Hull boss Grant McCann dedicated his side’s winning return to the Sky Bet  Championship to their travelling fans, after they thrashed Preston 4-1 at Deepdale.Last season’s League One champions fell behind to Emil Riis Jakobsen’s instinctive eighth-minute finish but Keane Lewis-Potter latched onto Richie Smallwood’s flick to equalise 10 minutes before the break.The ho...Full Story »

Micky Mellon was impressed with what he saw from Tranmere as they opened the season with a 1-0 win over Walsall, in a game that saw Premier League referee Mike Dean officiate his own team.Rovers fan Dean stepped out of the home stands after half time when an assistant referee pulled his hamstring and, after consulting the Walsall bench, took over as fourth official.Callum McManaman stroked home ...Full Story »

Michael Duff expects Cheltenham to have some tough days ahead during their first League One campaign in 12 years.But the Robins started off with a point from a 1-1 draw at Crewe after Andy Williams and Mikael Mandron traded first-half goals.Loyalty to the squad which won the League Two title last term and a lack of resources has meant Duff has not been the busiest manager in this summer’s ...Full Story »

Danny Cowley revealed the hardships his Portsmouth team had faced in the build-up to the new season, which made their first-day 1-0 win at Fleetwood all the sweeter.Pompey took home the spoils thanks to Lee Brown’s second-half strike, after which manager Cowley spoke about the troubles on and off the pitch that had blighted their preparation.“It’s been a very challenging week,&...Full Story »

Wycombe manager Gareth Ainsworth believes Garath McCleary has a vital role to play this season, after the attacker’s two goals inspired his side to a 2-1 victory over Accrington.McCleary is playing in the third tier for the first time in 13 years, after a stint there in his early days in Nottingham Forest’s first team, and he wasted no time in displaying his enduring quality at Adams...Full Story »

Head coach Ben Garner heaped praise on his Swindon side after they came from behind to win 3-1 at Scunthorpe.It has not been the easiest of preparations at the County Ground and Garner and director of football Ben Chorley have only had two weeks to get a squad together following the takeover of the club by Australian businessman Clem Morfuni.The Iron took the lead through Ryan Loft’s penal...Full Story »

Mark Robinson felt his side showed the AFC Wimbledon spirit as they came from behind to beat Doncaster.The Dons had the better of the first half but fell behind when Charlie Seaman netted for Rovers seconds after the break.While manager Robinson admitted he had some concerns over how his young side would react, he need not have worried as Ayoub Assal equalised before new signing Luke McCormick c...Full Story »

Newport boss Michael Flynn was delighted to put a difficult week behind him with a 1-0 win over Oldham.Kevin Ellison struck in the 88th minute to get County’s Sky Bet League Two campaign off to a winning start.It was Flynn’s first opening day victory as manager and the win was made even sweeter by the difficulties which he and the rest of the squad faced this week – including h...Full Story »

Luton boss Nathan Jones hailed his summer signings after a dominant opening-day performance secured a 3-0 win over Peterborough.New arrival Fred Onyedinma was the star of the show with two assists for Elijah Adebayo and Harry Cornick, while also finding the target himself with 20 minutes remaining to seal a superb debut outing.Speaking afterwards, Jones said: “Fred was brilliant, absolutel...Full Story »

Dave Challinor was satisfied with the performance of his Hartlepool players on a “brilliant day” that saw Gavan Holohan’s late goal snatch a 1-0 win against Crawley on their return to the EFL.Challinor could not hide his delight on the touchline when midfielder Holohan chested down new loan signing Tyler Burey’s cross before firing the ball into the bottom corner in the 8...Full Story »

Swansea manager Russell Martin refused to criticise his “brave” goalkeeper Steven Benda despite the player’s mistake in Saturday’s opening 2-1 Championship defeat at Blackburn.In his first game in charge of last season’s play-off finalists, Martin tasted defeat with a team that looked a lot different in personnel and style from that game at Wembley.An enthralling en...Full Story »

New Leyton Orient boss Kenny Jackett was pleased to come away with a 1-1 draw at Salford.The former Portsmouth manager was handed a dream start to his O’s tenure with debutant Omar Beckles in the right place at the right time to fire home the opener after an impressive Tom King save.However, the Ammies – buoyed on by supporters in a competitive match for the first time in 74 weeks &n...Full Story »

Michael Appleton was happy to escape Priestfield with a point as Lincoln held Gillingham to a 1-1 draw on the opening day of the League One season.Tayo Edun had got the visitors off to a flyer but Steve Evans’ Gills levelled on the stroke of half-time when Danny Lloyd bundled home after a frantic goalmouth scramble.Lincoln went down 2-1 to Blackpool in last season’s play-off final an...Full Story »

Ipswich boss Paul Cook said his new-look team need “time to grow” after their 2-2 draw with newly-promoted Morecambe at Portman Road.The Blues, who gave debuts to eight players following a busy summer in the transfer market, twice came from behind and grabbed a last-gasp equaliser through substitute Macauley Bonne after Scott Fraser had levelled for the Tractor Boys.Morecambe gave an...Full Story »

Exeter manager Matt Taylor had nothing but praise for his injury-hit side as they fought hard and repelled much-fancied Bradford in their League Two opener at St James Park.Both teams had chances to win the game, but lacked a killer touch with the match finishing goalless in front of a raucous crowd in Devon.Tim Dieng forced Richard O’Donnell into a save, low to his left, with Exeter&rsquo...Full Story »

Millwall boss Gary Rowett believes Jed Wallace proved his commitment to the club with his performance and goal celebration against QPR.The Lions began their Sky Bet Championship season with a 1-1 draw in west London, where Wallace ran to the opposite end of the pitch to celebrate in front of the away fans after firing in the opening goal.Rob Dickie’s brilliant strike hauled Rangers level j...Full Story »

Stoke boss Michael O’Neill praised his side’s character after a thrilling 3-2 win against Reading.The Potters were twice pegged back as goals from Nick Powell and Jacob Brown were cancelled out by John Swift and Liam Moore, but debutant Sam Surridge came off the bench to grab a late winner in an entertaining encounter at the Bet365 Stadium.It is the first time since 2009 that Stoke h...Full Story »

Stevenage got their Sky Bet League Two campaign off to the perfect start with a dogged 1-0 win over Barrow at a raucous Lamex Stadium.Jake Reeves got the only goal of the game just moments into the second half, crashing home Jamie Reid’s excellent cross to send the Stevenage faithful into raptures.Barrow could count themselves slightly unlucky not to get a point from the entertaining encou...Full Story »

Partick Thistle made it two wins from their opening two matches with a dominant 3-0 win at Dunfermline.The visitors took a seventh-minute lead when Ross Docherty headed in a Kyle Turner cross.It did not take long for Thistle to double their lead, with Kevin Holt heading home another inviting cross from Turner in the 22nd minute.Dunfermline’s Ross Graham put through his own net in the 78th ...Full Story »

Danny Johnson scored a penalty in the sixth minute of stoppage-time as Mansfield beat Bristol Rovers 2-1 in Sky Bet League Two.A brilliant individual goal from Cian Harries looked to have rescued a 1-1 draw for Rovers but debutant Johnson kept his cool to send the goalkeeper the wrong way after Oli Hawkins had been tugged in the box by Mark Hughes.The visitors played the last 13 minutes with 10 ...Full Story »