Carlisle boss Paul Simpson was proud of his side’s second-half performance as they held Wigan to a 1-1 draw at Brunton Park.

The Cumbrians fell behind to former striker Charlie Wyke’s first-half finish for Latics, but Simpson was delighted with the response from his team.

Carlisle equalised through Owen Moxon’s close-range finish.

“I thought we were positive and energetic tonight, but in the first half we struggled against a really good Wigan side,” admitted Simpson.

“Second half we certainly stood up to that challenge. That’s what we need to do every single game.

“We stuck at it. We were more aggressive in the press and more aggressive with our passing in the second half.

“I think in the end we thoroughly deserved the point tonight and it’s important that we can build on that on the weekend.

“Jordan Gibson was creative. The goal comes from him working and chasing. He’s got real ability and if he can put the work in that he has for the first part of this season, for the rest of it, he’s going to be a real handful for other teams.”

Wigan left Cumbria with a point and missed out on the chance to move off the bottom of the League One table.

Boss Shaun Maloney believed if his side kept their first-half level then they would have gone home with all three points.

He reflected: “I think anyone who was here saw the first half was as good a performance that I’ve had since I’ve been here.

“My only criticism is that when you’re that good you’ve got to put teams away.

“In the second half the last 40 minutes or so was a proper game and that’s what happens if you don’t put teams away.

“We made a mistake on the ball and they punished us and that’s football.

“It’s as good as we’ve played and I’m pleased with a lot of today. That first half is as good as it’s been since I’ve been here.

“Charlie Wyke is playing at a very good level at the moment. I’m asking a lot of him with a lot of minutes. He ran himself into the ground for us and the quality he showed is very good.

“My priority is trying to win the game, not give players minutes and I thought the substitutions we made gave us the best chance.”

John Mousinho called on his Portsmouth team to be more ruthless after seeing them beat Exeter 1-0 at Fratton Park.

Colby Bishop’s second-half strike was enough to settle a keenly contested game.

Mousinho said: “I thought we were excellent in the first half. The only thing we didn’t do was put the ball in the back of the net.

“It was a different story in the second half. Exeter made some changes which I thought would leave them a bit exposed in places for the counter-attack.

“If I could criticise anything, it’s that we need to take our chances. We had some good opportunities up to and after the goal.

“We also have to learn to manage the game better. We didn’t do that particularly well in the last 10 minutes.

“We made some rash decisions and although we are a youngish team, I think we’ve got enough experience on the pitch to deal with it.

“Having said that, it was a well-deserved win off the back of a totally different game at the weekend. I’m absolutely thrilled.”

With both sides coming into the game unbeaten, it was Bishop who ended Exeter’s run with the only goal 20 minutes from time.

He rifled home from just inside the box after picking up substitute Jack Sparkes’ pass with his back to goal.

Exeter boss Gary Caldwell said: “We weren’t ourselves in possession tonight. We can play much better but, having said that, in the first half, we were dogged and resilient and defended the box very well.

“We improved in the second half. Most of the chances were from set pieces and I thought those chances were better than our overall performance.

“It’s a newly formed squad, we’re still developing in terms of partnerships, have come to a big stadium for the first time and we have to learn from experience.

“We didn’t make good decisions throughout the game. We kicked long when we could have played out and played out when we should have played long. We’ll analyse it as a group but I want them to be braver, to be a team.

“Their keeper has made some good saves and sometimes it just doesn’t go your way. Even when we are not at our best, our set-pieces cause teams problems.”

Derby head coach Paul Warne described his side as a “nearly team” after they were beaten 2-1 at home by Oxford.

Mark Harris was the matchwinner for the second time in four days as Oxford deservedly took the points at Pride Park.

The visitors went ahead in the 32nd minute when Curtis Nelson gave the ball away and Cameron Brannagan played in Harris to fire into the top-right corner.

Derby were better after the break but needed a great save from Joe Wildsmith to deny Billy Bodin in the 64th minute although Oxford’s clever movement and precise passing was rewarded eight minutes later.

Another slick move ended with Bodin setting up Harris to beat Wildsmith with a low drive.

Derby gave themselves hope when Martyn Waghorn reduced the arrears in the 87th minute but it was not enough to prevent a third home defeat of the season.

Warne said: “We seem to be at the moment, and I include myself because I’m at the front of it, to be a nearly team.

“We nearly score off a set-piece, we nearly score off one across the box, we nearly pick out a man, we’re nearly a lot better but at the moment we’re not.

“It’s disappointing, it wasn’t us at our best, I thought we looked nervy first half which surprised me because three-quarters of the team were here last year.

“Oxford are a strong team and I think they’ll be up there come the end of the season but whether we showed them a bit too much respect and we keep giving teams a little lift at the moment.

“We were poor tonight and just had too many players off it and we need to get back to it very quickly.”

Oxford head coach Liam Manning said: “I think what you see is a group of players working hard for each other and fighting for the club.

“For me, some of the most impressive stuff tonight was how we defended set-pieces. We stood up to it, we showed bravery, we showed discipline and a real spirit which for me is really important.

“It was an important message at half-time not to try and hold on to 1-0 because when you come to a place like this with the strength they have in their squad if you try and see out a 1-0 for 45 minutes I think you’ll be in trouble.

“So I think the lads did a tremendous job of defending when we had to but showing quality in transition and showing quality to keep the ball. I think collectively we were excellent.”

Shrewsbury manager Matt Taylor hopes his players saw how good they can be as Town claimed a 2-1 victory over winless Burton.

Tom Bayliss fired Shrewsbury into the lead in the third minute, tapping home at the back post from a Dan Udoh cross.

The home side then doubled their lead just before half-time with Chey Dunkley heading in from a Jordan Shipley corner.

The Brewers found the back of the net for the first time this season when Mason Bennett pulled one back in the 97th minute but it proved to be a consolation.

Taylor said: “It helps when you score a goal as early as we did. I asked the players for a reaction from Saturday because we weren’t good enough.

“We were braver when we needed to be. Today was more like us and the performance from the first game of the season.

“The only disappointing thing was we conceded because the performance up to then deserved a clean sheet.

“But make no bones about how important that result is. I said to the players at half-time we had achieved nothing yet.

“I spoke to them about understanding they had to do everything they could to win the game, and they did that.

“Genuinely, I think this is huge for us as a group, for the players to understand how good they can be.

“If you had offered me two home wins in the first three matches of the season, I would have taken it.”

The search continues for Burton’s first points of the campaign after their 3-0 thumping against Derby and opening day 2-0 loss away to Blackpool.

Boss Dino Maamria said: “Yes, it is disappointing. It’s been a tough tough start, not just with the fixture list but also the amount of injuries we have had.

“We were forced to change shape and start with a different team than what we would have hoped for, but overall we conceded too early on again and then we conceded late into the half which give ourselves a mountain to climb.

“In between the goals, we played pretty well tonight, and I thought we had created a lot of chances.

“It was frustrating not to get that first goal, especially the first half, because we had some big moments.

“I think if we scored first-half and gone in at 1-1, it would have been a fair reflection on the half.

“But to go in when they scored from a corner in the last kick of the half, it was a real kick in the teeth.

“But I thought we responded well overall in the second and got the goal we deserved.”

Andy Crosby believes Port Vale lacked a cutting edge in their 0-0 draw against Blackpool.

Gavin Massey came closest as The Valiants controlled the first half, but his powerful shot flew agonisingly wide of the goal.

In the second half, Blackpool took control, but Vale stopper Connor Ripley tipped away Shayne Lavery’s header to ensure the spoils were shared at Bloomfield Road.

The Port Vale manager insists his side had the chance to win the game in the opening 45 minutes.

He said: “We were maybe just lacking that last pass around the edge of their box to really take advantage.

“It was a contrasting game really, I thought first half we had control, especially in possession and we controlled their possession how we wanted to.

“We thought we could counterattack from the midfield if we could nick balls, and we had a few opportunities.

“We nullified them to very little in the first half, we used our numerical advantage in certain areas of the pitch which we spoke about going into the game.

“Second half we lacked a little bit of control, went too long too easy and landed on second balls.

“It’s a really good point against a team who were a league above us last season who have got really good players, but I’ve just said to the players there that I’m going to do this job and I’m going to look at every single way we can win games.

“I’m going to look at how we can approach it, I think I’ve got a really good group of players who are tactically and technically good and who take on information really well.”

The result means The Tangerines are still yet to concede in the league this season after following up a 2-0 home win against Burton Albion with back-to-back goalless draws.

However, Blackpool manager Neil Critchley was frustrated by the result.

He added: “Frustrating with a capital F I think.

“It’s not easy when teams come and put loads of men behind the ball and have a game plan to stop you and they did it very well.

“So, you have to be patient and persevere in what you train to do.

“It might not be how you want it to look in the first 20-25 minutes.

“They were full of energy, but if we keep being patient and persevere with how we want to play you can see what happened in the second half where we had complete control.

“We dominated the game, pushed them right back in their own half and then we just missed that final bit in and around the goal, that cross or that moment the striker gets across someone and finishes tonight.

“I’m not disappointed by the performance just frustrated by the result.”

Wycombe manager Matt Bloomfield admitted to being put through the wringer during his side’s 3-2 win over Leyton Orient that gave them their first points of the season at the third attempt.

It was a frantic night at Adams Park as Orient had centre-back Dan Happe sent off in the second half in what was their third straight defeat in League One.

The incidents did not stop after the final whistle either as Orient head coach Richie Wellens and his assistant Paul Terry were both shown red cards for their protests towards the officials.

Bloomfield said: “It’s just a relief to get the first win if I’m honest.

“This job means the world to me, this football club means the world to me and it’s hurt a huge amount, losing the first two games in the manner in which we did.

“It’s really hurt and I’m desperate to do the right thing for this football club, I’m desperate to do a good job here.

“The emotion was up and down, we have to manage that at times and I felt like at times maybe we didn’t and we got a bit caught up in the game, but football is an emotional game.

“I know there are a lot of things trying to take the emotion out of the game at the minute, with all the new rules and everything, but we all love football because at times we love it and at times we hate it.”

Joe Low’s opener for Wycombe was cancelled out before half-time by Ruel Sotiriou, but momentum shifted five minutes after the restart when Happe was sent off for pulling back Dale Taylor when the last defender.

Low headed in Luke Leahy’s cross for his second to restore the Chairboys’ lead and Taylor then added a third for the hosts before Sotiriou’s second brought about a nervy finish.

Orient goalkeeping coach Simon Royce, speaking to the media because Wellens and Terry were barred from doing so, said: “I think with 10 men we were the better side.

“It’s nice to score a couple of goals away from home, but conceding three away from home is not going to win you many games.

“But the lads put in a great shift, the fans were unbelievable and they cheered us right to the end.

On Happe’s red card, Royce added: “He didn’t get close enough [to Taylor] to start with, he’s held his hands up in there, but we don’t say sorry in that changing room, we all stick together.

“He may have pulled his shirt a little bit, I haven’t seen it back.

“Whether it was a red card, I couldn’t see whether there was anyone coming around, but it did change the game a little bit.”

Bolton boss Ian Evatt was sent off for “misuse of technology” after Victor Adeboyejo’s first-half hat-trick set-up the League One leaders’ 3-1 win over Fleetwood.

Northern Ireland international Dion Charles was also dismissed by referee Tom Nield for a caution in each half.

Charles was the first to receive his marching orders after 69 minutes following a clash with Town keeper Jay Lynch.

Evatt followed five minutes later and under this season’s new regulations was unable to take his post-match press conference.

Instead, assistant manager Peter Atherton explained: “We saw Dion come alongside the keeper who stuck out his leg and tripped Dion.

“What he saw was very different to what we saw and unfortunately for Dion it was a second yellow.”

After watching on a pitchside monitor, Atherton added Evatt then drew the incident to the fourth official’s attention.

“The gaffer said he had seen it back. There was no misconduct in terms of abusive language.

“He just said, ‘I have seen it back and you got it wrong. From just referring to saying he had seen it back, that is a red card.”

Bolton fans’ anger was heightened by an incident last season against Forest Green Rovers when Nield mistakenly dismissed Charles instead of former team-mate Elias Kachunga.

On the plus side was Adeboyejo’s first hat-trick since his move from Burton.

“Last year Dion was the main goal scorer,” said Atherton.

“But we have said we have to share (goals) among the team.

“Vic has worked hard on the training ground and it’s nice to see him get the rewards with the hat-trick.”

Fleetwood have picked up only one point from their first three games and were also knocked out of the League Cup,

Josh Earl scored a stoppage-time consolation though home goalie Nathan Baxter twice denied Bolton old boy Josh Vela and a Scott Robertson free-kick.

Manager Scott Brown said: “It starts tough because we lost a goal after three minutes. They get that momentum.

“They had great shape and great structure behind and in front of the ball.

“It’s that bit of quality in the final third they had that was a lot better than we had.

“Their wing-backs were bolting in behind, first-time deliveries across the goal and their striker wanted it more and was switched on more than our defenders.

“It comes down to desire but also ruthlessness. They had that ruthlessness and we didn’t.

“The ball was a magnet to him .We had five defenders in the box at one point circulating him and he found the space.

“We had a few chances we probably should have scored off but we end up scoring off a corner in the 94th minute. We didn’t give ourselves a chance.”

Northampton boss Jon Brady hailed his side’s “outstanding” performance and said a point was the very least they deserved after Tuesday’s dramatic 2-2 draw against Lincoln at Sixfields.

Reeco Hackett-Fairchild’s sweet first-half finish was added to by a Paudie O’Connor header as Lincoln moved into a 2-0 lead, but both goals came very much against the run of play.

Northampton dominated the majority of the game but had to wait until the final few minutes to get their rewards as Louis Appere levelled on 86 minutes before Sam Hoskins salvaged a deserved point deep into stoppage time.

“It’s a bit bittersweet because I felt we deserved to win the game,” said Brady. “But if you don’t defend your box right you’ll concede goals, and unfortunately we didn’t.

“The second goal was potentially offside, I’ll have to watch to back, but to play the way we played and to have the patience and dominate all the stats, it’s very pleasing.

“We had 19 shots to their six and we kept being patient even when a few fans were moaning and wanted us to go long. The boys stuck to our beliefs and kept playing the way we want to play. It was really good.

“We got into a lot of crossing positions, we hit the post, we have shots cleared off the line, and how the challenge on Kieron Bowie isn’t a penalty, I don’t know. He rolls the defender, he has the goal open to drive at and the defender lands on top of him.

“For some reason it’s not given, but that doesn’t take away from a spirited performance. I thought we were outstanding.”

Lincoln manager Mark Kennedy said: “I’m gutted, absolutely gutted. But you have to take the emotion away from the game and look at the bigger picture.

“You’re 15 seconds from being euphoric, seeing plenty of high-fives and back-slapping and what would have been an amazing start to the season, but when I get away from that I think it’s a good point on the road.

“Without sounding silly, it’s a good point after a good win at the weekend. We’ve had a tough start to the season with a lot of away games but to be honest I was really impressed with them tonight, really impressed.

“I’ve seen their previous games and they’ve actually played very well but haven’t come out on the right side of the results so good luck to them. Jon will say he deserved a point and I probably can’t argue with him.

“I thought we were very good with how we dealt with their pressure and I thought we looked dangerous on the counter-attack and we were very clinical.”

Bristol Rovers manager Joey Barton praised the work ethic of Luke McCormick after he came off the bench to score a dramatic late winner in a 2-1 victory at Charlton.

The former midfielder was back on the touchline after serving a three-game stadium ban.

And there were big celebrations on the touchline when McCormick struck in the eighth minute of second-half stoppage time to ensure Barton’s side extended their unbeaten start to the League One campaign.

Scott Sinclair’s close-range finish had put Rovers ahead in the 58th minute only for teenage striker Daniel Kanu to level eight minutes after he was brought on.

But McCormick also provided a major impact after replacing John Marquis in the 89th minute, lashing home after neatly controlling Grant Ward’s pass on his chest.

“It’s like we’ve won more than three points because of the nature of the goal,” said Barton.

“I’m so pleased for Macca. He’s worked really hard and when you do that in this game then you get rewarded with special moments.

“He doesn’t go through the motions in the dying embers of the game. He drives on. It’s a great bit of work by the team, and particularly Grant Ward, to flip it over and pick him out. Macca still had a lot to do. We know what a goalscoring threat he can be in our team.

“We’ve had back-to-back wins here now and that’s against a team who have invested in the summer. I know they’ve got one or two out but they are going to be a candidate for promotion.

“This will be a really tricky place to come over this football calendar. We are still in the evolution stage ourselves.”

While Barton has had his skirmishes with officials it was opposite number Dean Holden who was booked by referee Charles Breakspear.

The Addicks boss was left fuming when Josh Grant was only cautioned for clipping Alfie May after he got in behind the Rovers defence not long before McCormick settled the fixture.

“He is ahead of the last defender when he gets fouled and he is through on goal – simple as that,” said Holden.

“I end up getting another yellow card for saying it is a disgraceful decision.

“We’ve done enough to win the game tonight, there’s no doubt about that. We’ve got to keep working in both boxes – be more clinical in their box and make sure defensively we show a bit more steel and see them attacks off.

“They have come for a point and got a smash and grab, good luck to them.

“We can’t hide away from the fact we’re missing key players. We’re still looking to add to the squad in certain areas – we know the profile of the players we need.

“Large parts of the performance were really good. But who wants to hear that when you’ve lost a home game? It’s for us to pick the bones out of it.

“We need to make sure we’re back ready for the next game and this place (The Valley) doesn’t become negative by any stretch. I have to say the supporters were excellent again. Even after they scored the first goal they kept driving the team.”

Rangers manager Michael Beale praised his side for digging deep and finding the answers in Switzerland after James Tavernier’s equaliser sent them into the Champions League play-offs.

Last season’s cinch Premiership runners-up will face PSV Eindhoven next Tuesday at Ibrox after James Tavernier’s equaliser sealed a 1-1 draw against Servette and a 3-2 aggregate win in the third qualifying round.

Jack Butland made one-on-one stops either side of Dereck Kutesa’s excellent finish midway through the first half in Geneva and Danilo squandered a glorious opportunity for Rangers before the break.

Rangers continued with a midfield diamond after the interval but were far more effective and they forced two saves before Tavernier headed home a Borna Barisic cross five minutes after the interval.

Cyriel Dessers missed two good chances to put the game out of sight but Rangers were generally comfortable as Servette tried to force extra time.

Beale told Rangers TV: “We didn’t do well enough first half, I thought we were passive and obviously they scored and the crowd were up in the stadium.

“We had a wonderful chance ourselves with Dani and obviously he misses and we go in at half-time and had to have a strong conversation.

“We were much better second half, we got the full-backs higher. Borna, a fantastic cross, and Tav, something we have seen for a number of years, it was a wonderful goal.”

Beale added: “The game is 90 minutes plus and sometimes you have got to solve the problem as you go through the game.

“The second half was much, much better, more energy and more running forward, and in the end we saw the game out well. We were unfortunate not to score one or two more.

“This was a tough night. The pitch was extreme and the pitch was very slow and sticky, the home fans were up. We had to dig deep and we got the job done.

“When you are 1-0 down you are looking for a response from the players and we certainly had that after half-time.

“Dujon Sterling came on and did well for the team, as well. I have to say Jack Butland was outstanding and that’s why we recruited him.”

Peterborough boss Darren Ferguson praised his side’s belief after goals from Hector Kyprianou, Jonson Clarke-Harris and Kwame Poku saw them come from behind to win 3-1 at Barnsley.

The home side took the lead through Barry Cotter six minutes after the break before Kyprianou equalised with 16 minutes remaining.

Clarke-Harris struck two minutes later and Poku added a third five minutes from time.

Ferguson said: “From the moment we went behind, I thought we were absolutely outstanding.

“It was a really good game and a good advert for the league. Two really good teams.

“I thought that both teams had moments in the first half. Nick (Bilokapic)’s made a couple of good saves and we’ve probably had the more clear-cut chances.

“I told the players at half-time that we had to be more ruthless.

“We lost a soft goal but the reaction to losing the goal was outstanding.

“Even if we’d lost tonight, with that performance, I wouldn’t have been disappointed.

“I wouldn’t have been as happy but I would have been delighted with the way the players responded after going behind.

“As a manager, I was delighted with the belief that they kept thinking they would get something out of the game and that’s what we did.

“We just kept going and we were relentless. The first goal was fantastic. It was really, really good play and a great finish.

“Then we just stepped on the gas a little bit and managed to win the game.

“Absolutely delighted with the performance of the players. A young team with real belief.

“If you’re going to be successful, you have to come to Barnsley on Tuesday nights and get results and we’ve managed to do that.

“I’m delighted with the amount of chances we created and overall I’m delighted. No-one’s getting carried away – it’s a good start but it’s just a start.”

Barnsley head coach Neill Collins was disappointed to see his side lose their grip on the game after going ahead.

He said: “That will take a little bit of digesting. For everything that we did well for the first 55 minutes, I thought we then proceeded to do the opposite almost.

“Up until that point, the team had been fantastic, both sides of the ball, against a very good side.

“I thought we deservedly took the lead and should probably have been ahead at half-time.

“We came out and felt confident that we could get that goal, but then I’m not quite sure why we then proceeded to lose the cohesion that we had and stopped doing the things that we’d done so well.

“I felt that we just became sporadic and more individualistic at times. Despite a couple of warning signs and the goalkeeper in particular making one fantastic save, the goals were cardinal sins in terms of ones we gave away.”

Steve Evans felt that Stevenage were fully deserving of their 2-1 win at Cambridge.

Stevenage have won all three league games since promotion to League One, with their success at the Abbey Stadium ending their opponent’s own perfect start.

Jamie Reid’s fine effort from outside the box eight minutes from the end proved decisive, coming less than two minutes after Mark Bonner’s side had pulled level through Elias Kachunga’s first goal for the U’s.

“There’s no doubt, we should have had the game over in the first half. Rather than good chances we just don’t take advantage of getting in good areas,” said Evans, whose side had gone ahead in the first half through Jordan Roberts.

“In the second half Cambridge were much better at counter-attacking than we were in the final third, but if it had been anything other than an away victory tonight it would have been a travesty.

“We missed three of four good opportunities. Jamie Reid should put us in front earlier than he did, but it’s a great strike to get the winner.

“The credit to us is that they get the goal from a scuff, they don’t get another chance.

“That’s credit to us because this is a good Cambridge team. There’s no one sitting here saying they aren’t a good team, they’ll win lots of games.

“He is big goal Reidy, the boys have just been singing that to him in the dressing room.

“He’s an infectious character but they’re all infectious. We can’t ask these players to give us any more.”

Bonner felt there were encouraging signs in the performance his Cambridge team produced, despite their first defeat of the campaign.

“They’re very, very good at what they do, Stevenage, and they’ll win a lot of games because of it.

“For large parts of the game we defended the threat very well, in certain periods when we were chasing we got counter-attacked a little bit too easily in the second half.

“The timing of the second goal’s a real killer for us because we’ve just got ourselves back in the game.

“I think there’s loads to learn tonight, and loads to like from it as well. Some of the football at times was brilliant, really good.

“We had the best chance early on where the ball flashes across the goal, a couple of set plays that flash across.

“It was nearly moments I think in a lot of our attacking play, without creating as much clear-cut stuff as we’d have liked.

“Actually our goal came probably at a time where the game was fairly balanced and we probably didn’t see it coming.

“The quick one from them is a tough one to take. I think if tonight’s a draw it’s probably the right result.”

Reading claimed their first league victory in almost six months when they edged past Cheltenham 1-0 in League One at the SCL Stadium.

With Cheltenham offering little going forward, Reading dominated the first half and went in front in the 33rd minute through a deflected own-goal from Town midfielder Will Ferry.

Neither side impressed in an uninspiring second period, with Reading just about doing enough to merit their rare win.

Reading had not won since a 3-1 success over Blackpool in the Championship back in late February – a barren run of 15 games.

Defender Matty Carson strode forward purposefully early on and unleashed a fierce 20-yard drive that Luke Southwood, the former Royals keeper, did well to turn away.

But Southwood had no chance when, after a mazy run from Reading’s Caylan Vickers, Ferry inadvertently looped to ball over him and into the net.

Struggling Cheltenham, without a point this term, improved marginally after the interval but were toothless in attack and Reading safely negotiated the nine minutes of added time at the end.