul Fairclough added: "The result

was fair, but we had a chance to level near the

end but didn’t take it."

Bristol Rovers 1 MK Dons 1

Stuart Nicholson came off the bench to

snatch a point for Bristol Rovers against MK Dons

with an equaliser 10 minutes from time.

The on-loan striker said: "It was a timely goal. I

actually dreamt last night that I’d be the scorer.

But it really looked as though their defender Paul

Butler would hook the ball off the line."

The visitors had gone ahead nine minutes after

the interval through Jon-Paul McGovern after

determined work by Paul Mitchell.

Manager Martin Allen said: "They were more

dominant than us in the first half but we showed

more energy and ideas afterwards."

Notts County 1 Rochdale 2

Glenn Murray led a stunning comeback by Rochdale

that dented County’s hopes of a play-off spot.

Jason Lee took his tally to 15 goals with a 52nd-minute

header from Jay Smith’s free-kick but Murray nodded the

equaliser from Alan Goodall’s corner with 10 minutes left.

Three minutes later, Murray’s deflected shot was fumbled by

Kevin Pilkington and Ben Muirhead scored from close range.

Rochdale manager Keith Hill said: "That performance was

top drawer. The belief did not go when we went behind and

we got our just rewards."

County’s assistant manager John

Gannon said: "We didn’t show enough steel to see things out."

Boston 0 Shrewsbury 3

Boston manager Steve Evans shrugged off calls

for his resignation after his team crashed to

another heavy defeat. United fans chanted for

Evans to go after another dreadful performance.

He said: "It was terrible. But I’m going to carry on

at least until the end of the season."

Shrewsbury skipper Sagi Burton struck in the

fifth minute. Andy Cooke added the second and

Ben Davies completed the scoring.

Town manager Gary Peters said: "We made an

ideal start and could have scored more goals."

Accrington 0 Stockport 1

Adam Griffin's winner

in first-half stoppage time

gave Stockport their seventh

clean-sheet victory in a row

and County boss Jim Gannon

had nothing but praise

for his players.

He said: "We were dogged

and determined all day.We

were also solid and professional

— we had to be here,

it was always going to be a tough game for us.

"But huge credit to my players,we always looked

a threat, and our goal was a great counterattacking

one."

Stanley manager John Coleman said: "It’s very,

very frustrating for me today. I thought we looked

comfortable in spells. We’re not playing at the

tempo I want us to play at, but it’s up to me to

sort that out now."

Torquay 0 Hartlepool 1

Former Torquay striker Eifion Williams

returned to haunt his old club and stretch

Hartlepool’s amazing league run to 16 unbeaten

games.

However, Torquay put the away side under

huge pressure during the second half and just

failed to snatch the equaliser that might have

brightened their hopes of staying up. Most

notably, 19-year-old debutant, Lloyd Kerry, on

loan from Sheffield United, was outstanding

in the home side’s midfield.

But Williams’s early 10-yard strike, which came

after he had jinked past two defenders, proved

too much for struggling Torquay.

Hartlepool manager Wilson said: "We’ve got

a great momentum going at the moment. We

had to defend for our lives today, and all credit

to Torquay for playing as they did in the

second half."

Torquay boss Keith Curle added: "Effort is a

minimum requirement that comes out of our

dressing room now, and we showed that in

abundance."

Mansfield 1 Grimsby 2

Grimsby chairman John Fenty’s decision to pay

for 10 supporters’ coaches paid dividends when

substitute Danny North struck a late winner to

clinch the Mariners’ third successive victory.

Manager Alan Buckley hailed the 1400 travelling

fans — and his players — after North raced clear

from the halfway line in the 83rd minute to score

with a fine shot.

Buckley said: "That is three wins on the trot and

that was the best we have played in those three

games.We played so well,especially in the second

half, and Danny scored a superb winner."

Former Grimsby striker Michael Boulding had

given Mansfield a 30th-minute lead, but the

Mariners levelled three minutes before half-time

through Paul Bolland, who converted a Tom

Newey cross.

Macclesfield 2 Peterborough 1

Paul Ince enjoyed bragging rights

over Darren Ferguson as

Macclesfield earned three vital

points in their battle for survival.

Ince, the self-styled Guv’nor when

he played for Sir Alex Ferguson at

Old Trafford, showed Fergie’s lad

that he’s still the boss. "I’ve told him

not to beat himself up over it," said

Ince, a former team-mate of

Ferguson Jnr.

"I’ve only been in management

three months and it’s amazing what

I’ve already learned — and though

Darren’s had one or two dodgy

results he will change it round at

Peterborough. I’ve thanked him for

the three points because we certainly

needed them more," he joked.

Ferguson, however, was fuming at

his team’s lacklustre performance.

"It was the worst display since I’ve

been here," he said. "We didn’t

create hardly anything and

Macclesfield deserved to win."

Martin Bullock seized on a soft

back header from Craig Morgan to

put Macclesfield ahead on the

stroke of half-time with a smart

finish. However, their lead was

short-lived as keeper Tommy Lee

flapped at a Josh Low cross to allow

Aaron McLean a free header from 12

yards for a 50th-minute equaliser.

Macclesfield responded

immediately with John Murphy

chesting the ball down to Alan

Navarro, who belted home a volley

from the edge of the box.