As usual, here are the match timelines for each of the weekend’s League 2 matches. There’s a full explanation of these here, but in a nutshell they track how each team’s expected goals tally (the number of goals that the average team would have scored from their shots) changed over the course of the match.

You can also compare these with how the E Ratings predicted each match would pan out here.

Summary

First of all, here are all of the timelines together, with the same vertical scale to help you pick out which saw the most (and least) goalmouth action:

Individual matches

This match saw two of the division’s promotion-chasers go head-to-head and Accrington’s audition was by far the more convincing. Towards the end of a dull first half, the home side suddenly clicked into gear and maintained a high level of productivity until they eventually broke through their visitors’ defence shortly after the hour mark. Bristol Rovers by comparison threatened only once after the 20th minute and appeared to have no answer to their hosts’ industry. Both remain in the play-off places but the visitors’ prospects look to have been shaken.

Mansfield look to have deserved this win, which nudged them back into the top seven, and resisted a late, belated surge from their hosts. Crawley didn’t really get going until midway through the second half, by which point they were already a goal behind, and despite out-creating their visitors from that point on were unable to break down one of the division’s more resilient defences.

A third win in four matches for Exeter came in a match where they were narrow favourites, but this could easily have turned out differently. Hartlepool look to have been their equal throughout, with the main difference being the quality of the finishing on display. Both teams endured long periods without a shot, with each enjoying their best spell towards the end of one of the halves, and created chances of similar quality overall.

Orient had a forgettable first half here and were perhaps deservedly behind at the break, but Cambridge’s finishing was the main difference in the end. A stronger second half showing form the hosts was ultimately futile as their only goal was bookended by two more from their visitors. The home side had one of the division’s best-rated attacks earlier this season but it looks to be in decline at the moment.

Both sides took a while to get going here but ultimately served up a close match with plenty of action. Luton threatened more regularly than their visitors but few of their shots were from good positions, while Notts County sprang into life after benefiting from an own goal to rack up the bulk of the game’s best chances in the final half an hour.

This match exploded into life but then cooled off after the first quarter of an hour, only to reignite again after half time. Morecambe made a spirited attempt to atone for their flatter start to the game and to their credit kept pressing for a winner after netting an equaliser on the hour mark, but Newport look to have been the better finishers on the day and settled the match with one of their few responses to their hosts’ second half barrage.

In the preview I suggested that there might not be too many goals in this one considering how good these two sides have been at defending this season, and so it proved. However there were plenty of good chances created overall, with the huge second half jump in Wycombe’s line representing two close range shots saved. After a bright start, the latter part of the first half saw no shots from either side and despite creating marginally more overall the visitors didn’t shoot at all between the 19th minute and the aforementioned double-save in the 71st.

This win for Yeovil was as crucial to their survival hopes as it was surprising. Wimbledon’s performances this season made them strong favourites and, after a mad opening period which saw four goals scored from just seven shots, the home side threatened more regularly in the second half. However the Glovers – who shot only five times here but got all of their efforts on target – made the most of their penalty just after the hour mark and clung on to move out of the bottom two.

An equally precious win in the battle to avoid relegation came at Bootham Crescent, where York netted a late winner with their first shot in nearly an hour of football. In a game of few chances, the home side had also scored from their first attack but looked set to be thwarted after an equally poor Stevenage had grabbed an equaliser with fewer than 15 minutes remaining, only to re-take the lead with what turned out to be the final attempt of the match.