Lower League Roundup: November 21st 2017

League One

What a difference stoppage time can make to a team’s season. Shrewsbury Town have made a habit of scoring late goals this season and did it again against Rotherham which means that it is now five league games in which they have scored in the last five minutes. Those late goals have gained them eight points directly and it is a testament to Paul Hurst. He has instilled a never die attitude and great fitness into this team that are, amazingly, four points clear at the top of League One.

Bradford managed to grab a brilliant three points at Wigan. They scored late on to win it and move to within three points of The Latics. Charlton’s late capitulation at home to MK Dons left manager Karl Robinson fuming at the referee’s decision to award a late penalty to his former side. Charlton had scored with just three minutes left but were pegged back by Agard’s late spot kick.

Bury continued to produce abject performances and need a new manager in as soon as possible. Following their humiliating FA Cup defeat at home to Woking their Chairman issued an apology to the fans. They were beaten 3-0 again on Saturday, this time by a Blackburn side that crept into the play-off places.

Oxford United came away from Home Park with a 4-0 win despite captain Curtis Nelson being lost to injury for the rest of the season. An early red card to Pilgrims defender Ryan Edwards also gave away a penalty left the home side little chance, with three second half goals making the scoreline convincing despite a positive display from Argyle midfielder Graham Carey.

Oldham are back to winning ways after keeping defensive mistakes to just the one in their 3-1 derby win over Rochdale. Eoin Doyle has been superb since signing on loan and grabbed another two. The second was a peach of a volley after a route one hoof forward. Have a look at that strike below.

Results in full:

Bristol Rovers 1-3 Wimbledon, Bury 0-3 Blackburn, Charlton 2-2 MK Dons, Fleetwood 0-0 Doncaster, Northampton 0-3 Scunthorpe, Oldham 3-1 Rochdale, Peterborough 0-1 Blackpool, Plymouth Argyle 0-4 Oxford, Portsmouth 1-0 Southend, Wigan 1-2 Bradford, Walsall 0-1 Gillingham, Rotherham 1-2 Shrewsbury

League Two

I absolutely love this division for the simple reason that it is so tight - there will be a whole host of teams fighting for promotion come May. Luton Town stole the show again this weekend as they smashed seven past Cambridge United at Kenilworth Road. Danny Hylton scored a hat-trick but that wasn’t the big story of the game, believe it or not.

The Lee brothers, Olly and Elliott, sons of former Newcastle midfielder Rob Lee, stole the headlines with some truly remarkable strikes. First Olly scored from inside his own half, fully 70 yards out as he lobbed the ball over keeper Forde into the back of the net. The Oak Road and the Kenilworth Road ends are in different post codes so Olly took a shot from one post-code and the ball went in in another.

Elliott, not to be out done, smashed home a beautiful volley, watching the ball come over his shoulder before rifling it into the top corner and he also scored a 25 yard screamer in the second half to round off a perfect afternoon for the Hatters.

Luton have now scored seven goals or more in three home matches this season in the league, a feat never achieved before Christmas in EFL history. Another interesting fact is that the last time Luton had scored seven in a game before this season was in 1988 - a total of 1533 matches ago, yet they have done it three times this season already.

Elsewhere Notts County beat Cheltenham 3-1 thanks to another brilliant display from Forest loanee Jorge Grant. Chesterfield won at home for the first time this season by beating Exeter City 1-0 and Wycombe trashed Crawley 4-0 at Adams Park with Craig Mackail-Smith scoring a hat-trick. After the final whistle Harry Kewell had to be restrained by stewards and his own players as he went to speak to Crawley fans that were venting their frustrations with him after another poor performance.

Mark McGhee lost his first game as Barnet’s new manger 1-0 at Port Vale. It was a dominant display from the Valiants and McGhee has a lot of work to do in order to save the Bees from a shock relegation this season.

Coventry beat Lincoln City at Sincil Bank thanks to a Jodi Jones inspired comeback in the second half. The Sky Blues have struggled to score in matches they have dominated this season but managed to turn around a half time deficit to win this one.

Results in full:

Colchester 0-0 Morecambe, Chesterfield 1-0 Exeter, Forest Green 3-2 Crewe, Lincoln 1-2 Coventry, Luton 7-0 Cambridge, Notts County 3-1 Cheltenham, Accrington 1-1 Newport, Yeovil 1-2 Swindon, Port Vale 1-0 Barnet, Wycombe 4-0 Crawley, Mansfield 1-0 Stevenage, Grimsby 0-1 Carlisle

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