Harry McKirdy’s stoppage-time equaliser earned Swindon a 2-2 draw against play-off hopefuls Gillingham at Priestfield.

Sean McGurk, who joined the Wiltshire side from Leeds earlier this month, fired the visitors ahead after 24 minutes following an incisive break.

Second-half goals from Oli Hawkins and a Connor Mahoney penalty looked set to seal three points for the Gills but McKirdy struck late for a point.

Shadrach Ogie’s last-ditch challenge prevented Paul Glatzel from slotting in a second goal for Swindon in first-half stoppage time after the striker had rounded Jake Turner, before Remeao Hutton denied the Town striker in similar circumstances.

The Gills drew level when Hawkins rose the highest to meet Max Clark’s cross after 68 minutes for his second goal in as many games.

Mahoney put his side ahead from the penalty spot after fellow substitute Jorge Hurtado had been fouled by Frazer Blake-Tracy 11 minutes from time.

However, substitute McKirdy brilliantly curled into the bottom corner from the edge of the box four minutes into added time to earn Swindon a deserved point.

Wrexham kept up the pressure at the top of Sky Bet League Two with a 2-1 victory at Sutton.

The Dragons’ first victory at Gander Green Lane saw the hosts slip back to the bottom of the Football League.

Arthur Okonkwo parried Omari Patrick’s early effort before tipping Charlie Lakin’s strike onto the bar.

Wrexham striker Jack Marriott missed the best effort of the first half hour when he fired wide.

Will Boyle scored from close range on the stroke of half-time after Sutton failed to clear Luke Bolton’s cross.

Okonkwo denied Sutton an equaliser with a great save from Nino Adom-Malaki’s strike.

The deserved equaliser came in the 76th minute when Craig Eastmond was felled just outside the box and Lakin’s deflected free-kick beat Okonkwo.

Paul Mullin headed against the bar before Ollie Palmer was denied by Dean Bouzanis for the visitors.

Elliot Lee had the last word as he swept home with five minutes to go and Okonkwo ensured the points with a late save from Lakin’s volley.

Notts County upset the form book to earn new manager Stuart Maynard a first win at the fourth time of asking and revive their play-off hopes, while halting Newport’s charge towards the top seven with a 3-1 victory.

The Magpies were winless in five, while the hosts were the form team in the fourth tier with four straight wins.

But the Exiles found winger Jodi Jones and Macauley Langstaff – League Two’s top scorer – too hot to handle on a rain-soaked night in Newport.

Jones provided the cross on both occasions as Langstaff headed in his 22nd and 23rd goals of the season to break the deadlock in the 22nd minute and make the points secure just before the hour mark.

In between, Langstaff turned provider for David McGoldrick to tap in the visitors’ second.

Will Evans’s 90th-minute penalty proved only a consolation for the hosts, who also hit the post in stoppage time through Scot Bennett.

Maynard’s men climb to eighth, while the Exiles drop to 14th.

Bradford made it back-to-back wins with an emphatic 4-0 victory against MK Dons.

It was a satisfying result for manager Graham Alexander, who had been sacked by the visitors in October after only 16 games in charge.

The Bantams had beaten Wrexham on Saturday and wasted little time in going ahead against another team in the play-off places.

Defender Matty Platt gave them a 14th-minute lead as he drilled home from 15 yards.

MK keeper Nathan Harness, playing in the absence of Filip Marschall and Michael Kelly, was beaten again after 36 minutes.

Clarke Oduor’s shot hit the post and Calum Kavanagh was first to the rebound to tap home.

The home side took control of the game with two goals in a minute early in the second half.

Andy Cook scored his 15th goal of the season when he drove home the rebound after Alex Gilliead headed against the woodwork.

Cook then intercepted Warren O’Hora’s pass and although his own shot was blocked, it fell for Oduor to convert inside the six-yard box.

League Two leaders Stockport suffered a 3-1 defeat at Edgeley Park as Crewe strengthened their automatic promotion credentials.

Mickey Demetriou put the visitors ahead before Stockport’s Tanto Olaofe equalised, but goals from Ed Turns and Josh Austerfield either side of half-time ensured back-to-back victories for Crewe.

Stockport goalkeeper Ben Hinchliffe denied Courtney Baker-Richardson and Austerfield in quick succession after five minutes.

Crewe took a deserved eighth-minute lead when Demetriou stabbed home following a free-kick.

Austerfield hit the side-netting after 25 minutes, before County equalised when Antoni Sarcevic found County’s top scorer Olaofe who tapped home from close range.

Demetriou turned provider three minutes from half-time to cross for Turns who headed Crewe back ahead, before injured referee Neil Hair was replaced by fourth official Richard Eley.

Austerfield netted Crewe’s third through a fierce effort from outside the box after 50 minutes.

Harvey Davies held Callum Camps’ drive after the hour before County substitute Odin Bailey’s effort landed wide as Stockport were unable to breach Crewe’s defence again.

Morecambe came from two goals down to take all three points in a dramatic 3-2 win over Tranmere at Prenton Park.

Rovers opened the scoring after just four minutes when Harvey Saunders pounced on a defensive error to put the ball on a plate for Rob Apter who could not miss from three yards out.

Six minutes later and the hosts doubled their lead when Saunders was tripped in the area and Connor Jennings converted calmly from the spot.

Morecambe halved the deficit in the 14th minute when Charlie Brown fired the ball home from 10 yards, with Tranmere keeper Luke McGee and his defenders appealing for offside.

Apter had a glorious opportunity to extend Tranmere’s lead with 20 minutes left only to be denied by Archie Mair in the Morecambe goal.

And Rovers were made to pay when substitute Jordan Slew levelled with eight minutes remaining before Jacob Davenport won it with a glorious 25-yard free-kick.

Mansfield closed in on top spot in League Two as they equalled the club’s all-time record league win from 1932 by destroying in-form Harrogate by an astonishing 9-2 scoreline.

The visitors had won four and drawn two of their last six but were simply blown away, Hiram Boateng scoring a hat-trick in the highest-scoring Football League game since 2011.

From the 13th minute when Lucas Akins buried a home penalty after Derrick Abu had hauled down Baily Cargill, the Stags never looked back in a one-sided first half.

It was 2-0 on 20 minutes as Boateng won a tackle 25 yards out, ran to the edge of the box and slammed home a powerful finish.

On the half-hour Davis Keillor-Dunn’s square pass 18 yards out set up Boateng for his second and four minutes later Stephen Quinn set up Tom Nichols to roll home a fourth after Jordan Bowery had crossed.

Harrogate were reeling and conceded a fifth on 39 minutes as Nichols laid the ball invitingly into space for Keillor-Dunn to easily slot home his 16th goal of the season.

Boateng then completed his hat-trick five minutes after the break from six yards from Will Swan’s pass.

But the visitors were cheered by two goals in just over a minute as George Thomson clinically finished on the break on 54 minutes before Abraham Odoh turned home the rebound after Josh March had hit the post.

However, on 61 minutes Akins saw a shot deflect in for number seven from a George Maris through-ball.

On 75 minutes substitute Swan scored with a fantastic finish across the keeper from 25 yards and he netted again two minutes later, turning home Aaron Lewis’ ball for the ninth.

Jack Nolan and Ben Woods scored second-half goals as Accrington beat fellow play-off chasers AFC Wimbledon 2-0 in Sky Bet League Two.

Nolan found the top corner in the 50th minute before Woods made the game safe with a 25-yard drive nine minutes from time.

There was limited goalmouth action in the first half but the game sprung to life after the break.

Wimbledon came close when a corner was flicked on by Omar Bugiel but James Ball could not turn the ball into the net at the far post.

Stanley went straight up the other end and Josh Woods passed to Nolan on the edge of the area and he curled a shot home for his 11th goal of the season.

Nolan came close with another couple of long-range efforts while, at the other end, Manchester United loan keeper Radek Vitek pulled off a double save to keep out unmarked Kofi Balmer’s header and then denied Lee Brown’s follow-up with his feet.

Ben Woods made the win safe when a Nolan corner was cleared to him and he rifled the ball into the bottom of the net.

Crewe boss Lee Bell is happy for his players to enjoy their win over Crawley but says he wants minds quickly focused on Tuesday night’s clash at leaders Stockport.

Rio Adebisi’s second-half goal secured Crewe a first in win in three games and with promotion rivals Barrow and Wrexham both losing, the Railwaymen moved into the automatic promotion places in third spot.

They are three points behind second-placed Mansfield and seven points adrift of pacesetters Stockport, but with a chance to take a chunk out of that gap in midweek.

“It was a really good team performance and we will let the players enjoy that tonight, but they have got to stay focused as we have a very tough game on Tuesday night,” said Bell.

“It’s a game between two teams in the top three and we’ve got to take what we did here into that. We came out of the traps and we could have got a couple more goals I thought.

“We totally nullified Crawley, and they are a good footballing team too. I thought our back players were excellent and we limited them to a couple of long shots. Harvey Davies got his second clean sheet in successive games and Ed Turns has come in and done well for us.

“The players’ energy was very good and if we keep performing like that we are going to hurt the opposition.

“Rio did brilliantly just before he scored by getting into the box and he arrived there again to take the goal, which showed his athleticism.”

The sides were closely matched in the first half, but it was Crewe who went closest to taking the lead when Elliott Nevitt crashed a shot onto the post.

Crawley’s Adam Campbell may have done better with a shooting chance which fell his way inside the box, but he only managed a tame shot which Davies saved at the foot of his post.

After the break, Crewe moved up a gear and Adebisi’s close-range finish came soon after he had powered a header over at the end of a lung-busting run.

Conor Thomas’ persistence saw the midfielder put over a low cross at the second attempt and Adebisi ran into space to turn the ball home.

Thomas went close to increasing the lead with a header which glided the wrong side of the post before Crawley piled on some late pressure, with substitute Ronan Darcy coming close to an equaliser with a thunderous drive.

Despite falling to a fourth consecutive defeat in all competitions, Crawley boss Scott Lindsey was pleased with an improved display from his team.

“I thought we were really resilient against a really strong team who are likely to be going for automatic promotion,” said Lindsey.

“I thought we went toe to toe and we were defensively resolute apart from one moment when one player didn’t do his job properly.

“We are showing signs of improvement and we can take a lot from that. We created chances, although not clear cut ones, and had a lot of the play after the scored.

“I was proud of the players as they took a really strong Crewe side to the wire. The players who came on did well – Ronan (Darcy) and Jeremy Kelly were really bright for us.”

Lindsey also felt Crewe striker Aaron Rowe should have been shown a red card rather than a yellow for an early challenge.

He said: “I’ve seen it back and it is clear. I don’t really understand that and it changes the shape of the game if the officials do their jobs properly.”

Harrogate boss Simon Weaver believes his team are “playing for the badge” after moving into the play-offs following a gutsy 1-0 home win over Colchester.

Veteran striker Jack Muldoon’s “scruffy” 92nd-minute winner – his fourth goal in as many games – lifted the Sulphurites up to seventh in the League Two standings following a contest in which they had been second best for large periods.

After seeing the club equal their best-ever unbeaten EFL run of six league games, Weaver said: “We didn’t click into gear in the first half, but we were still trying to do the right things.

“You can’t always be at your fluid best and what we didn’t do was concede, although our keeper Belly (James Belshaw) also made a phenomenal save, so we have him to thank for that.

“But we have a team that digs in for the badge, which means a great deal.

“They stay in games and that always gives the talent we have in the side the opportunity to rise up.

“They keep on believing when it would be so easy to think it’s not going to be our day.

“You have to have a strong mindset to score the late winners we have done this season and there was a drinks break towards the end of the game when we said to the players that there would be one more chance and we needed to take it.

“It was a scruffy one, but Mullers was on the spot and we found that way to win.”

Few at Wetherby Road would have argued that Danny Cowley’s Colchester did not deserve a share of the spoils, but the ex-Lincoln and Portsmouth boss quickly rubbished any talk of ill fortune.

“When you concede so late on to lose a game, it’s a difficult one to take,” he said.

“We were totally dominant in the game, particularly in the first half, and had 25 shots in total, so it’s disappointing not to score from that number of chances.

“In the second half, I felt we lost our edge a bit, however, and I don’t want anybody in the dressing room thinking we were unlucky to lose because we weren’t.

“When you have dominance in a game, you have to be clinical and we weren’t.

“There’s a lot to admire about Harrogate but, over the course of the game, I thought we were better than them. I genuinely did.

“But you also have to dig deep for 90 minutes in games and that’s why Harrogate won and are where they are in the league. They are hard-working and resilient and that durability is what we need to add to our team.”

Morecambe boss Ged Brannan praised his side’s spirit and determination as he sealed his first home win since taking over from Derek Adams by beating Sutton 1-0.

The Shrimps had to overcome a stubborn performance from the bottom club to take the three points in Brannan’s seventh game at the Mazuma Stadium.

A fourth-minute goal from Barrow loanee Ged Garner, his third in two games, was enough to earn the Shrimps a third win in four games.

Brannan said: “I’m delighted to get the first win here under my belt for myself, the lads and the fans who have been magnificent.

“I thought the lads were terrific and we should have won by more.

“We created a load of chances and should have won by three or four really with a perfectly good goal disallowed but the three points is what we were after and the win keeps our little run of results going.

“We knew it was going to be a tough game because Sutton gave everything and made it hard for us. But we stayed strong and won a lot of second balls and coped really well with the height they had upfront.”

The defeat left Sutton second from bottom and seven points from safety.

Boss Steve Morison was disappointed with his side’s performance after their recent improvements had seen them draw three of their last five games.

He said: “That wasn’t the team we have seen in the last five games.

“I would say Morecambe are the best team we have played in the six games we have had since coming here but we are better than what we showed today and if we had played like we have been doing I think we could definitely have got a result which is really frustrating.

“We have to move on quickly, though, reflect on this game and put it to bed and then look to our next few matches.

“We play a couple of teams around us soon which are really important games. We know we can be better and we have to be better.”

Garner’s winner came in the first real move of the game as Charlie Brown played in Joel Senior, who produced a superb cross for a stretching Garner to score from close range.

Brown went close to adding to the score on two separate occasions and Gwion Edwards had a goal disallowed for a tight offside just before the hour for the home side.

Sutton’s best chance came in the second half when skipper Craig Eastmond found space in the box but blazed an effort over from eight yards.

Garner had the chance to double the Shrimps’ advantage in the final moments but was denied by Dean Bouzanis, who spread himself well to foil the striker.

Doncaster boss Grant McCann insists the threat of relegation has never been spoken about in the Rovers camp after they took a huge step towards making sure of their League Two status with victory over Tranmere.

Goals from Joe Ironside and Hakeeb Adelakun saw Doncaster claim a 2-1 triumph and a first win since New Year’s Day to move them 10 points clear of the division’s bottom two.

And McCann says the only focus now is to collect as many wins as possible before the end of the campaign.

“I know we’ve still got a game in hand on some teams and we’re just in that area where we’re 13 or 14 points from the top seven and 10 points from the relegation zone,” McCann said. “We want to make sure we finish the season strong.

“I said to the players after the game, let’s see how many wins we can get. No one has spoken about the bottom of the league or the top of the league. I’ve just said to them let’s win as many games as we can between now
and the end of the season.

“Let’s breed some confidence around the place.

“The fans were brilliant and they’ve been crying out for that sort of win for a while and the boys have done that for them.

“It’s a good win for us but our focus will quickly turn onto Salford on Tuesday.

“There was lots to like in the performance. Bravery getting on the ball, being patient and I thought we grew into the game with it.”

Tranmere boss Nigel Adkins also felt there was plenty to be positive about in his side’s performance despite the loss, with “fine margins” costing them after Josh Hawkes equalised on the hour mark.

“We were looking to win it and we had more than enough opportunities to win it,” he said.

“We started the game ever so well and the players have grafted and worked ever so hard. When we went behind, we got ourselves back into the game, made substitutions and looked to go and win it. We had that early momentum in the second half.

“They’ve defended very deep but they’ve got what proved to be the winning goal. We had loads of opportunities and it wasn’t for the lack of trying. The lads kept going all the way through.

“On another day, we win the game comfortably. It’s fine margins and we haven’t done it but you could see how hard the players are working, you could see our attacking threat and the fans were brilliant from the very beginning.

“The players are trying. We haven’t got the three points but when I look back at it, there’s many things that the players have done well.”

Graham Coughlan says in-form Newport are reaping the rewards for sticking together when the going got tough after a 3-0 win at Walsall moved them four points off the League Two play-off places.

First-half goals from Bryn Morris, Will Evans and Harry Charsley gave the Exiles a fully-deserved fourth successive league victory.

It is a far cry from a nightmare, injury-hit autumn when they sank as low as 20th in the table after just one win in 10.

“I’m delighted for the lads because they’ve stuck with me through the tough times in September, October and November when we were decimated by injuries,” Coughlan said.

“They could have easily waved a white flag and gone under but they didn’t – they carried on, dug deep and got points in games we probably didn’t deserve.

“We had to batten down the hatches for those three months – it was tough but we stuck together as a club and this little run, this little period, is testament to all those who stuck with us.”

Newport host the two sides directly above them – Notts County and Gillingham – over the next seven days, and Coughlan added: “I thought our performance in the first 20 minutes was absolutely outstanding – probably the best 20 minutes we’ve had since I’ve come to the club.

“We got a bit of a deflection for the first one but Will Evans’ individual goal, if that happens in the Premier League that’s flashed across Sky Sports every hour – it’s an absolutely outstanding goal.”

Josh Gordon and Mo Faal failed to test the goalkeeper with two huge first-half chances for Walsall, who had goalkeeper Owen Evans sent off late on for handling outside the area.

“We just didn’t start it the way we normally do and I felt Newport did to us what we like to do to teams for spells of that game, especially in the first 15 minutes,” said Saddlers boss Mat Sadler.

“Football is a game of moments and we were the other side of those moments today. We had two very good chances to alter the course of the game but it wasn’t to be.

“We were just not quite at the races today.

“It wasn’t what we pride ourselves on – the work-rate, the relentless attitude. We just gave ourselves a bit too much of a mountain to climb so early in the game and that is unlike us.

“I’m sure there will be runs that will happen from now until the end of the season for someone to get into that play-off pack – we will keep fighting, keep pushing.”

Karl Robinson felt there were positives for Salford despite a poor performance in a 1-1 draw with Swindon.

The visitors needed a late goal from Callum Hendry to extend their unbeaten run to six games.

And boss Robinson said: “The competitive edge didn’t seem to be there in the same way as it has been. But the secret to sustaining points and keep putting them on the board is finding a way, even when you’re not great.

“Their goal could have been a turning point for us to get back on the front foot.

“It seemed like we were waiting for them to score.

“We know we weren’t good enough today…but to get the point makes me feel proud of the players.

“For the first 25 minutes we were by far the better team. I thought we had a number of chances to go ahead.

“We probably got more than we deserved. But equally, that’s still a very positive point.”

George McEachran charged into the box and slotted his finish beyond the goalkeeper at the near post to put Swindon ahead, but Callum Hendry fired home from close range in stoppage time to earn a point.

Gavin Gunning felt Swindon deserved a lot more than they ended up with, despite the familiar feeling of conceding late.

He said: “Have you seen a performance like that this year? I don’t know.

“We conceded late on and that is frustrating, but if their keeper has a game like that then there is nothing that you can do, fair play to him. He has had one of the best games I’ve seen from a goalie in a long time.

“We’ve played a Salford team that are in really good form and we have absolutely battered them and anybody who watched that game knows that.

“I think we were decent in the first half, we had a lot of chances where we should have scored and they didn’t know how to deal with the game plan that we played.

“It is frustrating because it has been doom and gloom, but we are playing well again now.”

Mansfield boss Nigel Clough admitted “the scoreline flattered us” after his side produced a clinical display to beat struggling Forest Green 4-0.

An Ollie Clarke brace and goals from Tom Nichols and Will Swan helped the Stags to victory.

Rovers looked resurgent in the first-half under boss Steve Cotterill but Mansfield turned on the style after the break to take all three points from Gloucestershire.

“We had to work hard to keep a clean sheet,” added Clough. “They (Forest Green) played really well and took control after our first goal, so the second goal was important in the context of the game.

“I don’t think we lost our way. It was just a case of Forest Green playing extremely well for 25 minutes. They have some very good players.

“We defended well and snuffed the threat out.

“We thought our smaller, agile players would work well against their big centre halves and, while we’ve had some strong benches at times this season, that’s the strongest we’ve had and they had an impact.”

Mansfield took the lead after 12 minutes when Aden Flint cushioned a header into the path of the oncoming Clarke, who hammered home into the bottom corner from the edge of the area.

Forest Green reacted well to going behind as Fankaty Dabo delivered a fine cross that Flint diverted fractionally wide with Christian Doidge ready to head home.

Charlie McCann almost gifted the Stags a second with a loose pass back to his goalkeeper but Clarke and Swan were both denied by the impressive Luke Daniels, who injured himself in making the save.

Nichols made it two for the visitors when he ran on to Swan’s forward pass before he cut inside and hammered an effort into the far corner.

Swan then made it three after Lucas Akins’ low cross found the forward, who turned home right-footed at the near post.

Clarke completed the rout with a late strike into the top corner.

Forest Green boss Steve Cotterill felt the second goal was decisive.

He said: “The second goal broke our hearts.

“We were the better team for 60 minutes by a mile. We’re already working with boys low on confidence so then it’s an uphill task.

“We have to do the unsavoury side of the game a bit more. It wasn’t a 4-0 defeat but that just about sums it up at the moment and how they react to those negative moments in the game.

“There’s plenty to work on but I’d like to think when you look at us, we’re a better team but the results aren’t showing it.”