League Two Round-Up: Barnet Go Two Clear, Grimsby Climb to Third and Bristol Rovers Drop to Sixth

Blundell Park had 7,330 in it and, for the first quarter of an hour, a penalty that went the wrong way. Charles Vernam was brought down by Ade Adeyemo after 13 minutes, took the kick himself, and watched Nicholas Michalski go full stretch to his left to keep it out. The Crawley keeper then undid his own afternoon. He clattered into Harvey Rodgers near the byline, the referee pointed to the spot again, and this time Iwan Morgan stepped up. He converted on the half hour for his first goal for the club, which is a good moment to score it.

The second came from the same source, only supplied rather than scored. Morgan turned provider on 42 minutes and Kieran Green had a simple header in the centre of the box, the sort of goal a defender is meant to stop and did not. Green thought he had a third after the break when a Rodgers cross ricocheted in off him, but the flag was up. Kellan Gordon headed narrowly wide from a corner with a free attempt at the back post as Crawley looked for a way back in the second half, and it did not come. The shot count read 22 to 13, eleven of Grimsby's on target against one of Crawley's. David Artell's verdict was that it should have been more, and the numbers agree with him.

That is now eleven league games unbeaten for Grimsby, six wins and five draws, one more than the BBC's pre-match count, and its own figure is that the club last went longer without defeat in the EFL during a 16-game run between November 1983 and February 1984. The four consecutive draws that had started to feel like a habit have been followed by back-to-back wins. Grimsby finish the round third on 13 points, level with Walsall and two behind Barnet, with 11 scored and six conceded from seven games. Crawley are bottom on four, have won one of their last 12 league games, and now have the joint-worst defensive record in the division alongside Accrington.

Barnet went top of League Two with ten men and did most of the work with eleven. The Hive saw the Bees ahead inside ten minutes: Matthew Cox launched a long ball, Kabongo Tshimanga collected it, rounded Jay Lynch and saw Adam Murphy clear his effort off the line, then went down under Lynch's challenge moments later and converted the penalty himself in the 10th minute. Fleetwood had already forced Cox into a tip over from Lewis McCann, and they levelled nine minutes before the interval when Cox saved from Danny Andrew, Murphy hit a post and Will Davies poked in the rebound.

The second half belonged to the home side. Charlie Lakin reacted quickest to a ricochet and bundled Barnet back in front on the hour, and Idris Kanu doubled the lead two minutes later with a right-footed finish from Tshimanga's pass. Substitute Nnamdi Ofoborh was then shown a second yellow card on 85 minutes, so Barnet closed out the win a man short, and never looked in danger of losing it.

The table now reads Barnet 15, Walsall and Grimsby 13. Seventeen goals scored is the most in the division by three, and the BBC's pre-match count of 15 EFL games unbeaten, ten of them wins, becomes 16. Fleetwood arrived unbeaten after six games and leave with their first defeat of the season, sitting eleventh on ten points. Four draws in seven have kept them respectable and nothing more.

Bristol Rovers started the day second and finished it sixth, and the 5,947 at Priestfield watched the second half explain why. The visitors had the better of the opening, with Bobby Kamwa and Shaq Forde both missing the target, and Brad Young made a brilliant stop from Ronan Hale's drilled effort off Harry Waldock's cross to keep it goalless. Robbie McKenzie guided a free header over from inside the six-yard box and missed the target with a right-footed shot either side of the break, so Gillingham had chances before they had goals.

James Brophy changed the shape of it ten minutes into the second half, cutting inside from the left and firing an effort that Young never saw, his third goal of the season. Then Sheldon Kendall came off the bench and needed one touch: Nick Freeman's cross from the right, drilled in, five minutes from time. With a minute left he added a second at the second attempt after Will Goodwin's ball, and 3-0 was the final word. Rovers manager Steve Evans's post-match line was that some individuals had "lost their humbleness", which is not a sentence a manager says after a narrow defeat.

Gillingham have won three league games in a row for the first time since August 2025, per the BBC's pre-match note, and are fourth on 12 points. Rovers have lost four of their last 21 league games and every one of the four has been away, three of them this season: York, Grimsby and now Gillingham. They have as many wins as the leaders, four, and three more defeats.

Rochdale started the day bottom of League Two and won the Greater Manchester derby in front of 6,121 at the Crown Oil Arena. Dan Moss swept the opener into the roof of the net after seven minutes from a low delivery in behind the retreating Oldham defence. Mike Fondop then missed a gilt-edged chance on 25 minutes, sliding wide with an open goal at his mercy after Keenan Appiah-Forson picked Nils Ramming's pocket, and Kane Drummond's delivery across the face of goal after the break eluded both Fondop and substitute Calum Kavanagh.

The second goal was a sucker punch built from the Oldham keeper's kick: Matt Hudson's punt towards the halfway line was met by Baba Adeeko, who headed it forward for Dajaune Brown to advance into the area, side-step Donervon Daniels and slam a firm drive into the bottom corner just after the hour. Fondop hit the post with a late header. Rochdale climb seven places to 17th on seven points; Oldham, with a third successive league defeat, are 16th on the same total.

Walsall scored late in each half in front of 6,902, and Port Vale's supporters called for Jon Brady's sacking and booed their players off. It had been a scrap with few chances. Mason Hancock drove over early, Ben Waine's shot from distance was parried by Jed Ward, and Jordan Lawrence-Gabriel fired off target, before Courtney Clarke's low corner was flicked through the crowd and inside the near post by James Connolly five minutes into first-half stoppage time. Marko Marosi swatted over a Hancock free-kick and beat away Andrew Dallas's 12-yard effort in the 71st minute, and then Dallas caught an outswinging strike from the right of the box that swirled inside the far post on 89 minutes, his first goal for the club.

Walsall are second on 13 points and still unbeaten, three wins and four draws, with four goals conceded in seven games, the fewest in League Two. Port Vale are 23rd on five points with three goals scored, and their manager told the BBC that this is not good enough, which the booing had already established.

Newport's first away point of the season was earned in front of 1,743 at the Wham Stadium and owed a good deal to Jordan Wright, who produced an important double save early on to deny Tyler Walton and Charlie Caton. County grew into it after their first effort on goal midway through the half: Kieron Evans had a shot deflected over, Lee Jenkins saw a header blocked, and Louie Moulden saved Matty Jacob's driven effort. Christian Doidge should have won it after the restart, meeting Cameron Norman's set-piece delivery and sending a close-range header over the bar, and that was the last genuine chance of a game that lacked final-third quality as it wore on.

Shaquille Gwengwe, Newport's top scorer and newly called up by Malawi, stayed on the bench until the 86th minute and will miss the Exiles' next games on international duty. Accrington's first clean sheet since April leaves both clubs on six points, 21st and 19th.

Chesterfield hit the woodwork three times in the second half and still won by two, which tells you about the margin. Jeff King had struck the underside of the bar for York in the first half, the ball bouncing on the line before being cleared, and Louie Marsh forced Alfie McNally down to block towards the interval. After the restart Marsh curled one back off a post before George McEachran found Lee Bonis, who advanced into the area and fired past McNally in the 57th minute. Dilan Markanday and Bonis both hit the frame before Markanday finished a fast break from Fraser Bryden's pass with a superb effort in the seventh minute of added time. Twenty-six shots to seven, eight on target to none.

It is Chesterfield's first home league win of the season at the fourth attempt, and the BBC's pre-match count of 16 league meetings unbeaten against York becomes 17. Chesterfield are eighth on 11 points. York, who started the round third, are seventh on the same total after a second defeat of the season.

Colchester had a penalty appeal turned down in the third minute when Harry Anderson tumbled under Jake Evans's challenge, then watched Thimothee Lo-Tutala save Charlie McCann's close-range effort with his legs just before the break. Wyll Stanway denied Jack Payne from close range early in the second half. The breakthrough came from midfield: Moses Sesay broke, exchanged passes with Ellis Iandolo and stroked a low shot into the net. Cheltenham's reply arrived in the 78th minute after Sean Raggett handled Joe Tomlinson's free-kick in the area and Andreas Weimann slotted the penalty, and Colchester substitute Jaden Williams was sent off five minutes later for a foul on Robbie Cundy in front of 4,433.

Danny Cowley was really disappointed not to see the game out; Steve Cotterill felt Cheltenham had done enough to win it. The draw extends Cheltenham's unbeaten run to five matches and leaves them fifth on 12 points with 14 goals, second only to Barnet's 17. Colchester are 15th on nine, with eight of those nine points collected at home.

Crewe have now drawn five league games in a row, which the BBC notes they have managed only once before this century, in September and October 2010. This one was played in front of 6,493 at the Mornflake Stadium and went in front on 24 minutes, when Jack Lankester and Joel Tabiner interchanged, Tabiner was set free and lofted a pinpoint cross to the far post for Jordan Gibson to head home. Shrewsbury's equaliser on 39 was a gift: Lewis Billington under-hit a headed backpass, Tom Booth came out to collect it, and George Lloyd brushed past the keeper to fire into an empty net.

Isaac Lee sent a free header straight at Booth after the break, Will Brook punched away a thumping Gibson free-kick, and Luca Hoole sent a header against a post from a long free-kick in the closing minutes. Substitute Calum Agius thought he had won it in stoppage time, firing in off a post, but the flag ruled it out for offside. Shrewsbury's first away point of the season leaves them 18th on seven; Crewe, still unbeaten, are ninth on 11.

St James Park produced a goalless draw that both managers described in the language of homework. Tom Ince dragged a 25-yard effort wide early on, and Harrison Male made a one-handed save to keep out Josh Gordon's connection with Reece Cole's free-kick. A mistake in the Exeter defence handed Ince an opportunity that Jack Bycroft, making himself big, kept out, and the best chance of the game fell to Ince just before half-time, when he was again off target with only Bycroft to beat. After the interval Cole's free-kick went straight at Male, Ed James was off target from distance and then had a powerful header palmed over by the Tranmere keeper, and that was as good as it got.

Matt Taylor said Exeter were well aware they need to improve certain areas; Darrell Clarke said Tranmere did not connect moments again. Tranmere are still without an away win this season, three draws and a defeat, and sit tenth on ten points. Exeter are 20th on six, with four goals scored in seven games.

Northampton had the better of the first half at Sixfields and nothing to show for it. Zach Jeacock clawed away Fabio Tavares's curling effort inside ten minutes, a last-ditch tackle snuffed out Nathan Opoku when he found space in the box, Owen Dale shot over and Max Dyche headed straight at Julian Eyestone. Jeacock reacted smartly to deny Josh Austerfield right on half-time and kept out Paul Mullin on the restart, but Rotherham were the better side after the break and Mullin smashed home a penalty 17 minutes from the end after Dyche brought him down. Harvey Saunders had the equaliser on his boot in added time and Eyestone kept it out.

Chris Hogg's view was that the penalty was outside the box; Alex Bruce was pleased with the clean sheet. It is Rotherham's first away win of the season, an eighth consecutive league victory over Northampton, and it lifts the Millers to 14th on nine points. Northampton, 22nd on six, have scored three goals in seven games, the joint-fewest in the division alongside Port Vale, and the 5,771 who watched know why.

Swindon pinned Salford in their own half for most of the early exchanges and created almost nothing from it, Ollie Clarke's close-range header the nearest they came. Brendan Wiredu had an effort blocked just after the half hour, and Aaron Drinan was through on goal shortly after the interval only for Will Norris to deflect his effort wide of the post. Then, in the 77th minute, Joe Powell hit one from all of 35 yards into the top corner and Connor Ripley could only watch it.

The 3,052 at Moor Lane saw Salford's unbeaten run stretch to four league games. Cklamovski's side are twelfth on ten points, one place and no points above Swindon, who have now gone six away games in the EFL without a goal, one more than the BBC's pre-match count of five.