Stockport moved to within one point of League Two leaders Notts County after a late Tanto Olaofe winner secured a narrow 1-0 triumph over Doncaster.

County went close to opening the scoring on the stroke of half-time when Louie Barry found Ryan Croasdale on the edge of the area, but Louis Jones reacted quickly to punch his effort over the crossbar.

The first half was otherwise uneventful with few clear-cut chances but Stockport were the more threatening, with Barry in particular finding some success on the wings.

Doncaster should have taken the lead after the break but Ben Hinchliffe was on hand to produce a fine double save to deny Modou Faal before quickly getting back to his feet to palm away after Joe Ironside’s effort on the rebound.

The deadlock was finally broken in the 84th minute when Olaofe nodded home Will Collar’s inswinging cross to clinch second-placed County’s sixth successive victory.

Defeat leaves Doncaster in 20th place, four points clear of the drop zone.

League Two leaders Notts County were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw in their first English Football League meeting with Barrow since 1970.

David McGoldrick opened the scoring with a 14th-minute penalty, but Dean Campbell rescued a point for the hosts with a spot-kick of his own 10 minutes from time at Holker Street.

Former Wales international James Chester gave away a penalty for the second game running as he tripped Macauley Langstaff.

Ex-Sheffield United striker McGoldrick made no mistake as he cooly slotted home from 12 yards.

Barrow missed a host of chances to restore parity. County goalkeeper Aidan Stone produced some fine saves to keep the hosts at bay.

Ged Garner and Emile Acquah both squandered great opportunities to level.

Paul Farman produced a good stop to keep Chester from diverting a cross into his own net.

Acquah earned Barrow a penalty of their own when his header hit an arm before Campbell fired into the bottom corner.

Stone ensured the spoils were shared with a late save to deny Ben Whitfield.

Mansfield remain the only unbeaten side in League Two but are fast becoming draw specialists after a home 0-0 stalemate with promotion rivals AFC Wimbledon made it eight draws in 12 league outings.

A first half of few clear chances saw the visitors given the perfect opportunity to break the deadlock when home defender Lewis Brunt clipped Omar Bugiel in the box and conceded a penalty.

James Tilley stepped up to take it but Christy Pym managed to push the ball up against the bar and watch as it bounced back up, hit the bar a second time and he was able to grab before it crossed the line.

Mansfield might have gone ahead just before the break as Will Swan’s dummy on Aaron Lewis’ low cross left George Maris one on one with Alex Bass, but the keeper was able to grab his low finish.

Tilley twice came close to scoring in the 62nd minute. First he latched onto a poor Jordan Bowery back pass but Pym turned aside his near post finish, then soon after Pym failed to hold his low shot but grabbed it at the second attempt almost on the line.

Wimbledon were furious when Jordan Bowery, already yellow-carded, got away with what looked another bookable foul in the 68th minute, with Dons boss Johnnie Jackson booked instead.

After 76 minutes James Gale sent a free header wide from six yards from a home corner.

AFC Wimbledon manager Johnnie Jackson hailed Omar Bugiel’s cleanest of match-winning strikes against Harrogate as a reward for the “dirty work” he has been putting in for the team.

Bugiel’s first league goal since a summer move from Sutton saw him seal a 1-0 win at Wetherby Road, courtesy of a sumptuous, sixth-minute shot with the outside of his right foot.

It ended the Lebanon international’s 13-game personal drought in league contests and also sealed a third straight win for the impressive Dons, with manager Jackson enthusing: “It was a brilliant goal.

“He’s got that ability to score more but he also enjoys the dirty parts of the game and setting his mates up, which he has been doing for us. I’m pleased to see him on the scoresheet, though, and it was a goal worthy of winning any game.”

Jackson went on to suggest that the victory was his “favourite” of the season, as the team won by the slenderest of margins but never looked in danger of surrendering their early lead as the hosts were restricted to just two shots at goal all evening.

The former Charlton chief added: “It was a really good win and probably my favourite of the season because Harrogate is a tough place to come, a long way from home on a Tuesday night and a real test of your mettle, which we passed to get a clean sheet and a 1-0 win.

“We have played better this season, but I still regard it as our best win.

“The scoreline wasn’t comfortable, because it was only 1-0, but it felt comfortable because it did not feel like they were going to break us down. I couldn’t see them playing through us and it was a really solid away performance.”

Home boss Simon Weaver, meanwhile, was less impressed with Bugiel’s match-winning effort.

“It was a soft goal to concede,” he argued. “He’s got to be brought down or stopped there and it was a goal that could have been prevented, which is not characteristic of us.

“Our reaction to conceding was good, because we asked the players to keep passing the ball, which they did, and we played some good stuff but without ever looking ominous in and around the penalty area.

“It wasn’t for the wasn’t of trying, but we lacked the creativity and dynamism in the final third to upset them and had no cutting edge.

“After the first 10 minutes of the second half, the game then got a bit bitty and I tried to change that by going a more orthodox 4-4-2 with the substitutes but I can’t say we were any better, so that’s down to me.”

Neil Harris ruefully admitted Gillingham missed the influence of club captain Shaun Williams as they went down to a fourth defeat in seven games.

Goals from Connor O’Riordan and Joe White secured a 2-0 win to move the Railwaymen up to third in the Sky Bet League Two table.

The Gills have dropped out of the top seven and their current form is in stark contrast to the blistering start they made to the campaign when they led the table in mid-August.

Harris rested midfielder Williams and felt others did not step up to the challenge to show the type of leadership exhibited by the missing 36-year-old.

“We went behind to the softest of goals and I’ve got to look at that and see if I’ve got the right players out there or whether I need to change the way I want to play,” said Harris.

“We’ve fallen short and it wasn’t through not creating chances. But whether the mentality was right in the group or whether there was enough leadership and desire out there without Shaun Williams, I don’t know.

“Shaun was missed badly tonight, but I rested him because of the way he carries himself when he plays 90 minutes at the weekend, which means he struggles to make a Tuesday night squad.

“He is such an important player for us, but people have to step up and take responsibility. We have to find it in ourselves to make sure that we come to places like Crewe and be harder to beat than that.

“Crewe have been excellent at home and are 13 games unbeaten. You have to give them credit for that, but this was a game we should still be winning.”

O’Riordan’s far-post header edged the Cheshire side ahead in the 30th minute after Gillingham had threatened early on when Ethan Coleman thumped against a post and George Lapslie fired over.

Defender O’Riordan finished off a Zac Williams cross as Crewe worked the ball back into the box following a corner.

Macauley Bonne should have levelled soon after when Robbie McKenzie’s shot was pushed into his path by goalkeeper Harvey Davies, only for the striker to fire the rebound wide with the net gaping.

Crewe held firm in the second half and the closest Gillingham went to levelling was when Coleman headed a corner wide.

The home side sealed victory when substitutes Aaron Rowe and White combined, with the latter netting his first goal of his loan spell from Newcastle with five minutes remaining.

Crewe boss Lee Bell said: “We had to work hard for that as Gillingham are a good team with an excellent manager. We rode our luck a couple of times in the first half and Harvey Davies made an outstanding save.

“But our shape was excellent and we really nullified them in the second half, and took our chance to seal it on the break. It was good to see Joe White tuck that away.

“I was really pleased with our defending against a team that can really hurt you. That is 13 games unbeaten at home overlapping from last season.

“We want to make the place a fortress and a hard place for teams to come to. But we also played some decent football tonight and we had some dangerous moments.”

Salford boss Neil Wood was proud of his side after their 2-0 victory over Football League basement boys Sutton.

The Ammies recorded successive League Two wins for the first time this season thanks to second-half goals from Matt Smith and Kelly N’Mai.

It has been a much-needed resurgence after a dismal run of five consecutive league losses.

“I thought we were outstanding tonight,” said Wood. “The first half was excellent.

“We controlled the game, we tidied up the game when we needed to.

“There was a worry when we didn’t score in the first half. Sometimes you dominate and when you’ve hit the post twice you always wonder if it’s going to come back to bite you.

“It was important to get that first goal and it was a great individual goal from Kelly for the second.

“It is a relief in a way because you pick up wins and you’re out of that run of not winning games.

“But we’re always confident, we’re always working in the background.

“These players are capable and they’ve shown that again tonight by backing up from the weekend.

“They can do it and they need to build on that. We’ve got another game on Saturday and we need to take the confidence from the last two games into that.”

Matt Gray’s U’s are still searching for a first league win since the opening day.

And after Tranmere’s win over Bradford, Sutton already sit five points off safety.

Sutton boss Gray said: “I’m very frustrated because the first goal is always big in any game and especially in the situation we’re in at the moment it’s really important.

“To concede from a corner is really disappointing because it was an even first half. They had a couple of moments, but so did we.

“There were some good bits from us and it felt like a tight and even game.

“We’re very, very competitive in spells but not for the 90 minutes and that’s why we’re in the situation we’re in.

“It’s hard to take because you have to take your moments with the pressure we’ve had.

“It’s poor defending and letting them score from the corner is disappointing.

“We had three really good chances at the end and unfortunately we couldn’t take one of those chances at the death.

“There’s a lot to work on, that’s obvious. But that desire, work ethic and will to get a win is there. That’s a huge plus and we just have to keep working.

“We’re desperate to get this win to get us going.”

Morecambe manager Derek Adams was disappointed not to take three points from the 1-1 draw with Lancashire rivals Accrington in League Two.

Adams saw his side create a host of chances before taking the lead in the 64th minute through James Connolly, only to see Accrington pull level with a Tommy Leigh penalty five minutes later.

Adams said: “The first half was the best we have played all season. I thought we were outstanding. We passed the ball well, we moved well and created chances and we should have been ahead by a few goals at the break.

“We got ahead but we unfortunately gave away a soft penalty with a needless challenge and even though we had the better chances we couldn’t get the winner we deserved.

“At the end Accrington were happy with the point, everyone could see that.”

After an action-packed but goalless first period, on-loan Bristol Rovers defender Connolly scored his first goal for the Shrimps as he diverted Jordan Slew’s shot past Jon McCracken from six yards.

The lead lasted just five minutes however as the home side gave away a soft penalty with winger Tom Bloxham bringing down Shaun Whalley with a crude challenge, giving Leigh the chance to send Stuart Moore the wrong way from the spot.

Slew had a golden chance to win it deep in stoppage time when he was played in on goal but slashed his final effort wildly wide.

The closest either side came to a goal in the first period was when Morecambe midfielder Jake Taylor was played in by Michael Mellon but saw his goalbound chip cleared off the line superbly by former Shrimps defender Kelvin Mellor.

Mellon saw two efforts well saved by McCracken while at the other end Joe Pritchard forced a superb save from Moore and Jack Nolan hit the crossbar with a curling corner.

Accrington boss John Coleman said: “It was a cracking game with both teams going toe to toe and in the end a good point.

“We took the game to them which is more like us and we had to come from behind which was good too. We were disappointed with the goal they scored because it was a clear foul on our player but I was pleased with the way the lads fought back and got our penalty.

“I thought we were going to go on and get a second because we had the lion’s share of possession in the final 20 minutes but at the end of the day I don’t think anyone can say a draw wasn’t a fair result.”

MK Dons boss Graham Alexander felt all his side lacked was the killer touch after they failed to score for a second successive game in a 0-0 draw at Walsall.

The visitors created the better chances throughout and Walsall goalkeeper Owen Evans made three fine saves from Ellis Harrison, including a point-blank stop to thwart a spectacular overhead kick.

Mo Eisa wasted a golden opportunity right at the death by steering over from six yards as the Dons’ winless league run was extended to six games.

“We had some really good chances that we should take, players are getting in good positions, the commitment to the game was great. I can feel it coming,” Alexander said.

“The boys were really pleased with what they put out today, they know what we are trying to build and they see another clean sheet and see us dominate another game – and the results will follow.

“Mo’s distraught in there. I’m sure it’s not the first chance he’s missed and it won’t be the last. He’s devastated because he wanted to win the game for us with the final kick.

“We’ve still got more than enough attacking talent to score the goals that we were at the start of the season so we will keep working with them and believing in them.

“I know if they keep putting that commitment and effort in that when it comes to the end of the season, their tallies will be high and we’ll score the goals we need to be successful.”

Walsall saw a Freddie Draper finish ruled out for offside just before half-time, while Isaac Hutchinson and Tom Knowles both went close from range for the Saddlers in the second half.

“I thought it was two good teams in the division,” said Walsall boss Mat Sadler.

“During that period when they were on top, the resilience not to concede was there for all to see – Owen made some good saves and there were some good blocks and good defending.

“Then we grew into it from there. But as the old saying goes: ‘if you can’t win it, don’t lose it’, and we did that with a clean sheet.

“We’ve got players who are learning on the job and it was a good education for them – our players have bags of energy, desire and hunger and we’re trying to get that bit more experience into them.

“That was another good flag in the sand, playing a different kind of team and a different kind of formation.

“Could we have had that little bit better quality on the football in the game? Yes. But it was a great experience for all of them, there were some really good challenges today.”

Colchester manager Ben Garner criticised his players’ mentality and the performance of the officials after his side let a lead slip to lose 2-1 at Newport, with midfielder Arthur Read sent off late on.

Garner was convinced that Samson Tovide, who put the visitors ahead in the 34th minute with a tap in from Jayden Fevrier’s cross, should have had a second in first-half stoppage time when his shot was scrambled clear by home goalkeeper Nick Townsend.

“We were fantastic on Saturday and we were nowhere near those levels tonight,” said Garner, whose side beat League Two leaders Notts County 5-4 at the weekend.

“We should still take something from the game, but the mentality of some of the players has to improve – it can’t be pick this game and don’t turn up for the next one.”

County levelled two minutes before the break when Will Evans diverted in a wayward shot from midfielder Scot Bennett for his ninth goal of the season.

And the Exiles’ winner arrived in the 63rd minute when a defensive clearance hit onrushing striker Omar Bogle and cannoned into the bottom corner.

Tovide headed wide from close range late on before Read was sent off for an off-the-ball clash with substitute Kiban Rai.

Garner added: “We had six gilt-edged chances to score and we gave away two really poor goals. It’s a focus and mentality thing – the ability is there.

“I’m also frustrated with the performance of the officials.

“We got the ball a yard over the line in the first half. It looked in at the time and we’ve seen it back; it’s well in. It’s not a difficult decision.”

Garner had no issue with the sending off, though he blamed referee Lewis Smith for missing fouls on his player before the flashpoint.

“It’s a red card,” he admitted. “It’s a lack of discipline and he’s let his team down. He’s been fouled three times and the ref misses all three, but you can’t react. He’s a young player and he’ll learn.

“If the officials did their job probably, we wouldn’t get frustrated.”

Assistant manager Joe Dunne was pleased that County bounced back from successive defeats to seal a first victory since August 26.

“It’s a good win for us,” said Dunne. “We thought we should have got something from Salford (on Saturday), so we’re delighted with the three points.

“After the disappointment from Saturday, we spoke about what we can bring and all we asked for was the same with being a bit more clinical.

“It’s a great credit to everybody and we have won again at Rodney Parade. We should be really proud of digging in.”

Bradford boss Mark Hughes remains determined to turn the tide as pressure mounted on him thanks to a late Tranmere goal in a dramatic 2-1 defeat at Prenton Park.

An 83rd-minute strike from substitute Kieron Morris was enough to secure the points for Rovers after Regan Hendry had seen his first-half effort cancelled out by Andy Cook after the break.

The result comes on the back of a 4-1 home defeat to Walsall which saw Hughes on the receiving end of boos from Bradford fans and once again the Bantams faithful vented their anger at the final whistle, chanting ‘You’re getting sacked in the morning’ as the teams left the field.

As for Rovers, the victory was just their third of the season as they look to move away from the League Two relegation places following a poor start to the campaign.

Hughes said: “We’re disappointed as I thought we should have been one or two goals to the good but we weren’t able to convert, especially in the first half.

“It was very evenly matched in the second half and it could have gone either way and they were helped by the performance of the referee who was absolutely hopeless.

“The penalty award was obviously a great clearance by Kevin McDonald and should never have been given and they fed off that.

“After getting back to 1-1 I thought we could go on and win the game. I’m disappointed in terms of the result but I thought the level and endeavour was good.

“We just need to clear our heads and come out the other side. Wins change everyone’s mentality so we’ve got to be strong and confident in what we are doing.

“We were the better team but didn’t get the result we wanted. We didn’t get the breaks but we’ve just got to move on.

“We’re all in this together and we all want to turn this around.”

Tranmere Interim Manager Nigel Adkins hailed the togetherness of his side.

“We did some really good things on Saturday but the scoreline speaks for itself,” Adkins said.

“As for today, you could see there was a togetherness and a determination and we played some good football at times.

“You could say we might be a bit fortuitous because on any other day the goalkeeper would probably have saved that.

“We were disappointed having conceded from a corner but we responded to that and that’s the most important thing, how you respond to disappointment.

“We scored a great goal through Kieron Morris who has been out of the team for a while, but as I always say to the players – be ready to take your chance when it comes and he’s done that.

“But for me tonight was about everyone doing everything they can for Tranmere Rovers and the club and the supporters and you could see that togetherness with the fans tonight, too.”

Grant McCann is delighted to see Doncaster climbing the Sky Bet League Two standings but he is refusing to get caught up in talk of tables at this stage of the season.

After taking eight attempts to pick up their first league win of the campaign, Rovers now have three victories from their last four matches after seeing off in-form Crawley 2-0 at the Eco-Power Stadium.

A Mo Faal strike and a Joe Ironside penalty saw Doncaster deservedly end Crawley’s winning run at five matches.

The performance and result was much more like what McCann expected from his team and he has full faith in his squad’s ability to join the promotion race.

“There’s 35 games left and it’s going to chop and change a lot between now and the end of the season,” McCann said.

“We’re quite calm in terms of where we are. We want to be better obviously, but we’re calm and know we’ll start improving and get better all the time.

“Over a number of weeks now, we’ve seen that. We stepped off it at the weekend, but we’ve regained it tonight.

“In a lot of aspects of what we want to be and what we’re about, it was the best performance of the season.

“It reminded me a bit of the game at Hull in the Carabao Cup when we tried to jump on top of them.

“I was pleased with the whole team, including the lads who came on later because they made a real impact. We thoroughly deserved to win.”

Crawley manager Scott Lindsey felt his side lacked their usual creative streak as they saw their winning run ended.

“We said at half-time we felt our possession was good but we didn’t create enough,” he said. “We had players on the pitch with goals in them and creativity too, but we didn’t see enough of that.

“We started reasonably well and felt we dominated and controlled the first 25 minutes, but we gave away a poor goal and it was a fine example of goals changing games.

“Doncaster are a side in a false position and it was a tough game.”

Lindsey felt referee Martin Woods was wrong to award Doncaster a penalty as Mo Faal tumbled with Will Wright in the box.

“As the ball comes in, Will is pushed over and as he falls, he takes the player with him,” he said. “The referee gives the penalty, but what about the push on Will?

“It’s just crazy that it’s a penalty to me. It’s a foul the other way and it’s a killer for us because we have an uphill challenge against a side who keep the ball really well.”

Stockport boss Dave Challinor remained reserved despite his side moving up to fourth and extending their winning streak to five games with a 2-0 success over struggling Forest Green.

Isaac Olaofe nodded home the opener in the 15th minute before Antoni Sarcevic doubled their advantage in the second half.

Second-bottom Forest Green, who have lost five straight games, had defender Marcel Lavinier sent off after he picked up two yellow cards.

The County boss said: “I’m disappointed with the last half an hour after the sending-off because we made life more difficult for ourselves in terms of not looking after the football and not moving it forward in a manner that would’ve hurt them when we had the opportunity to.

“It was great to get in front and it almost then became a game management job in terms of being in a leading position.

“I just want us to be more crisp and more precise and technically better than we were.

“But I spoke to them before the game and said that attitude-wise we need to be bang on. We’ve got ourselves in a winning position, scored two goals and not conceded, and before the game if you’d have offered me that I would have taken it.”

Challinor was, however, happy with his side’s ruthlessness in front of goal in recent matches.

“We’ve been really clinical in terms of the opportunities that we’ve taken,” he added. “In the last six games now we’ve scored two or more goals which is great and gives you a real chance of winning games, which has been the case in the last five.”

Rovers manager David Horseman was frustrated with how his side switched off to give the hosts two goals.

He said: “When you give two goals away – you’re not marking at the far post and then a sloppy outside-of-the-foot pass leads to it ending up in the goal – against the good teams you give yourselves no real chance.

“The first one is really poor. The second is really irritating because we have total control. It ricochets to him. It’s not been loads of individually brilliant bits of play and it ends up in the back of the net.

“I thought we looked threatening at times but we don’t take our chances and we gave two poor goals away. What chance have you got when that’s the case?

“If you keep giving goals away like we do at one end, and we miss big opportunities to play right through them after they kick it into the middle of the pitch, if you don’t get those two bits right you’ve got no chance against the good teams.”

Mansfield boss Nigel Clough was left proud but frustrated after his in-form side were held 0-0 at home by promotion rivals Wrexham.

Now the only unbeaten side in the country, the Stags battered the visitors in the first half and twice hit the woodwork amid a string of chances, but Wrexham weathered the storm and had chances to win it in an improved second half.

“Playing one of the best sides in the league I thought we were absolutely magnificent from start to finish,” said Clough.

“I hope the fans enjoyed it even though it was a 0-0.

“We just didn’t get a break – I think we hit both posts.

“Especially first half, with the chances we created, we just needed one of them to go in. It wasn’t for the lack of trying. We couldn’t have done any more to win it.

“Sometimes we can’t control the result. We can only control the performance and the way we want to play.

“Then it’s a bit in the lap of the gods if you get a break or not or someone is good enough on the day to get you a finish. I thought one goal would have been enough tonight.”

Wrexham were penned back for almost the whole of the first half and Davis Keillor-Dunn hit a post while Ollie Clarke also saw goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo turn his low finish onto the woodwork.

Keillor-Dunn sent a six-yard header at the keeper, while Aaron Lewis shot over from 12 yards.

After the break, Ollie Palmer, Aaron Hayden and James McClean all went close to a winner for the visitors, while James Gale and Keillor-Dunn almost won it for Mansfield.

Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson said: “Mansfield are obviously a good side and we had to stand strong in that first half.

“Our quality let us down on the ball, we weren’t quite slick enough in possession. There are reasons for that or credit to the opposition, who were really right on top of the game.

“When you’re not at your best you then have to stand strong and our keeper made some great saves and we got some great blocks in.

“We defended set plays as well to get us in 0-0 at half-time with a great chance to go on and win the game. We had to stay in the game.

“Second half I thought we showed a lot more quality in our play while still showing the steeliness we needed in our defending.

“In the second half we had the best chances to win the game. We restricted them to shots from distance really.

“Mansfield have been tipped for promotion for the last few years and that was a really important point for us tonight.”

Paul Hurst reckons there is more to come from Grimsby after they ended their three-match losing stretch in Sky Bet League Two with a 2-1 victory against mid-table Barrow at Blundell Park.

Goals from Danny Rose and Donovan Wilson – seconds after stepping off the bench – sealed the three points to move their side up to 16th position in the table.

Grimsby striker Abo Eisa had earlier missed an 18th-minute penalty, while 10th-placed Barrow struck late on with a consolation from Sam Foley.

“That game shows what a strange business we are in,” Hurst said. “That’s the worst we have played by a long, long way and we’ve won the game.

“It looked like confidence had been sucked from the players, which I don’t get even though we have lost games.

“We weren’t very good tonight and I’ll always be honest. There was no real fluency, we were snatching at clearances, but we won the game even though it wasn’t a nice watch.

“I said to the players, we had to do whatever it takes to stop that losing run that we have been on, and they have done that with a valuable three points.

“They know we haven’t played as well as I would have liked.”

Both sides pushed for an early opener and Grimsby might have taken the lead after five minutes when Rose nodded wide before Dean Campbell blazed over for Barrow at the other end.

Barrow went close through Gerard Garner, but it was their opponents who took the lead shortly before the interval when Rose finished cleverly after team-mate Eisa was thwarted from the penalty spot by Paul Farman.

Kian Spence and substitute Emile Acquah took aim for Barrow after the restart and Grimsby were indebted to goalkeeper Jake Eastwood for preserving their lead when he produced a stunning save to deny Garner from point-blank range.

Wilson came off the bench to put Grimsby 2-0 up after 75 minutes before Foley grabbed a late consolation.

Barrow boss Pete Wild said: “We’ve had enough chances to win three games, and completely dominated the whole contest.

“We limited Grimsby to very little and there were so many major incidents.

“What we can’t fault is our processes, but what we can fault is that we haven’t been good enough in both boxes.

“We had one mistake in one box for the first goal and then we haven’t been ruthless enough with the 20-odd chances we have created to kill the game off.

“Their winner is miles offside and everyone can see that, but that summed the game up for us.

“It was another ridiculous refereeing decision, but when’s that ever going to change?”

Notts County boss Luke Williams hailed Macaulay Langstaff a “special” player after the Magpies striker scored his 50th goal for the club in their 3-1 win over Swindon.

Langstaff’s penalty – his first in a competitive match for County – was sandwiched between goals from David McGoldrick and Dan Crowley in a dominant first-half display.

The Magpies head coach explained that fans need to savour the time their number nine is at Meadow Lane, eluding that his form could attract attention from clubs higher up the pyramid.

“He is very special, and we must enjoy the time that we get to see him on the pitch and hopefully it is for a long time to come,” said Williams

“You never know, but let’s savour having Macca on the pitch and enjoy what he brings to us.”

The win at Meadow Lane saw the Robins’ unbeaten start come to an end after 10 games, with the hosts adding another record to their collection – the first time since 1960 that the club have won their opening five home league games.

“That’s nice, but I don’t think anyone can deny that group of players what they have done, and I hope that they continue to break records,” Williams said.

“I think they are becoming a special group which is fair to say, but we’ve got a long way to go to be taken seriously at this level because I believe we are still finding our feet – but I would love them to go on and recognise their potential.”

Swindon substitute Tyrese Shade pulled one back early in the second half but it proved no more than a consolation.

Despite the defeat, Swindon still sit in the play-off places, with manager Michael Flynn insisting that a result at this early stage in the season won’t define their campaign.

“The result won’t affect us, it won’t, it’s only one game,” he said.

“We are in our 10th game, and we are four points behind the league leaders with a game in hand, it’s neither here nor there at the minute.

“Yes, we have had a good start, yes, it’s disappointing to lose tonight but in the second half we were much better and a different team.”

The visitors missed several chances in a much improved second-half display, with Flynn revealing his half-time team-talk.

“For me, I didn’t think we could be as bad as what we were in the first half and that gave them the impetus to go on and try to win the game,” he added.