Ryan Bowman’s second-half strike was enough to earn Shrewsbury a 1-0 win over Cheltenham and give new boss Matty Taylor the perfect start.

The Shrews skipper pounced in the 50th minute after Luke Southwood had to dive at full stretch to parry Ben Williams’ header towards his own goal following Jordan Shipley’s cross.

Bowman had shot wide a minute earlier after a long clearance from Marko Marosi caught out the away defence.

Three Cheltenham staff, including director of football Micky Moore, left for Shrewsbury this summer, meaning there was an extra edge building up to the opening-day clash, but the game did not come to life until late in the first period.

Daniel Udoh turned a low ball in from Shipley over for Shrewsbury and at the other end after Liam Sercombe’s shot was saved, Rob Street nearly netted against his former loan club but Morgan Feeney’s fine challenge denied him.

After Bowman’s goal, Udoh – back from a 12-month ACL injury absence – forced Southwood into a block at his near post in the 75th minute as Shrewsbury nearly made it 2-0, but they had done enough.

Stevenage started the new Sky League One season with a 1-0 victory at fellow promoted side Northampton.

Boro’s first ever win at Sixfields came courtesy of Carl Piergianni’s scrappy late goal as Steve Evans’ side began life in the third tier with three well-deserved points.

Cobblers hit the frame of the goal twice in the space of three minutes early on as Taye Ashby-Hammond tipped Patrick Brough’s shot against the crossbar before Tyreece Simpson found the base of a post from an acute angle.

Stevenage enjoyed a good spell in the middle of the first half, with Ben Thompson sidefooting wide and Aaron Pressley volleying past the far post, and they continued to edge proceedings after the restart but clear-cut chances were few and far between.

The visitors failed to hit the target with a number of long-range efforts, but they increased the pressure and eventually took the lead with nine minutes remaining through Piergianni’s close-range finish.

Jordan Roberts was denied by Lee Burge before Marc Leonard nearly rescued a point for the Cobblers, with his stoppage-time free-kick dropping narrowly wide.

Cambridge started their Sky Bet League One campaign with a 2-0 victory over Oxford.

The hosts moved ahead after 15 minutes when Saikou Janneh’s shot was spilled by goalkeeper James Beadle, allowing Jack Lankester to fire home the rebound.

Janneh played a major role in Cambridge’s second goal 13 minutes later, producing an exhilarating run down the left touchline before providing a perfect cross which was nodded in from close range by debutant forward Gassan Ahadme.

The momentum could have been turned in the final seconds of the half when Josh McEachran played a short free-kick to Cameron Brannagan, but his effort from outside the box was pushed away by Jack Stevens.

Janneh headed a James Brophy cross straight at Beadle, while at the other end Brannagan’s fierce shot went only narrowly wide on the hour.

Stevens produced a big save 14 minutes from the end, keeping out a Stan Mills header from point-blank range, to help Mark Bonner’s side make it five years unbeaten on the opening day of the season.

Shayne Lavery’s first-half brace gave Blackpool an opening-day 2-0 win over Burton in League One.

The opener came 19 minutes in as a neat passing move eventually broke down but when Albie Morgan’s pass rebounded off a defender’s legs, it fell kindly for Lavery to fire home.

Blackpool should have had a second moments later, but Morgan shot wide with the unmarked Lavery screaming for a pass to give him a simple tap-in.

Lavery’s second goal came from his harrying of Brewers centre-back Sam Hughes, who surrendered possession too easily, the striker showing great composure to lob stranded keeper Jamal Blackman.

Burton posed precious little threat in the first half though Joe Powell almost pulled one back in stoppage time, Dan Grimshaw palming his shot over.

Lavery blew a chance to complete his hat-trick 10 minutes after the break, skewing horribly wide.

At the other end Josh Gordon had Burton’s best chance but a deflection took his finish wide and, with little else to trouble them, Blackpool eased to a comfortable victory.

There is a strange twist of fate about the fact it was a trip to New York that saw Mark Bonner recharge after another rollercoaster season with Cambridge.

If events last September had gone differently, Bonner would have called Rotherham’s New York Stadium home but after he turned down their approach, the 37-year-old embarked on the latest dramatic chapter in his story with boyhood club Cambridge.

Seven points from safety ahead of an April Fools’ Day trip to Port Vale, no one was laughing but the U’s won five of their last nine League One matches to pull off a great escape despite having one of the lowest budgets in the division.

So, ahead of his fifth season in charge of Cambridge, would League One’s longest-serving head coach accept a drama-free upcoming campaign?

Bonner told the PA news agency: “We don’t want it to be dull! We want drama because that is what it is all about. We want our support base to keep growing and people to keep engaging with the club. We’ve done a great job with that over the last three-and-a-half years.

“We have created some unbelievable moments and we want to try create that again this season. We certainly want a smooth and successful season, but I don’t want it to be a dull one, that’s for sure.”

Whether it is Bonner or the Cambridge way, they don’t do straightforward.

Bonner first coached at the club in 2002 and 18 years later – after nine seasons in non-league – he took over the first-team on an interim basis with relegation out of the English Football League a possibility.

Four straight wins allayed those fears and he was handed the job permanently in March 2020, but within a week the coronavirus outbreak had turned into a pandemic and he waited six months to take charge of his first official match.

What followed was drama of the best kind with promotion secured on the final day after a 3-0 win over Grimsby with supporters gathered outside the Abbey Stadium to celebrate due to it being the behind-closed-doors era.

More than 6,000 turned up to watch Cambridge host rivals Oxford in their first match back in the third tier since 2002 and the U’s finished in 14th along with producing an FA Cup giant-killing with a 1-0 win at Eddie Howe’s Newcastle.

Last season produced more challenges and despite good performances, a run of one win in 15 league matches saw Bonner’s men destined for relegation.

Cambridge bucked the trend to keep faith with their manager, who responded with 13 points from 24 before a final-day victory over Forest Green, coupled with Morecambe and MK Dons’ failure to win, secured survival in the most dramatic of circumstances.

“If you could write how you stay up, if that is what you’re fighting for, you would do it like that,” Bonner reflected.

“The game itself was fairly comfortable. Atmosphere first half was amazing, all four sides of the stadium full of Cambridge fans, unbelievable support. But second half no one is singing or watching our game, they are watching their phones seeing what is happening elsewhere. That includes the whole of our dugout.

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“It is completely out of your hands and a horrible situation to be in. Our game finished and there was a long time left in one of the other games, but once that finished and it went for us, it was a nice moment of relief.

“It was the end of a cycle because a lot of our players moved on, but the majority of them played their part in an incredible era in our club’s history and I think their story deserved to end like that.”

Bonner’s own journey with Cambridge shows no sign of stopping soon.

The former U’s season-ticket holder admitted doubts crept in last season, but he retained belief in the squad and repaid the backing of owner Paul Barry and sporting director Ben Strang.

And the trio alongside other key local figures involved at Cambridge are keen to build a lasting legacy, with the Abbey Stadium bought back while work has started on a new training base alongside desires to become a top-half team.

“No one is human if they say they have no doubts because that’s a natural thing when it is going against you, but we had good players and brilliant togetherness and spirit within the team,” Bonner insisted.

“So, that (belief) was shook but never broken. The wheels would have fallen off quite a few other clubs in the sense of not being able to recover from those results or just huge change, managerial changes, staff changes, you see all that every season at clubs.

“But the stability we’ve built and togetherness we’ve built just shone through in that period.

“I would like to hope we get some respect for setting a bit of a different precedent and if more clubs were like that, maybe the ability to build something over time would become more common.

“There is a perception in football that one person is responsible for everything, one person builds a team, but we’re a bit different.

“Three seasons at this level for the first time in decades, most successful team we’ve had for decades, that is not a fluke firstly but it is also not down to one person, it is down to a whole host of people. We have a lot of Cambridge people driving the club and hopefully that pays off for us.

“It has certainly been really unique and a big contributor to us in the last three years, but we want it to be that way for another three years. We know how tough that is but that’s the motivation we have all got.”

Republic of Ireland midfielder Jason Knight has completed a move to Bristol City from Derby.

Knight has penned a four-year deal at Ashton Gate for an undisclosed fee, reported to be in the region of £2million.

The 22-year-old, who joined Derby as a 16-year-old, has 20 senior international appearances and was also linked with Sky Bet Championship newcomers Ipswich as well as Stoke.

“It’s been a long time coming behind-the-scenes trying to get it sorted, but I’m happy to be here and I’m looking forward to the season ahead,” Knight said on the Bristol City website.

“The club have shown a real eagerness to get me here, which is always nice as a footballer – to be wanted.

“I know (Bristol City manager) Nigel (Pearson) from his time at Derby and I’ve had a good number of chats with him. He sees me as a big part of the plans going forward.

“I’ll give everything every time I put on the shirt; for the fans, the club, and the boys I’m playing with – full of energy and full of emotion.”

Barnsley have appointed Neill Collins as their new head coach on a two-year deal.

The former Leeds and Sheffield United defender arrives at Oakwell after Michael Duff left for Swansea.

Last season, Duff took the Tykes to the Sky Bet League One play-off final, where they lost against Sheffield Wednesday at Wembley.

Collins, 39, moves back to South Yorkshire having enjoyed a successful spell in the United States at the Tampa Bay Rowdies.

“I am absolutely thrilled to be stepping back into the EFL and even more so to be joining a club of this stature,” Collins said on Barnsley’s website.

“Everything I do will be aimed at repaying the faith shown in me by the owners and (chief executive) Khaled (El-Ahmad) and of course giving the Barnsley faithful a team that they can be proud of.

“I am fortunate to be working with a squad that just achieved a play-off final, but understand there is a lot of work to be done if we want to replicate that success and go a step further.

“I can’t wait to get started and work on getting this club back to where it belongs.”

Collins added: “I would like to say a huge thanks to the Tampa Bay Rowdies for supporting me in exploring this opportunity. Without all the staff and players’ incredible hard work this would not have been possible.”

Barnsley chief executive Khaled El-Ahmad is confident Collins can take the club forward as they look to challenge for promotion back to the Championship.

“We are happy to be able to bring Neill to Oakwell to work with our staff and continue upon the foundation we implemented at the start of the last campaign,” El-Ahmad said.

“The primary focus is now allowing Neill to settle in and begin to build relationships with the staff and players at Oakwell and commence preparations for the upcoming season.”

Fleetwood will continue to go about the club’s normal business following the sentencing of former chairman Andy Pilley.

Pilley, who stepped down as chairman and director of the League One club during May after being convicted on four counts of fraud, appeared at Preston Crown Court for sentencing on Tuesday.

He was found guilty of two counts of fraudulent trading, fraud by false representation and being involved in the acquisition, retention, use or control of the proceeds of fraudulently mis-sold energy contracts.

Also chairman of BES Utilities, Pilley had been involved in High Court litigation with Cheshire West and Chester Council, but lost a civil court fight over investigating allegations of mis-selling.

At the Crown Court sentencing, the 53-year-old, who had been was remanded in custody, was jailed for a total of 13 years and was also disqualified from being a director for 13 years.

Pilley had been the chairman and owner of Fleetwood for 20 years and overseen the club’s rise from non-league status to the English Football League.

Fleetwood, who finished 13th last season, had already announced the club were in discussions surrounding a change of ownership and control which remain ongoing.

A statement on Tuesday afternoon read: “Fleetwood Town Football Club acknowledges the sentencing in the court case involving former club chairman, Andy Pilley.

“The club would like to reiterate convictions are against individuals and not Fleetwood Town FC, or any of the businesses associated with them, and will continue to operate as normal.

“Fleetwood Town remain in communication with the EFL and will be making no further comment at this time.”

Duncan Ferguson has left his post as head coach of Forest Green.

The Gloucestershire club appointed the 51-year-old Scot in January but he was unable to keep them in League One, with Rovers winning just six of their 46 games.

“It had been a privilege to work with Dunc these last few months and this was a very difficult decision to make,” Rovers chairman Dale Vince said.

“I’m grateful to Dunc for joining us in such difficult circumstances and for all of his hard work at the club.

“But I feel this is overall the right decision for everyone and I wish Dunc well in his next coaching role. We are parting as friends. You can’t ask for much more than that.”

Forest Green have previously demonstrated a desire to steer away from the conventional in their recruitment of head coaches.

In May 2021 Vince told the PA news agency that a female coach working in the Women’s Super League had been a standout candidate to become the club’s new boss until it emerged her CV had been put forward without her knowledge.

Cheltenham have signed veteran defender Curtis Davies following his release by Derby.

It was announced in May that the 38-year-old would leave the Rams at the end of the 2022/23 season after six years at the club.

He moved to Pride Park in 2017 following Hull’s relegation from the Premier League, having played more than 170 times in the top flight for Aston Villa, West Brom and Birmingham as well as the Tigers.

He was part of the Hull side that narrowly lost the FA Cup final to Arsenal in 2014, scoring to put his side 2-0 up in the first half before they succumbed to a 3-2 extra-time defeat at Wembley.

Before that his two-and-a-half years at Birmingham saw him play alongside current Cheltenham boss Wade Elliott, with whom he will now team up in League One as they look to build on last season’s 16th-place finish.

“It feels good,” Davies told the club’s website. “It’s an exciting time for me, I never though I’d be able to get a new challenge like this at my age.

“I haven’t come here for a jolly-up. I haven’t come here to just wave goodbye to my career and down tools.

“I want to try and achieve something this year and I’ll be trying my very best to do that for Cheltenham Town.”

The Robins will embark on their third straight season in League One following promotion in 2021, with 15th- and 16th-place finishes in their last two campaigns representing the club’s highest ever placings in the English football pyramid.

Shrewsbury have confirmed the appointment of Matt Taylor as head coach in place of Steve Cotterill, who left the club earlier this month.

The 41-year-old Taylor made over 300 appearances in the Premier League during spells with Portsmouth, Bolton, West Ham and Burnley.

He began his coaching career at junior levels with Luton and Tottenham before a brief stint in charge of Walsall, whom he left early in 2022.

Taylor told Shrewsbury’s official website: “I’m very aware the football club has a successful playing style – something that has worked when you look at the finish last season.

“I hope to allow the players to really express themselves. There are some exceptional footballers here and part of my role is to give them a platform and a structure so they can go and express themselves and entertain our loyal supporters.”

Cotterill guided the League One side to 12th place, their best finish for five seasons, at the end of the last campaign, despite winning only one of their last 10 games.

Hibernian have announced the signing of left-back Jordan Obita on a two-year deal.

The 29-year-old has made the switch to Scotland after leaving Wycombe at the end of the last campaign, with Hibs holding the option of extending his deal by a further year.

Obita will move away from English football for the first time after making over 300 career appearances, which included 10 years with Reading, where he was also named their Players’ Player of the Year.

He featured 34 times for Wycombe in the last campaign in Sky Bet League One, as they fell short of the play-offs by eight points.

Hibs manager Lee Johnson told the club website: “We’re excited to bring a player of Jordan’s experience to the football club.

“He gives us extra options all the way up the left hand-side and his ability from set-plays will add an extra dimension to the squad. We look forward to working with him.”

The three teams relegated from the Premier League have been handed a seemingly-comfortable start to the new season after Thursday’s release of the new campaign’s EFL fixtures.

Leicester, Leeds and Southampton will begin life back in the Championship under new managers with their sights set on an immediate return, and the fixture computer looks to have been kind – at least in the early stages.

The PA news agency has analysed the three divisions’ schedules using an aggregation of leading bookmakers’ odds and identified the most notable runs.

Settling-in period

Leicester boss Enzo Maresca faces Coventry in his first game in charge and, while the Sky Blues reached last season’s play-off final, they are ranked only 11th in the aggregated promotion odds this time around.

Matches against Huddersfield, Cardiff and Rotherham, all ranked in the bottom six, and 16th-ranked Hull follow before they face fellow-relegated side Southampton in game six.

Leeds, who are currently managerless, open up at Elland Road against Cardiff – always a fiery encounter but representing opposition ranked 19th by the bookmakers and fancied to battle against relegation.

Birmingham follow with West Brom the toughest opposition in an opening six games against teams averaging 14.2 in the projected league positions.

Saints, who appointed Russell Martin on Wednesday, have fifth-ranked Norwich as well as the Foxes in their opening six games but also two promoted sides – Sheffield Wednesday, in the season’s opening game on August 4, and Plymouth – as well as QPR.

Leicester will also fancy their chances in the run-in, with relegation-candidates Birmingham, Plymouth and Preston in their last six games. Leeds and Saints have things tougher and meet at Elland Road on the final day.

Fast start vital for Hornets

Watford, also under new management yet again in the form of Valerien Ismael, have the easiest first six opponents on paper, with QPR, Plymouth and Birmingham in the bottom four of the combined odds and Stoke, Blackburn and Coventry also outside the play-off places.

The Hornets have the only harder run-in on paper than Southampton, though, and it stretches to their final eight games, facing Leeds, West Brom, Preston, Ipswich, Southampton, Hull, Sunderland and Middlesbrough.

Martin’s old club Swansea have West Brom and Coventry as the only projected top-half finishers among their first eight, which also include Birmingham, Preston, Bristol City, Cardiff, QPR and Wednesday.

The toughest start on paper belongs to the Sky Blues as they seek to bounce back from their Wembley heartbreak. Mark Robins’ side face Leicester, Middlesbrough, Swansea, Sunderland and Watford before things start to ease up with Hull, Cardiff, Huddersfield and QPR back-to-back.

Their first six are matched for difficulty by QPR’s, with Cardiff the only let-up in a run also featuring Watford, Ipswich, Saints, Boro and Sunderland.

Posh problems?

Promotion-hopefuls Peterborough have the toughest start on paper in League One, with five of their first six opponents projected to finish in the top eight.

Reading, Barnsley and favourites Derby are tipped to finish above fifth-ranked Posh, with Charlton and Portsmouth also in the play-off picture and only Northampton seemingly offering much respite.

Burton and Cheltenham – both among the relegation favourites – face four and five of the projected top eight in their respective first eight games, while Shrewsbury’s first six, by contrast, includes both those teams plus Stevenage, Fleetwood and Carlisle, all ranked in the bottom seven.

Projected strugglers Cambridge and Carlisle have tough run-ins, with the late-season fixtures seeming to favour Cheltenham if they can stay in touch, while Derby have the friendliest run-in on paper of the promotion favourites.

Dragons decider

Three of the last four teams promoted into League Two are the favourites to go up again as this term’s top three, with last season’s risers Wrexham and Notts County sandwiching Stockport.

Intriguingly, the latter visit big-spending Wrexham on the final day with promotion potentially at stake – providing an echo of the Dragons’ National League meeting with Notts County in April when Ben Foster’s last-minute penalty save went a long way to deciding first place.

Crawley, tipped for relegation, have the toughest opening six games in the entire EFL with Bradford, Salford, MK Dons, Gillingham, Swindon and Stockport’s projected league positions averaging out to sixth.

Spare a thought too for Newport, who face projected top-seven finishers Notts County, Gills, MK Dons, Mansfield and Stockport in succession from games 15-19 – and then have to do it all again, in the same order, in games 33-37.

Southampton will take on Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough in the opening match of the new Sky Bet Championship season on Friday, August 4.

Beginning life under new boss Russell Martin, the relegated Saints face a Wednesday outfit back in the second tier after winning the League One play-offs last month and currently managerless after parting company with Darren Moore.

Leicester, under new boss Enzo Maresca, and Leeds – the two other clubs to have dropped down from the Premier League – kick off their campaigns two days later at home against defeated play-off finalists Coventry and Cardiff respectively.

The other game that day sees Sunderland entertain promoted Ipswich, while League One champions Plymouth open by hosting Huddersfield the day before.

Southampton’s first home game of the campaign will be against Norwich the following Saturday, when Leicester travel to Huddersfield and Leeds are at Birmingham.

The final day of the regular Championship season on May 4 will see Leeds and Southampton go head to head at St Mary’s, while Leicester host Blackburn.

The opening round of League One fixtures on August 5 includes Wigan, who finished bottom of the Championship last term, playing at Derby as they start their season on minus eight points after being penalised over payment of wages.

Fellow relegated sides Reading and Blackpool begin at home against Peterborough and Burton respectively, while Barnsley, who missed out on promotion to Wednesday, welcome Port Vale to Oakwell.

In League Two, the return of Wrexham – owned by Hollywood duo Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney – to the Football League, starts with a home clash against MK Dons.

Thursday’s release of the new season’s EFL fixtures also shows National League play-off winners Notts County beginning their own comeback campaign by playing Sutton away.

Swansea are progressing with talks for Michael Duff to become their new manager.

Discussions are on-going for the Barnsley boss to succeed Russell Martin in Wales.

Swansea have made an approach to the Tykes but no deal has been struck between the clubs yet, the PA news agency understands.

The Swans, who finished 10th in the Championship last season, want the ex-Cheltenham boss with Martin poised to move to Southampton.

Saints are close to officially announcing Martin as their new manager after the 37-year-old agreed to move to St Mary’s last month.

Southampton and Swansea have disagreed over the amount of compensation which should be paid.

They have been haggling over £700,000 with Martin’s release clause for Championship clubs and Premier League sides different.

The Saints felt they should pay the smaller amount, around £1.25million, after their relegation from the top flight while the Swans have been holding out for £2million.

Former Swansea assistant Chris Davies, who is expected to join Ange Postecoglou’s coaching staff at Tottenham, was linked while the club held an interest in Birmingham boss John Eustace.

But Duff has emerged as the No.1 candidate after just a year at Oakwell having guided them to the League One play-offs.

The Tykes lost 1-0 in the last minute of extra time to Sheffield Wednesday in the final at Wembley.

Former Burnley midfielder Duff spent four years as Cheltenham manager, winning League Two in 2021 – the club’s first league title in their history – before cementing the Robins’ place in League One and joining Barnsley last summer, finishing fourth last season.