The Notts County forward and Smith are slowly being reeled in by Will Evans, with the Newport County man on a hot streak that should make the contest for the honour go down to the wire.

And behind the Welsh international are a plethora of the fourth tier’s best-attacking talents, including two previous winners and a few midfielders thrown into the mix.

So let’s take a look at the front runners for the League Two Golden Boot and their chances going into the final stretch.

Who it won’t be

A few challengers have dropped out of the race early, the most prolific being Ali Al-Hamadi, who tallyed up 13 goals before his departure from AFC Wimbledon. The Iraqi international was five behind Langstaff before joining Ipswich Town and has already made his mark in The Championship, with one goal and assist in four matches at Portman Road.

Lincoln City snatched two outside contenders in the January Transfer Window, with Joe Taylor netting 11 for Colchester United and Freddie Draper scoring one less than his new teammate during his time at Walsall.

Another player hooked early was Morecambe‘s Michael Mellon, with the 20-year-old returning to Burnley after scoring 13 goals for The Shrimps, and now plays for Dundee FC.

Louie Barry looked like an early contender in the race before his hamstring injury in October ruled him out for an extended period. He had scored nine goals in fifteen matches for Stockport County, but will struggle to catch up so quickly should he return with only a handful of games remaining.

The longshots

Paul Mullin, Wrexham

The 2020/21 Golden Boot winner has failed to score in a month, with his last goal against AFC Wimbledon putting him on 10 for the season. Phil Parkinson’s side has plenty of forward options, including Ollie Palmer, Sam Dalby and Steven Fletcher.

The heavy rotation that has been seen from The Red Dragons in recent weeks means that the 29-year-old is going to struggle to get the minutes he needs to rise the list.

Danny Rose, Grimsby Town

The Mariners’ striker’s last open-play goal was on New Year’s Day in their 1-6 hammering by Walsall. David Artell’s side are firmly in a relegation battle going into the final stretch, and it is hard to see where they pick up wins.

Grimsby still have five of the current top seven still to play, alongside many of the play-off chasing pack in their run-in. Rose has 11 goals to his name, but the fixture list probably stunts any sort of goalscoring form he could go on.

David McGoldrick, Notts County

It has been by all accounts a successful return to Meadow Lane for the 36-year-old McGoldrick. The former Derby County man has twelve in his account for his comeback and has proved he still has lots to offer in English football.

But with Langstaff being on his own team, and the arrival of Alassana Jatta to The Magpies, it is almost certain that The Irish international will not surpass his striker this season.

Andy Cook, Bradford City

Last season’s top scorer with 31 goals, Andy Cook has not hit the same heights as he did last season. Whilst his thirteen goals put him at the top of the charts at the club this season, the underlying stats show he has struggled, with only two of those coming at Valley Parade.

Seven of Bradford’s remaining thirteen fixtures are at home, and with potential congestion as a result of the EFL Trophy, rotation and his own form in West Yorkshire, the 33-year-old seems a long shot to win the boot back-to-back.

The outsiders

Joe Ironside, Doncaster Rovers

Joining from Cambridge United in the summer, Ironside has netted 14 times as well, with five coming from the penalty spot. With the vital three points coming from their 6-1 thrashing of Grimsby last weekend, Rovers are now comfortably safe from any relegation scrap come the end of the season.

With their fourth division status seemingly confirmed though, it could bring a level of complacency, and make any potential run towards the top of the charts even harder than it already is.

Danilo Orsi, Crawley Town

The Red Devils were not expected to do well at all this season, and Orsi has led them to still be in the playoff picture approaching March. Fourteen goals puts him eight ahead of his nearest teammate on the charts, Adam Campbell.

Crawley’s fixtures do seem fairly benign for the rest of the season, and there are a few stretches where they could rack up some serious goals, especially at the end of the season against Colchester, Sutton United and Grimsby. The 27-year-old could put his name in the mix should everything go well.

Elliot Lee, Wrexham

The Welsh club’s standout player of the season, the midfielder is the last player with 14 goals to his name. His form in front of the net has dipped, with only one goal in 2024 against Sutton.

Having finally got out of the rut of four losses on the bounce, Lee could start seeing goals again, with the goal of automatic promotion firmly on the table for Phil Parkinson and his team.

The chasing pack

Dan Kemp, MK Dons

Sitting on 15 goals, Kemp returned to Buckinghamshire from his successful loan at Swindon Town. However, his stellar form in Wiltshire has dipped since his recall, only scoring once against Wimbledon.

Mike Williamson has opted for the 25-year-old to play behind Stephen Wearne and to be more of a playmaker than a goalscorer, so is unlikely to make a challenge for the boot this season.

Jake Young, Bradford City

Young, like Kemp, spent the first half of the season at The County Ground, and was the runaway leader in the early stages of the Golden Boot race. His 16 goals under Michael Flynn was top of the table until Langstaff’s hat-trick against Morecambe in late December.

Young struggled with an injury at the end of his spell with The Robins and made just one appearance in January upon his return to Bradford. He last scored on November 28 against Accrington Stanley and has failed to find that same clinical form for Graham Alexander’s side as he did for Swindon.

Davis Keillor-Dunn, Mansfield Town

The attacking midfielder is the highest non-striker in the goalscoring charts, in joint fifth with 16 goals. Despite The Stags’ battering of Harrogate Town last weekend, Keillor-Dunn only scored one goal.

Nigel Clough’s side are now breathing down the necks of Stockport County in the title race, and the 26-year-old has been an integral part of their challenge. Should Mansfield continue scoring for fun, as they did against Forest Green Rovers and The Sulphurites, the Mansfield number 40 could sneak to the top of the charts.

The front runners

Isaac Olaofe, Stockport County

Stockport were the runaway league leaders until recent weeks, with their dip in form seeing the title race blow wide open. Olaofe started the season with a blistering pace, scoring 11 times before October ended.

The 24-year-old has kept his total neatly ticking over since then, now on 17 going into the battle for the top spot. The Hatters are the division’s top scorers and surely will continue their scoring rate with Olaofe at the heart of it.

Will Evans, Newport County

Newport are at the tail end of the play-off chasing pack, and Evans has been their most crucial player on 19 goals. He is arguably the league’s in-form player at the moment, scoring a goal in each of his last five games and is showing no signs of slowing down.

Graham Coughlan’s team have a tough finish to their season and will need the Welsh international to continue his streak to break into the top seven. Thirteen of his goals have come at Rodney Parade, with seven games still to play there in the league.

Matt Smith, Salford City

In what has been the striker’s best-ever goalscoring season with 21 to his name, Smith has had to become the main man for the Ammies for much of the season. Having scored seven goals in 2024, Smith has netted 42% of the club’s goals this season, the highest ratio for a player at any club.

Whilst Callum Hendry has returned and begun scoring, Smith’s aerial presence is a very effective tool for Karl Robinson as they try to string a run together to get them into the playoff picture.

Macaulay Langstaff, Notts County

The current Golden Boot leader, the 27-year-old has kept up his National League record-breaking season with his consistency across the season, netting 22 goals. Whilst The Magpies have somewhat struggled to find their feet following the departure of Luke Williams, Langstaff has kept his conversion rate going, with the highest goals-per-match ratio in the league.

County’s dip in form is concerning though, which has put a spanner in the works of their promotion charge. Langstaff is still scoring though, and that is all that matters in the battle for most goals.

Who will be the top scorer?

It seems very unlikely that the eventual winner will come from outside the current top four. Whilst Isaac Olaofe is part of a team gunning for the title, the forward needs to start outscoring the three players ahead of him quickly to overcome the five-goal deficit he currently has. With Omar Bogle injured, Will Evans is now the main striker at Newport, but their tough fixture list means he might just come up short.

Macaulay Langstaff has yet another striking partner in Gambian international Alassana Jatta to contend with but is still the league’s most consistent striker, with Notts County still looking to find their groove under new boss Stuart Maynard. Matt Smith is only one of two strikers at the Peninsula Stadium with Callum Hendry, and The Ammies are still on an unbeaten run since Karl Robinson took over.

It is a race that should go down to the wire and probably will. But looking at teams’ current form and upcoming fixture lists, Matt Smith could just narrowly beat The Magpies’ number nine to the Golden Boot by the end of the 2023/24 season.