League One & League Two round-up: Newport County snatch huge win as Bromley drop points

Tuesday night saw huge results in the relegation spots of both League One and League Two as Burton Albion and Newport County took huge steps to safety.

Newport beat fellow strugglers Tranmere Rovers in dramatic fashion to lift themselves out of the relegation zone, albeit having played two games more than 23rd placed Barrow.

In a night of few goals in League One, St James Park saw the most action as Exeter City interim boss Matt Taylor could not muster a win in his first game against a stubborn Burton Albion.

League Two leaders Bromley also dropped points at home against Oldham Athletic to leave the club seven points clear in the automatic promotion places.

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Exeter City 1-1 Burton Albion

Burton made a really bright start to the game with Tyrese Shade firing across the face of goal, but Exeter had the best chance when Jayden Wareham scuffed a shot that was blocked after being put in on goal by Jack Aitchison.

Luca Woodhouse did smash the ball home for Exeter after 35 minutes, only to be thwarted by an offside flag, before Timur Tutierov raced clear of the Burton defence and saw his shot come back off the upright.

Carlos Mendes Gomes had the goal at his mercy, but somehow shot the rebound wide from four yards out.

Mendes Gomes fired straight at Collins at the start of the second half before Tutierov had the ball in the net only for Exeter to again be denied by an offside flag.

The deadlock was broken in the 64th minute when George Evans crossed to the edge of the penalty box and Udoka Godwin-Malife smashed an unstoppable shot past the unmoved Joe Whitworth.

Exeter levelled after 73 minutes, though, with a fine goal of their own. Wareham crossed and substitute Josh Magennis powered home a header from eight yards to rescue Exeter a point.

Newport County 3-1 Tranmere Rovers

Newport hauled themselves off the bottom and out of the League Two relegation zone as two late goals sealed a 3-1 win and finally ended the resistance of 10-man Tranmere.

Right-back Cameron Evans converted a Bobby Kamwa cross from the left at the near post in the 88th minute before Michael Spellman added his second of the game in the sixth minute of time added on to seal a crucial win for the Exiles and drag the visitors further into the relegation mix.

Captain Sam Finley went from hero to villain for Tranmere, opening the scoring in the second minute with a smart volley before being sent off in first-half stoppage time.

Spellman levelled the match 10 minutes before the break with a fine strike from 20 yards, before Finley saw red on the stroke of half-time.

He had already been booked but it was a straight red for a crunching challenge on Sven Sprangler, and the home side finally made their numerical advantage pay at the death.

Christian Fuchs hailed a big three points for Newport County
(Michael Regan/PA)

Bromley 0-0 Oldham Athletic

Bromley missed the chance to stretch their lead at the top of League Two to seven points as they had to settle for a share of the spoils in a goalless draw with Oldham.

A fourth draw in five league games for the leaders leaves second-placed Cambridge five points behind with a game in hand.

A first half low on quality saw little by way of incident until the stroke of half-time when Oldham’s Jack Stevens drew a smart save from Grant Smith at his near post before Kane Drummond’s effort from distance also tested the Bromley goalkeeper.

It was Drummond again three minutes after the interval who came closest to giving Oldham the lead as his deflected strike went inches past Smith’s right-hand post.

Goalmouth scrambles at either end threatened to break the deadlock late on but it was Bromley defender Jesse Debrah who had the best opportunity of the game, heading over the crossbar in added time when it seemed easier to hit the target.

Full results round-up

League One:

Barnsley 0-1 Wycombe Wanderers

Exeter City 1-1 Burton Albion

Rotherham United 0-0 Mansfield Town

League Two:

Bromley 0-0 Oldham Athletic

Chesterfield 3-0 Colchester United

Grimsby Town 3-1 Salford City

Newport County 3-1 Tranmere Rovers

Walsall 0-1 Fleetwood Town

READ MORE: EFL weekend review: Key results and relegation battles