With League One reaching the latter stages of the campaign, as most sides have in and around ten games remaining, it has been an enthralling season at both ends of the table, with even more drama still to come.
As we enter the final two months of the season, The Real EFL have put together what the League One table would look like based on only first-half results in matches. This way, it’s easy to see which teams are consistently much stronger before the interval than after it.
So let’s have a look at the third-tier sides that start matches well and carry on into the break as well as those clubs who struggle to get out of the blocks quickly in the first 45 minutes and wait to perform better in the second – Be warned! There are some very eye-catching shifts up and down the table.
Automatic Promotion
Well, well, well, who saw this coming? Based on the first halves of matches, Oxford United are leading the way! Their very impressive record of only being behind at the break on seven occasions this season, combined with the fact that they have ended the first half in a leading position 17 times, propels them to the very top of the table despite being all the way down in seventh in reality.
Derby County occupy the other automatic promotion place by a point and impressively have the joint-best defensive record in the league during the first half of matches, only conceding 12 goals all season.
League One Playoff Race
The playoff race is as one would expect in the playoffs, but maybe in a different order. League One leaders Portsmouth are kept out of the automatic promotion players by a point, whilst Steve Evans’ Stevenage jump up to fourth, having only been behind on six occasions at half-time all season. Peterborough and Bolton make up fifth and sixth, with all four sides in the playoff places all with high chances of promotion to the Championship this season based on the overall table.
Honourable mentions to Lincoln City and Leyton Orient, with Lincoln former sharing the best first-half defence in the league with Derby County, while the O’s have slid down to 13th position, for drawing 18 of their 36 first halves this season – that’s 50 percent!
Mid-Table
A few surprising ones in here, none more so perhaps than Cheltenham Town, who are in the relegation zone right now, but are up to 17th based on their first-half performances. The Robins have only conceded 22 goals in the first half of games this season which is not too bad for a relegation-threatened side, and will be hoping to carry their first-half form into their remaining matches to help them avoid the drop.
Another interesting position is Bristol Rovers, who are 11th in the overall table, but find themselves 18th on first-half performances, just two points above the relegation zone. Furthermore, the Gas have lost the first half this season more often than not, trailing on 16 occasions at the break in the current campaign.
League One Relegation Battle
Without a doubt, the biggest shock when looking at the relegation places is the fact that Exeter City are in there, The Grecians are 16th in the overall table, but a poor first-half record of being in front just five times all season has seen them drop to 23rd.
Fleetwood Town and Burton Albion are also in the bottom four, despite Burton being 18th in reality, although, miraculously, Port Vale are safe. Meanwhile, there’s no surprise that it is Carlisle United who are bottom of League One, having woefully only been in front three times at the break all season.
