Salford are top of League Two after a 1-0 win over Fleetwood, and Grimsby were beaten 2-1 at Blundell Park by a Shrewsbury side that had not won away all season. Eight of the eleven listed games were played. Walsall against Crawley, Colchester against Port Vale and Northampton against Oldham were postponed, and Barnet and York do not appear on the archived listing for the day.
Eighteen goals went in across the eight games. Six were won at home, one away and one was drawn, and both dismissals were for a second yellow card, one for Cheltenham's Charlie McCann at Accrington and one for Swindon's Kaelan Majekodunmi at Rochdale. Chesterfield scored three times between the 83rd minute and the first minute of stoppage time to beat Tranmere 4-2, Accrington scored twice in nine minutes to beat Cheltenham, Rochdale scored three minutes after Swindon went down to ten, and Crewe beat Bristol Rovers 3-1 to stay unbeaten after nine games.
The top of the table is tight. Salford lead on 16 points, Barnet, Crewe, Cheltenham and Bristol Rovers have 15, and York, Walsall and Chesterfield have 14, so the top eight are covered by two points. Three sides are still unbeaten: Barnet after seven games, Walsall after eight and Crewe after nine.
Full time
Grimsby Town1-2Shrewsbury Town
A second straight league defeat, and down to ninth
Grimsby had 63 per cent of the ball and 21 shots, Shrewsbury had nine, and Shrewsbury won. It was a first away win of the League Two season for Gavin Cowan's side, and it came from a goal at a corner and a volley from the edge of the box.
Will Brook had to make a save early on when Charles Vernam ran through, with Harvey Rodgers unable to make anything of the rebound. The first goal went the other way in the 19th minute. George Lloyd, who has played for Grimsby on loan, got the final touch as a corner was headed into his path. On the hour Kian McMahon-Brown struck a well-controlled volley into the bottom corner from the edge of the area.
Grimsby's reply came in the 75th minute, and it came entirely from the bench. Iwan Morgan delivered and Finlay Cartwright headed in, his first goal for the club. Justin Amaluzor had a close-range effort blocked from a long throw and Edon Pruti shot just wide from a cutback, and the shot figures show how a game slips away: Grimsby had five on target to Shrewsbury's four and scored with one of them, while Shrewsbury scored with two.
A week after losing at Newport, it is two league defeats in a row for Grimsby, who slip from sixth to ninth on 13 points. Shrewsbury climb from 18th to 14th on 11, and the BBC captioned Cowan's reaction as 'Really pleased with us being so resolute'. Grimsby travel to Port Vale on 10 October, and Port Vale are 23rd, with five points from seven games.
Salford are top of League Two, and they got there with one goal and three shots on target. Macaulay Langstaff missed a golden chance in the seventh minute, bursting into the box and firing wide, and Fleetwood had their own spell ten minutes later. Will Norris made a superb diving save to touch Adam Murphy's effort on to the post, and Mark Helm skewed a shot over the bar from range.
Fleetwood were handed a lifeline 13 minutes after the break, when it was judged that the ball had gone behind for a goal-kick before Kelly N'Mai's low centre ricocheted into their net. The reprieve was short. On 65 minutes Langstaff diverted Ryan Graydon's long-range effort into the top right corner, and the former Fleetwood forward was involved elsewhere too, with a shot blocked in the first half and a fierce drive that Jay Lynch saved.
Lynch also saved well from Jorge Grant's curling shot from the edge of the box. Fleetwood had 12 shots to Salford's 14 but only one on target, and Salford held on. The PA Media report says Salford won four of their five league matches in September, and they climb from seventh to first on 16 points, one clear of Barnet, Crewe, Cheltenham and Bristol Rovers, although Barnet have played two games fewer. Fleetwood fall from 14th to 18th. Peter Cklamovski's reaction was captioned 'We deserved the win', and Matt Lawlor's 'Losing is always concerning'.
Jack Lankester scored after 40 seconds and Crewe never gave the lead back. He latched on to Joel Tabiner's ball, cut in from the right and curled a shot into the far corner past Brad Young. Rovers responded quickly, with Ciaran Kelly's shot hitting the underside of the crossbar, and on 21 minutes Lankester doubled the lead from the penalty spot, sending Young the wrong way after Alfie Kilgour was spotted pulling down Luke Offord at a corner.
Adrien Thibaut then raced clear, and it took a last-ditch intervention from Jack Sparkes to block the young striker's effort. Rovers improved after the break and Bobby Kamwa was slipped clear only to be denied by Tom Booth, and the contest went out of their reach on 66 minutes. Josh March swept a pass over to the right of the box, substitute Jordan Gibson brought the ball down and drilled a fine finish into the far corner.
Kamwa had the last word in stoppage time, spotting Booth off his line and driving the ball over him, from inside his own half according to the PA Media report and from more than 35 yards according to the BBC's live text. Rovers had 15 shots to nine and four on target each, which sits oddly beside Steve Evans's reaction, as the BBC captioned it: 'We didn't make their goalkeeper work'. Evans watched from the stand while serving a touchline ban, and it was Rovers' fourth away defeat in five games.
Crewe's win ended a run of six successive draws. They are unbeaten after nine league games, with three wins and six draws, and climb from ninth to third on 15 points, while Rovers drop from third to fifth. Lee Bell's verdict, as captioned by the BBC, was 'It was a team performance full of men'.
Twenty-six shots, three late goals and up to eighth
Chesterfield had 26 shots to Tranmere's six, 10 on target to three and 12 corners to one, and the score was 1-1 until the 83rd minute. Dilan Markanday opened the scoring on 15 minutes, cutting inside from the right and curling a shot into the far corner, in a first half so one-sided that Tranmere managed one touch in the Chesterfield box and one off-target attempt. Louie Marsh went close before the goal and smashed an effort off the bar after it, Joel Randall scuffed one wide and Markanday had a decent strike saved.
Tranmere improved on the resumption. Tom Ince's teasing cross was well met by Dylan Jones, whose header made it 1-1 on 59 minutes. Lee Bonis then headed wide from close range, and the game turned: Marsh scored on 83 minutes, the ball deflecting in after Markanday set him up, and substitute Josh Koroma added two more, on 85 minutes and in the first minute of stoppage time, one a low strike and the other a toe-poked finish. Jacob Slater's shot in the fourth added minute made it 4-2.
Chesterfield have won four League Two games this season and move from 11th to eighth on 14 points. Tranmere slip from 10th to 12th on 11, only their second league defeat of the season, and the BBC captioned Darrell Clarke's reaction as 'Nowhere near good enough'.
Two goals in nine minutes, and Cheltenham miss the chance to go top
Accrington had 22 shots in all and nothing to show for them until the 78th minute. Devon Matthews volleyed over and Alex Henderson's strike was tipped away by Wyll Stanway before the break, and the Cheltenham goalkeeper also kept out a Stefan Mols effort with his foot and pushed away a Joe Anderson strike. Josh Woods fired over from six yards on 63 minutes, and another Woods shot took a deflection and went narrowly wide.
Substitute Charlie Warren, on loan from Bolton, ended it. Connor O'Brien's deep cross found him on 78 minutes, and he controlled the ball and fired home for his first League Two goal. Nine minutes later a Mols corner was not cleared and Warren pounced again. Charlie McCann was sent off for a second yellow card in added time.
Cheltenham had six shots to Accrington's 22 and one on target to six, a week after beating Chesterfield with seven shots to 27, and a win would have taken them top. Instead it is only their second league defeat of the season. Accrington climb from 19th to 16th on 10 points and Cheltenham fall from second to fourth on 15. The BBC's video caption for Steve Cotterill read "'Big Calls' from referee were wrong".
Swindon had a point in their hands until the 85th minute, when Kaelan Majekodunmi was sent off for a second bookable offence. Three minutes later Cian Hayes headed in Aden Flint's knock-on from a corner, and Rochdale had a 1-0 win. Neither goalkeeper had been seriously tested in the first half, although it took Flint's timely intervention to stop Anthony Munda's low drive from troubling Nils Ramming.
After the interval Antwoine Hackford was denied by Ramming, and Dajaune Brown got his feet in a tangle and failed to convert Glenn Middleton's inviting delivery in the 66th minute. Connor Ripley pushed a volleyed Brown effort over the bar and later saved brilliantly from Charlie Tasker. Rochdale had 15 shots to 12, five on target to two and 11 corners to five, and they climb from 16th to 11th on 13 points. Swindon drop from 12th to 13th on 11, and the PA Media report says the result increases the pressure on Ian Holloway, who had called himself a 'dead man walking' in a viral pre-match interview.
Exeter had not scored in their last four League Two matches, a month-long wait, until Anthony Scully scored on his debut. It came early in the second half. Charlie Cummins put the teenager George Birch through on the left, and Birch's cross was met by Scully, a former Shrewsbury Town forward. Exeter had three good chances before that: Scully's effort from the edge of the box on seven minutes was blocked by Dominic Iorfa after Julian Eyestone had thwarted Josh Gordon, Jack Fitzwater's header was saved two minutes later, and Taylor Perry's low shot slid wide of the far post after Scully put him through.
Rotherham had seven shots and none on target, against 16 and seven for Exeter. Jili Buyabu and Paul Mullin went close soon after the goal, Gordon headed a good chance over the bar with 25 minutes left, and substitute Ethan Sutherland crashed a volley against the post from Gwion Edwards's deep cross with 10 minutes to go. It is only Exeter's second win of the season and only their fifth goal in nine league games. They move from 21st to 20th, and Rotherham, handed a first loss in nearly a month, fall from 13th to 17th.
Newport create the chances, and both sides take a point
Gillingham had two thirds of the ball and one shot on target, and Newport had 15 shots, five on target, and no goal. Michael Adu-Poku's bending strike was cleared off the line early, and an unmarked Lee Jenkins headed over minutes later. Gillingham's Harry Waldock whistled a shot past the post for what was the hosts' only opportunity of note in the opening spell, and the BBC report says defenders Matty Jacob and Jenkins both missed golden opportunities to win the game in the first half.
Adu-Poku forced a save from Oliver Wright, the Southampton loanee in the Gillingham goal, and Jacob could not convert the rebound from a tight angle. Midway through the second half Waldock set up Ronan Hale after a neat move, but Jenkins blocked the shot, and Cameron Norman's powerful free kick was saved by Wright. Newport, without top scorer Shaquille Gwengwe, have now kept back-to-back away clean sheets and have two points from their away games this season. They are unbeaten in their last five games in all competitions and rise from 17th to 15th on 10 points, three behind Gillingham, who go from eighth to 10th on 13.
Snapshot: . P played · W won · D drawn · L lost · GF goals for · GA goals against · GD goal difference · Pts points.
League Two standings after this round
#
Club
P
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
1
Salford City
9
5
1
3
13
10
3
16
2
Barnet
7
4
3
0
17
10
7
15
3
Crewe Alexandra
9
3
6
0
11
7
4
15
4
Cheltenham Town
9
4
3
2
16
14
2
15
5
Bristol Rovers
9
5
0
4
14
14
0
15
6
York City
8
4
2
2
16
10
6
14
7
Walsall
8
3
5
0
11
5
6
14
8
Chesterfield
9
4
2
3
15
12
3
14
9
Grimsby Town
9
3
4
2
13
10
3
13
10
Gillingham
9
3
4
2
11
9
2
13
11
Rochdale
9
4
1
4
10
11
-1
13
12
Tranmere Rovers
9
2
5
2
12
12
0
11
13
Swindon Town
9
3
2
4
9
13
-4
11
14
Shrewsbury Town
9
3
2
4
9
14
-5
11
15
Newport County
9
2
4
3
12
12
0
10
16
Accrington Stanley
9
2
4
3
13
14
-1
10
17
Rotherham United
9
2
4
3
11
12
-1
10
18
Fleetwood Town
9
2
4
3
9
10
-1
10
19
Colchester United
8
2
4
2
10
12
-2
10
20
Exeter City
9
2
3
4
5
6
-1
9
21
Oldham Athletic
8
2
1
5
9
13
-4
7
22
Northampton Town
7
1
3
3
3
6
-3
6
23
Port Vale
7
1
2
4
3
9
-6
5
24
Crawley Town
7
1
1
5
6
13
-7
4
Salford top the table on 16 points, with four clubs on 15 behind them: Barnet on plus seven goal difference, Crewe on plus four, Cheltenham on plus two and Bristol Rovers level on zero. York and Walsall are on 14 with the same goal difference of plus six, and Chesterfield are also on 14 on plus three. Grimsby, Gillingham and Rochdale follow on 13, so the top 11 are covered by three points. Barnet's 17 goals are still the most in the division, Walsall's five conceded the fewest, and Barnet have played seven games and Walsall eight, against nine for Salford.
Salford and Crewe made the biggest climbs of the round, six places each, Salford from seventh to first and Crewe from ninth to third. Rochdale went up five places from 16th to 11th and Shrewsbury four from 18th to 14th. Rotherham and Fleetwood each fell four places, and so did Colchester, who did not play. At the bottom, Crawley are last on four points, Port Vale are on five and Northampton on six, all three with seven games played, and Oldham are on seven with eight played. Port Vale and Northampton have scored three goals each, the fewest in League Two, and Crawley's goal difference of minus seven is the worst.
06 / KEEP READING
League Two upcoming fixtures: 10 October 2026
Grimsby are at Port Vale on 10 October, one of twelve League Two fixtures listed for that Saturday. Oldham against Accrington and Swindon against Crewe start at half past twelve and the other ten at three o'clock, including Bristol Rovers against Barnet, Cheltenham against Salford and Fleetwood against Walsall. The archived October schedule shows no new dates for the three postponed games.
League Two fixtures:
All kick-offs UK time. Schedule checked ; fixtures may change.