League Two Round-Up: Northampton seal promotion, Oxford, Portsmouth and Hartlepool ease to big away wins

League Two side Northampton Town became the first side in England to clinch promotion after a 2-2 draw at home to Bristol Rovers.

The Cobblers were pegged back after establishing a two-goal lead through strikes from Nick Adams and Sam Hoskins, but the Pirates levelled with a Matt Taylor header and a low drive from Ellis Harrison. The hosts will now be playing in the third-tier of English football for the first time since 2009 and could win the title next weekend if results go their way.

Chris Wilder’s Northampton celebrated promotion to League One, despite being pegged back to a 2-2 draw at Sixfields on Saturday.

Oxford United are now four points ahead of fourth placed Bristol Rovers, as their own automatic promotion credentials were boosted as they thrashed Crawley 5-1, after coming from a goal down. The Red Devils went ahead thanks to Joe McNerney, but the U’s hit back through Callum O’Dowda, Liam Sercombe, George Waring and a Chris Maguire brace.

Accrington moved up to third after a 2-0 win at Luton as they extended their unbeaten run to seven matches. Scott Brown put the visitors in front just after the break and Terry Gornell made sure of the three points with a header with just six minutes left to play.

Portsmouth hammered Dagenham 4-1 away from home, despite the Daggers taking the lead through Ashley Hemmings’ spectacular overhead kick. Pompey responded as four different players got on the score sheet with Michael Doyle, Christian Burgess, Gareth Evans and Kyle Bennett all finding the back of the net.

Hartlepool are now safe in League Two after a 5-2 win at Morecambe. Michael Woods and Nathan Thomas put Pool into a 2-0 lead inside the opening six minutes, before Alex Kenyon pulled one back for the hosts, yet second-half strikes by Thomas and Luke James made it 4-1. Tom Barkhuizen reduced the gap, but Rhys Oates headed home with just a minute left to play.

Leyton Orient slipped to eleventh place and are now two points off the play-offs after a 3-0 defeat at Barnet. John Akinde bagged a brace either side of Sam Togwell’s drive to record a comfortable victory for the Bees.

Wimbledon moved into the play-off places after a dramatic 2-1 victory at Plymouth. Lyle Taylor put the Dons ahead, after some great play by Tom Elliott and Jake Reeves, but the Pilgrims levelled when Graham Carey scored an exquisite angled volley. Adebayo Akinfenwa’s header won it for the visitors with two minutes left to play as the striker bagged his first goal in over four months.

York were denied a famous win over Wycombe as the visitors scored an equaliser with only two minutes left to draw 1-1. Vadaine Oliver put the hosts in front with a neat finish, but Matt Bloomfield levelled the score as the Chairboys slipped out of the play-off places, whilst the Minstermen are nine points from safety.

Exeter are now two points off the top seven after their 2-0 win at Yeovil. Ollie Watkins with his eighth of the season and Jake Taylor sealed the points for the Grecians as the visitors won comfortably.

Notts County won at home for the first time in 2016 after a 1-0 result against Stevenage. Liam Noble was the hero for the Magpies after a superb strike from the edge of the penalty area found the top corner.

Cambridge are now three points off the final play-off place thanks to their 1-0 win over Newport. James Dunne won the match for the U’s halfway through the second-half with a calm finish.

And finally Carlisle dropped to tenth after losing 2-1 at home to Mansfield in a tightly contested match. Colin Daniel and Reggie Lambe put the Stags two goals to the good, before Tom Miller pulled one back for the hosts in stoppage-time.

Player of the Weekend: Chris Maguire (Oxford United)
Team of the Weekend: Hartlepool United
Goal of the Weekend: Ashley Hemmings (DAGENHAM vs Portsmouth)