Another four teams have earned a place in the knockout stages of the Vertu Trophy after a busy week of fixtures that saw a further 17 group stage games take place.
Stevenage, Bristol Rovers, Port Vale and Fleetwood Town all progressed to the Round of 32 after scoring victory in their respective games, and have all made it through with a game to spare.
Northern Section:
Salford City sit top of Group A having made it two wins from two thanks to an impressive 3-1 home victory against Stockport County, although there was disappointment for Wigan Athletic as a late penalty from Mateus Mane gave Wolverhampton Warriors U21 victory at the Brick Community Stadium.
Charlie Whitaker scored both goals for Tranmere Rovers as they came from behind to beat Barrow in Group B, whilst the sole game in Group C ended in a resounding win for Doncaster Rovers away at Grimsby Town – with Robbie Gotts netting two early goals in a 3-0 victory.
Rotherham United and Oldham Athletic were both chasing a first win in the competition this season in Group E, with Oldham taking a 2-0 lead in the first half. Rotherham fought back in the second however and having drawn level three minutes from time through a Jake Leake own goal, took all three points in injury time thanks to Reece James.
James Norwood was the star man for Fleetwood as he scored a hat-trick against Leeds United U21 to secure their progression to the next round, with George Hall and Modou Faal scoring the late goals that put Port Vale through with an away win against Accrington Stanley.
Lee Bonis meanwhile was the scorer for Chesterfield in Group H as they scored a first win in the competition this season at home to Burton Albion, having conceded seven goals in the first game against Crewe Alexandra.
Southern Section:
There was a memorable win for Newport County in a Welsh derby against Cardiff City in Group A, with the League Two side coming away with a 1-0 victory thanks to a Tom Davies first-half header in front of a crowd of more than 8,500.
Bristol Rovers joined Plymouth Argyle in progressing from Group B after Luke Thomas hit the winning goal against Cheltenham Town, with Northampton Town well placed in Group C thanks to Kamari Swyer’s late goal against Walsall.
Reading completed their Group D fixtures with a 1-0 home win against MK Dons thanks to a goal from Sean Patton two minutes from full-time and are now waiting to see if that is enough to progress alongside Stevenage, who are through from Group E after Gassan Yahyai’s winner against Bromley.
Aaron Connolly bagged a 93rd minute winner for Leyton Orient as they came from behind to beat Crawley Town and top Group F, with Group G still wide open after Wycombe defeated Fulham 3-1, and Colchester came from behind with two goals in the final minutes against Gillingham.
The final game of the week in Group H saw Cambridge United come from a goal down to beat managerless Luton Town 3-1, with Elias Kachunga scoring twice in what was Cambridge’s first game in the competition this season.
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