League Two round-up: Exeter and Lincoln win to stay joint top
Tuesday 21 August 2018 23:01, UK
Exeter edged ahead of Lincoln to top the Sky Bet League Two table on goal difference after contrasting victories on Tuesday night.
Exeter eased to a 2-0 away win at Cambridge, with Jonathan Forte and Jayden Stockley scoring the goals in the opening quarter-hour.
Lincoln had a tougher time en route to their three points, chasing the game for 45 minutes after Eoghan O'Connell opened the scoring for Bury.
A penalty and red card in the second half, Will Aimson the perpetrator, allowed John Akinde to equalise from 12 yards before Shay McCartan stepped off the bench to win it for Danny Cowley's Imps late on.
Colchester jumped to third, two points off the pace, with a 6-0 demolition of Crewe. The goal boost was enough to put them above MK Dons and Stevenage, who both lost ground by drawing.
MK went behind when Jordan Cook put Grimsby ahead, making it 1-1 through Robbie Simpson. They failed to find a winner despite Paul Dixon's red card leaving the Mariners a man short at the close.
Stevenage fought out a deadlock at Forest Green but all three of the sides who started the night on zero points ended with something in the bank.
Macclesfield and Cheltenham faced off against each other and settled on a stalemate - Danny Whittaker's opener paving the way for a Silkmen victory until Manny Duku popped up six minutes from time. It was even better for Morecambe, who had AJ Leitch-Smith to thank for the 1-0 win over Northampton which raised them from the basement spot.
At Brunton Park, Carlisle made it two wins in a row with a 2-1 defeat of Port Vale.
There were four goals and three red cards as Crawley hosted Swindon. James Dunne and Keshi Anderson put the visitors two up only for Oliver Palmer to equalise twice. Toumani Diagouraga, Dunne and Crawley's Josh Payne were all dismissed before the final goal.
There was a tense finish at Newport, where Notts County's Kristian Dennis made it 2-2 in the 87th minute only for Jamille Matt's injury-time response to seal a 3-2 Welsh win.
Tranmere against Mansfield and Yeovil versus Oldham ended goalless.
