Bristol Rovers 0 York City 0

John-Joe O'Toole helped Rovers beat the drop and now wants to do the same job for Colchester.

Boss John Ward recruited no-nonsense midfielder O'Toole on loan from former club Colchester and the pair have dragged Rovers to safety since they arrived in December.

O'Toole, who plays his last game at Dagenham and Redbridge today (Monday), will then return to take part in Colchester's League One relegation scrap and said:

"I've had a few injuries in the last few seasons and so it's been nice playing every week. I've enjoyed myself, but I want to play as high as I can and play against better players.

"I want to do what I can to help Colchester now. They're not safe and could do with a couple of wins. The manager told me to go out and get some games under my belt and I've done that."

But O'Toole feels Rovers are in safe hands with Ward in charge and said:

"We've seen what he's done in the last couple of months, so it can only be a good thing if he stays and kicks on even more. I think he'll need the backing from upstairs and, if he gets that, then they've definitely got a chance.

"I know what John Ward's about and what he gets out of players and how he works so he's been quite a big reason for coming here. Had it been someone else, maybe I wouldn't have come.

"I've done alright here, but i'm a bit disappointed that I haven't scored a few more goals so I want a goal on Monday.

"When I came we were bottom of the league so I definitely feel like I've put a shift in to get the club where it is now as well as help all the other lads. All the lads have put a great deal of effort in and I've contributed to that so I'm relatively happy.

Ward's contract runs out in the summer, but he is in discussions win the board and is enjoying life at the club. He said:

"I haven't worked in a factory, driven a lorry or been a painter and decorator, I've been in football as a player, coach and manager for forty years. I'm the luckiest man ever."

When I asked John whether he would be committing to Rovers for next season, I got a one word answer. "Depends." He said - which suggests that it's down to the board to put together the right deal.

I suspect that deal won't just be about Ward's personal package either, but how much the men in the suits will buy into his vision for the club.

Given their track record in recent seasons, nothing is certain, but if they do back Ward, I'll be straight down to the bookies to place a promotion bet for next season.

Steve Mildenhall shut out York and denied the relegation candidates a much needed win.

Rovers keeper Mildenhall pulled off three great saves to help stretch the Minstermen's winless streak to sixteen games as they look favourites to return to the Conference after only one season.

Seconds before the break Mildenhall got down to beat away a shot from midfielder Tom Platt and in the 72nd minute he blocked an eight yard strike from skipper Chris Smith as York turned up the heat.

But Mildenhall saved the best for last when he flew through the air to claw away a great 30 yard curling effort from substitute Michael Coulson - his first appearance following a six month lay off with a cruciate ligament injury.

York have now not won in sixteen games and the their poor season was summed up in the seventh minute when Mildenhall flapped and missed at a high ball and Josh Carson stroked the ball wide of an open goal from the edge of the box.

But Rovers showed they could be just as sloppy in the 34th minute when defender Lee Brown cut the ball back for striker Eliot Richards to blast over from ten yards with the goal begging.

York manager Nigel Worthington knows his team are running out of time if they are to avoid dropping back into the Conference after only one season, but was pleased with the draw and said:

"It was a point gained, it could have been three on chances, but you have got to stick the ball in the back of the net.

"The spirit shown by the players has been first class and today they showed there's a bit of steel there. We had chances to win, but the overall performance was much better."

Rovers manager Ward said:

"There was a huge amount of effort and I've no grumbles. York City were resolute and strong and fortunately our keeper was up to it.

"I said to the players at half time 'if we can't win this, don't lose it' and that's how it panned out."

My piece from Monday's paper

Oxford United 1 Morecambe 1

Jack Redshaw grabbed a last gasp equaliser as Oxford's lingering promotion hopes were left in tatters.

Morecambe substitute Redshaw headed in winger Kevin Ellison's corner in the 94th minute and Oxford boss Chris Wilder blasted:

"We've killed ourselves in the last three games by picking up one point. The smallest lad in the stadium heads it in from two yards out. That should've been a consolation goal."

Lively winger Alfie Potter grabbed his eighth league goal of the campaign on the hour when he turned defender Chris McCready in the box and fired in off keeper Barry Roche from a tight angle.

Oxford had chances to add to Potter's opener.

Sean Rigg nearly doubled the lead four minutes later from the edge of the box, but Roche turned his low shot past the post.

And defender Damian Batt's drive from the same distance flew inches over in the 77th minute with Roche beaten.

Oxford had the better of a dire first half and Potter should have put them ahead on the half hour, but he nodded Batt's cross wide from six yards.

Delighted Shrimps manager Jim Bentley said: "Our work rate made us deserve a point. I've got a set of players who keep going to the very end."

My piece from Saturday's paper

Walsall 2 Crawley Town 2

Will Grigg grabbed a dramatic last gasp leveller to keep Walsall in the promotion hunt.

Striker Grigg slotted in defender Andy Taylor's 92nd minute cross from five yards to claim  his ninth goal in seven games.

Walsall have now lost only one in fourteen outings as they close in on the play-offs.

My piece from Sunday's paper

Manager Dean Smith was pleased with Walsall's spirit and said:

"I felt we deserved it and we were unfortunate to go two goals down. The first half was lacklustre and we didn't do enough to get the fans on their feet.

"But credit to the lads - they kept going. I don't think we were at our fluent best, but sometimes you have to show another side to your game and we did that."

Winger Jamie Paterson had given the Saddlers a lifeline in the 90th minute when he rifled his twelfth of the campaign from just inside the box.

Crawley seemed to be coasting until stoppage time and Jamie Proctor put them ahead when he lashed in his third of the season from twenty yards in the 52nd minute.

And former Swansea striker Proctor was involved in Crawley's second in the 71st minute.

Keeper Aaron McCarey clawed away Proctor's header, but co-striker Paul Hayes pounced on the loose ball to grab his first goal since joining on loan from Brentford last Monday.

Paterson had come close to levelling Proctor's opener in the 67th minute, but after racing from his own half, saw his shot from the edge of the box hit the post.

Jamie Paterson's late, late 'consolation' may prove to be more important than he at first thought and he said:

"When I scored I thought it was a consolation - I thought it was the 92nd or 93rd minute. But when we heard the fans we all thought we could still get a point.

"We just had to grind a draw out. At the end it felt like we'd won and they probably felt like they'd lost.

"We're one win from the play-offs and if they'd offered us that at the start of the season we'd have snatched their hands off. It's ridiculously tight in our league, but we're top of the form guide."

Smith remained positive despite dropping the two points and said:

"The lads are working hard for each other and displaying a never-say-die attitude.

"We've got some good players here and at two goals down with only a couple of minutes to go it would have been easy to accept defeat, but the lads refused to do that and we got our reward in the end.

"There is still a lot to play for with some tough games coming up, but we are enjoying it and no-one will relish facing us at the moment."

Crawley manager Richie Barker groaned:

"It’s tough to take, because everything we did was working. We had a game plan and it was working for 89 minutes and then we fell apart. We have to start learning quickly."

And today's clipping

Walsall 2 Tranmere Rovers 0

My clipping from this morning's paper

Will Grigg's super scoring streak edged Walsall closer to the play-offs.

Hot shot striker Grigg grabbed his eighth goal in six games from the spot in the 50th minute after Fabien Brandy had been up-ended by Danny Holmes.

Six minutes later co-striker Craig Westcarr added a 20 yard scorcher to claim his second goal since a January move to the club.

Tranmere have won two of their last nine games as their own promotion ambitions stutter.

Meanwhile Walsall have lost one in the last thirteen outings and could have been two up at the break.

Winger Jamie Paterson had one shot cleared off the line by Ash Taylor, another saved at full stretch by Owain Fon Williams and midfielder Sam Mantom hit the post from 25 yards.

Walsall boss Dean Smith was delighted with the win that took his side to within four points of the play-offs and said:

"I feel we've got momentum with us and we're a team to be reckoned with, but you can't look too far ahead.

"You need team spirit and team ethic and the players have that in abundance. It's not just about Craig Westcarr's great strike or Will Grigg's penalty.

"It was always going to be a battle and our pitch doesn't help. We knew what to expect from Tranmere and they didn't disappoint.

Will Griig from the spot

"Tranmere started well and they're still above us in the table and so it was always going to be a tough game."

Furious Tranmere manager Ronnie Moore saw his team's promotion hopes falter and blasted:

"I've told them that opportunities like they have don't come around that often and you have to grasp them when they do.

"I wish I could play. It's done my head in that a team of mine played like that. It wasn't good enough. I can only apologise to the fans who have worked hard themselves and expect us to put a shift in.

"There's not one of my players today who will ever play in the Premier League - not on that performance.

"I think Walsall are a decent side and for what Dean's done he deserves a knighthood, but if we played the way we can, we could've won."

Bristol City 2 Middlesborough 0

My clipping from yesterday's paper

Steven Davies showed he is City's goal-den boy to help lift them off the foot of the table.

Bristol City have picked up five home wins and are unbeaten at Ashton Gate since Sean O'Driscoll arrived as manager in mid-January and they are now sucking several other clubs into the relegation scrap.

O'Driscoll said:

"I've been very happy with every performance we've had since I've been here. I said when I arrived that it was going to be a team effort by the players, staff and the crowd and that's what we're getting.

"We've been consistent and we're not concentrating on the outcomes, we're concentrating on the processes and doing the right things. Everyone's playing their part which is pleasing.

"Everyone comes in and puts in a shift which is a trait of a successful team and we want to be a successful team."

Hot shot striker Davies netted his twelfth goal in thirteen starts for City following a summer move from Derby County.

In the 53rd minute Neil Kilkenny played a free-kick to fellow midfielder Stephen Pearson who split the Boro defence for Davies to pounce and comfortably slot in from the left side of the box.

Albert Adomah opened the scoring with a scorcher for his sixth of the season in the 33rd minute.

Substitute Adomah replaced Jon Stead in the eighteenth minute after the striker pulled up with a groin injury.

Ghana international Adomah left defender George Friend flat-footed on the right angle of the box before curling a superb shot into the far corner past helpless keeper Jason Steele.

Adomah was the subject of a transfer window bid from Crystal Palace while on duty at the African Cup of Nations and no doubt Ian Holloway will be weighing up a summer move for the lively winger.

Boro have now lost twelve games on the road this season and did not do anything to suggest they were going to shake off their away day blues in this game.

Boss Tony Mowbray knows they need to improve the form on their travels if they are to snatch a play-off place and said:

"My job this week is to spin the psychology of negativity and depression after two defeats in one week

"For whatever reason after New Year we've dropped away dramatically and the same thing happened last season. We're searching for the answers.

"If you got anything for possession, we should've got something from this game. I thought we were in total control of the football match, but we didn't ask enough questions of them."

Davies could have netted a brace, but Steele did well to push his fourteen yard drive over the bar in the 77th minute.

Davies has now scored twelve goals in thirteen starts since moving from Derby in the summer and is impressed with O'Driscoll. He said:

"He's got it spot on. He's very organised. He knows what he wants from every single player and from us all as a team."

And O'Driscoll gave in insight into his management style when he explained:

"I played for a long time and never understood why I did things. I was told to do things and I was always asking, 'Why am I doing this?' It wasn't that I didn't want to do something I just wanted to know why.

"You want people to think for themselves. When I played, thinking for yourself would get you out of the team!

"Thinking for yourself is understanding why you have to be organised. There's no point in being organised because the manager tells me this or that."

Tony Mowbray saw his team slip further away from the play-off pack and knows he needs to stop the rot quickly. He said:

"Because we have fallen away from the top of the table since the New Year, in a similar way to last season, there is a lot of negativity and I have to turn that around.

"We must have made 500 or 600 passes without getting a meaningful strike on goal."

Both teams were cagey before Adomah's opener, but Steele had to be alert to claim long range efforts from Davies and midfielder Kilkenny.

And midfielder Marvin Elliott should have double City's lead in injury time, but headed Pearson's corner over the bar from six yards.

Liam Kelly is using City's relegation scrap to make up for lost time - and enjoying every minute.

Winger Kelly, 24, was dumped as a 19-year-old by Paul Ince at the end of the Mk Dons' double winning campaign in 2008 - despite being told that an offer was on the table. He explained:

"On the last day of the season thought I was signing and then went in to the club and was told I'd been released.

"I really enjoyed it up in Scotland and there are a lot of good players up there, but I'm in the Championship now, one division below the Premier League. Some things work out for the better and I think it has. I wouldn't change anything now."

Hard grafter Kelly moved to Ashton Gate in January after more than four years at Kilmarnock, but saw his new City boss Derek McInnes sacked only one day after making his debut.

The Robins looked certainties for the drop, but have won five in six unbeaten home games under new manager Sean O'Driscoll and Kelly believes they now have a real chance of survival. He said:

"We try not to look at the whole picture, but look at each game at a time. If we keep up our home form and pick up one or two results away, it gives us every chance.

"All the boys in the changing room are confident. We've got the momentum at the moment and we've got to keep that going."

My clipping from today's editon

Bristol Rovers 2 Exeter City 0

Ollie Norburn only needed Artur chance to make it a case of déjà vu for City's keeper.

Artur Krysiak gifted Rovers the win in the 23rd minute with a real howler - a carbon copy of striker Eliot Richards' winner in the reverse fixture last September.

Midfielder Norburn fired in a low shot from 25 yards, but former Poland U-19 Krysiak let the ball slip through both his hands and legs to leave him red-faced ... again.

And full back striker Lee Brown sealed the win in the 82nd minute with a 22 yard scorcher that gave Krysiak no chance.

To be fair to Krysiak, he did make two good saves ion the second half - one from Richards and a superb touch over the bar from striker Ryan Brunt's overhead kick.

John Ward returned to Rovers for a second spell as manager in December and said:

"I've said to the players that's the best result we've had so far against one of the best three teams in the division. It was resolute and organised and we didn't get too fazed when they had the ball.

"I've been really, really pleased with the players' discipline. We respect other teams, but I've told the boys they have nothing to fear.

"The first goal was fortunate, but if you don't take the shot you don't score. There was nothing fortunate about the second goal."

Exeter boss Paul Tisdale said:

“They didn’t deserve the first goal, and that changed everything. For the first 20 minutes, both sides were average.  I thought we looked okay – we perhaps didn’t show enough ambition going forward, or didn’t have enough quality in our build-up in those attacking areas, and they showed little ambition either.  

“The goal came out of nothing really – up to that point I was comfortable, because I knew we could pick it up and that we could engineer the game to give ourselves a chance.  But it was a shocking goal to give away and at that point; their resolve intensified and the purpose of their game became very clear for them and our game became muddied.”

My clipping from this morning's paper

Cheltenham Town 1 Chesterfield 0

Paul Benson snatched a last gasp win to put Cheltenham in the automatic promotion places.

Benson nodded in full back Billy Jones's cross in the 92nd minute in an otherwise dour contest.

And Benson was brutally honest in his appraisal of the game as a whole and his own performance afterwards. He admitted:

"It couldn't have been a good game to watch and if I'd been the manager I would have taken me off! Maybe that's a reason for me not to go into management though. 

I didn't hold the ball up well or lay it off."

But Benson is probably being a bit harsh on himself - and also boss Mark Yates' decision making.

Yates obviously had faith in his target man who - despite his self-criticism - really enjoyed scoring the dramatic goal whichtook his team to third in the table. Benson picked up a booking for celebrating with the home crowd and joked:

"I was given a yellow for getting in with them, but was surprised I wasn't shown a red - I must have been in there for half an hour!"

Midfielder Jason Taylor had the only other real Cheltenham effort in the 67th minute when he fired a half-cleared corner inches over from the edge of the box.

But the away team blew a chance to close in on the play-offs in the 31st minute.

Chesterfield's former Le Harve striker Armand Gnanduillet fluffed an unchallenged header from only six yard which merely summed up the quality of the game.

And substitute Jack Lester was unfortunate to miss with two shots on the turn from the edge of the box, both of which went narrowly wide of Scott Brown's goal.

The game was really more about the defensive strengths off both sides and the Whaddon Road pitch isn't doing players any favours.

Cheltenham boss Mark Yates was delighted with his team's dramatic injury time winner and said:

"Credit to my players - we stuck at it. This is a big win and I've said to the players that it could be a massive three points come the end of the season.

Positive substitutions have probably won us the game. We never settle for a point and the lads have done what I've asked and won two on the bounce."

Shell-shocked Chesterfield manager Paul Cook groaned:

"That was disappointing. Their first shot on target came in stoppage time, but I've told the lads I have no criticism. They worked hard, but you can imagine how down the dressing room is.

Unfortunately we're not scoring and if you don't score goals, you don't win games." 

My clipping from this morning's paper

Walsall 3 Shrewsbury Town 1

My clipping from this morning's paper

Craig Westcarr's spinning sessions are paying off and starting to leave defenders dizzy.

Striker Westcarr, 28, opened his Walsall account just after the break with the second strike and revealed:

"I left Chesterfield by mutual consent at the beginning of the January, but for about a month, while I was negotiating with Walsall, I had do a lot of work on my own to keep myself fit and ready to play. I was always in the gym or doing more spinning and kettlercise classes.

"Not everyone appreciates how much extra graft you have to put in if you want to make it in football, but that's what I've been doing."

Westcarr has gone from an out-of-favour League Two player to one with an eye on promotion to the Championship and joked:

"In football you just have to work hard - and then expect the unexpected."

Saddlers manager Dean Smith was delighted for Westcarr. He said:

"It was nice to see him get his name on the scoresheet. He got a round of applause from everyone in the dressing room at the end."

Walsall have now lost only once in eleven games and Smith was just as pleased with two-goal striker Will Grigg. He said:

"He's doing really well. It's not just his goals, it's his work rate. He's a lad who wants to do better. He shows composure and never looks like he'll miss when he takes penalties.

"It was a very good performance and I have no complaints about any of the players."

And local hero Grigg, 21, might sign a new deal at the Bescot when his contract ends his summer.

Grigg scored a first half penalty and added the third in the 54th minute to make it six goals in four games and said:

"It's where I started my career and the gaffer gave me my chance and so I'd be happy to stay. I just want to concentrate on getting us into the play-offs."

Hotshot Grigg put Walsall ahead from the spot on the half hour.

Grigg's penalty ... partially hidden!

Former Manchester United youth prospect Febian Brandy darted into the box and was up-ended in a defensive sandwich by Joe Jacobson and Rob Edwards to allow Grigg to stroke in the penalty.

Edwards went some way to making amends for his error three minutes later.

Westcarr split the defence to find co-striker Grigg who rounded keeper Chris Weale, but Edwards slid in to clear the shot off the line.

But Grigg claimed his second in the 54th minute - his sixth goal in four outings.

Midfielder Adam Chambers surging run was blocked in the area and Grigg latched on to the loose ball before shrugging off Edwards and slotting in from ten yards.

Midfielder Dave McAllister nodded in a 77th minute close range consolation, but furious Shrews boss Graham Turner saw his team get sucked closer to a relegation dogfight and blasted:

"We've got a battle on our hands, but on paper we've got enough quality to get out of trouble. I've got to say that it's probably the worst and most inept performance that we've put on this season."

... and from Sunday's edition