Watford manager Valerien Ismael believes Mileta Rajovic’s injury-time header in a 2-2 draw with Millwall at Vicarage Road could prove a key moment in his side’s season.

Ismael said: “The morale, the mentality we showed again tonight was something great. It has been a good week for us with two wins, one draw.

“For sure you want more, but we are showing the mentality of a team that supports each other. At the end of the season, maybe we will talk about this day being a massive point for us.

“The Championship is a long run and these are all the values you need, either to win games or at least not to lose, to stay in the game. We made it perfectly this afternoon.

“For sure we are at home and you want to win the game, but our fans pushed us until the very end and gave us the belief we needed. They believed that something can happen. The team needed that.

“The feeling was there from the crowd and it lifted the players. We showed that we are able to score at any time in the game. We’ve got the squad – we are fit and we believe in ourselves.

“In this league anyone can beat anyone so you need the mentality, the desire, togetherness and belief from the beginning. Then you just need the structure and some quality to make the difference.

“We keep improving. I see the positive side from our work and we are coming. The stability is back in our squad.”

Ismael also hailed the impact of his substitutes Imran Louza and Rhys Healey.

Louza supplied the cross for Rajovic to head home, but Rhys Healey had earlier headed Jake Cooper’ s goalbound effort up and against his own bar with Millwall holding a 2-1 lead.

Ismael added: “I was pleased to see the mentality of the players and the impact from the bench. Louza made the assist, Rajovic scored the goal, but just before that Rhys Healey made a massive save. This is why I’m pleased.

“For the first 60 minutes we were excellent, but then we lost control and the game became hectic.

“Millwall put us exactly where they wanted to put us. Our build-up wasn’t as clinical and our clearances were sloppy.

“Short clearances, another throw-in, another free-kick and they started to build momentum and it was difficult to take control. But at the end we showed with the quality we’ve got we can score at any time.”

Millwall conceded an early goal from Yaser Asprilla only for Zian Flemming to equalise before Wes Harding’s 85th-minute header appeared to have won it for the visitors.

It was the central defender’s second goal in as many games.

Caretaker Millwall manager Adam Barrett said: “I’m delighted for Wes. He’s a great pro. He has come into the group in recent weeks and is a bit of a leader.

“It was nice to see someone attacking that ball with real intent. Hopefully. there is more to come from him. He’s really stepped up.

“I’m definitely disappointed after we got ourselves in a wonderful position there to go 3-1 up with Jake’s header and somehow the ball stayed out.

“Obviously at the end, there, it’s a real sickener to take. I was very disappointed to see their goal go in the back of the net. It was a kick in the teeth.

“We have a good bond in there. We just need to be a little bit braver. You can see it in spells. There’s been a lot of upheaval in the club in the last week or so, but the boys have stuck together.

“It would have been nice to take the confidence from a win into next week on the training pitch.”

Barrett admitted he has heard nothing about the managerial situation at The Den.

He said: “No, I haven’t heard anything. I’ve just about had some sleep in the past seven days. It’s been a hectic week and as far as I know I’m coming on Monday as normal.”

Barnsley head coach Neill Collins applauded the resilience of his side as they came from behind twice to earn a 2-2 draw against travelling Fleetwood.

Devante Cole and Corey O’Keefe provided equalisers for the Tykes after a first-half double from Junior Quitirna.

Collins said: “Today I think it was a winning performance, you look across the season it’s one of our most dominant performances.

“We created loads of chances, created lots of opportunities to create more chances but we obviously shot ourselves slightly in the foot by giving away a really cheap goal and then losing a very good goal from their perspective.

“I think what the fans should be happy with is that we came from behind twice. That’s the first equaliser here (at Oakwell) since the Championship season so I think that shows that we’re building on that resilience and ability to come back.”

On his side equalising twice, Collins said: “It’s a match-winning performance. We’ve had ones that have been much more even and we’ve been very ruthless with our chances and quality.

“Today we probably should’ve got three points and didn’t and there’ve maybe been other games where it could easily have been a draw and we did get that goal.”

On his side receiving two home penalties in as many games after not being awarded one since March 2021, Collins said: “A team that plays on the front foot the way we want to should create opportunities and I’ve not seen it back but it looked like a penalty at the time.”

Fleetwood manager Lee Johnson said: “I’m disappointed in not taking the three points and disappointed, if I’m honest, in the team’s performance.

“We’ve got really good footballers and we forgot to play today and that was what really frustrated me.

“For 35 minutes, 40 minutes; I thought we played and were outstanding and then all of a sudden, we dropped off, we kept giving the ball away. Then it became a defensive, attack versus defence drill in my view.

“We need to believe in ourselves a little bit more in possession because we’ve got some really good footballers there.”

On his side surrendering their lead twice, Johnson said: “We didn’t have enough quality, controlled possession. My game, my philosophy and our game is about control and how many scenarios and situations can we control in and out of possession.

“We didn’t control enough today because we gave the ball away too much.”

On the performance of Quitirna, Johnson said: “Fantastic, we’ve really enjoyed working with him so far, he’s showed a great attitude.

“We’ll have to see how his hamstring is, he felt a tightness there. That’ll be a big loss to us if he’s not fit; I’m delighted with him.”

Stuart Kettlewell admitted to having mixed emotions after his side mounted an incredible late fightback to claim a share of the spoils in a 3-3 cinch Premiership draw against his former club Ross County.

The Steelmen trailed 3-1 with two minutes remaining but fought back thanks to goals from substitutes Conor Wilkinson and Luca Ross.

“It probably descended into utter chaos is my honest answer to it,” Kettlewell said.

“I thought Ross County were the better team in the first 10-15 minutes then I thought we got on top. We had territorial advantage, we had more of the ball and played the game in their half of the pitch.

“We started the second half like that and then began to sort of shoot ourselves in the foot if I’m being honest with you.”

After an uneventful first half, the game would burst into life as goals from Eamonn Brophy and Simon Murray had County in control.

Mike Biereth came off the bench to get a goal back for the home side, though any hopes of an unlikely comeback seemed to have disappeared when Victor Loturi added a third after 82 minutes.

With two minutes left on the clock, Wilkinson restored some hope for Motherwell following a good finish and Ross would scramble home in the fifth minute of added time to send Fir Park wild.

Kettlewell added: “Our organisation again, two goals start from throw-ins, which again we need to be better at.

“I probably take exception to the first goal if I’m being honest with you, just in terms of Victor Loturi takes a touch and it sort of comes off his hand. It then deviates into the path of Kyle Turner.

“My understanding is, if that then leads to a goal, then it quite clearly has had an impact.

“The fourth official’s reasoning was that he didn’t score the goal, so it’s not the case – I was a little bit surprised by that.”

Despite his frustration in the manner of which his team conceded, Kettlewell was thrilled with the resilience shown in them battling back to grab a point.

Motherwell looked set to fall to their fifth-straight Premiership defeat before rescuing the game in the dying stages.

“I think the reaction of the players is pretty stunning again to be honest with you,” he added.

“Being 3-1 down with seven or eight minutes to go, to come back and get that point and to have our substitutes score all three goals.

“I think that puts us in a slightly better place than what we would of been of course, but there’s a lot of frustrations there for me.

“It showed that we have that little bit more strength in depth and more options than I’ve had all season off the bench – fortunately three substitutes come on and have a real good impact for us.”

Malky Mackay was gutted after seeing his side throw away their lead late on at Fir Park but insisted he was still proud of the performance of his players.

“Overall it’s two points dropped, I’m disappointed with the fact we allowed them a sniff of getting back into it again,” he said.

“I suppose reflecting on the whole game, we knew it was going to be a tough game coming down here.

“Motherwell are getting a lot of plaudits, they are sitting well in the league and they’ve done well.

“To come to Motherwell, score three and play the way we did. Murray’s goal is top class – I don’t know how many passes it turned into before the ball went into the net.

“To go and play the way we did against them at times – really dominate the ball – is something I’m proud of.”

Wycombe boss Matt Bloomfield believes the 2-2 draw at Oxford confirmed what a good team he has after a week of three tough matches for the club.

He felt the Chairboys probably deserved more than just two points from their fixtures against Peterborough, Bolton and Oxford.

A dramatic clash between local rivals at the Kassam Stadium featured three second-half penalties.

Luke Leahy converted two for Wycombe after Marcus McGuane unluckily slipped and handled the ball, then when James Beadle brought down Brandon Hanlon.

Oxford, who had taken a 25th-minute lead through Ruben Rodrigues, snatched a point deep into stoppage time as sub Cameron Branagan converted from the spot when Leahy tripped Mark Harris.

Bloomfield was not prepared to criticise Leahy, a summer signing from Shrewsbury, for conceding the late spot kick.

Bloomfield said: “Luke is so disappointed in the dressing room but I’ve said to him to get his head up.

“To take that responsibility and have that calmness and surety – and especially with the second penalty to be able to repeat it again on what was a big occasion for our supporters and ourselves – is tremendous.

“Luke has been an unbelievable signing for us – both as a player and his influence as a leader and as someone who can contribute at both ends of the pitch.

“I’m really pleased that we’ve got him at our football club.”

Bloomfield added: “We wanted to come to Oxford and press and impose ourselves and we did that.

“It changed the balance of the game when Oxford scored and they then had a 10-minute spell where we had to hang on a bit.

“I thought Oxford’s penalty at the end was a bit soft. But it’s not easy for the referee in that situation with so much emotion in the stadium.

“We wanted to be on the front foot and play in attacking areas. I’m so proud of my players.

“We’ve played three top teams this week and we’ve been the better team in the second half in each of them.

“We’ve come away to top sides that have started the season well and we’ve shown that we’re a good team.”

Oxford boss Liam Manning was shown the red card for angry comments when Wycombe were awarded their second spot kick.

Under Football League rules he was not allowed to talk to the media after the match.

U’s assistant head coach Chris Hogg said: “It was a topsy-turvy affair. We’ll take a point at the end of the game and we were really happy with some of the play from the boys.

“And credit to the boys for the energy and attitude in getting back into it.

“But I think in general it’s quite sad now that, at every level we’re having to talk about key decisions rather than the football that was played.

“Both sets of players probably feel aggrieved at the end.”

Hogg felt it was important to have key midfielder Brannagan back in the fold after he had missed two games with illness.

“It’s been great to have Cameron back in the building again – he’s only been back in for a couple of days – and they were important minutes for him today.

“One thing you know about Cam is his enthusiasm and personality is big for the group, and big for the club.

“He’s definitely lifted the place the last 48 hours. I never had any doubt when he stepped up for that penalty – I had full faith in him that he’d score.”

Rudi Garcia is determined to hit AC Milan when they are down and relaunch Napoli’s Serie A title defence.

A rocky start to the season saw the Partenopei fall well short of expectations and critics of new head coach Garcia’s approach did not take long to make their voices heard.

But three league wins from four have thrust Napoli right back into contention and a home win against second-placed Milan, whose bubble has been burst by consecutive defeats to Juventus and Paris St Germain, could lift them to third.

“We have this home match against one of our direct rivals and it’s one we really want to win,” Garcia told reporters.

“There’s a good atmosphere in the camp. We’ve had a decent run of results but we know that if we really want to move up the table we need to keep winning back-to-back games.

“We want victory at home especially because we have the help of our fans after two wins on the road.”

Milan were one of the few sides to get the better of Luciano Spalletti’s Napoli last season, memorably winning 4-0 at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona as the hosts were trying to rubber-stamp their Scudetto.

“It will be a different game to last season,” Garcia said. “People keep saying this Napoli team is different to the one from last season so this game against Milan will be different too.”

Rossoneri boss Stefano Pioli, meanwhile, is demanding an instant response to last weekend’s San Siro reverse against Juve and a 3-0 humiliation at PSG in the Champions League on Wednesday.

He said at a press conference: “The team is hungry to turn things around.

“For the first time this season, we’ve lost two in a row in two big games and tomorrow we have another one.

“We’ll need to show that we have the quality to be a consistent side. We have to keep at it for 95 minutes against teams like this.

“We must live in the present; we’ve made mistakes and got results that we didn’t want. We have the chance in Naples to put in a better performance and show that we’re better.

“Garcia is a great coach. He had issues at the start – which is normal – but now they’re playing well and creating a lot.

“We need to be aware of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia because he can hurt you one-on-one. We’ll try to be alert.”

Cheltenham manager Darrell Clarke said it was a “nice touch” to hear the Port Vale fans chant his name after making a winning return to his former club.

A brace from captain Sean Long saw the Robins come from behind to win 2-1 and secure just their second victory of the season, moving them off the bottom of the League One table.

Clarke led the Valiants to promotion from League Two in the 2021-22 campaign before being sacked in April of this year and then appointed by Cheltenham in September.

“I had a great rapport with the Port Vale fans here,” he said. “I had a great couple of years here – they’re a passionate bunch.

“I thank them for all the love and support they gave me while I was manager here.

“And our Cheltenham fans who travelled down here. I thank them for their support, they were amazing all game.

“So yeah it was a nice touch and I’m really thankful for that.”

Vale went ahead in the 32nd minute when Tottenham loanee Alfie Devine found the net with an acrobatic effort after skipper Nathan Smith guided a header from a corner to the back post.

Their lead lasted only 10 minutes though, with Long blasting home after latching onto a loose ball in the penalty area.

Cheltenham’s winner came in the 66th minute as Long’s deflected effort looped over goalkeeper Connor Ripley and into the net.

“It wasn’t pretty, but it was a pleasing win,” Clarke added. “We fought, we grafted.

“I thought in the first half an hour we created chances and they scored a little bit against the run of the play, which we’re disappointed on.

“But then the reaction of the boys was very good, so I’m really pleased with that.”

Vale manager Andy Crosby thinks the performance of his team, now without a win in eight league matches, was their poorest of the season.

“Without the ball, we didn’t win enough duels, we didn’t win enough battles, we didn’t win enough first contacts, we didn’t win enough headers, we didn’t win enough second balls,” he said.

“And then, when you get the ball back, you have to continue to show the bravery to get on the ball and play the game that we’re trying to play.

“And perhaps we got caught in between a little bit, in terms of then going more direct and then into the front.

“The team who played the best won the game.”

Vale scored a first goal in six league games, but they’ve now dropped to 16th after a promising start to the season.

“It’s important that collectively we now all go away, me included and you look at yourself and ask are you currently producing your best?,” Crosby added.

“If not, why not? And what can you do to make sure that your performance is better?

“Because this is about all of us. We’re in this position. We all have to do something about it.”

Cardiff boss Erol Bulut savoured a Severnside derby victory as Rubin Colwill replied to recent criticism from his manager with a first league goal for 19 months.

Colwill sealed Cardiff’s 2-0 win over Bristol City in stoppage time with a superb strike as the Bluebirds climbed to fifth in the Sky Bet Championship.

The Wales international’s first league goal since March 2022 – cutting between two defenders before rifling a ferocious angled drive in to the roof of the net – came after Bulut said he had a problem with him and team-mate Callum Robinson over their work-rate.

Bulut said: “I was clear what I wanted from those two players. Offensively they are good.

“We saw again from Colwill a great goal, last game Robinson scored and also worked a lot here.

“Defensively they are doing much better than before. I am expecting this because we are 11 on the field and I need 11 players, not 10.

“They understand what I want. I am honest with my players. I don’t tell them anything else. I tell them exactly what I want.

“The good thing is that they try to give me back what I went from them. This makes me happy.”

Colwill has scored twice in the Carabao Cup this season, but the 21-year-old has yet to start a Championship game under Bulut.

He has also lost his place in Rob Page’s Wales squad and dropped down to the under-21 set up after playing in the World Cup last year.

“Rubin is doing well for a long time,” insisted Bulut. “When we put him on, we get this performance that we want to see.

“I hope only for him and I can give him my advice, to not stop, to continue.

“It was not an easy game. After the last game where we won 4-0 against Huddersfield, I said to my team ‘we cannot celebrate, we have to continue to work’.

“We did and this is a good result for my team. I am glad to see this performance from the players.”

Bristol City have lost five of their last seven games and boss Nigel Pearson continues to contend with a lengthy casualty list.

“I can’t get injured players back and unfortunately, we’ve got a small squad anyway,” said Pearson.

“There wasn’t much in the game. We conceded two goals from our own possession but we didn’t create much.

“Cardiff might be doing OK, but I wouldn’t put them up with the best sides at all.

“It was a game with a team in a good seam that capitalised on our mistakes. They didn’t outplay us.”

Interim Bristol Rovers manager Andy Mangan raised the prospect that he could take charge of the Gas following Joey Barton’s sacking after a 2-1 over Northampton at the Memorial Stadium.

Mangan was placed in temporary charge of the first team in the wake of Barton’s exit on Thursday and such was his players’ response that he is already quizzed about the possibility of taking over on a permanent basis.

When asked about being in line to replace Barton, Mangan told reporters in his post-match news conference: “That’s a really difficult question to ask because Joey’s my friend.

“I’ve been asked to take over the team because of what’s happened this week and all I can do is do my best.

“If we keep winning, then who knows what will happen, but all I can do is every single day come and try to make my players better.

“But I have to say the staff have been fantastic and I’ve got nothing but thanks to everyone at the club.

“Joe and me have been together longer than everyone else here so it’s been tough.

“But it’s been wonderful seeing the way people have been coming together and long may that continue.

“I don’t know what happens next – all I can do is keep working diligently every day.”

Mangan saw striker Chris Martin give his side the perfect start, back-heeling Aaron Collins’ cut-back beyond Cobblers goalkeeper Lee Burge after 10 minutes.

Antony Evans doubled the lead on the half-hour, calmly beating Burge from the penalty spot after the former Sunderland goalkeeper felled Collins.

Emmanuel Monthe halved the lead in the 57th minute when he nodded in Mitchell Pinnock’s free-kick to set up a tense finale.

“I’m an optimist and I think we can beat everyone else, but we can be miles better,” Mangan added.

“Victory felt really good because what happened was a complete shock and to be thrust into it and come away with a 2-1 is something we should all be proud of.

“It’s been a tough week for everyone and the players have to take a lot of credit because they performed to their maximum.

“After the first 10 minutes we were magnificent and when the onslaught came the lads should take credit for standing firm.”

Northampton manager Jon Brady, whose side are now only outside the Sky Bet League One relegation zone on goal difference, expressed frustration with the outcome.

He said: “We started well and had two or three chances, and then gave away easy goals that left us having to fight our way back into the game.

“We got a goal back and pushed and pushed, and we were knocking on the door, but we’re giving ourselves a mountain to climb every single time.

“We dominated every facet of the game. We had 60 per cent possession, but the game’s not about possession, it’s about how you use that ball and having purpose.

“We didn’t put the ball in the back of the net and then it’s too easy for the opposition to score.

“I’m really disappointed but we played quite well, but didn’t come away with anything which is frustrating.”

Shaun Maloney hailed a “very professional performance” after Wigan secured a third 2-0 victory on the spin in Sky Bet League One against a Shrewsbury side who played for all but four minutes with 10 men.

Former Wigan defender Chey Dunkley was shown a straight red card for hauling down Thelo Aasgaard on the edge of the box.

And goals in either half from Stephen Humphrys and substitute Callum Lang secured a comfortable win for Latics, who also hit the woodwork twice.

“I thought it was a very professional performance,” said Maloney.

“Obviously it was very hard for Shrewsbury when you go down to 10 men that early.

“I thought we started the game very well, and then the game completely changes.

“I was just really happy with how professional we were, because the sending-off changed our outlook dramatically.

“Give Shrewsbury credit, actually, even with 10 men.

“It changes how we play, the spaces become bigger and we have to make them even bigger for them, which is probably the reason why we created so many chances.

“We had to change how we played in the second half, we had to become more aggressive.

“I was really pleased with the guys who came on in the second half, especially Callum McManaman who brought that mentality back just at a time when I thought the game was starting to drift.

“This kind of game can drift and become a lot harder, even when you have the man advantage.”

Shrewsbury boss Matt Taylor had no complaints over either the red card or the result.

“It was a very difficult afternoon for us,” he said. “But you’ve got to put it into context, when you have your captain sent off inside five minutes away from home – and quite rightly sent off.

“It’s a bad decision from Chey, he gets himself into a position where he can’t affect the run of the player going through.

“Going down to 10 men inside five minutes, you know there’s going to be some suffering, and there was.

“Having said that, for large parts of the game I thought we were excellent, considering we had 10 men.

“The players trusted each other, they moved the ball very well and we got into some excellent positions.

“You have to understand that when you play with 10 men, you will have to give space away because you can’t cover the whole pitch.

“Therefore they had plenty of opportunities from crosses and we haven’t stopped crosses well enough today in one-v-one situations.

“With the ball I was pleased, we varied the ball well and overall I’m disappointed because I felt this was a good opportunity to pick up some points.

“But we weren’t able to do that because we went down to 10 men so early.”

Paul Warne understands why Derby supporters voiced their frustrations towards the end of his side’s 3-1 defeat at Stevenage.

Boro fully deserved to record a first win in four league games which lifted them up to sixth in the Sky Bet League table.

Derby, though, are so far not living up to their pre-season expectations, with a second straight away defeat hard to take for many of the travelling fans who made their feelings towards Warne clear.

“The fans who came aren’t happy; they’re not happy with me, they’re not happy with the football, they’re not happy with everything, and I understand that,” Warne said.

“We are not in this league to come to Stevenage and lose or underperform, and it is a disappointing day for everyone involved at the football club.

“We just weren’t good enough to beat Stevenage, who I didn’t underestimate, but just in moments we weren’t strong enough.

“If I am truly honest, I have never had to manage a group where your own fans give it to you and I appreciate their frustrations.

“We’ve been honest with the lads there, saying what we think, and we will have to try and bounce back Tuesday (against Northampton) and put a performance on.

“What is obvious for anyone who knows anything about football is we have got a soft underbelly.”

Jordan Roberts gave Stevenage the lead with a thumping strike after a free-kick was teed up for him in the 32nd minute, but that was soon cancelled out by Nathaniel Mendez-Laing’s neat finish.

Alex MacDonald then put the Boro ahead from a free-kick right at the end of the first half, which beat Derby goalkeeper Joe Wildsmith for pace.

Boro then secured victory with six minutes left when Kane Hemmings opened his account from Luther James-Wildin’s ball across goal.

Stevenage boss Steve Evans said: “We fully respected and acknowledged how good the opposition were.

“They are, in my opinion, the biggest team in League One and arguably if they’re in the Championship you could be saying the same.

“We knew we had to match them in every area and I think we’ve done that and more today.

“We should have won by more, but we don’t fail to recognise that for Stevenage to beat Derby County in a league fixture is for the whole town really.

“It is tremendous for us and I don’t really have a thought towards Derby other than that they are a terrific side.

“It is more hand-to-mouth here and we have to find a way to compete at the level we have come up into.”

Norwich boss David Wagner insists he can get the struggling Canaries back on track but admits he is unable to say whether he will be given time to turn his side’s fortunes around.

Norwich’s miserable Championship run continued with a 3-1 defeat at Sunderland, meaning Wagner’s side have now won just two of their last 10 games and tumbled to 17th in the table.

The Canaries took the lead at the Stadium of Light through Hwang Ui-jo but Trai Hume and Dan Neil put the home side ahead before the break, before Jack Clarke wrapped up the win for Sunderland in the second half from the spot with his ninth goal of the season.

The defeat means Norwich are now winless in five, and Wagner accepts such form will lead to questions about his future.

“I take responsibility and I have to find solutions to change it,” he said.

“The recent form is not where we want it to be and far away from where we can be and what we’ve shown. This is a big problem for us.”

Asked whether he thinks he will be given time to turn it around, he said: “I understand the question but it is not a question I can answer.”

He did, however, insist he has full belief that he remains the man for the job.

He said: “Yeah, obviously. These are situations you face as a manager which you don’t like but these are challenges that are part of a manager’s life.

“It’s up to me to get this sorted, but how much time or if I get the time, as I said it’s not a question (I can answer).”

To get back to winning ways, Wagner says his side – particularly his senior pros – need to cut out the individual mistakes.

He said: “I think we should not shy away from this. Everyone sees who does the mistakes and at the minute they are my senior pros.

“This hurts double and it costs because these are usually the players you can lean on and give the ball in certain situations, but at the minute it’s where the problem is as well. It’s a good dressing room, they stick together.”

Home boss Tony Mowbray was delighted to end a run of three straight defeats, with Sunderland climbing to seventh in the table.

He said: “I think it was the right result for the way the game went.

“It felt a little bit ‘here we go again’ when they scored, I don’t think they’d been in our half up until that point and yet we’re a goal behind.

“We showed great character to get in front before half-time, with some really good, positive front-foot play. It was important for us, I thought it was harsh on us to have lost three games – there were some okay performances in there.

“You have to take it on the chin when you lose and what was important for us was to keep the confidence up. We showed them a lot of clips of the Leicester game and the rewards of playing on the front foot.

“We did that well today, suffocated them for long spells and it wasn’t really until the last 15 that they asked questions of us, and then in that period we could have scored more goals on the break.”

Carlisle boss Paul Simpson rued that there was “nobody else to blame but ourselves” following his side’s 1-0 defeat at the Abbey Stadium.

The Cumbrians produced a disappointing performance to lose to a Cambridge side that were on an eight-game winless run in League One.

Sub George Thomas headed the winning goal for the Us, before Simpson’s side ended the match with nine men following the late dismissals of Jack Armer and Alfie McCalmont.

“Let’s not look at blaming anybody else, it’s our own fault,” he continued. “If you don’t do the basics well then you don’t get anything out of the game, and unfortunately we didn’t.

“The biggest disappointment is, after a really good week of two really good performances against Portsmouth and on Tuesday night, today we’ve been way off it. We’ve turned over possession so many times, we haven’t won our duels enough.

“Jack Armer’s sending-off,  it’s a lazy challenge to get that second yellow card. Alfie, I feel for him a little bit. I have to say it probably is a red card because of the way his foot has come up, but he has no idea the lad is there. He didn’t do it intentionally.

“I accept that we can’t play brilliantly every game but you have to get a consistent level of doing the basics right, and that’s where we’ve let ourselves down. I do think we have let ourselves down today because I felt this was a missed opportunity.”

Mark Bonner felt Cambridge deserved the three points as they recorded their first victory since September 4.

It came after Tuesday’s draw with leaders Portsmouth, following defeat at previously winless Cheltenham last weekend.

“We needed a week like we’ve had this week, we needed a result like that today,” said Bonner.

“Their best chance was probably in the first minute. We got countered too easily and too often in the first half – they caught us out a few times.

“The wide play was miles better in the second half, and we threatened the back of them much better.

“In the second half I thought we had complete control of the game, were really dominant in their half and deserved the goal when it came.

“The end of the game was a bit weird, really, because it felt like it went on forever and we sort of forgot we were playing against nine players. There was more space than there needed to be.

“We looked edgy towards the end but in the end I thought it was really controlled and fairly dominant. Other than the first minute we weren’t under huge threat.

“We’ve built two good performances this week and four good points.”

Exeter manager Gary Caldwell was pleased to end a run of six straight defeats in League One but said there was plenty of room for improvement after a 1-1 draw with Lincoln.

Conceding soft goals has been a common theme in that run of poor form and Exeter did so again on 20 minutes when Will Aimson’s poor header fell for Paudie O’Connor and he crossed for Alistair Smith to score from 10 yards.

The Grecians were much improved after the break and deservedly drew level in the 81st minute when Ryan Trevitt headed in from Demetri Mitchell’s cross but despite plenty of possession, Exeter could not find a winning goal.

“I thought in the first half, we were a little bit edgy again, but we created a great chance for Ads (Admiral Muskwe) and a brilliant chance for James (Scott) just before half-time,” Caldwell said.

“I think we took that momentum at the end of the first half into the second half and in the second half, I have seen the team that I saw earlier in the season playing on the front foot, aggressive, creating opportunities for our wide players one-v-one and thankfully, from that, we created an opportunity for Ryan and he scored a brilliant goal.

“We could have scored more but I think, under the circumstances, it’s a really good point and something for us to build on.

“We can’t keep conceding bad goals. It is something we have tried to address and I don’t think we started the game with the right intensity.

“I felt they scored and just tried to slow the game down, sit in and play on the counter-attack, which most teams do here. But we have to stop conceding those early goals and giving ourselves a mountain (to climb) to get back into the game.”

It was a third game unbeaten for Lincoln’s interim head coach Tom Shaw, who said: “It has been a long week, we have had two very long trips.

“It was a bit of a disaster getting down here with the traffic but the physical effort of this group of players has been phenomenal.

“Perhaps we were just feeling it in the last 10 minutes but the character, grit and determination we have got us over the line and we managed to get a positive result.

“Everybody who watched this game will see Exeter are a very good football team. They passed the ball well, they have got nice rotations, they are obviously well drilled and well coached. And the run of the games they have had, some of their results have not been just so we knew it was a tough one.

“There is some real technical ability and I am not sure whether we have unlocked it to its maximum to this point.”

Michael Duff hailed Swansea’s “well earned” 1-0 win at Blackburn that gave them a first victory at Ewood Park in 52 years.

The Swans, who came into the game having suffered back-to-back defeats, ended their hoodoo through Liam Cullen’s fine 28th-minute curling strike, capping an outstanding month for the forward who won his first Welsh cap earlier in October.

Swansea had to show all sides of their character, creating chances when in the ascendency and digging in defensively at the start and end of the encounter when they were under severe pressure.

The win was particularly satisfying for former Burnley defender Duff, whose Swansea team have won five of their last seven games, and he was pleased with how his side responded to Blackburn’s start.

He said: “I think they started the game well. No getting away from that. The first five to 10 minutes they started really well, so we tweaked a couple of things in the press and I think for the next 50-55 minutes, we dominated the game.

“Thought we played out, played through them. Probably should have been 2-0 or 3-0 up at that point.

“We’ve had a goal disallowed which is offside, we’ve had another goal disallowed which is onside.

“Then, it’s human element. The lads are probably thinking the game should be out of sight now and it’s not, and they’re a good team.

“It was a case of trying to do the other side of the game well, whilst trying to pick them off on the counter attack.

“People put their bodies on their line, defended, made blocks when they had to. For all their opportunities, Carl (Rushworth) has not really made a brilliant save.

“It definitely wasn’t comfortable but it was a well-earned win in the end.”

Blackburn, who have lost three of their last four home league games, saw Callum Brittain and Harry Leonard miss glorious opportunities.

Rovers boss Jon Dahl Tomasson said: “One of those days. We are of course extremely disappointed.

“We actually began the game really well and why we were not in front in first minute, we still don’t know it.

“I think we started really well, the first 20-25 minutes. After that, defensively there was a bit of distance in the team which was not good enough. We were sloppy sometimes on the ball.

“In the second half, I think we were the better team, creating plenty of chances and good moments to win the game.

“But (it was) one of those days when we are not scoring.

“We shouldn’t forget this young team have won three games on the bounce. There will be those days as well, we all know that. But of course, disappointed with the result.

“I think Swansea are really good at killing the game, killing the time as well. Every free-kick, every time the ball went out, it took ages. They did it really well and it’s difficult to get momentum.”

Plymouth manager Steven Schumacher felt there was a clear turning point in his side’s 3-2 loss to Ipswich.

Schumacher felt referee Gavin Ward should have awarded Argyle a free-kick on the edge of the penalty area following a last-ditch tackle by George Edmundson on Mustapha Bundu.

Ipswich equalised moments later with an own goal from Bali Mumba.

He said it was “a refereeing decision I can’t get my head around” which he thought was worthy of a red card.

“I thought the lads played unbelievably well and I just said to them I’m proud of them, the effort they put in, the way that we stuck to the plan today,” Schumacher said.

“We knew coming to Ipswich Town they have been the best team in the league with Leicester and we knew we were going to have spells where we had to stick together and defend.

“But we did that. In the first half we defended really well and counter-attacked with purpose…our goal was outstanding.

“Morgan (Whittaker) scores a brilliant goal but I’m fuming over how we didn’t get a free-kick right on the edge of their box at a really pivotal moment in the game, because what happened next Ipswich went down the other end and scored from it.

“It was a refereeing decision I can’t get my head around.

“We watched it back at half-time and Mustapha said he (Edmundson) clipped his ankle. I spoke to Gavin (Ward) and the linesman and they said they couldn’t see it. I think they were the only two people in the ground that couldn’t see it.”

Meanwhile, Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna said there was “lots to be positive about” in what he described as a “tough game”.

McKenna added: “Both teams showed why they had such good seasons last season. Two fully committed teams, lots of good players on the pitch and a really tough game.

“The tone was set when they score, we have a good chance after a few minutes, don’t take it and then they score an absolute worldie really, it’s a wonderful goal.

“Full credit to the boys for coming back and getting the three goals.

“We were good value for the goals and had enough chances in the game, but having said that we know defensively we weren’t happy with the performance and things we know we need to do better, but we are early in the season.

“A good game, a good win, hard-fought and one that we’ll learn from.

“We knew it was going to be a tough second half…we got two goals and that’s a big positive.

“Good quality for the goals, we created plenty of chances, so there’s lots to be positive about.”

Whittaker struck for the visitors after seven minutes but Town equalised with time running out in the first half following Mumba’s own goal and George Hirst gave Town the lead just after the break.

Ipswich goalkeeper Vaclav Hladky came to the Tractor Boys’ rescue as Argyle pressed during the closing stages but Marcus Harness struck in the 86th minute to put the game beyond Argyle, despite a late reply from Joe Edwards.