Cole Stockton scored twice as Barrow moved closer to securing a Sky Bet League Two play-off place with a 3-1 win over lowly Grimsby.

The Cumbrians have never appeared in a Football League play-off but an unbeaten March campaign has bolstered their chances.

Stockton broke the deadlock after 11 minutes with his sixth goal since joining on loan from Burton in the January transfer window.

The former Morecambe goal machine doubled the Bluebirds’ lead in the 22nd minute with a simple tap-in after Dom Telford’s shot following a mazy dribble was stopped on the line.

Barrow looked set for a routine three points but Grimsby kept up the pressure in the second half and saw Kieran Green hit the post with a header.

However, Pete Wild’s side sealed victory after 81 minutes as midfielder Robbie Gotts drilled in a low shot from the edge of the area.

Gotts’ goal was extra insurance as Justin Obikwu fired in after 88 minutes to give the Mariners a consolation.

Barrow’s latest win stretched their unbeaten run to six games – all in March – with four victories and two draws and leaves them fifth in League Two.

Paul Mullin’s brace handed Wrexham a 2-0 win against Mansfield in League Two’s close automatic promotion race.

Mullin gave the Dragons a first-half advantage and grabbed his second from the penalty spot after the break as Phil Parkinson’s side narrowed their gap to the summit to a point and drew level with the second-placed Stags.

Elliot Lee’s early bicycle kick was claimed by Mansfield’s Christy Pym but Andy Cannon’s low cross was slotted home by Mullin to put Wrexham ahead after the half-hour.

Mansfield’s Aaron Lewis nearly equalised but his 37th-minute effort curled just wide.

After half-time, Arthur Okonkwo saved George Maris’s effort as Mansfield sought a leveller.

Davis Keillor-Dunn thought he had equalised after robbing Okonkwo, but referee Lewis Smith disallowed it after the Stags man was adjudged to have unfairly dispossessed the Dragons goalkeeper.

Wrexham won a 67th-minute penalty when Jordan Bowery brought Luke Bolton down and Mullin duly smashed home.

Steven Fletcher nearly added Wrexham’s third but could not meet Lee’s ball as full-time neared.

Morecambe halted a run of four successive losses with a 2-1 win over Accrington to claim the bragging rights in their Lancashire derby.

Nelson Khumbeni and Chris Stokes scored second-half goals for the Shrimps, who still have a chance of securing a play-off place, before Lewis Shipley grabbed what proved a consolation.

There wasn’t a lot to remember from the first half in terms of goalmouth action.

Both keepers had one save to make, with Morecambe’s Archie Mair tipping over a Brad Hills effort after 22 minutes and Manchester United loan stopper Radek Vitek easily collecting a Khumbeni strike.

After the break, Stanley had a chance cleared off the line in a scramble and, from this, Morecambe broke through Gerard Garner down the right and he passed to Khumbeni in the area, who found the top corner of the net after 55 minutes. It was the Bolton loanee’s first goal for the Shrimps.

The second came seven minutes later when Charlie Brown’s free-kick into a crowded area was turned home by Stokes from close range.

A Jack Nolan cross was headed home by Shipley after 89 minutes but, despite nine minutes of added time, the hosts could not grab an equaliser.

Stockport stormed to a convincing 3-0 victory at basement boys Forest Green, taking top spot in the process.

The visitors dominated throughout and broke the deadlock after 19 minutes when Callum Camps took the ball inside and let fly from 25 yards, with the ball nestling in the top right-hand corner.

They doubled their lead nine minutes later when the referee played an advantage allowing Ibou Touray to break down the left and whip in a low cross which Rico Richards turned home.

Forest Green keeper Vicente Reyes denied the Hatters further first-half goals with two point-blank saves.

After 33 minutes, visiting skipper Paddy Madden broke through only for his shot to be blocked by the keeper’s outstretched leg and Reyes denied Kyle Wootton moments later following a goalmouth scramble.

It was 3-0 six minutes into the second half when Wootton got the better of his marker and squared to Connor Lemonheigh-Evans whose shot was going wide until it hit Rovers defender Jamie Robson and flew into the net.

In contrast, the home side failed to manage a shot on target all afternoon.

Wrexham lost £5million in the year of their promotion to the English Football League and now owe nearly £9m to Hollywood owners Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds.

But turnover doubled to almost £10.5m and Wrexham say financial losses suffered since McElhenney and Reynolds’ takeover in February 2021 should not be repeated due to the income now generated by the League Two club.

“The amount owed to The RR McReynolds Company, LLC (owned by McElhenney and Reynolds) at the year-end was £8.977m (2022: £3.714m),” read a Wrexham statement.

“The financial losses suffered by the club since the takeover shouldn’t be repeated, with income generated by the club now sufficient to meet the operational costs of the club going forward.

“These losses were deemed necessary to allow the club to maximise its full potential in the shortest time practically possible.

“The club is under no immediate pressure to repay these loans at the expense of the progress we seek to achieve and further financial support will be provided/secured to support the capital expenditure projects the club is currently planning, which includes increasing the capacity of The Racecourse Ground and the development of a training facility for all the club’s teams.

“The year-on-year income comparisons since the takeover, show the potential of the club.

“These will significantly increase again for the year ending June 30, 2024, following promotion and the continued popularity of Welcome to Wrexham.”

Wrexham ended a 15-year absence from the EFL last April by winning the National League, while the women’s team also won promotion to the top tier of Welsh football.

Turnover increased from £5.972m to £10.478m in the year ending June 30, 2023, but losses were up from £2.913m to £5.113m.

Wrexham payroll rose from just over £4m to nearly £7m, offsetting increased income in retail operation, sponsorship and advertising and football revenue due to the Dragons reaching the fourth round of the FA Cup.

The club has attracted widespread global interest following two successful seasons of the FX documentary series Welcome to Wrexham.

Phil Parkinson’s side are chasing a second successive promotion and are currently third in League Two with seven games to play.

Stockport manager Dave Challinor called on his side to back up their crushing 5-0 win against fellow promotion hopefuls MK Dons after they gave their chances of securing an automatic place a major boost.

Callum Camps, Paddy Madden, Tanto Olaofe, Connor Lemonheigh-Evans and Neill Byrne scored the goals as the Hatters secured just a second win in their last eight matches.

Victory moves them back up to second place – two points behind leaders Mansfield – having dropped below Wrexham earlier in the day.

And Challinor is keen to see his team follow it up in the right manner, starting with Friday’s game away at bottom side Forest Green.

“Is it a statement win if you lose the next two? No it’s not, it’s a win,” he said.

“You have to go and make it a statement win and after 46 games reflect and say ‘yeah, that was a win that really gave us the kick and the boost we needed at the right point in time’.

“You’ve got to go and back that up now with four or five more feelings like that because if you can do that four or five more times, then you get the ultimate feeling of achieving something that we’ve worked so hard for over the course of the season.

“All we’ve done today is increase the gap over MK Dons and put us in a stronger position, and probably put a little bit more pressure on them in terms of the results they’ve got to get in their last six.

“But from our perspective, it still remains the same – we’ve got games to win.”

Defeat for MK Dons sees them remain in fourth place – three points behind Wrexham, who occupy the final automatic promotion spot.

Manager Mike Williamson was left to rue his side’s inability to convert their opportunities before going behind just after the half-hour mark – a period during which they were very much in the ascendancy.

“We’re on the raw end of a heavy defeat, but when we diagnose and we look at it, we’ve got to hold our hands up and say that we gave goals away, of course, uncharacteristically,” he said.

“I thought we played extremely well – we were clean, we were sharp, we mixed it up.

“We couldn’t take any of our chances early on when we were dominant, and then obviously we were punished for it.

“We need to refocus and go again, and try and get that momentum back to where it was before the first goal.

“But they’re up there for a reason and they were clinical in everything they did.”

Doncaster manager Grant McCann is happy to have a few more sleepless nights as he contemplates an unlikely late push for the League Two play-offs.

Rovers collected a third consecutive win as they strolled past Forest Green Rovers 2-0, ensuring a top-seven finish remains an outside possibility with a 10-point gap to make up.

And McCann revealed he had discussed the prospect with his wife, despite her misgivings.

“I was laying in bed with my wife and I told her about how far off the play-offs we are and she said she doesn’t know why I put so much pressure on myself,” he said.

“I think she knows me by now. I put a lot of pressure on myself, whether it was when I was playing, when I’m managing or even in every day life. That’s the way I like to work.

“For me and this group, it’s all about the next game now. We just want to carry on, game after game now, and see where we are at the end of the season.

“We’ve got a very tough game next week away at Crawley and we’ll prepare the boys as best we can to go and win that one.

“We stuck to our task in this one and got the job done, even though we could have been better with the ball.”

A Luke Molyneux strike and a Richard Keogh own goal, both in the second half, saw Doncaster secure the win after enduring a tough time breaking down stubborn Forest Green.

Steve Cotterill felt the telling factor in the game was confidence, with his Forest Green side smarting from a defeat to fellow strugglers Sutton while Doncaster were enjoying an excellent run of form.

“It’s very much a confidence thing in the league,” said the Forest Green boss.

“When teams get a win, they can quite often go and get another one and it works the other way as well when you get a defeat.

“I think that was the difference between the teams today. They looked confident and maybe if we had played them six or seven games ago, it might have been different. They looked like they were on the crest of a wave and we didn’t.

“We didn’t perform anywhere like I know we can. Admittedly, we were playing a team in form but we’ve done that before and had good results.

“We didn’t show enough. Some of the mistakes we made, we weren’t in any sort of rhythm and it was a disappointing day for us.

“We’ve had those before and we’ve got to try to deal with them because the games are running out.”

Stockport gave their automatic promotion hopes a major boost with an emphatic 5-0 win over close challengers MK Dons.

Callum Camps, Paddy Madden, Tanto Olaofe, Connor Lemonheigh-Evans and Neill Byrne scored the goals for the Hatters to earn them just a second win in their last eight matches.

Victory moves Dave Challinor’s team back up to second place – two points behind leaders Mansfield – having dropped below Wrexham earlier in the day.

The Dons looked the much more threatening side early on, with Stephen Wearne forcing a good save out of Ben Hinchliffe, Emre Tezgel sending a left-footed shot narrowly wide and Jack Payne’s free-kick clipping a post.

They went close again when Kyran Lofthouse pulled the ball back to Joe Tomlinson, whose effort was well blocked by Todd Kane.

But it was Stockport who went ahead just after the half-hour mark as Camps capitalised on visiting goalkeeper Michael Kelly’s inexplicable failure to gather an overhit pass into the box to finish into an empty net.

Tomlinson had a great opportunity to score a quickfire equaliser but his close-range shot was saved superbly by Hinchliffe before Alex Gilbey’s follow-up attempt went wide.

It proved to be costly as Stockport soon went down the other end and doubled their advantage through captain Madden, who calmly slotted home after being played in by Camps.

The game was effectively over as a contest shortly before half-time, with Olaofe scoring his 20th goal of the season after latching onto Madden’s looping pass and rounding Kelly.

The hosts further extended their lead early in the second half courtesy of Lemonheigh-Evans’ beautiful curling effort from distance, and nearly added another with Kelly tipping Madden’s shot against the woodwork.

Substitute Ellis Harrison had a chance to reduce the deficit with a free header just after the hour but it was not the Dons’ day and they remain in fourth place – three points behind Wrexham.

Hatters substitute Byrne put extra gloss on the scoreline in the dying moments, prodding in a fifth goal to wrap up a huge win.

Gillingham boss Stephen Clemence praised his side’s “fantastic” character as they twice came from behind to pick up a vital win against play-off rivals Morecambe at the Mazuma Stadium.

The home side took the lead through goals from Jordan Slew and Charlie Brown either side of the break but levellers from Oli Hawkins and Timothee Dieng set up a thrilling finale which saw Connor Mahoney score the winner six minutes from time.

Clemence, whose eighth-placed side had picked up just two points from their previous four games, said: “The character we showed was fantastic to come from behind twice. It was a difficult day and the conditions made it hard for both sides so to win the game in the way we did was fantastic.

“It was a really important win because we have had a few bad games recently and we knew we had to get a result and I’m really proud of the lads today.

“We have definitely been improving going forward in recent weeks but we haven’t done well enough in front of goal or put the ball in the back of the net enough, but today we did.

“The win keeps us in the play-off hunt and if we can stay in the hunt after Easter then we are in among the runners and riders.”

Slew put Morecambe ahead after 11 minutes with a fine low strike from Brown’s neat through-ball but Gillingham hit back soon after as Hawkins produced a good finish after the Morecambe defence failed to clear a dangerous cross.

Brown put the Shrimps back ahead just after the hour when he slid in at the far post to divert Ged Garner’s shot past Glenn Morris.

The Shrimps looked to add to their lead with Slew forcing two good saves from Morris and Garner flashing a fierce shot inches wide.

But it was the visitors who stuck next when Dieng’s hopeful long-range effort squirmed through Archie Mair’s grasp before Mahoney struck the winner after making the most of a poor clearance from the Morecambe keeper.

Morecambe manager Ged Brannan found it difficult to explain away his side’s fourth successive defeat.

He said: “It’s a tough result to swallow really to be honest. We played some great football, passed the ball around well especially in the second half, got ahead twice and cut them open a few times.

“Individual errors proved costly and we lost a game we should have won but we are still not out of the play-off race and if we play like we played today for the rest of the season we won’t be far off and we are not going to give in.

“We have a massive Easter ahead of us now with two derby games and if we play the way we played today in those games we will have a great chance.”

Delighted Sutton boss Steve Morison hailed his battling side after a fine 3-1 win over Accrington lifted them off the bottom of the League Two table.

Goals from Harry Smith, Omar Sowunmi and Nino Adom-Malaki did the damage as United claimed back-to-back league wins for the first time this season.

Jake Bickerstaff bagged an 85th-minute consolation for Stanley but the hosts deserved their first home win since November.

“It was a really good afternoon for us,” beamed Morison.

“Arnie [goalkeeper Steve Arnold] made a couple of big saves for us early doors that kept us in the game, but after that it was really good.

“We scored a really good goal but we didn’t back it up again and score soon after, which is frustrating because we had some really good chances in the first half.

“But then in the second half it was just a case of keep plugging away and hopefully we get another one. And thankfully we did.

“For the football club all round I think it was excellent. It was a big day and with it being international break (in the Premier League and Championship) there were a few more people here watching us.

“I was really pleased with today, it was relief when that second goal went in.

“It’s the first time we’ve scored that many goals at home [this season] and the first time we’ve won at home since I’ve been here. I’m really pleased with the afternoon’s performance.

“It was a fantastic third goal for us, he’s [Adom-Malaki] a really good player and I’m really pleased for him. He struck it lovely but he’s done that plenty of times before, just not for us.

“I’m really pleased for everyone, the players and the staff have worked really hard to give the fans the best we can give them.”

Stanley manager John Doolan was understandably frustrated after a fifth league defeat in seven games.

“I just want to say thanks to the fans because they’ve been absolutely amazing,” stressed Doolan.

“The support they’ve shown the team, I want to applaud them. They’ve been brilliant.

“But in terms of the game, I’ve asked the lads to come out and be on the front foot.

“Personally I thought we were on the front foot and asking all the questions, we could have been 3-0 up before they scored but we’ve missed a couple of chances and they [Sutton] have scored.

“I think we were in control of the game but ultimately, it’s down to chances and they took their chances in the box and we haven’t.

“We tried to get it wide, which was the best areas of the pitch, but we didn’t have that bit of quality to get it wide. We just let ourselves down with an over-hit pass or just a lack of quality in the first half.

“But in the second half I think we missed chances as well, we need to learn from it.”

Lee Bell is confident Crewe can dig themselves out of a barren run after the Alex boss praised the character of players for shaking off an early blow to draw with AFC Wimbledon.

John Kymani-Gordon’s close-range finish saw the Dons take a second-minute lead at Gresty Road, but Bell’s men hit back through a fine finish from Rio Adebisi and went the closest to winning an evenly-matched contest.

Crewe’s push for the top three had stalled in recent weeks with three defeats in their last four fixtures and for large parts of this game they laboured to break down their visitors, who dropped out of the top seven following the draw.

However, Bell saw plenty to be positive about from his fifth-placed team.

He said: “The players showed real character to get back into the game. It was a poor start the players settled into the game really in what were difficult conditions.

“It was an extremely windy day, but I thought we played them (conditions) better. And the pitch is bone dry, so I credit the players for sticking to what we were trying to do rather than trying to smash the ball down the pitch.

“It was a good free-kick that got us back into it and a really good strike from Rio Adebisi, who has been not far off from exceptional this season.

“I thought we edged it and if there was going to be a winner it was more likely to be us. I certainly didn’t want to lose the game. League Two is evenly matched and it only needs one team to put a run together at this stage of the season.

“Our recent home record should be better, but we’ve still got a game in hand over one or two [play-of rivals] and we’re in a confident place.”

Crewe were caught napping when Gordon was in the right place to finish Jack Currie’s powerful surge into the box.

But the Dons were slumbering too when they allowed Lewis Leigh to find Adebisi on the edge of the box with a short free-kick and the defender rifled a effort into the far corner to level things up in the 13th minute.

The Dons were without leading scorer Omar Bugiel through international duty and although Gordon grabbed his first goal since arriving at Plough Lane on loan from Crystal Palace in January, the visitors hardly tested Crewe keeper Tom Booth.

The same could be said for the hosts. Substitute Chris Long, returning after a long injury lay-off, blasted a late effort at keeper Alex Bass. The closest Crewe came to a winner came saw Conor Thomas glance a header over at a corner.

Dons boss Johnnie Jackson said his side may need to be more expansive in their final six games to secure a play-off spot.

“Crewe is a tough place to come and it was a close game. I was pleased with the efforts of the players,” said Jackson. “We tried to win it and went for it.

“We looked threatening in the opening period, but Crewe grew into the game. I was disappointed with the goal as we switched off at a free-kick.

“We’ve got six games to go and the players are giving it absolutely everything. We have got to try and win games as draws aren’t going to be enough for us, although this was a good result for us.”

Salford assistant manager Alex Bruce admitted his ears were left ringing by Karl Robinson during their 2-1 victory over Notts County.

The Ammies manager was sitting in the stands with director of football Ryan Giggs and Bruce’s dad, Steve, as he served a one-match touchline suspension at Meadow Lane.

“My ears are ringing, I have to say,” Bruce explained at full-time on how he communicated with Robinson in the stands. “I had a headpiece in and my brain is absolutely frazzled!”

Conor McAleny’s goals either side of half-time were enough to secure all three points for the visitors, having seen Dan Crowley’s strike peg them back nine minutes after the restart.

It moves Salford 14 points clear of the bottom two with six games of their season remaining, with Bruce hopeful their win over the Magpies can be used for next campaign.

“When you get to this stage of the season, you always want to have something to play for but I believe in sport. It is all about momentum and we want to win as many games as we can,” he said.

“We want to take that into next season and hit the ground running with how we need to go on.”

For County boss Stuart Maynard, it is the fifth straight home defeat since arriving at Meadow Lane in January, with the Magpies failing to win in front of their home supporters this term.

Maynard believed his side were the better team for the entirety of the contest, but described the way in which his side conceded the late winner as ‘schoolboy’ in his post-match assessment.

“I thought we were the better team in the first half,” Maynard explained.

“We had to tactically change it so we could get through the first phase quicker. I thought we created the big moments within the game, but to concede a goal like we did at the end is kind of schoolboy football.

“We shouldn’t lose that game, that’s a game that we should come away from not losing rather than now, we have dropped another three points that we didn’t need to drop.”

A win over Bradford in midweek reignited their faint play-off hopes despite their recent wretched form, but the defeat seems to have extinguished those aspirations almost instantly.

Maynard’s side are currently eight points away from the top seven ahead of the Easter weekend fixtures, but the Magpies boss insisted that until it is mathematically impossible to reach the play-offs, he will still believe.

“We keep going one game at a time, and while it is still mathematically there for us we have to keep fighting and keep trying to pick up as many points as we can,” he said.

Barrow boss Pete Wild hailed his players’ professional performance after they grafted to a 1-0 win at home to Newport.

The Bluebirds made it five unbeaten, courtesy of Cole Stockton’s 20th-minute goal, but remain in sixth place in League Two.

Wild admitted his only negative was that they did not add to Stockton’s goal in a game played in treacherous gales.

“That was a big win,” he said. “I’ve been really impressed with Newport and how they go about their business. We knew we had to try to match their intensity early on and I thought we did that.

“Having the conditions with us in the first half and scoring so early on was really pleasing. I was just frustrated that we didn’t carry that momentum on to half-time and to go in only 1-0 up was a bit annoying really.

“But we came out in the second half and with the way they’ve dealt with the conditions, and the way they’ve kept Newport at bay, it was a really professional performance.

“We’ve had two or three really big opportunities and we haven’t taken them, that’s the most frustrating thing but in the end they’ve dealt with it so well and I’m pleased to get over the line today.

“The experience we’ve got in the back line was vital, they dealt with the conditions well, especially in the second half. We showed real character against a team that have been really good.

“As I say, the only frustrating thing was that we haven’t taken more of our chances but I thought the way we controlled the game, especially in the last 15 minutes, was excellent.”

Newport manager Graham Coughlan was bitterly disappointed with his players.

With the chances of a late surge from mid-table into the play-off picture slimming, he questioned the desire they showed on a day when rolled-up sleeves, grit and determination were paramount.

“I feel awful after that game,” moaned the Exiles boss. “We probably got what we deserved out of it. The most disappointing part for me was the lack of hunger and the lack of desire to go and win a game of football.

“If you want to get into the top 10 you’ve got to show a lot more hunger than that, you’ve got to win your battles and your individual duels and we didn’t win enough of them today, in terms of first contacts and second balls. There were too many players having an off day and that’s probably the main contributor to losing the game.

“The conditions were awful, for both teams, it was a really difficult day, I get that, but conditions shouldn’t have anything to do with desire, work-rate, attitude and commitment, and this group has it in abundance, but we didn’t display it today.

“The conditions meant we couldn’t get out in the first half and we had no platform to get up the pitch. Then in the second half we were in the ascendancy with the conditions but when we wanted those moments we just didn’t have enough quality to go and open the opposition up.

“We had a couple of chances, but they were few and far between. We needed to do more to win the game today and we didn’t. That’s what’s annoying me at this moment in time.”

Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson was pleased with his promotion-chasing side’s “professionalism and game management” in sweeping aside Grimsby with a 3-1 victory at Blundell Park.

Andy Cannon led the way with a first-half double and Paul Mullin also scored, with Grimsby substitute Arthur Gnahoua netting a late consolation.

Victory moved Wrexham three points behind table-topping Mansfield as the Mariners, who headed into the game on a six-match unbeaten run, hold a six-point advantage on Sutton and Forest Green in the relegation zone.

Parkinson said: “It was a good win for us in very difficult conditions.

“The wind was always going to impact on the game, but our professionalism and game management was very good, particularly in the first half.

“It was important for us to show quality (when we needed to) and we did that to create those chances and ultimately take them.

“After our last game we addressed some things in training and the concentration levels were much better from us and where they needed to be.

“Credit to Grimsby as well because David (Artell) has instilled a spirit there, in the last few games in particular, and they have had some good results.

“They are a tough team to play against, but we managed the game well and take three points back across the M62 with us.”

Grimsby head coach Artell added: “Wrexham took their goals well, but from our point of view all three were preventable.

“I thought we were slightly below the standards we have set for ourselves over the last six games and that’s why we got punished.

“We’ve got to make sure we maintain our standards, and that’s the key thing for me because that’s what we can control. After our six-match unbeaten run, we’ve got to make sure one defeat doesn’t turn into two or three.

“We want to get on another six-match unbeaten run and, if we do that, we’ve got a great chance of staying up.”

Scott Lindsey feels there is a real togetherness in his Crawley squad after they moved into the play-off places in Sky Bet League Two with a 3-1 win over Tranmere at Prenton Park.

The Reds were in front in the second minute when Jeremy Kelly steered the ball home from 10 yards from the first real attack of the game.

The visitors doubled their lead in the 10th minute when Jay Williams reacted quickest to force the ball over the line after Tranmere failed to clear from a corner.

Rovers did reduce the arrears in the 21st minute when Luke Norris connected with a Rob Apter cross to flick the ball home and give the home fans hope.

Nigel Adkins’ side began the second half brightly, with Apter twice having chances to equalise, while referee Stephen Parkinson waved away strong appeals for penalties on two occasions as Tranmere threw everything at their opponents.

But with 11 minutes remaining Danilo Orsi fired home his 18th goal of the season to make the game safe for Crawley, who are now unbeaten in their last four games.

Lindsey said: “I’m really pleased with that performance and I think we played really well as a team.

“My players were outstanding and I could feel it in the hotel this morning (Saturday) that there is a real togetherness and belief that we can win games at home or away.

“We scored two early goals and perhaps we sat back a little bit after the second goal and invited a little bit of pressure on ourselves but we spoke at half-time and made sure we got a little higher up the pitch.

“We were a little more aggressive with our starting positions in the second half and I felt it was a really comprehensive performance from everyone in the team.

“I’m delighted that our fans have gone back down the road with all three points and we’re pleased to be where we are in the table but there are still eight games left and there’s a long way to go and we’ll keep our feet on the ground.”

Tranmere boss Adkins said: “It was a hard one to take as we started really poorly having started as good as anyone since November.

“The two goals we gave away were both from set pieces with a long-range shot coming from a long throw and the second one coming from a corner to put us 2-0 down after 10 minutes.

“But great credit to the players who responded really well in challenging conditions and we got ourselves back into the game against a good possession-based side.

“We did get back into the game with a good goal from Luke Norris and at 2-1 it’s game back on again.

“We started the second half well and had good chances but for me a critical moment in the game is that we should have had two penalties and those were two key moments that didn’t go our way.”