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Accrington Stanley 2 Macclesfield Town 0
Attendance1,323
John Coleman, the Accrington Stanley manager, said that some of his team’s
football was breathtaking as they secured a second successive victory. “We
played like I know we can. We were confident, inventive, upbeat and played
at a high tempo,” he said. Keith Alexander, the manager of Macclesfield,
said that he was left scratching his head at the manner in which his side
had contrived to lose the match after making a promising start. “Our
first-half performance was good, but we again conceded goals from
set-pieces,” he said.
Barnet 0 Brentford 1
Attendance 2,815
Andy Scott, the manager of Brentford, believes that there is more to come from
his side after they secured a second successive victory, thanks in part to
Ben Hamer saving a penalty by Albert Adomah, the Barnet player, early in the
second half. “We are a young side and I thought we played reasonably well,”
Scott said. “We are not where we want to be, but we still have players to
come back.” Paul Fairclough, the Barnet manager, was disappointed with the
result but said: “There is a glimmer of hope. There is a definite desire and
passion to win games.”
Bournemouth 0 Exeter City 1
Attendance 5,350
Exeter ended their five-year wait for a Football League win with victory away
to Bournemouth and Paul Tisdale, the manager, hailed his side. “It was good
to get the result, and a relief in some ways, because you want to get the
first win out of the way,” he said. “I like to let my players express
themselves on the pitch.” The only goal of the game arrived after 68
minutes, Ryan Harley, the midfield player, hitting a left-footed shot past
Ryan Price. In a dull match, Bournemouth rarely threatened and Brett
Pitman’s effort was the closest that they came to restoring parity.
Bury 2 Morecambe 1
Attendance 2,679
A 2-1 win over Morecambe secured Bury’s best league start for 51 years but
Alan Knill, the manager, remains in cautious mood. “I would like our best
finish for 51 years,” he said. “There are some warning signs and now people
are waiting for us to fall.” Sammy McIlroy, the Morecambe manager, said:
“It’s not a crisis but it’s a concern because you need that first win.” Bury
fought back after Rene Howe gave Morecambe the lead. Paul Scott headed in a
swift leveller before an own goal by David Artell, the defender, settled
matters on the half-hour mark.
Dagenham & Redbridge 1 Port Vale 1
Attendance1,843
Lee Sinnott, the Port Vale manager, was unhappy despite his ten-man side
picking up a battling 1-1 draw against Dagenham & Redbridge. Vale, who
had Sam Stockley, their captain, sent off late on, fell behind to Paul
Benson’s close-range strike in the fifth minute, but hit back when Marc
Richards equalised. “I had a word with the players after the game and told
them what I thought,” Sinnott said. John Still, the Dagenham manager, said:
“I’m very pleased with the level of performance, as we know that we aren’t
always going to roll teams over.”
Darlington 1 Gillingham 2
Attendance 2,831
Scott Barrett, the Gillingham assistant manager, insisted that he was not
worried about who scored his side’s last-minute winner in the 2-1 victory
over Darlington. Garry Richards was eventually credited with the goal,
despite Mark McCammon claiming the final touch. “We don’t care and I don’t
think our fans will care either – some of them might be struggling to
remember our last away win,” he said. Dave Penney, the Darlington manager,
was unhappy with the winning goal. “We felt we should have had a goal-kick
from the corner from which they scored,” he said.
Grimsby Town 0 Chesterfield 1
Attendance 3,306
Chesterfield bounced back from last week’s 3-1 defeat at home to Bury and
greatly pleased Scott Sellars, the assistant manager. “If you go away and
get a clean sheet, the minimum you get is a point and, with our quality,
there’s always a chance of getting a goal,” the former Blackburn Rovers,
Leeds United and Newcastle United winger said. Grimsby Town, who lost 4-0
away to Brentford last week, had no such powers of recovery and have yet to
score a league goal this season. “We have to be a more potent attacking
force,” Alan Buckley, the manager, said.
Luton Town 1 Notts County 1
Attendance 6,085
Sam Parkin gave away the penalty that led to Notts County’s equaliser in the
draw at Kenilworth Road, but Mick Harford, the Luton manager, refused to
blame the forward. “Sam apologised afterwards in the dressing-room,” Harford
said. “It was just one of those silly things that we all do from time to
time. It happens, but the timing of it hurt us.” Ian McParland, the Notts
County manager, was disappointed not to take all three points. “It was a
pleasing performance, but when you’re dominating games you need to be
winning,” he said.
Rotherham United 3 Chester City 1
Attendance 3,462
Mark Robins, the Rotherham manager, was relieved after his side’s deficit at
the bottom of League Two was cut to single figures after victory over
Chester. Rotherham were deducted 17 points before the start of the season
for failing to exit administration in the correct manner. “It’s another win
and our minus points total is now down to single figures,” he said. However,
Simon Davies, the Chester manager, was disappointed with his team’s
performance. “Within a minute we have let ourselves down and it is hard for
me to take,” he said.
Shrewsbury Town 1 Aldershot Town 0
Attendance 5,422
Aldershot suffered their first league defeat since January and Gary Waddock,
their manager, said that his side would learn from the result. “We have
stepped up a level from last season and we have to accept that – and we do,”
he said. Paul Simpson, the Shrewsbury manager, has the satisfaction of
seeing his side sitting atop the League Two table, on goal difference, but
is not taking anything for granted. “The league table looks good now and I
don’t want to be ‘Mr Negative’, but, hopefully, it will still look good
after another 43 games,” he said.
Wycombe Wanderers 1 Lincoln City 0
Attendance 4,112
Lincoln remain on zero points after three league games and Peter Jackson, the
manager, was infuriated by his side’s sluggish start in the defeat away to
Wycombe. “We spent a lot of money coming down early, staying the night and
preparing for the game right, but the first 20 minutes we were still in the
hotel,” Jackson said. Peter Taylor, on the other hand, was much happier with
his side’s start to the season, which comprises two wins and a draw. “Seven
points from three games is pleasing,” the Wycombe manager said.
