Macaulay Langstaff’s second-half double made it three wins in a row for Notts County as they beat Accrington 3-1 at Meadow Lane to climb to the top of Sky Bet League Two.

Luke Williams’ side took the lead when Jodi Jones’ inviting delivery found Dan Crowley at the back post to give the hosts a deserved lead.

However, the visitors levelled in the 27th minute when Josh Andrews directed Shaun Whalley’s free-kick over the head of Aidan Stone.

The ongoing battle between Andrews and Stone continued as the Notts County goalkeeper produced a brilliant save down low before the break.

Langstaff was denied twice in quick succession early in the second half but found the telling touch in the 65th minute, twisting and turning inside the area before firing a sublime effort in off the post.

Goalkeeper Stone almost gifted the visitors an equaliser with a poor pass into midfield, however, Liam Coyle was unable to take advantage.

The hosts sealed the points in the final minute of normal time when Langstaff beat the offside trap before finishing delicately over Toby Savin.

A first-half goal from Michael Mellon gave Morecambe three points against a Salford side reduced to 10 men in added time.

The on-loan Burnley striker earned the points with a fine near-post finish from Adam Mayor’s left-wing cross after the Shrimps won the ball in midfield and attacked sharply.

Salford started the game well with Conor McAleny forcing Stuart Moore into an early save but from there rarely troubled the Morecambe defence, who looked solid throughout.

The Shrimps always looked dangerous on the counter, with JJ McKiernan going close and Jordan Slew seeing a golden chance to add a second on 86 minutes go begging when he shot straight at Alex Cairns from another dangerous Mayor cross.

The Ammies’ frustrations came out in added time when experienced substitute Matthew Lund was shown a straight red card for a kick out.

League Two leaders MK Dons were stunned by a second-half comeback from Crewe, who ran out 3-1 winners at Gresty Road.

Jonathan Leko fired Graham Alexander’s side ahead early on and MK Dons exerted a tight grip on the game in the first half.

But after the break the Railwaymen’s bright attacking work, helped by the introduction of Shilow Tracey, turned the game around with goals from Conor Thomas, Courtney Baker-Richardson and Chris Long earning Lee Bell’s side a second success of the campaign.

Persistence paid off for Leko when he handed the visitors an early lead with the striker following up his initial effort and one from Alex Gilbey by lashing home in the eighth minute.

Crewe were dangerous on the break and Long flicked Mickey Demetriou’s cross onto the roof of the net, while Rio Adebisi curled a cross just past the far post.

The home side went close just before the hour mark after Tracey teed up Joel Tabiner for a shot which was pushed out by Craig MacGillivray and Demetriou followed up by crashing the ball into the side netting from a tight angle.

And the Cheshire side were level soon after when Tracey picked out Thomas unmarked inside the box and the midfield found the bottom corner with a well-placed drive (62).

Then the MK Dons were at sixes and sevens at the back when some more flamboyant play, this time from Tabiner, saw MacGillivray push out the youngster’s effort and Baker-Richardson followed up to finish from close range in the 69th minute.

Substitute Max Dean was denied by a good save from Harvey Davies as the stunned Dons attempted to hit back. But they could have conceded again as MacGillivray had to push out Long’s angled drive.

And it was Long who capped the victory for the hosts when he took substitute Aaron Rowe’s neat pass inside the box and drove into the corner in the last minute.

Forest Green sealed an impressive 1-0 victory at Sutton after Harvey Bunker’s second-half goal consigned the hosts to a fifth consecutive league defeat.

The best effort in a scrappy first half-hour came from Green’s Matty Taylor, whose shot was beaten away by Jack Rose, while Taylor also had the ball in the net only to be denied by an offside flag.

For Sutton, Aiden O’Brien rolled a shot just wide from Harry Smith’s knock down, but Forest Green ended the half on top as Charlie McCann finished a strong run with a low shot which was pushed away by Rose, who also saved from Taylor’s volley.

Joe Kizzi shot wide after Sutton’s best move of the game, but Rose remained the busier keeper after the restart, saving well from Kyle McAllister.

However, he was beaten in Rovers’ next attack as McAllister set up Bunker to score with a low shot from 18 yards.

The visitors might have had a second when Tyrese Omotoye headed just over from Jamie Robson’s cross.

Grimsby produced a clinical display to beat Gillingham 2-0 in their Sky Bet League Two match at Blundell Park.

First-half goals from Niall Maher and Gavan Holohan put the hosts in full control, which proved enough to consign Gillingham to their second successive league defeat.

Grimsby pushed for an early breakthrough and the opening goal came on 12 minutes when defender Maher glanced home from a corner.

It was 2-0 shortly before the half-hour mark when Danny Rose and Abo Eisa combined to find Holohan who drilled in a low finish.

Toby Mullarkey blazed over on the half-volley shortly before the break, but Grimsby were full value for their lead.

Grimsby went close to a third soon after the restart as Harry Clifton forced Gills keeper Jake Turner into a low save.

Eisa also tested Turner during the closing stages when he brushed off his marker to strike a powerful left-foot effort.

Newport fought back from two goals down to earn a 2-2 draw with AFC Wimbledon in an entertaining contest at Rodney Parade.

A James Tilley double put the visitors 2-0 up inside half an hour before Will Evans pulled one back in first-half stoppage time and Omar Bogle levelled 10 minutes after the break.

Tilley, fresh from scoring at Stamford Bridge against Premier League Chelsea in midweek, put the visitors ahead on nine minutes when he fired in off the post after good work from Ali Al-Hamidi down the right.

And the forward doubled Wimbledon’s advantage half an hour in with a superb finish from 20 yards for his seventh goal of the season after riding an attempted tackle from Ryan Delaney.

But Exiles midfielder Scot Bennett curled a shot onto the bar before Evans poked in his eighth of the campaign and Bogle produced a delightful lobbed finish to level.

Tilley was denied a hat-trick as Nick Townsend pulled off a superb save to keep out his header.

Harrogate-born midfielder Kian Spence scored the only goal for Barrow in a 1-0 win against his hometown team.

The Bluebirds had not won on any of their past 13 trips to Harrogate, but Spence’s spectacular first-half strike sealed maximum points, with goalkeeper Paul Farman saving Jack Muldoon’s penalty for the hosts after the break.

Spence, recruited in the summer from National League side Halifax, scored his second goal of the season in the 21st minute when he let fly with a 25-yard diagonal drive that whistled inside home keeper Mark Oxley’s right-hand post.

Harrogate’s most promising spell of the half came in stoppage time when Farman rushed out of his goal to smother a James Daly chance and then tipped Matty Foulds’ header around an upright.

But Town squandered their best chance of an equaliser when Rory Feely threw up an arm in the box and made contact with Anthony O’Connor’s header.

Muldoon was given the responsibility from 12 yards but his weak spot-kick down the middle of the goal was easily saved by Farman as Harrogate suffered a fifth defeat in six games.

Isaac Hutchinson’s 25-yard screamer condemned Colchester to a fourth defeat in their opening five League Two games and gave Walsall a deserved 1-0 win.

The Saddlers were on top throughout and Jamille Matt’s looping header forced an early flying save from Colchester keeper Owen Goodman before Hutchinson curled just wide from 18 yards.

Freddie Draper’s spectacular overhead kick fizzed inches wide before the offside flag denied Walsall an opener early in the second half when Donervon Daniels glanced in a Tom Knowles free-kick.

However, Walsall took a 65th-minute lead their dominance deserved as Hutchinson’s rocket from distance flew into the top corner despite a diving Goodman getting fingertips to it.

Colchester came to life after conceding as Arthur Read sent a 25-yard free-kick just wide.

And they came within inches of pinching a point as Daniels cleared off the line after Walsall keeper Owen Evans got a hand on Connor Hall’s instinctive flick.

Evans made another vital save from Hall’s glancing header in stoppage time to leave Colchester 22nd and lift Walsall to 14th.

Mansfield remain unbeaten in all competitions after a dour 0-0 draw at home against Bradford.

A poor first half saw the Bantams edge possession but neither goalkeeper had a real save to make.

Christy Pym was firmly behind a low shot by Clarke Oduor after 17 minutes for a routine stop.

And it took a fine last-ditch tackle by Lewis Brunt just before that to stop Tyler Smith pulling the trigger six yards out as Mansfield struggled to clear a corner.

Immediately after the restart, Smith forced Pym to dive to his right to grab his rasping half-volley.

Harry Lewis finally had work to do after 56 minutes as he kept out Davis Keillor-Dunn’s powerful strike, diving to his right.

Eight minutes later Ollie Clarke poked a loose ball just wide after a Keillor-Dunn shot was blocked.

Lucas Akins almost broke the deadlock 11 minutes from time, but his glancing near-post header from a corner sailed across goal and hit the base of the far post.

Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson hailed the effort of his players as the Red Dragons recorded their first away win since being promoted to League Two last season as well as their first clean sheet of the campaign.

Aaron Hayden’s 56th-minute header meant Parkinson’s side took all three points in a fiercely contested local derby against Tranmere at Prenton Park

The visitors dominated the early stages of a frantic first half with Ollie Palmer, Elliott Lee and James McClean all coming close to opening the scoring.

Meanwhile, Rovers’ best chance fell to Kristian Dennis who almost latched onto a Regan Hendry cross in a rare sortie into the visitor’s box in the opening period.

It was a similar story after the break and Wrexham’s pressure eventually told when Hayden lost his man from a corner to nod the ball home in front of the 2,000 travelling fans.

Despite their dominance, the visitors were unable to add to their lead, despite coming close through Ollie Palmer while Rovers’ only real effort of note was Sam Taylor’s speculative effort which was tipped over by Wrexham goalkeeper Mark Howard.

It’s now five games unbeaten in the league for Wrexham while Ian Dawes’ Tranmere side have lost three on the bounce.

Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson said: “I’m very pleased, I thought it was a strong performance from us, particularly in the first half.

“We were excellent and passed the ball really well, we didn’t get the goal, but we didn’t feel sorry for ourselves and kept going.

“Obviously the home team is going to come back into it to a certain degree and we had enough good chances to win the game by more.

“1-0 wins are important as they show resilience and I thought we dug deep today when we had to and we pushed ourselves that extra yard to get the result.

“Everyone knows we had that spell early on where we were conceding goals and we had to rectify that and the first clean sheet of the season will do the defenders the world of good today.

“The lads have responded brilliantly today and to win a local derby with the support we’ve had here is an incredible feeling.”

Tranmere manager Ian Dawes said: “We knew going into the game it was two teams with two completely different styles of play.

“Wrexham are a very physical side who were going to go long and we knew they’d be relentless, so we knew we had to manage the game.

“We worked the ball well into the final third at times today but we just lacked that little bit of guile.

“We knew we’d have to be patient with the ball because we’d have been crazy to go direct against the three biggest centre backs in the league.

“I thought we defended set plays really well today and there was just one moment where they got a block on us and they scored the goal – that one moment has been the difference today.

“It hurts us today massively and the fans, staff and players will be hurting because it wasn’t just a game of football today, it was about that rivalry and we walk away gutted.”

Wrexham took the spoils in a hotly contested local derby as Phil Parkinson’s side won 1-0 at Tranmere to notch their second League Two victory of the season.

A second-half header from Aaron Hayden was the difference as the Red Dragons earned the bragging rights in the first fixture between these two since January 2018.

The visitors enjoyed the better of the early opportunities in a frantic opening with Ollie Palmer, Elliott Lee and James McClean coming the closest to opening the scoring.

At the other end, Rovers’ best chance fell to Kristian Dennis who was inches away from prodding the ball home at the far post following a Regan Hendry cross.

Wrexham continued to turn the screw after the break and were rewarded in the 56th minute when Hayden headed home Tom O’Connor’s corner for his first of the season.

Parkinson’s men continued to push forward and could have extended their lead through Ollie Palmer while Dennis came closest to snatching an unlikely point for Rovers when his injury-time effort was blocked on the line.

It’s now five games unbeaten in League Two for Wrexham while Ian Dawes’ Tranmere side have lost three on the bounce.

Forest Green boss David Horseman hailed his wealth of attacking options after Troy Deeney’s first Rovers goal earned them a 1-1 draw at AFC Wimbledon.

The former Watford star lobbed Dons goalkeeper Alex Bass with 15 minutes to go, cancelling out James Ball’s first-half strike.

Deeney’s arrival added to the goal threat for a side already boasting fellow summer addition Matty Taylor as well as Matty Stevens, who scored 23 goals when Rovers were promoted from Sky Bet League Two in the 2021-22 campaign.

Deeney may face competition from team-mate Ty Omotoye, who was in close attendance, to claim his goal, while Stevens spurned several opportunities at Plough Lane.

But Horseman feels it will not be long until his illustrious strikers are regularly finding the net for a side who have scored just three times in their opening five matches.

“Troy lifts it and he says he bundled it in, I will have to check the video, but him and Ty will have a conversation about that one,” Horseman said.

“That is the most minutes that Matty Taylor has played so far, since I have come here anyway, and he will only be stronger for it.

“Matty Stevens is a threat. When it is in and around the box, three chances fall to him today, three that he should always score and he will score going forward. But the fact is, he is in there and we looked a threat.”

Stevens was one of several players to go close prior to Ball’s opener, seeing a close-range header saved by Bass after Charlie McCann had earlier hit a post.

Ball met former Rovers midfielder Armani Little’s corner to give his side the lead 10 minutes before the break and his side could have won it late on, only for Luke Daniels to deny Josh Neufville and Ali Al-Hamadi late on.

AFC Wimbledon boss Johnnie Jackson said: “We have definitely had enough chances to see the game off and by the end of it we were the team pressing, so we are disappointed not to win.

“We had to make two enforced changes, we lost our captain [Jake Reeves] midway through the first-half and Armani Little had to go off at half-time, so we had to shift it around.

“They got their equaliser and they got into the ascendancy, but I was delighted with how we responded to that.

“They are a good side, they have got good players. Matty Taylor and Matty Stevens are a good front two for a level higher than this.

“All the boys felt like we should have won the game and we had enough chances to do it, so there is that disappointment.”

Mark Hughes believes he got the response he was looking for as Bradford inflicted Crewe’s first defeat of the season.

Jamie Walker swept in Kevin McDonald’s cross in the 43rd minute to earn the well-deserved 1-0 victory at the University of Bradford Stadium.

Boss Hughes had demanded a response after last week’s 3-0 loss at Morecambe and dropped captain Richie Smallwood to the bench.

Walker returned from an ankle injury and scored his first goal since the play-offs in May as the Bantams claimed their second home victory of the campaign.

Hughes said: “Jamie doesn’t say much and does his talking on the pitch. Training-wise, he was excellent so that was the message he was sending that he was ready to go if needed.

“He was a little bit sore coming off the pitch, but he got his goal and had an impact once again.

“We asked for a reaction and that’s what we got. I thought we were quite comfortable for the most part.

“They had a little bit of possession in the first half, but that’s how they play and you expect that.

“They’ve had a good start so they had a bit of confidence coming into the game.

“I don’t think we were anxious at any point. You’ve just got to keep your shape, get people in the right positions and they’re not able to pass the ball through you.

“They had a couple of opportunities, but we had chances ourselves and deserved the goal. Then second half, I thought we saw out the game quite comfortably.”

Bradford’s goal came against the run of play as Crewe had controlled the first half.

The home side were much better in the second half and Crewe goalkeeper Harvey Davies spread himself to deny Alex Pattison’s burst into the penalty area.

Harry Lewis saved from Joel Tabiner in the nine minutes of stoppage time as the visitors applied late pressure.

Manager Lee Bell said: “I thought we dominated first half and to go in 1-0 down was harsh on the team. We dominated 75 per cent of the game, but it’s about what happens in both boxes.

“The goal came when we were fully on top and probably playing as well as we have done this season.

“That moment cost us the game. If it was 0-0, they’d have sat even further back and gone into their shell a little bit and we’d dominate the ball even more.

“I thought the players gave absolutely everything. That’s what I’m asking of them.

“But you’ve got to score when you come to Bradford and play like that.

“We’ll have to take it on the chin, but overall the performance was pleasing. We’ve got to work on the final third now.

“I think the result was unjust, but you’ve got to make goal-scoring opportunities and we didn’t make enough clear-cut ones.”

Morecambe boss Derek Adams questioned referee Ross Joyce’s performance after his 10-man team went down 2-0 at Harrogate in Sky Bet League Two.

Farrend Rawson was sent off having been shown yellow cards for conceding a penalty and a free-kick that were both ruthlessly punished by home pair Luke Armstrong and George Thomson.

However, Adams claimed replays showed the ball struck Rawson in the chest and not the arm for Armstrong’s 20th-minute spot-kick opener.

The former Mansfield defender was then dismissed midway through the second period despite arguing that he was fouled during the challenge with home attacker James Daly that led to Thomson’s stunning second goal.

Adams picked his words carefully at the final whistle but also argued that the officials missed another potential red card incident in the first half when Morecambe midfielder JJ McKiernan had to be substituted due to a head injury.

“In the first half, we had to take off JJ after he got an elbow to his head, which was hugely disappointing,” Adams said.

“He’s got a huge lump on his head but it was an incident that was missed by the referee and his assistants and probably could have been a red card.

“By then, the referee had given a penalty to Harrogate and, from the video footage we have seen, it looks like it came off Rawson’s chest.

“He didn’t have the greatest view and was maybe blinded, but he made the decision and they scored.

“Both of the centre-backs then got yellow cards and we made a decision to substitute one of them because of that in the second half, but it was probably the wrong decision as Rawson then got another yellow, even though he thought he was fouled first.

“Some major decisions didn’t go for us and, even though we kept pushing with 10 men, we still didn’t do enough over the 90 minutes to win the game.”

Home boss Simon Weaver was encouraged by the manner in which his side responded to a run of three successive defeats.

He said: “We showed great urgency in our performance and earned the right to play by winning the first and second balls. It was maybe a pressing of the reset button, because we came into the ring swinging.

“After three defeats, it’s perhaps easier to try and protect a lead when you go 1-0 up, so it was pleasing that we remained on the front foot and saw the game out.

“There were no passengers – we were in people’s faces and had winners out there on the park.

“It was a clear identity of what we want to be. You have to react to disappointments by not being passive and we certainly weren’t passive in this game.”

Grimsby boss Paul Hurst says the Mariners cannot keep relying on rockets from Abo Eisa after they drew 1-1 at Walsall.

Eisa unleashed a 25-yard thunderbolt to give Grimsby the lead against the run of play at the Bescot Stadium.

That was the striker’s third long-range goal in as many games and he also nearly added another soon after but was denied by the crossbar.

And after Walsall rescued a late, but deserved, point through Ryan Stirk’s close-range finish, Hurst warned his side they need to start scoring ugly goals as well as beautiful ones.

“It was another one to add to the ‘goal of the season’ contenders – he will have his own section at this rate,” Hurst admitted.

“We know what he’s capable of and he nearly had another one. He’s in a good place but we can’t rely on wonder strikes – we’ve got to start scoring tap-ins.

“With the best will in the world, he’s not going to keep doing that every single game.

“It took another fantastic strike to put us in front, and then there’s an element of fortune with their goal but if you don’t score more than one when you’re on top, that’s what can happen.

“A point away is always not to be sniffed at but having got in front and felt like we started to dominate the game, I’m disappointed.

“If we played at that tempo from the off we might have seen a different result.”

Walsall dominated the first half but Mariners goalkeeper Jake Eastwood twice denied both Ross Tierney and Tom Knowles.

However, Saddlers boss Mat Sadler was unhappy Eastwood did not concede a penalty when he crashed into Tierney as they challenged for a high ball early on.

“Is it a fair point? Yes,” said Sadler, whose side ended with 10 men after Chris Hussey received a second yellow card in stoppage time for a poor challenge on Toby Mullarkey.

“But I think we should be without question taking a spot-kick from 12 yards in the first 15 minutes and then it’s a completely different game.

“It is 100 per cent a penalty – Ross gets punched in the face and he’s got a black eye from it. These moments change games and it’s a stonewall spot-kick.

“In the way their thunderbolt strike changes the game in their favour, that might have changed the game for us.

“Their goal really knocked the stuffing out of us but my lads gave absolutely everything to make sure they didn’t concede again because we were under the cosh for a while.

“I was proud they dug in, stuck together, and we came out of it with what I believe we deserved.”