Mark Bonner felt Cambridge hit a high standard as they opened their Sky Bet League One campaign with a win.Cambridge, who produced a great escape to survive in the third tier at the end of last season, made a perfect start to the new campaign with a 2-0 victory over Oxford.Jack Lankester fired them ahead before a goal on debut from the impressive Gassan Ahadme saw them in control at the break an...Full Story »

Stevenage manager Steve Evans felt his side were good value for all three points after they started the new Sky Bet League One season by beating Northampton 1-0.Boro’s first ever win at Sixfields came courtesy of Carl Piergianni’s 81st-minute close-range finish as Stevenage edged a tight game between two teams who are newly promoted into the division.A total of 22 minutes of stoppage...Full Story »

Ryan Lowe expects his Preston team to have more goal power this season following impressive starts by summer signings Will Keane and Mads Frokjaer in a 1-1 draw against Bristol City.Keane marked the beginning of his second spell as a North End player with an opportunist late equaliser at Ashton Gate, while Frokjaer also played a key role in a determined fightback afterSam Bell’s 47th-minut...Full Story »

Cove Rangers started life in Scottish League One on a losing note as Hamilton put their disappointment at missing out on promotion last season behind them with a 1-0 victory at the ZLX Stadium.Hamilton’s shootout defeat to Airdrie in May condemned the Accies to at least one more campaign in the third tier, with the Toonsers dropping down after finishing last in the Championship last term.I...Full Story »

Hearts head coach Frankie McAvoy praised his players after they overcame first-half rustiness to secure an impressive 2-0 win over St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park on the cinch Premiership’s opening day.In a close game that began after a short delay with a VAR power failure, Yutaro Oda eventually gave Hearts the lead with 15 minutes to go with a superb low strike and Lawrence Shankland ...Full Story »

Alex Neil praised his “exciting” Stoke side as they demolished 10-man Rotherham with a 4-1 Championship win.Maritimo recruit Andre Vidigal was the highlight of the Potters’ six debutants as he capped an impressive display with a brace.“I thought we looked like an exciting team,” Neil said. “We wanted to start the season well because there’s been a lot of...Full Story »

Jack Iredale’s first ever Bolton goal in Wanderers’ 3-0 Sky Bet League One win over Lincoln was a touch of deja vu for manager Ian Evatt and his squad.Out of action with a knee injury since January 2, Iredale opened the Trotters’ goalscoring account after four minutes; his first since netting for previous club Cambridge 22 months ago.The versatile Australian’s header came...Full Story »

Simon Weaver praised his “grown-up” Harrogate Town side as he refused to allow want-away striker Luke Armstrong’s future to overshadow their opening day win at Doncaster Rovers.Sought-after Armstrong asked not to be involved in the Yorkshire derby as he seeks to secure a move away.But Town pressed on without the forward and his stand-in Jack Muldoon scored a second-half penalty...Full Story »

Barnsley head coach Neill Collins praised the finishing of hat-trick hero Devante Cole after Port Vale were thumped 7-0 in his first game in charge.Liam Kitching, Jon Russell and debutant Andrew Dallas also got on the scoresheet, with Vale defender Dan Jones turning into his own net before the break.Collins said: “The way he took his goals were clinical. For me Devante scored them when we ...Full Story »

Hull’s management were feeling hard done by after being sunk by last-gasp goal in a 2-1 opening-day defeat against Norwich at Carrow Road.Head coach Liam Rosenior was shown a red card by referee Keith Stroud for the angry protest which followed Adam Idah’s stoppage-time winner.That meant he was forced to miss the post-match press conference under new rules, with assistant head coach ...Full Story »

Jon Dahl Tomasson praised the ambition and attitude of his two young goalscorers after their first league goals for Blackburn secured a 2-1 win against West Brom.Rovers delivered what turned out to be the knockout punches in a clinical three-minute spell as Dilan Markanday’s tidy finish from a narrow angle set the hosts on their way in the 20th minute before they suffocated their opponents...Full Story »

Nigel Clough was pleased with Mansfield’s reaction to being reduced to 10 men in their 2-2 draw at Crewe and felt his side deserved to come away with a victory.Defender Calum MacDonald received what Clough thought was a “very harsh” straight red card for a challenge on Chris Long just before the hour mark, which halted the Stags in their stride after they commanded a two-goal l...Full Story »

Newly-promoted Carlisle started life back in Sky Bet League One with a 1-1 draw against Fleetwood at Brunton Park.Owen Moxon opened the scoring for the Cumbrians with a 30-yard free-kick, but it was cancelled out by Brendan Wiredu’s strike just before half-time.Carlisle captain Paul Huntington went close to opening the scoring in the 29th minute, but his header from Moxon’s floated f...Full Story »

Jack Muldoon’s second-half penalty got Harrogate Town off to the perfect start as they triumphed 1-0 in the Yorkshire derby at Doncaster Rovers.Muldoon confidently fired home in the 66th minute after Joseph Olowu was adjudged to have brought down Abraham Odoh in the box.Harrogate had the better chances throughout against a Doncaster side of which plenty is expected this season.Goalkeeper I...Full Story »

A late leveller from Cameron Coxe earned 10-man Boreham Wood a 2-2 draw at Gateshead on the opening day of the new Vanarama National League season.The hosts broke the deadlock in the ninth minute through Marcus Dinanga before Jordan Hunter made it 2-0 six minutes later after Dinanga had seen his shot saved by visiting goalkeeper Nathan Ashmore.Ashmore then produced a smart save in first-half sto...Full Story »

Two goals in the final seven minutes saw Raith rescue an unlikely point in a 2-2 Scottish Championship draw at Partick Thistle.The hosts looked to have the points sewn up by the interval as Jack McMillan put them ahead in just the fifth minute, when he converted the rebound after Kerr McInroy’s shot hit the crossbar.Aidan Fitzpatrick added a second on the stroke of half-time when he fired ...Full Story »

Comeback defender Jack Iredale scored his first goal for the club as Bolton recorded their best opening day win for 12 years with a 3-0 Sky Bet League One success over Lincoln.Australian Iredale had not played for last season’s play-off semi-finalists since injuring his knee at Barnsley on January 2.But the ex-Cambridge star needed only four minutes to make an impact, heading in Aaron Morl...Full Story »

Kidderminster earned a point at home to Woking in their first Vanarama National League match since 2016.Harriers won promotion last season in remarkable fashion following a run of nine successive wins and they marked their return to the higher level with a creditable goalless draw against a Woking side that finished fourth last term.The best chances of the first half at Aggborough came towards t...Full Story »

An injury-time goal from Farrend Rawson gave Morecambe a 2-1 opening day win over Walsall at the Mazuma Stadium.The central defender was in the right place to bundle the ball home from close range after a goalmouth scramble to give the Shrimps victory.After an even start, Adam Mayor gave Morecambe the lead in the 25th minute with a fine finish after a flowing move.JJ McKiernan and Eli King combi...Full Story »

Southend put their off-field issues aside as they battled to a surprising 4-0 victory over 10-man Oldham.Shrimpers boss Kevin Maher was only able to register 15 players for their Vanarama National League opener due to a transfer embargo that has been in place since September due to money owed to HMRC.But they got off to a flying start when Callum Powell managed to squirm an effort in after Oldha...Full Story »