League Two Final Day – Dramatic or Painstakingly Predictable?

This seasons final day of League Two saw the last play-off and relegation spots both in contention. Top of the league was a done deal, Accrington were crowned as champions and Wycombe sealed the final automatic promotion place last weekend, joining Luton in League One for next season. Sixth and seventh were yet undecided, although it looked a safe enough bet that Mansfield wouldn’t be able to catch Lincoln or Coventry, both of whom held a three point lead over the Stags as well as having marginally superior goal difference. Shift to the bottom of the table and you have a similar situation, Morecambe two points ahead of Barnet and with significantly better goal difference. The Bees, however, sat top of the form table following their revival under Martin Allen, and took three points from a dismal Morecambe side at the Globe Arena the previous weekend. The North London club faced already relegated Chesterfield at home while the Shrimps travelled to
Coventry, who had knocked six past Cheltenham in their penultimate game of the season.

While the bottom of the table looked set for a potential overturning, the day panned out somewhat unceremoniously predictably. A geed up Barnet side comfortably beat Chesterfield 3-0, but Morecambe were able to grind out a 0-0 draw, the result seeing both Coventry and Morecambe securing their places in the play-offs and in League Two. Looking just below the Sky Blues, a defeat would have seen them still clinch a play-off place as Lincoln and Mansfield were only able to claim draws against Yeovil and Crawley respectively. A draw, as with Coventry, was also all Lincoln needed to confirm a play-off place in their first season back in League Two.

The Sincil Bank faithful have seen an upturn in their fortunes over the past couple of seasons. A few seasons back, I caught a home game for the Imps against Wrexham. It was a drab 1-1 draw and somewhat indicative of the times for Lincoln, who finished in the bottom half of the
Conference/National League every season since getting relegated to the league in 2011 until Danny Cowley took over in 2016. The revival of the club since then has been startling though, becoming the first non league club in over a century to reach the quarter finals of the FA Cup last season as well as storming to the National League title. This season has seen Cowley, assisted by his brother Nicky, carry his excellent non league record into the EFL by guiding Lincoln into the play-offs, confirmed by Tom Pett’s equaliser against Yeovil.

Coventry and Morecambe find themselves under fire from loose accusations of match fixing after Saturday’s 0-0 draw, a mutually beneficial result for both clubs. Having watched the game, however, there were certainly no hints of match fixing in the first half; with Shrimps keeper Barry Roche tipping a long range effort from Michael Doyle over the bar before pulling out a world class reflex save to deny Jonson Clarke-Harris from close range. Coventry had a brief scare too, with Tom Davies doing superbly to turn away Aaron Wildig’s cross to Adam McGurk, while the Northern Irishman looking certain to put the ball in the net.

As the teams went in at the break, it seems likely that news of Lincoln and Mansfield both being behind at half time would have found its way into the home dressing room. The Sky Blues, potential as a result of those scores, took their foot off the pedal in the second period, and the
Shrimps were more than happy to let them knock the ball around in their own half. While this has caused some anger, it’s hardly a surprising turn of events. Coventry were presumably looking ahead to their play-off first leg, not wanting to risk any injuries or over exert themselves in the Bank Holiday sun. And why throw men forwards against a steady Morecambe defence that has seen out a club record of nineteen draws this season, potentially leaving themselves open for a counter attack. From a Morecambe perspective, why hurl players at a good quality Coventry side and leave gaps at the back, especially when just one goal from the Midlands side would have seen the Shrimps relegated to the National League. It may not have been pretty, but it definitely wasn’t a pre-arranged fix. It was more of a slow, doddery amble towards what seemed a more and more inevitable conclusion as news from other games came in.

Full credit does, however, have to be given to Barnet. Their revival under the ‘Mad Dog’ Martin Allen has been utterly spectacular. Even after Chesterfield’s confidence boosting win over Newport on Tuesday, a final day victory for the Bees seemed like the only possible result. While the Spireites had a couple of good chances in the first half, Barnet were dominant. Indeed, looking over the highlights it seems that they almost had enough chances to get the seven goals required to stay up in the event of a Morecambe draw. It was all too little to late, though, for the North London side. Had Martin Allen been brought in just a couple of games earlier, it may well have been a different story; but the Bees form at the end of the season shows they do, in fact, have a very capable group of players. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them jump straight back up if they can carry their excellent displays into next season.

While, as a Morecambe fan, the final whistle at the Ricoh Arena brought an exhilarating feeling of joy and relief, the day did play out in what was, in hindsight, quite a predictable manner. The Shrimps, Coventry and Lincoln sat in for the single point they each needed and Barnet always looked likely to take maximum points at the Hive against Chesterfield. Next season, I’m personally looking forward to having some more North West clubs in the division with Oldham, Bury, Macclesfield and potentially Tranmere joining the league. Good luck to all teams in the play-offs, including those in the National League looking for promotion to League Two.