Sports Blog 17/05/2018: EFL League Two Play-Offs – Semi-Final 2nd Legs, Thursday 17th & Sunday 18th May 2018

Who out of Exeter, Notts County, Coventry and Lincoln will reach Bank Holiday Monday’s League Two play-off final at Wembley?

It’s still all to play for in both semi-finals. First up on Thursday is a trip to Exeter for Lincoln, at 7.45pm on Sky Sports. While they may have finished the season proper at opposite ends of the play-off bracket, the 1st leg was almost evenly split in every regard, neither side able to break the other down, resulting in a 0-0 stalemate.



In terms of who could break the deadlock, Exeter’s top scorer Jayden Stockley is the most eye-catching option. The Poole-born forward has 25 goals in all competitions, and a Super Mega PGM of 28-33. As for Lincoln, Matt Green and Ollie Palmer share a Super Mega PGM of 16-20, despite the former having 13 goals to the latter’s 8.

Though the Grecians haven’t lost a game since the end of March, the Imps were actually the last team to inflict defeat on Paul Tisdale’s team. That makes Thursday’s 2nd leg just too close to call, with Spreadex offering a choice Exeter/Lincoln Goal Supremacy spread of 2.05-2.25.

Things were far more dramatic in the semi-final, which resumes on Friday when Notts County host Coventry at 7.45pm on Sky Sports. Notts had lead from just after the break, and looked set to seal an important 1st leg victory. That is until the Sky Blues were awarded a controversial penalty in the 87th minute, converted by Marc McNulty to ensure a nail-biting return fixture at Meadow Lane.



Far and away Coventry’s top scorer – he is the only one of their players to reach double digits this season – that late strike was was McNulty’s 27 goals of 2017/18, a tally that leaves him with a Super Mega PGM of 32-38. The Magpies goal-scoring was a bit more evenly spread; Jorge Grant has 18, and a spread of 17-21, while Jon Stead has 13 and a spread of 19-23.

Like Thursday’s play-off semi-final, there is little to split the 2 sides involved on Friday, with Spreadex offering another choice Notts County/Coventry Goal Supremacy spread of -0.1-0.1 alongside a Total Goals spread of 2.4-2.6.