Stockport boss Dave Challinor believes his side must manage their expectations despite extending their winning streak to six matches with a narrow 1-0 success over Doncaster.
Tanto Olaofe broke the deadlock in a close encounter in the 84th minute, nodding home an inswinging Will Collar cross and sealing a triumph which moved County up to second in the table, one point behind League Two leaders Notts County.
“After the goal I was really pleased with how we went about keeping the ball out and getting three points from a scrappy 1-0,” said Challinor.
“There’s nothing wrong with that and we’ve got to make sure that expectation around here doesn’t become that we turn up every week and just roll teams over because that’s not the case.
“We hope it is but the reality is that probably won’t be the case for most weeks.”
And while Stockport are currently in fine form, Challinor played down the importance of the current run.
He added: “It’s nice but it doesn’t make much difference to be fair. Normally within runs you’ll win one, win two, win three, then draw one and keep things going. We’ve won six and that’s a really nice feeling.
“I still stick to the fact that if we were sat 20th now and I could guarantee we’d be sitting in the top three in April I’d be taking it.
“We are where we are, there’s loads of positives to take. We must embrace them and take them forwards.”
Doncaster manager Grant McCann was disappointed to see Rovers lose a game where he thought there was little to separate the two sides.
Doncaster should have taken the lead after the break but Ben Hinchliffe produced a fine double save to deny Modou Faal before quickly getting back to his feet to palm away after Joe Ironside’s effort on the rebound.
“I don’t think there was anything in the game at all to be honest,” said McCann. “We didn’t feel threatened and I thought we did our job well all game until that moment.
“There are two chances in the second half; they’ve taken theirs and we haven’t taken ours. I think that was the game.
“Football games are won in big moments. We don’t get to the ball quick enough in midfield, we don’t get to the cross and we leave Olaofe free in the six-yard box.
“Big moments in games either win or lose you games. Today it’s lost us the game.
“We weren’t great today from an attacking point of view but I didn’t think they were either. I thought it was a game that was just going to peter out into a draw.”
O'Neil: Pressure has given Wolves 'opportunity' to shine
Wolves boss Gary O'Neil believes his players are beginning to see a deserved reward for their hard work after a difficult start to the Premier League season.
Matheus Cunha's double caught the eye in their 4-1 win against Fulham, alongside goals from Joao Gomes and substitute Goncalo Guedes, as Wolves showed their attacking quality in equal measure to ease some of the tension surrounding O'Neil.
The opening months of the 2024-25 campaign have caused pressure to rise on O'Neil's position after they claimed just one point in their first eight games.
They have now claimed eight points in their last four league games and climbed out of the relegation zone for the first time this season with their victory at Craven Cottage.
O'Neil praised his players at full-time, referencing the battling qualities shown by the squad after key summer exits, and a run of form that could have seen them lose faith in him.
"It's probably one of my favourite performances in my time here as a coach. We knew this was going to be a really tough test with the players we were missing," he told BBC Sport.
"It's been a tough run overall, and we had a tough transfer window. Any team who loses its captain and one of its top players will always have to find a new way to do things in the following season.
"We were given a tough fixture list to start the season with, and the league position brings with it pressure and noise, and that was for us to deal with.
"That pressure also brought an opportunity for us to stand up and show who we are and every single one of them have done just that. We can enjoy this win, but there is still plenty of work to do."
Meanwhile, Fulham have lost three of their last six Premier League games (W2 D1), as many as in their previous 12 games in the competition (W5 D4).
Despite matching Wolves' 10 shots, and creating a similar expected goals (1.01 to Wolves' 1.26), Fulham struggled against their clinical opponents, especially while playing with 10 men following Joachim Andersen's injury, with no substitutions left.
"It was really weird game. That's the Premier League," Marco Silva told BBC Match of the Day. "It's easy for us to say we were really unfortunate. It was a situation [where we had to] play with 10 men without a red card.
"We can't just be looking at the score. The two goals when we were with 10 men didn't reflect the game, in my opinion."
Clement 'cannot ask much more' from Rangers despite Dundee United draw
Philippe Clement was left frustrated following Rangers' 1-1 draw with Dundee United, but acknowledged he "cannot ask much more" from his players.
The Gers dropped their first points at Ibrox in the Scottish Premiership season, and could trail leaders Celtic by 11 if the Hoops beat Hearts later on Saturday.
Sam Dalby's 36th-minute header put the visitors in front, though Vaclav Cerny's smart finish levelled the contest midway through the second half.
The hosts pushed for the winning goal, with Ianis Hagi and Robin Propper denied by United goalkeeper Jack Walton later on.
Yet, despite over 70% of the possession and nine shots on target to their opponents' one, Clement's side were forced to settle for a share of the spoils.
"We need to reward ourselves, and we need to play like we played in the second half, 90 minutes long," he told Rangers TV. "Like that, you strangle teams like you did in the past, and that's the football I want to see.
"I cannot say anything about commitment in the second half, the team pushed until the last seconds to score a winner, and the goalkeeper made some excellent saves. The team was not rewarded in that way.
"It's frustrating to lose points in a game where you face one shot on target, and it's a goal. Last season, we won these games and, now, you lose points, so we need to get back to the level of before.
"They fought until the end. We had really good opportunities. You cannot ask much more, only to score the second goal. Then, you have a totally different feeling after the game."
Meanwhile, Jack Butland was left to rue what might have been, with the goalkeeper insisting he and his team-mates must up their game.
"It can't take until the second half to get going," he said. "We've got to be better. We've given away too many easy goals against teams that are just looking to hang onto something.
"It's not a great result at all. It feels like a loss. These games have got to be wins. It's not what the fans deserve from the game today. We need to do much more."
Villa 'deserved more' from draw with Palace, says Emery
Unai Emery suggested Aston Villa "deserved more" than a point after coming from behind twice to draw 2-2 with Crystal Palace at Villa Park.
The result sees Villa's winless streak extend to six matches across all competitions (D2 L4), equalling their longest run without a victory under Emery (also six in April-May 2024).
After Ismaila Sarr's early opener, the hosts needed Ollie Watkins to pull them level before Ross Barkley cancelled out Justin Devenny's strike with 13 minutes to go.
Yet having seen a penalty saved and hitting the woodwork, Emery felt his team should have got more from the match.
"We deserved more, but we made some mistakes that we need to correct. We had chances to score, we came back. The penalty was a key moment," he told Sky Sports.
"In the second half, we pushed and felt close to scoring, but we have to accept one point."
Youri Tielemans had the opportunity to put Villa ahead on the stroke of half-time from the spot but placed his shot at a saveable height for Dean Henderson, who guessed the right way.
It allowed Palace to break down the other end through Sarr, who squared to Devenny to send the visitors into the lead just before the break.
Emery admitted his players are "concerned" about their vulnerability in transitions and rued the mistakes being made.
"Here at home, we were thinking how strong we were, winning 15 games in a row and how we can recover confidence, impose our gameplan. We are losing some opportunities. We are conceding a few chances for the opponent and making some mistakes," he told reporters.
"We are not getting three points but deserving here at home to win. We played well against Arsenal, Bournemouth, Man United and here. But we are making mistakes and they are punishing us.
"Overall we had more chances, we dominated the match. We have to correct matches where we play like we did today and get more points."
Villa led their opponents comfortably on expected goals (xG), accruing a total of 3.18 compared to Palace's 1.27.
The visitors also had key players Eberechi Eze and Adam Wharton out, leading Oliver Glasner to be pleased with his side's fighting display.
"I'm very proud of the team's performance. We’re missing some key players in attack, but we still scored two amazing goals," he said.
"I'm very proud how they played together, worked together, fight together and believed in getting a point here.
"Overall, it was a good performance for us, and we go home very pleased with the point."
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