Sky Bet League Two round-up: Lincoln held, Northampton put in five-star performance
A review of the action in England's fourth tier...
Sky Bet League Two results
- Bury 1-1 Newport
- Crawley 1-1 Exeter
- Forest Green 3-1 Tranmere
- Grimsby 1-0 Colchester
- Lincoln 2-2 Carlisle
- Macclesfield 0-5 Northampton
- MK Dons 2-1 Notts County
- Morecambe 0-1 Mansfield
- Oldham 2-0 Cheltenham
- Stevenage 0-0 Port Vale
- Swindon 0-2 Cambridge
- Yeovil 1-1 Crewe
Review
Matt Crooks' first-half hat-trick set Northampton on their way to a 5-0 rout of Macclesfield away from home as they pulled away from the foot of League Two in style.
Crooks ended a month-long goal drought with three goals in 20 minutes, and a further strike from Daniel Powell had the Cobblers four goals ahead at the break.
Aaron Pierre added a fifth in stoppage time to complete a miserable night for rock-bottom Macclesfield, while Northampton move up to 18th.
MK Dons cut the gap at the top to three points as they climbed to second, capitalising on a draws for Lincoln and Exeter as they came from behind to beat the 10 men of Notts County.
The visitors led through Lewis Alessandra's deflected opener, but after Jamie Turley saw red just before the hour for a foul in the area on Rhys Healey, Chuks Aneke levelled from the spot and Healey then struck a 69th minute winner.
Lincoln recorded a second straight draw at home as Carlisle left Sincil Bank with a point.
The league leaders twice had to come from behind as first Michael O'Connor and then Bruno Andrade - with a deflected free-kick - cancelled out strikes from Carlisle's Ashley Nadesan in a 2-2 draw.
Exeter needed a late goal from substitute Lee Holmes to draw 1-1 at Crawley and extend their unbeaten run to 11 games.
Crawley captain Filipe Morais had earlier put the hosts on course for a sixth successive home league win.
Play-off chasing pair Bury and Newport could not be separated in an entertaining 1-1 draw at Gigg Lane.
Nicky Maynard put Bury ahead after 25 minutes but Jamille Matt tapped home a close-range equaliser.
Colchester lost ground on the automatic promotion places as Wes Thomas scored a late winner for Grimsby in a 1-0 defeat.
Forest Green boosted their own play-off hopes with a 3-1 win over Tranmere.
Reece Brown and Liam Shepherd set them on the way with first-half goals and though Paul Mullin pulled a goal back with five minutes left, Tahvon Campbell sealed it in added time.
Struggling Cambridge recorded only their third win of the season as Reggie Lambe and Jevani Brown scored twice in as many minutes in a 2-0 win over Swindon.
Jonathan Benteke's first goal in English football helped Oldham to a much-needed 2-0 win over Cheltenham.
Benteke, brother of Crystal Palace striker Christian, opened the scoring in the 75th minute before Callum Lang made sure in stoppage time.
Yeovil and Crewe shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw, with Jordan Bowery's opener cancelled out by Alex Fisher.
Neal Bishop's first-half goal gave Mansfield a 1-0 win over Morecambe, while Stevenage and Port Vale played out a goalless draw.
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Odds may change and correct as of 2200 BST on 23/10/18
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