National League roundup: Cheltenham Town go top with Braintree Town draw

By Joe Sharratt, Reporter | 06 October 2015

Sports Mole rounds up all the action from the National League where Cheltenham Town move to the top of the table with a 1-1 draw against Braintree Town.

Gary Johnson's Cheltenham Town team moved to the top of the National League table after securing a dramatic late point in a 1-1 draw with Braintree Town at Whaddon Road this evening.

With the tie seemingly heading towards a goalless draw, Braintree's Anthony Edgar thought he had won the game for his side when he fired home from outside the box in the last minute, only for Billy Waters to level things up deep into injury time.

Tranmere Rovers missed the chance to go level on points with Cheltenham, however, when Joe Quigley's late strike rescued a 2-2 draw for Wrexham at the Racecourse Ground.

There was more late drama on the South Coast as Dover Athletic climbed to fourth with a 3-2 win over Torquay United at Plainmoor.

New Torquay boss Kevin Nicholson thought his side had salvaged a precious draw in their attempts to move away from the relegation zone when James Hurst grabbed his second of the evening to level the game at 2-2 just two minutes from time.

However, Stefan Payne broke the home fans' hearts when he netted two minutes into injury time to ensure all three points would go the way of the Whites.

Meanwhile, Gateshead saw their promotion push falter as a Nathan Arnold brace gave Grimsby Town a 2-1 win at Blundell Park that extends the Mariners unbeaten league run to eight games.

At the other end of the table, Halifax Town moved a step closer to safety as two goals from Jordan Burrow, his eight and ninth of the season, and a late Kingsley James penalty were enough to see off Altrincham 3-1.

There were also big wins for Macclesfield Town, who moved away from trouble with a 3-0 win over Guiseley thanks to goals from Paul Turnbull, Danny Whitehead and Danny Whittaker, while Barrow also moved up the league with a 3-2 victory against Chester FC thanks to a Niall Cowperthwaite winner 13 minutes from time.

Elsewhere, bottom side Kidderminster Harriers recorded only their seventh point of the season with a 1-1 draw against struggling Boreham Wood, and Bromley moved into the final playoff place as goals from Ali Fuseini and Jack Holland were enough to beat Welling United 2-1 at Park View Road.

Results in full (half-time scores in brackets): Altrincham 1-3 Halifax Town (0-1), Barrow 3-2 Chester FC (1-1), Cheltenham Town 1-1 Braintree Town (0-0), Grimsby Town 2-1 Gateshead (1-1), Guiseley 0-3 Macclesfield Town (0-2), Kidderminster Harriers 1-1 Boreham Wood (1-0), Torquay United 2-3 Dover Athletic (1-1), Welling United 1-2 Bromley (1-1), Wrexham 2-2 Tranmere Rovers (1-1).