League Two saw more twists and turns with late goals in a dramatic promotion and relegation battle going right to the wire.
The biggest talking point came at promotion rivals Salford and Notts County, the hosts going ahead of in stopping time, before the Magpies levelled in the 95th minute, but Salford went on to score the winner a minute later.
Meanwhile, league leaders Bromley netted in the 11th minute of added time to rescue a point against 10-man playoff hopeful Barnet. The Ravens have a 5-point lead at the top.
On Thursday, promotion contenders Cambridge and Swindon drew 1-1. The Robins grabbing a stoppage-time equaliser.
MK Dons failed to close the gap on the leaders, drawing 0-0 with 23rd place Barrow.
Salford edge closer to the top three, now sitting behind on goal difference, and play-offs are wide open, with Chesterfield jumping up to 7th, just 4 points separate that position down to 12th.
And the relegation battle is extremely tight with 4 points between 20th place Crawley and 24th Harrogate, both sides picking up big wins.
Cambridge 1-1 Swindon
Cambridge boss Neil Harris, per bordertelegraph: “What an amazing performance against a team that’s right up there with us.
“We absolutely dominated. It was one-way traffic for the majority of the game. I think they had one opportunity in the first 89 minutes.
“It was one opportunity in the game really, because it was a cross that goes in the back of our net. We created chance after chance, but if you don’t take that second goal, don’t take care in that final third, then you leave yourself open at the other end.
“It is hugely frustrating because it’s not even a shot that goes in the back of our net, the lad’s even more surprised than anybody in the stadium that they’ve had a shot on target, let alone scored.
“We can’t dwell on that. We have to take the positives of how good the performance was and look forward to Monday.
“We’re right in the mix for promotion. I’ve been waiting to get to the 40-game mark because now with six to go this is where you separate the men and the boys.”
Swindon’s Ian Holloway: “I thought they were better than us tonight,” he said. “Too many of my lads didn’t play well, didn’t sort their passing out, didn’t make the right decisions and didn’t come out with the ball in the challenges that I would expect us to.
“Luckily we managed to only concede one in the first half. That was where I felt they got ahead of us, on top of us and we didn’t do enough about it.
“After the changes I felt things slowly came our way and we kept going. Two of the subs had a hand in the goal, which is always what you want to see.
“I’m glad we didn’t lose. We’re only two points away from them. To be five would have been a killer, so we’re still in with a shout. The next game we have, if we win it and they lose theirs we would actually be above them.”
Accrington 2-0 Crewe
Crewe manager Lee Bell said, per thegazette: “It was a flat performance. The first 10 minutes we looked to put them under pressure, but then it just went really flat and we just couldn’t conjure an opportunity at their goal.
“We have conceded the goals we did, from a set-play and a breakaway, and from where we have been it’s a really flat performance and disappointing for everyone in the circumstances, in terms of where we are in the table and what other teams around us did today.
“But I won’t be the only manager standing in front of the press saying about their team being flat and not being able to pick up the points.
“We have teams in and around us and we have got to keep having a go and showing more than we did today in terms of our attacking intent.
“We are two points outside the play-offs, there are loads of games to be had.
“Now we have to get on the bus and build for Monday against Salford and look forward to a game in front of our own fans and put on a better attacking performance, which we have shown for the majority of the season but didn’t today.
“Whatever shape or substitutes it hasn’t worked for us today, but we are still playing for something at the latter stages of the season and we need to continue that for as long as possible.”
Accrington’s John Doolan: “I was very pleased, we wanted a reaction from the players after the last few games and we ticked all the boxes.
“We are starting to get players back from injury and we are starting to look a little more like ourselves.
“I couldn’t ask for any more from the players, but everyone put in a shift, showed commitment and a strong work ethic.
“We scored from a set-piece – we have worked a lot on the training ground on set-pieces – and the second goal was free-flowing football, it was an unbelievable goal.
“There is nothing more important than winning games of football and we haven’t been doing that recently so this was important.”
Barnet 2-2 Bromley
Bristol Rovers 1-0 Fleetwood
Chesterfield 1-0 Cheltenham
Colchester 1-3 Oldham
Oldham’s Micky Mellon said, per Gazette News: “It was an important victory and a terrific start to the weekend.
“We had a great start and I thought we played really well, in the first half – I thought we were really good.
“We looked relatively comfortable and might have done a wee bit better, with some of the opportunities that we had to get another goal.
“I thought we lost too many one-on-one defensive moments, in the second half.
“To be fair to them, they did well in the second half and made it very difficult for us.
“They’ve got a bit of pace to them in the sides and we had to try and get pace against it.
“They got into the wide men and we struggled a wee bit to deal with that.
“We were losing too many contacts – the big lad [Will Goodwin] came on for them and they started winning second balls.
“They started to pick up knock downs and we weren’t really at the races for 15, 20 minutes.
“We had to grind our way through that and the keeper made a couple of good saves.
“But we made a few changes and it seemed to settle down a wee bit.
“We got back into it again and the game became kind of even again.
“We believe that we’ve got players that hang in there and stick in there and we managed to get a foothold back in it, in the second half.
“We have that wee bit of guile, that wee bit of magic available, that gets you results.
“We certainly had to dig in there, which is the qualities that a team at this end of the table have to have at times and we were very much tested on that today but we came out of it the right side of it, in the end.”
Grimsby 1-3 Harrogate
Harrogate’s Simon Weaver told BBC Radio York: “To come to Grimsby and win the game, it is a big scalp for us.
“And I thought that we deserved the win on pure desire alone.
“The intensity was there. Tenacity in midfield led to the first two goals, and it was a good moment when the third went in.
“We have been able to keep the message simple this week – do the same things in the first two thirds, but in the final third, we have got to deliver if we want to stay in this division.
“And we have done today, but we have got to keep going.
We are back in the fight, and this result has lifted us.
“The players were delighted and proud of themselves in the changing room after the game, and quite rightly so.
“We’ve sent a message with a big win here that we are very much up for the fight.”
MK Dons 0-0 Barrow
Newport 0-2 Crawley
Crawley’s Colin Kazim-Richards said, per bordertelegraph: “It’s a nice feeling.
“We move. That three points is massive because this was a six-pointer and we’ve brought a couple of other people down into the fight as well. That’s great, but all we can worry about is ourselves and all we can control is the games that we play. That’s all we’re focused on.
“The job’s not done, but this is a couple of steps towards the job (being done). It’s game by game. We executed the plan very well and I’m delighted, but we have to move on very quickly because we have a game on Monday.
“It’s always nice to score against your old club,” he added. “So, for him, it’s a great day. He’s a nightmare to play against. He’s not the biggest, but his heart is massive and he’ll just keep going and going and he gets in the right areas and affects the game all the time.”
Newport boss Christian Fuchs saod: “It’s obviously disappointing. I thought we were in the game in the first half, but the second half is something that we definitely need to look over again because this was not a team that was actually out there fighting.
“We had too many players that maybe were too comfortable in the first half and then just didn’t perform to the standard we expect them to.
“Equally, when we went 2-0 down, with the amount of chances we created we still could have got a point from the game. It’s very disappointing. The manner that we approached the second half is just not the team that I want to see out on the pitch.
“It definitely hurts. The boys have been brilliant over the last couple of weeks and a second half like this is just unacceptable.”
Salford 2-1 Notts County
THREE goals in dramatic stoppage-time as Salford beat promotion rivals Notts County 2-1
Shrewsbury 1-0 Tranmere
Tranmere’s Pete Wild said, per Wirral Globe: “I’m frustrated because ultimately nothing’s happened in the football match.
“We’ve got to be more ruthless and have more character about us in and around the box to take our chances.
“We switched off, we don’t do the basics and ultimately that’s cost us.
“It’s been the case all season. I’ve just said in the dressing room that the things that have happened all season are still there in terms of defending the middle of the goal, clearing the ball out of the box, marking your men, showing a personality in their final third.
“We need people wanting to get on the ball in that final third.
“We can talk about the gap all we want, but if we get our results then we’ll be fine.
“I still think we’ll be fine, but we need to keep drilling the basics into them.
“We thought we had a good two weeks getting our messages across, but sadly they haven’t hit home when they’re out there.
“League Two football is about defending in your own box and keeping your composure when you get the chance and we haven’t done either of those things.
“Sadly they’ve come out on top in a game that should have ended zip zip.”
Shrewsbury’s Gavin Cowan said: “The biggest thing I focused on was the players wanting to play for the shirt and being willing to get hurt.
“We needed to be braver in the first half, and we showed that bravery in a 20-minute spell in the second half and got the goal in that time.
“The players have had a tough season and understandably the closer we got they went on the back foot.
“When you don’t put away some of the chances we created, there is a bit of danger at 1-0.
“When you talk about willing to get hurt Sam Stubbs is what I’m talking about, the amount of headers he goes for. Stubbsy’s a leader. He sometimes tries to do too much.
“When he simplifies his game, like today, you get performances like today. He’s a warrior of a defender.”
Walsall 2-2 Gillingham
