NEWPORT County AFC's play-off hopes could be ended on Tuesday after their failure to beat Colchester United on Friday night.

The Exile would have been able to watch the Saturday afternoon results with interest had they beaten the U's to climb to seventh.

However, a 2-1 defeat meant their hopes were slim and got slimmer by 5pm.

James Rowberry's side are 11th and can get a maximum of 72 points, which the top five have already bettered.

Mansfield, who could still sneak into the top three, beat Crawley 2-0 and will be out of reach if they record a home success against Stevenage on Tuesday.

Sutton suffered a 1-0 loss at Barrow but County won't be able to catch them if they triumph against Crawley in London on Tuesday.

Leaders Forest Green clinched automatic promotion with a hard-earned goalless draw at Bristol Rovers, who are fifth, while second-placed Exeter are on the brink of joining them.

They enjoyed a 2-0 win over Rochdale in Devon and welcome Barrow to St James Park on Tueday.

Port Vale, who host County on Monday, May 2, are no longer in the top three after losing 2-0 at Michael Flynn's Walsall.

It is now Northampton that are in the box seat for the third automatic promotion spot thanks to a 4-2 triumph at Leyton Orient. The Cobblers will go up if they beat Exeter at Sixfields and win at Barrow.

Swindon have a sniff of making the play-offs thanks to a 3-0 win at Hartlepool. They host Forest Green in midweek.

Salford are also in the mix after a 2-1 win at Oldham that saw the Latics relegation out of the Football League for the first time in their 115-year history amid ugly scenes at Boundary Park.

Elsewhere, Bradford registered their first home victory under manager Mark Hughes by beating already-relegated Scunthorpe 2-1 and Harrogate halted a run of four straight defeats with a 3-0 home win against Carlisle.

County finish with a trip to Port Vale a week on Monday and a home fixture against Rochdale when they will try to end a four-game losing streak at Rodney Parade.

Tuesday fixtures: Exeter v Barrow, Mansfield v Stevenage, Sutton v Crawley, Swindon v Forest Green.