League Two Round-Up: Eight Goals on Severnside and Two Perfect Records

Bristol Rovers and Newport County spent Saturday lunchtime proving that a derby does not have to be tidy to be worth the ticket. Eight goals, a Newport lead inside fifteen seconds, an own goal born of a goalkeeper and a defender disagreeing about whose ball it was, a yellow card for celebrating too well in front of the wrong supporters, and a winner dribbled into an empty net in the ninth minute of added time. The rest of the division got on with its quieter arithmetic. Barnet and Crewe Alexandra made it two wins from two and nobody else did. Walsall and Grimsby Town cancelled each other out. And three clubs finished the afternoon still waiting for their first point of the season.

The shape of the round

Barnet lead League Two on goal difference from Crewe, the only two clubs with six points from six. Behind them sit fourteen clubs on four points or three, which is what a table looks like when it has only been asked two questions. Walsall are third and have not conceded a league goal yet. At the other end, Salford City, Rochdale and Shrewsbury Town have lost both of their games, and Shrewsbury got there the hard way, level at home with seven minutes left and losing by two.

The late-goal habit that ran through opening day has not gone anywhere. Fabrizio Cavegn scored in the ninth minute of added time at the Memorial Stadium. Lewis Temple's deflection trickled into his own net in the fourth minute of added time. Tom Knowles finished Barnet's win on ninety minutes, Charlie Lakin had put them ahead on eighty-three, and Ryan Broom gave Cheltenham five minutes of hope at Swindon on eighty-five. Four of the twelve games had a goal in the last ten minutes. Two clubs, Northampton Town and Gillingham, have yet to score a league goal at all.

Bristol Rovers 5-3 Newport County: a derby that refused to settle

Newport were in front after fifteen seconds. Harrison Biggins, set up by Doidge, finished with the composure of a man who had not yet noticed the game had started, and for a while it looked as though Steve Evans' Rovers were going to have a second bad Saturday in a row after losing their opener to promoted York. Both sides hit the woodwork. Then, on the stroke of half-time, Ben Purrington nodded in after Bobby Kamwa's cross had deflected onto the bar, and the afternoon changed its mind about what it wanted to be.

Six goals arrived in the second half. Cavegn scored from close range in the 53rd minute, and four minutes later Lee Jenkins poked the ball past his own goalkeeper Jordan Wright after the pair of them had a brief and expensive misunderstanding. Shaquille Gwengwe lobbed one back for Newport just after the hour, Doidge again the provider. Kamwa, making his first start since joining Rovers in the summer, curled in a fourth on 74 minutes against the club he served for two seasons, then collected a booking for celebrating in front of the Rodney Parade supporters who cheered him then and jeered him now. Cole Jarvis headed Newport back to within one in the first of eight added minutes. Cavegn ended it in the ninth of them, dribbling into an empty net with the visitors committed elsewhere. A crowd of 10,349 got eight goals and no obvious idea, at any point, of what the final score would be. Hayden Mullins' verdict on the losing side was not the one the scoreline suggested: "I know we are in a good place."

Walsall 0-0 Grimsby Town: two defences, no arguments

Grimsby Town have now played two league games, scored one goal and conceded none, and sit ninth with four points. That is a strange-looking set of numbers and a perfectly good one. At the Bescot, David Artell's side took a point off a Walsall team who have not conceded a league goal all season, and they did it in a match that was physical, tight and almost entirely free of clear chances.

Two well-matched sides traded half-chances. Courtney Clarke went first, hammering high and wide from Aaron Pressley's lay-off after sixteen minutes, and Grimsby's reply was Charles Vernam blazing over after Andy Cook had worked Harvey Rodgers' low cross into his path. The Saddlers came out quicker after the break and Clarke got his shot away again, this time straight into the chest of Christy Pym.

The Mariners were the better side as the half wore on, and they had the game's one genuine grievance: Justin Amaluzor was shoved over by James Connolly as he ran clear just outside the box, which cost Connolly a booking and Grimsby a promising position. Jayden Sweeney's thumped effort from the left edge of the area was beaten over by Jed Ward with thirteen minutes left. Nobody scored, nobody deserved to lose, and Grimsby take an unbeaten start into the next round with a defence that has not yet been beaten by anyone.

Shrewsbury 1-3 Barnet: seven minutes that changed the table

For eighty-three minutes Shrewsbury Town were level with the league leaders and looked entitled to it. Jake Reeves, signed on loan days earlier, had put Barnet ahead on thirteen minutes when Lakin's shot was blocked and the ball dropped for him to find the bottom corner. Shrewsbury pressed. Will Gray cleared the bar, Josh Davison nodded wide, and Nnamdi Ofoborh missed the chance to make it two at the other end. Shortly before the interval Barnet keeper Matt Cox, who spent last season on loan at Shrewsbury, spilled a cross and Davison was quickest to the mess.

The second half kept promising Shrewsbury something it never delivered. Will Boyle had a header cleared off the line, Luca Hoole headed wide, and then the game was taken away from them in seven minutes. Lakin volleyed in a loose ball on eighty-three, Kabongo Tshimanga credited with the assist, and on ninety Knowles cut inside and found the top corner with the sort of finish that makes a 1-3 look more comfortable than it was. Barnet keep their perfect record. Shrewsbury, watched by a crowd of 5,129, are bottom with nothing from two games, level on every column with Rochdale above them.

Crewe 1-0 Northampton: the cheekiest goal of the round

Crewe Alexandra's second win came from a goalkeeper's momentary inattention. Zach Jeacock rolled the ball out inside his own box without checking who was behind him, and Josh March nipped in to finish from close range in the 53rd minute for his second goal of the campaign. Crewe had offered nothing at all before it.

Northampton Town will feel the first half was theirs and that they wasted it. Logan Briggs could not connect cleanly with Harvey Saunders' pull-back and shot straight at Tom Booth. Connor Lemonheigh-Evans tested Booth from range. Saunders drove wildly over after Briggs slipped him in. Best of all, and worst of all, James Maxwell surged into the box just before the break and thrashed his effort off the near post. Booth then kept the lead intact twice, denying substitute Elliott List at the near post and pushing away a second effort bound for the far corner. Two games, no goals scored, one point: the Cobblers are 18th and running out of ways to describe an afternoon they controlled.

The rest of matchday two

Salford City 0-1 Chesterfield

Lee Bonis scored inside two minutes and Chesterfield never quite let go of it. Josh Koroma pounced on a mix-up involving Ollie Turton and drove across goal, the parry fell to Bonis, and that was the game. Bonis should have had a second before the break after pickpocketing Will Norris fully 25 yards from goal, but fired narrowly wide of the empty net, and Norris made a smart diving save from his glancing header three minutes after the break. Ben Woodburn rattled the base of a post for Salford around the hour, five substitutions dragged the hosts into the game late on, and Chesterfield's Ryan Stirk headed a cross onto his own post in added time. Paul Cook's Chesterfield have their first win of the season. Salford have lost both and sit 22nd.

Colchester United 2-1 Oldham Athletic

Ten-man Oldham were four added minutes from a point. Keenan Appiah-Forson had marked his debut with a fine strike into the top-right corner from 25 yards on twenty minutes, then Gus Scott-Morriss was sent off seconds before the break for a challenge on Ellis Iandolo. What followed was Mathew Hudson refusing to lose: two Sean Raggett headers parried, and Jack Payne's penalty kept out with a stretched leg with a quarter of an hour left, after Jaden Williams had been brought down. Harry Anderson had levelled on the hour from a few yards out after Oscar Thorn's delivery, and Lewis Temple's deflection finally trickled over the line in the 90th minute plus four. A goalkeeper can have the best afternoon on the pitch and still lose.

Exeter City 2-0 Accrington Stanley

Exeter's first win of the season was effectively finished by the 13th minute. Captain Jack Fitzwater turned in Luca Woodhouse's cross inside two minutes, and eleven minutes later Gwion Edwards' shot from distance took a wicked deflection off Accrington captain Seamus Conneely and went in. The Grecians should have had more: Ed James headed over, Jake Gordon dragged one wide, and Jayden Wareham took neither of the two chances that came to him. Accrington's afternoon amounted to a Charlie Caton shot deflected wide and a Cole Stockton header that Jack Bycroft gathered without moving much. A crowd of 5,939 at St James Park saw a game decided before it was properly under way.

Rochdale 1-2 Crawley Town

Crawley Town, who finished their opener against Crewe with nine men, got their season going at the Crown Oil Arena. Pemi Aderoju, on loan from Peterborough, scored his first goal for the club in the eighth minute from Osman Kamara's left-wing cross. Rochdale came out for the second half like a side who had worked something out and equalised in the 54th through Ethan Ebanks-Landell, who headed in Ryan East's header at the far post for only his seventh goal in 154 appearances for the club. The lead came back on 72 minutes: Kaiden Wilson tripped Aderoju, and Louie Watson scored the penalty. Rochdale, back in the EFL for the first time since 2023, have lost both and have yet to take a point.

Port Vale 1-1 Tranmere Rovers

Tranmere finished this one with a centre-back in goal and a point in their pocket. George Byers put Port Vale ahead from the spot on eighteen minutes after Joe Ironside brought down Jordan Lawrence-Gabriel, with Mo Faal having gone close before the penalty. After the restart Harrison Male was forced off injured and centre-back Bobby Faulkner pulled on the gloves, and Jon Brady's side should still have been out of sight after the hour, Faal missing two close-range headers against a makeshift goalkeeper. Tom Ince slid the equaliser under Jackson Smith on 72 minutes for his first goal for the club. Darrell Clarke's side are unbeaten and fourth; the Valiants are winless and 20th, and Vale Park's 8,668 will have gone home thinking about Faal's headers.

Swindon Town 2-1 Cheltenham Town

Swindon had not beaten Cheltenham at home since 2012, and Aaron Drinan settled that with the best goal of the round. Last season's top scorer curled in from outside the box on seventeen minutes after Anthony Munda nicked possession in midfield. Captain Ollie Clarke jabbed home a flick-on from a throw-in in the 55th to double it. Cheltenham had chances either side: Joe Tomlinson smashed over from Charlie McCann's cutback and was then denied by Connor Ripley's firm hand, and Ripley later blocked Kirsten Otchere from point-blank range and gathered Jake Evans' header. Ryan Broom's half-volley into the roof of the net with five minutes left made the last stretch uncomfortable, but an injury-hit Swindon held on in front of 8,833.

Fleetwood Town 0-0 Gillingham

The round's second goalless afternoon, at Highbury Stadium, and a result that reads differently from each end. Fleetwood Town have played two, scored one and conceded none, which is worth four points and eighth place. Gillingham have played two, scored none and conceded three, and this was their first point of the season after Walsall beat them by three at home on the opening day. A clean sheet on the road is progress of a sort. The goal at the other end remains theoretical.

Rotherham United 1-1 York City

The first Yorkshire derby between these two for 13 years ended with Alex Bruce still waiting for a first win as Rotherham United head coach. The Millers, regrouping after relegation from League One, led against the run of play on twenty minutes when Kian Spence's low corner was flicked in by Ewan Otoo. York City levelled on forty, Alex Newby sneaking in at the back post to turn in Harry Boyes' cross, and they should have led before the interval: Ollie Pearce's goal-bound effort was diverted just off target by Lenny Agbaire after Newby had been denied. Newby went close again after the break, Ted Cann matching his low shot. Rotherham looked the likelier of the two late on, and it took Alfie McNally to rescue York when Tom Bradshaw was slid through, Spence lashing the rebound into the side netting. A crowd of 9,807 watched two sides who both had reason to feel they had let something go.

What the second table says

Barnet and Crewe are the only clubs with maximum points, and they got there in opposite ways: Barnet have scored six and conceded two, Crewe have scored two and conceded none. Walsall, Tranmere, Colchester United, York City, Swindon, Fleetwood Town and Grimsby all sit on four. Salford, Rochdale and Shrewsbury are the three still on zero, and of those Shrewsbury will be angriest, because they held the leaders for eighty-three minutes and finished with nothing.

Two rounds is not a season and it is not evidence. It is, though, the point at which habits start showing: Walsall and Grimsby not conceding, Northampton and Gillingham not scoring, and four games in this round given a goal inside the last ten minutes. In a division that hands out promotion on the strength of a dozen one-goal afternoons, the clubs learning to survive the last ten minutes are the ones worth watching in September.

Sources: BBC Sport, including PA Media match reports.