Forest Green boss David Horseman admitted the club’s first League Two away win for more than a year represented a “massive day” for the club.
A second-half Matt Stevens goal – his first since February – sealed a 1-0 triumph at Harrogate for the club that last won on the road on the opening day of last season at Bristol Rovers.
Forest Green ended that campaign comprehensively relegated from League One so new chief Horseman believes victory in North Yorkshire could prove a pivotal moment for the Gloucestershire outfit, who had lost their opening two fixtures to Salford and Portsmouth – the latter in the Carabao Cup.
The former Southampton B coach said: “It was a massive day for the club as a whole.
“When you’ve gone so long without an away win, it’s so important to get one any way you can and, while you want to play well and be convincing, in some ways hanging on at the end makes it feel even better.
“It’s a win that will bring the dressing room and new staff together and an important one for us going forward. Ironically, it was the worst we’ve played since I’ve been here, including in pre-season.
“We put in decent performances against Salford and Portsmouth without getting anything from them and I wasn’t best pleased at half-time in this game, so I had to raise my voice.
“But the boys responded by scoring really early and I think they are a group that we can be proud of now as a club.”
Stevens grabbed 27 goals as Rovers won promotion from League Two in 2021/22, but only netted once last term and spent the second half of the season at Walsall.
His new boss remains in no doubt about his goalscoring threat, though, adding: “When you get him in the box, he scores all types of goals and we know, if we get the ball to him in those good areas, that’s what he’ll do.
“We took our one chance and then defended our box really well for the rest of the game.”
Home boss Simon Weaver felt that the result hinged on one defensive lapse from his side.
He said: “It was a really tight game and after quite a flat start, we had to deal with a number of situations really well to ensure it was 0-0 at half-time.
“They then scored out of the blue, which was a bit of a shock to the system, but that can happen in games like this.
“It was one defensive slip and a bit of individual skill from their player (Tyrese Omotoye) to put in a cross that cost us a point at least.
“The players gave it their all for the rest of the game but I got that feeling during the last five minutes that it wasn’t going to be our day because we were lacking that killer end product in the final third.
“We were so high after winning our first two games and now it feels like rock bottom after a defeat but there’s a long way to go and we just have to go again at Tranmere on Tuesday now.”
Man United could be without Toone until new year, says Skinner
Marc Skinner revealed that Manchester United could be without midfielder Ella Toone until the new year after she picked up a calf injury in training.
Toone has featured in five games in the Women's Super League this season, but is yet to register a goal or an assist so far this term.
The 25-year-old has missed United's last two games and was not selected in Sarina Wiegman's England squad for their upcoming friendlies against the United States and Switzerland.
She had previously appeared in a staggering 96 straight matches before missing United's WSL showdown with Leicester City last weekend.
But ahead of the Red Devils' meeting with league leaders Chelsea on Sunday, Skinner confirmed they would be without Toone for not only that game, but for the foreseeable future.
"We have three games [after the international break and before Christmas]. There's always the hope, but I think you balance and you go, 'right, if we can get her back, we get her back'," Skinner said.
"But we're just not going to rush her in this moment because it's a calf injury, it's your running mechanism. If we injure the running mechanism, it takes longer.
"So ideally we'd like her back for those games afterwards.
"The projection is she misses this game [Chelsea], she misses the international window, probably misses the first game after that, and then we'll see from there.
"But because it is such a short block of only three games, we'll assess whether it's worth that or actually resetting to come back after Christmas."
Al-Nassr 1-2 Al-Qadsiah: Aubameyang winner ends hosts' unbeaten run
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang hit the winner as Al-Qadsiah inflicted a 2-1 defeat on Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League on Friday to end their 21-match unbeaten run.
Cristiano Ronaldo's seventh league goal of the season put Al-Nassr ahead, but Al-Qadsiah replied swiftly through Julian Quinones before Aubameyang struck the decisive blow.
The hosts drew first blood in the 32nd minute when Ronaldo slotted home after Al-Qadsiah goalkeeper Koen Casteels had spilled a routine catch from Talisca's cross.
However, Al-Nassr's joy was short-lived when Quinones brought down Turki Al Ammar's delivery five minutes later, with the Mexcio winger firing past Bento to level the scores.
Quinones also played a part in the winning goal after brilliantly turning the ball back across goal from Nahitan Nandez's search pass to tee up a simple finish for Aubameyang.
The result sees Al-Qadsiah move level on 22 points with third-placed Al-Nassr, with Al-Shabab also level with them.
Stefano Pioli's Al-Nassr are six points adrift of defending champions and leaders Al-Hilal, who also have a game in hand.
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