League Two round-up

Cherries extend lead at the top as challengers falter

By Jamie Casey   Last updated: 24th October 2009   Subscribe to RSS Feed

League Two round-up

Connell: Opened the scoring for Cherries

Click for individual match reports and stats:
Barnet 3-0 Darlington
Bournemouth 3-1 Grimsby
Bradford 1-0 Hereford
Bury 2-1 Rotherham
Chesterfield 5-2 Burton Albion
Lincoln City 0-0 Torquay
Macclesfield 2-2 Dag & Red
Morecambe 2-4 Northampton
Notts County 2-0 Crewe
Port Vale 1-1 Cheltenham
Rochdale 1-2 Accrington Stanley
Shrewsbury 3-1 Aldershot

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Bournemouth extended their lead at the top of League Two with a 3-1 win over struggling Grimsby while several title rivals dropped vital points.

The Cherries were cruising by half-time as Alan Connell grabbed his second of the campaign before a Paul Linwood own goal doubled their advantage.

Linwood then scored at the right end at the beginning of the second half, but Brett Pitman restored the home side's two-goal cushion late on to open up a three-point gap over Dagenham and Redbridge.

An injury-time penalty from Mark Arber rescued a point for Daggers, meanwhile, as they came from two goals down to draw 2-2 with Macclesfield Town at Moss Rose.

Abu Ogogo saw red for violent conduct early on for the away side, as a Mathew Tipton penalty and a Reneil Sappleton strike handed Town a two-goal lead.

Wesley Thomas pulled one back for Daggers with 11 minutes remaining and with Tipton then receiving a second yellow to even up the sides, Arber dispatched his penalty to even up the score.

Rochdale remain in third place despite suffering a shock 2-1 home defeat to Accrington Stanley with goals from Robert Grant and Michael Symes before Chris Dagnall grabbed an injury-time consolation for the hosts.

Early pacesetters Rotherham also suffered defeat as they went down 2-1 to Bury at Gigg Lane with goals from Ryan Lowe and Ritchie Baker after Kevin Ellison had given the Millers the lead.

Meanwhile, Notts County leapfrog Rotherham into fourth spot as they cruised to a 2-0 home win over struggling Crewe with a strike either side of half-time from Luke Rodgers and Craig Westcarr securing three points for the Magpies.

Elsewhere, Barnet remain in the play-off hunt as they inflicted more misery on Darlington boss Steve Staunton with a 3-0 victory at Underhill.

The away side held their own until the break but a second-half flurry of goals courtesy of Ismail Yakubu, Nicky Deverdics and Yannick Bolasie ensured victory for the Bees.

Shrewsbury remain in the play-off positions after cruising to a 3-1 win over Aldershot, who drop down to tenth following the defeat.

Chesterfield upped their chances of breaking into the play-off reckoning as they thumped Burton Albion 5-2 after a late flurry of goals at Saltergate.

Meanwhile, Bradford move into the top half after they secured a 1-0 win over Hereford at Valley Parade thanks to a Gareth Evans strike.

The home side also had Lee Bullock sent off for a second bookable offence late on but nonetheless clung on for the three points.

Elsewhere, Port Vale were held 1-1 at home to Cheltenham Town after Michael Pook cancelled out Marc Richards' first-half opener.

Northampton eased their relegation worries as they battled to a convincing 4-2 away win over Morecambe thanks to a fine second-half showing from the Cobblers.

Finally, Lincoln and Torquay played out the day's only 0-0 draw at Sincil Bank as both sides remain struggling in the lower half.