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2025/26 EFL MW12 Recap: A Totally Honest Review of This Weekend's Matches

No matter the game week, League One and League Two will always bring drama.

4-0 batterings, five-goal thrillers, stoppage time equalisers and even a cheeky red card thrown into the mix.

Here at Football Park, we offer the best weekly roundup on the internet for these two leagues.

So strap in, get a cuppa, and get ready to read about all the matches from yesterday.

League One

Before we go into this round-up, it would be best to mention that four of the games have been postponed due to the international break, with players from respective clubs being on national team duty.

Those matchups were:

Barnsley vs Cardiff Luton vs Huddersfield Mansfield vs Plymouth Peterborough vs Stevenage

Northampton Town vs Rotherham

In the opening game of this week's fixtures, Rotherham came from behind to defeat Northampton 2-1.

Sam Hoskin opened the scoring with a 26th-minute penalty, which was coincidentally his 100th goal for Shoetown, but a goal from Joe Rafferty drew the game level before Josh Benon scored a fabulous free-kick in the 87th minute to give Rotherham their first away win of the season.

AFC Wimbledon vs Port Vale

Another match with late goals, AFC Wimbledon and Port Vale could not be separated as the two sides drew 1-1.

With the score 1-0 to Wimbledon after Antwoine Hackford put away his chance in the 72nd minute, it looked like Dons were going to continue their amazing form and win their 7th consecutive match in a row.

But in the 86th minute, Devante Cole would level the match with a shot from close range, which gave a much-deserved point to the Vale.

Burton vs Bolton

Despite both sides having a myriad of chances in this match, Burton easily came out on top as they beat Bolton 3-0.

The scoring was opened in the 27th minute after Charlie Webster was fouled in the box and Jake Beesley slotted the penalty away. It would get worse for Bolton following the start of the second half, as Fabio Tavares put Burton 2-0 up after a fast break.

And then, with the clock running down, Jake Beesley would find his second of the match in the 94th minute to ensure the game was put to bed.

Exeter City vs Reading

Whilst you would think all the excitement in this game would be in the dying minutes due to there being 12 minutes of additional time, both goals scored in this match happened in the first 12 minutes.

Jack Marriott would capitalise on a defensive error by Exeter’s defence when he opened the scoring in the 6th minute, shooting through goalkeeper Joe Whitworth’s open legs.

But it would be former Reading striker Jayden Wareham who would strike next, lashing the ball into the roof of the net in the 11th minute.

Leyton Orient vs Doncaster Rovers

The joint biggest win of the weekend, Leyton Orient completely dismantled Doncaster Rovers in what quickly proved to be a one-sided affair.

Dom Ballard would open the scoring after just one minute, after he picked up a stray ball and made no mistake in scoring. Aaron Connolly would double Orient’s lead as he and Charlie Wellins linked up with some great play in the 27th minute.

Ballard would then add his second and third goals of the match in the 49th and 72nd minutes to give the O’s a well-deserved win.

Stockport County vs Blackpool

Stockport continued their great start to the season as they dug deep and managed to battle out a 1-0 win against former Premier League side Blackpool.

Stockport had a myriad of chances within the first half, but were unable to capitalise on them. It would not be until the 63rd minute when Jospeh Olowu finished his chance and put Stockport 1-0 up, a goal that would also be a winner.

Wigan Athletic vs Wycombe Wanderers

Wycombe have continued their good run under new boss Michael Duff as they defeated Wigan Athletic 1-0 away from home.

Since Duff took over from Mike Dodds, Wycombe have picked up seven points in four games.

Sam Bell would score the solitary goal of the match after a lightning bolt counterattack from the Wycombe attack.

League Two

The only match postponed in this week's League Two fixtures is between Swindon Town and Notts County. Every other match was played.

Accrington Stanley vs Newport County

For the first League Two match that Football Park is covering, we have Accrington Stanley against Newport County.

Both sides have had a terrible start to the season, but it would be Newport getting the win, lifting them from five points to eight, just one behind Accrington Stanley.

The only goal of the match would come from the boot of an Accrington Stanley player. In the 43rd minute, Bobby Kamwa’s strike deflected off Isaac Sinclair, which gave Newport their first win in over two months.

Bristol Rovers vs MK Dons

MK Dons equalled Leyton Orient for the biggest win of the weekend as they thrashed Bristol Rovers 4-0 away from home.

Despite scoring four goals, only one goal came before the 82nd minute. Alfie Kilgour put the ball into the back of his own net, and for the rest of the game, Bristol were chasing.

With the game stretched, the Dons pounced on a tired opposition with Laurence Maguire, Alex Gilbey and Rushian Hepburn-Murphy all scoring between the 83rd and 93rd minute.

Chesterfield vs Salford City

In a battle between two sides fighting for promotion, Chesterfield came up on top and leapfrogged Salford into 6th.

For the third successive match in this article, the first goal scored was an own-goal, this time by wingers Oliver Turton, who turned the ball into his own net following a corner in the 62nd minute.

Ronan Darcy would score the second goal of the game in the 83rd minute, ensuring that all three points stayed at the SMH Group Stadium.

Crawley Town vs Walsall

Walsall dropped points for the second time in five games as they drew 1-1 with Crawley Town.

The point they earned from the draw has ensured that they sit two points above Swindon Town, but as Swindon’s match has been postponed due to international call-ups, the Robins can leapfrog their promotion rivals.

Crawley opened the scoring with a goal from Ryan Loft in the 32nd minute, before Connor Barret levelled the scoring in the 53rd.

Crewe Alexander vs Bromley

Crewe lost their third game in five as they have slowly started to slip away from playoff hopefulls, to mid-table mediocrity.

A lone goal would separate the two sides in today's matchup, with Michael Cheek scoring his 6th league goal of the season in the 52nd minute.

His goal today put him second top for most goals in the division, level with Tranmere’s Omar Patrick and Notts County’s Matthew Dennis, and two goals behind Swindon Town’s Aaron Drinan—though the latter two did not play this weekend.

Fleetwood Town vs Harrogate Town

The highest scoring fixture of the weekend, Fleetwood came from 2-1 down to win 3-2 against Harrogate Town.

After the opening goal from Harrogate’s Warren Burrell in the 16th minute, it looked like there would be a fair few goals in this game. Fleetwood returned with a goal by Will Davies in the 31st minute, before Harrogate scored again in the 56th minute courtesy of Jack Muldoon.

Fleetwood would have to score again, this time Elliot Bonds getting on the scoreboard in the 72nd minute, and then for the first time in the match, Fleetwood led after Ryan Graydon scored a goal in the 78th minute, which ended up being the winner.

Gillingham vs Cheltenham

Gillingham have dropped points once again, bringing it to four games without a win.

Before these four matches, they were unbeaten this season, but now have found themselves slipping down the table.

It is a sad state of affairs for Gillingham fans, who have dealt with this exact situation for three successive years.

Today, they nearly lost again, seeing as Cheltenham scored in the 87th minute, but a 95th-minute goal from Elliott Nevitt rescued a point against the bottom of the table.

Grimsby vs Colchester United

Manchester United slayers Grimsby lost today against Colchester United as their grip on the play-off places slowly weakens.

Grimsby would open the scoring through Kieran Green in the 17th minute, but a double from Micah Mbick in the 38th and 60th minutes would see Colchester come from behind to win 2-1.

Grimsby have now slipped to 5th in the table, with many teams behind ready to pounce.

Shrewsbury Town vs Cambridge United

Seeing as Shrewsbury were one of the four relegated from League One last year, their fans had hopes for them to be title winners this year. This has not been the case.

Despite winning today, they have had just two wins in the league all season and currently sit 22nd in the table.

Goals from George Lloyd and Will Boyle in the first half were enough to fend off Cambridge as they won 2-0.

Tranmere Rovers vs Barnet

In a match that showed us our first red card of the day, Barnet beat Tranmere Rovers 2-0 away from home.

Lee Ndlovu would open the scoring in the 26th minute before Adam Senior would double Barnet's up five minutes before half-time. The rest of the game went without a hitch for Barnet until the 96th minute, when Cieran Slicker received a red card after the match had finished.

Oldham Athletic vs Barrow

So far, I have covered 17 matches in this week's matchday 12 recap for League One and Two. I wrote everything before you between 3-6 pm.

So when I finally had time to pay attention to one game, why did it have to be the only 0-0 on this entire list???

In a game where both sides struggled to test the opposition keeper, Oldham defender Will Sutton was unlucky not to win the match when his stoppage-time header was saved by Wyll Stanway.