September is here, and there was a full programme of League Two fixtures despite the international break. With the table starting to take shape, lets see what the biggest talking points were from matchday seven.
Stevenage sack Maamria after heavy away defeat
It feels like this has been often said, but it hasn’t been a good start to the season for Stevenage. Last week saw them finally score their first goals of the campaign, but they had to settle for a 2-2 draw at home to Macclesfield Town.
They faced an almighty hurdle this week as they looked to end Cheltenham Town’s 11-match unbeaten run at home. For 80 minutes it looked like they would at least take another 2-2 draw, but they would leave empty-handed.
Danny Newton equalised twice for the visitors in the second half to cancel goals from Gavin Reilly and Sean Long. Goals in the final 10 minutes from Ryan Broom and Alex Addai sealed a 4-2 victory to send Cheltenham into the playoff places.
The defeat sees Stevenage without a win and routed to 23rd place. The game proved to be Dino Maamria’s last after he was sacked on Monday with former England Women’s coach Mark Sampson in charge as the caretaker.
Sampson will be hoping to guide Stevenage to their first win of the season at home to Carlisle United. Meanwhile, Cheltenham will be looking for their first away win of the season against Salford City.
Crewe make best start to a season in almost 25 years
The game of the day was at Blundell Park as fourth place Grimsby Town faced third place Crewe Alexandra. Both teams have exceeded expectations with their fine starts to the season, and it would be the visitors that would come out on top.
Grimsby were awarded a penalty after 28 minutes when Luke Hendrie was fouled by Daniel Powell. Top scorer James Hanson couldn’t add to his tally as his attempt was saved by Dave Richards.
Crewe broke the deadlock less than a minute into the second half when Tom Lowery linked up with Chris Porter before curling the ball past James McKeown. Both teams had plenty of chances in an enthralling second half, but the game would be settled in added time.
The Mariners were caught on the break in added time which resulted in Charlie Kirk rounding McKeown before lofting the ball into the roof of the net. The win sees Crewe remain in the automatic promotion places and confirms their best start to a season since 1995/96.
The Alex have the chance to record their best start in 70 years when they host Cambridge United this Saturday. Grimsby will look to cement a playoff place when they travel to struggling Oldham Athletic.
Exeter remain top after longest away trip
Exeter City faced a 700-mile round trip to face Carlisle United, the longest of their season. Fans were rewarded for their lengthy travels with a comfortable 3-1 victory away at Brunton Park.
The Grecians took the lead in the 36th minute when Lee Martin curled a first-time powerful drive past Carlisle goalkeeper Adam Collin. The visitors deservedly went into the break in the lead after a dominant first half.
The second half saw a Carlisle resurgence as they equalised on the hour courtesy of Olufela Olomola’s looping header. Exeter restored their lead less than five minutes later when Aaron Martin met Nicky Law’s corner with a powerful header.
Law sealed the win for the unbeaten league leaders in added time with a low left-footed shot past Collin. The victory sees Exeter remain at the top of the league with 17 points out of a possible 21, the most in all three EFL divisions.
Exeter will look to extend their unbeaten start this Saturday when they host Leyton Orient, while Carlisle travel to winless Stevenage.
Swindon produce first-half blitz to beat Orient
Swindon Town are back in form after picking up their second consecutive victory. Matchday seven saw the Robins travel to Leyton Orient, and by half-time the game was already over.
Swindon took the lead 23 minutes in when Keshi Anderson curled the ball past Dean Brill. The visitors doubled their advantage just before the interval when Lloyd Isgrove’s eccentric run lead to Rob Hunt’s cross deflecting off Orient defender Joe Widdowson.
The Robins added a third to further emphasise their dominance deep into added time. Isgrove was once again at the heart of Swindon’s attack as another commanding run resulted in a curled finish from Jerry Yates.
The second half was an even affair, and Orient scored arguably the goal of the game at the 74th minute. Striker Jordan Maguire-Drew did well to fool the defence with his first touch before curling the ball superbly past Luke McCormick.
Swindon move into fourth and are starting to look like a team that’ll be in the promotion picture as the season progresses. The Robins host Macclesfield Town this Saturday while Orient travel to league leaders Exeter City.
Bradford leave it late to complete turnaround
Despite the consecutive defeats, Bradford City’s good start to the season was at risk of being undone. They hosted Northampton Town on matchday seven, a team high on confidence after last week’s 3-1 win over Plymouth Argyle.
The visitors took the lead after 20 minutes when captain Charlie Goode nodded in from six yards. Northampton nearly added a second, but Nicky Adams’ effort was blocked by Kelvin Mellor.
The Bantams controlled the second half and equalised 13 minutes from time after Clayton Donaldson headed past David Cornell. The winning goal came with just two minutes remaining after Paudie O’Connor reacted quickest to Cornell’s superb diving save to tap in from close range.
The drama continued as Bradford midfielder Zeli Ismail was shown a second yellow card in added time after clashing with Jordan Turnbull. The result sees Bradford join a host of teams on 11 points while Northampton slip to 18th.
Bradford’s next game sees them travel to Walsall while Northampton are at home to unbeaten Newport County.
Matchday seven results:
Bradford City 2-1 Northampton Town
Cambridge United 0-1 Forest Green Rovers
Carlisle United 1-3 Exeter City
Cheltenham Town 4-2 Stevenage
Colchester United 0-0 Walsall
Grimsby Town 0-2 Crewe Alexandra
Leyton Orient 1-3 Swindon Town
Macclesfield Town 1-1 Crawley Town
Mansfield Town 2-0 Scunthorpe United
Morecambe 2-2 Salford City
Newport County 1-0 Port Vale
Plymouth Argyle 2-2 Oldham Athletic
