Exeter City FC

To compound matters, captain Danny Coles become the first Grecian to receive his marching orders this season after he picked up two yellow cards.  “We played with a tempo, an urgency and a real vigour in the first half but you have got to see teams off in that time,” Flitcroft told BBC Radio Manchester.  “It gave us the platform to try and force the issue in the second half.  We tried to hit Exeter from every part of the pitch and it was a really solid performance in every aspect.”  Exeter are now 20th in the table, four points clear of the bottom two with five games to play.

23rd-placed Northampton Town continued their fight against the drop as they recorded a 1-0 away win at Accrington Stanley.  Chris Hackett scored the winner for the Cobblers after just four minutes at the Crown Ground.  Stanley nearly clawed their way back into it at the death but Matt Duke saved from Kayode Odejayi, who scored the winner at St James Park against Exeter City last week.  “We aren’t playing with a huge amount of confidence but we had to find a way to win and today we’ve done that,” Town boss Chris Wilder said.  “If it has to go to the last game, we’ll take it there.  We’ve given ourselves a fighting chance.” 

Right at the bottom, the situation didn’t get any better for Torquay United, as they lost at home to Scunthorpe United.  The result took Russ Wilcox’s side’s unbeaten run to 25 games, but left the Gulls ten points from safety – Torquay could now be relegated next week if they lose at Bristol Rovers and Wycombe win at Newport.  The game was won by League 2 top-scorer Sam Winnall, who found the net from the penalty spot just after the half-hour.  That was before Torquay substitute Jayden Stockley was sent off for violent conduct.  

The Iron are now joint-top of the league on 75 points, with Rochdale holding onto the top spot as they drew 0-0 with play-off hopefuls York City at Spotland.  York moved up to seventh as a result, prompting boss Nigel Worthington to comment, “It’s a fantastic result to come to this stadium in the current form that Rochdale are in and have been for most of the season.  It’s a tremendous effort by the players, it really was – they’ve given everything.  Our backs were against the walls at times through good play by Rochdale but we stood firm and kept our nerve and it’s a fantastic point.”


David Ball opened the scoring for Fleetwood in their win at Oxford

Fleetwood Town are still in with a chance of an automatic promotion spot after they secured an impressive 2-0 win at the Kassam Stadium against Oxford United.  David Ball and Antoni Sarcevic were the goalscorers as the Cod Army closed the gap to three points on third-placed Chesterfield.  That is because the Spireites slipped up against Newport County AFC at the Proact Stadium.  Jimmy Ryan gave Paul Cook’s side the advantage over the Exiles early in the second half, but Max Porter pegged them back and saved a point for the Welsh side, who this weekend passed the half-century points tally milestone. 

Callum McFadzean helped Burton Albion see off Plymouth Argyle and remain fifth with a 1-0 win, while Southend United now complete the top seven after they went to Whaddon Road and won 2-1 against Cheltenham Town.  After Byron Harrison had given the Robins the lead right on half-time, former Grecian Barry Corr equalised on 64 minutes, and three minutes later Kevan Hurst had completed the turnaround.

A good win for Wycombe Wanderers maintained the three-point gap between themselves and Northampton.  They saw off Dagenham & Redbridge 2-0, as Steven Craig scored a penalty and Max Kretzschmar added another, both after the Daggers saw Scott Doe sent off for violent conduct in the first half.  Portsmouth picked up a much-needed home win at Fratton Park when Adam Webster netted after just two minutes to secure a 1-0 win against Hartlepool United.  

Mansfield Town’s Colin Daniel scored a free-kick to down ten-men Morecambe with a 1-0 victory. The Shrimps lost Andy Fleming to a red card for a foul on Adam Murray shortly after they had fallen behind.  Finally, AFC Wimbledon and Bristol Rovers played out a 0-0 draw.