Stockport County have delivered Wrexham and Mansfield Town a helping hand: View | OneFootball

Stockport County's emphatic win over MK Dons may have assisted not only themselves but also their fellow top-three companions, Mansfield Town and Wrexham.

The race at the summit of League Two is tight, but the road is running out for those clubs that are chasing down an automatic promotion spot.

Having been in first place for a large part of this campaign, Stockport looked to be faltering at the worst time, having won just one of the seven games previous to the MK clash.

However, hitting five without reply is bound to have reinstated confidence at Edgeley Park, and the clubs on either side of the Hatters in the table may be almost as pleased with the win.

Dave Challinor's side had gone unbeaten in their previous five games and had gained all three points just two weeks prior against Newport County, so all was not lost in the Stockport camp, but persistent draws and questionable performances had begun to dampen what was a confident mood inside Edgeley Park earlier in the season.

If you were to ask for a result to turn that tide and return to a more positive footing, a 5-0 routing of a fourth-placed side that looked in fantastic form would surely be high on the list.

Despite playing large parts of the game without the ball - the Hatters had 36% possession to the Dons' 64% - County looked incisive in a way that has felt lacking in recent games.

With three of the last eight fixtures now coming against the three lowest-ranked teams in the league, Challinor will be hoping his side can carry that lethal streak into those games that have every chance of becoming scrappy, stifling affairs, as clubs fight for Football League survival.

Stockport are not the only team to benefit

An MK Dons win at Edgeley Park would have seen the Buckinghamshire side enter the top three, leaving just a five-point difference between first and fourth.

The fourth-placed side in that scenario would have been County, who hold at least one game in hand over the other three, meaning there would have been little to separate four teams battling for three places.

It is a picture far from completion, but as it stands, the Hatters' win creates at least a three-point cushion between the leading three and the Dons in fourth, with Mansfield and Wrexham both one game behind Mike Williamson's side and Stockport with two additional fixtures to catch up with.

Points on the board will always count for more than games in hand, but if the top three teams were to emerge victorious from those games, the gap could really start to open up at this late stage of the season.

However, with Wrexham and Mansfield set to face off on Good Friday, and the Welsh side still to host the Hatters on the final day of the season, the trajectory of the season is far from finalised.

Manner of defeat could knock MK Dons' confidence

Not only does the County win provide a chance of extra breathing room for the top three, but the manner, and margin, that MK lost by could serve to put a dent in their rhythm and confidence that could be difficult to wrestle back.

In recent games before their Edgeley Park visit, the Dons had dispatched strong play-off contenders Crewe Alexandra in a 3-1 home win and took all three points from an away meeting with league leaders Mansfield.

To be beaten by such a resounding scoreline in their trip to Stockport may be seen as a blip, but they will now be under immense pressure to put that result behind them and get a good result against Walsall next up, no slouches themselves with just a three-point gap to the play-offs.

A narrow loss could have been written off as an unfortunate day. A five-goal deficit has the potential to derail a season.