An upbeat Ian Dawes could hardly contain his delight after seeing his Tranmere side finally record their first win of the season at the third time of asking with a 3-0 victory over Harrogate at Prenton Park.
Goals from Luke Norris, Sam Taylor and Kieron Morris were the difference as Rovers followed-up two disappointing defeats with a much-needed victory.
Dawes said: “The performances over the past three games have been key because if you keep performing the results will come.
“I felt for whoever we were playing tonight as I felt we were going to give someone a hiding in terms of goals.
“It’s still no excuses as you still have to get the wins on the board but we’ve always believed that if the process is right and the performances are there then the results will come.
“Today reminded me of the second half on Saturday, there was a lot more substance to what we did, we were aggressive, came out on the front foot and we deserved to be two goals up at half-time.
“We looked at Saturday’s performance and we had to go with that team again because I thought they were outstanding.
“I thought we managed the game well and we’d get them on the counter sooner or later so the performance overall was outstanding and to get a clean sheet just caps it off.”
Norris rose above a static Town defence to head home a Connor Jennings centre in the 24th minute and just 90 seconds later Tranmere doubled their lead when Taylor raced through a non-existent Harrogate defence before stabbing the ball under Mark Oxley.
The game was put beyond doubt in the 89th minute when Morris fired home to inflict a second straight defeat on Harrogate.
Town boss Simon Weaver said: “I thought we gave the game away in the first half conceding two quick goals and it made it a massive task to get back into the game.
“For large parts of the second half we were the better team to watch and we reacted well to me telling the lads at half-time that we were powder-puff.
“In the second half we played with more determination and anger but we need to do that from the start to get results.
“Of course the two goals we conceded in the first half changed the game and that came about from a lack of discipline.
“You get judged by your results and we’ve had an awful one tonight and maybe 3-0 didn’t tell the whole story of the game tonight.
“You’ve got to take your chances and we had some very good chances to score tonight which we wasted.”
Red Star Belgrade 5-1 Stuttgart: Five-star hosts earn first Champions League win
Red Star Belgrade claimed the first win of their Champions League campaign, coming from behind to thrash Stuttgart 5-1 at the Stadion Rajko Mitic on Wednesday.
This was only the Serbian SuperLiga leaders' third ever win in the competition, and they had to come from behind to move up to 31st in the standings after five games.
Ermedin Demirovic opened the scoring for the visitors in the fifth minute, capitalising on some slack defending to net his seventh goal of the season in all competitions.
However, Stuttgart loanee Silas Katompa Mvumpa restored parity six minutes later, driving from midfield before sending a curled effort beyond Alexander Nubel.
The hosts were ahead just past the half-hour mark through Rade Krunic, who netted his first club goal for over two years, his last coming for AC Milan in the 2022-23 campaign.
Red Star continued to threaten after the interval and were rewarded in the 65th minute when Mirko Ivanic ghosted in at the far post to head in his side's third.
Krunic turned provider four minutes later, teeing up Nemanja Radonjic before the Serbian striker notched his second a minute from time with a low left-footed finish.
Data Debrief: Fifth time lucky
After going four games without a win in the competition, Red Star did not look like a side lacking confidence as they confidently dispatched their Bundesliga opponents.
Their victory was their biggest across both the Champions League and European Cup when conceding first, while they also inflicted Stuttgart’s joint-heaviest defeat in the competition.
Red Star also scored five goals in a game in the Champions League or European Cup for the first time since a 5-0 win at Dundalk in September 1988, while it was their biggest triumph in the competition since beating Portadown 4-0 in October 1991.
Sturm Graz 1-0 Girona: Biereth fires hosts to first win
Sturm Graz climbed from the bottom of the Champions League table after Mika Biereth's second-half strike in a 1-0 victory over Girona on Wednesday.
Sturm's Biereth broke the deadlock just before the hour mark, slotting home from close range after Girona goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga had saved a shot from inside the box.
Girona should have scored midway through the first half when Ivan Martin found himself unmarked in front of an unguarded net but he somehow sent the ball over the bar.
That miss characterised familiar struggles for Michel's men in this competition, with last season's surprise package in LaLiga slipping down to 30th in the standings.
Girona have just one win to their name in this season's Champions League, in which Sturm collected their first points of the campaign with this victory.
Data Debrief: Away-day struggles for Girona
Girona have lost all three of their away games in the Champions League without scoring a goal, becoming the first Spanish side to ever suffer consecutive defeats in their first three away matches in the competition.
Goals remain an issue for Michel's side, who have failed to score in three of their five games, only Bologna (four) and Salzburg (four) have failed to score more often in the 2024-2025 tournament.
Wednesday also marked Sturm Graz's first win against a Spanish side in Europe, previously losing five of their six such matches (D1).
Gasperini: Confidence is keeping Atalanta's run going
Atalanta head coach Gian Piero Gasperini thinks that his side's recent run of form is due to the squad's confidence and continued development, following their 6-1 victory away to Young Boys on Tuesday.
The Italian side maintained their unbeaten record in the competition to go fourth in the standings following a demolition job in Bern, with two-goal Charles De Ketelaere the pick of the bunch.
The result was Atalanta's largest-ever margin of victory in a European match, while it extended their winning run to seven matches in all competitions.
That run has seen them climb to second in the Serie A table, a point behind leaders Napoli, while they have the best xG in the division and are top scorers with 34 goals in 13 matches.
"We are in a good period of form in Italy and Europe, I’m happy with the performances and results we are getting,” Gasperini told Sky Sports.
"Winning the Europa League last season helped us to grow in confidence, self-belief and then many new players arrived too who are improving. This is what’s behind the impressive form."
Gasperini also acknowledged that the development of some of the talent at the club has been remarkable.
"There are some players who have been here so long and know us so well that they are coaches on the field, I could easily just leave them to it," he said.
"But there are others who need to get to know the movements, the chain reactions, the timing. On top of that, we have always had a very strong locker room atmosphere where the behaviour and attitude is always based on values."
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