Wigan secured a thoroughly deserved 3-0 victory over struggling 10-man Fleetwood at the DW Stadium.

The home side went ahead inside four minutes when Tom Pearce supplied Jordan Jones, who cut in from the flank and fired the ball past Jay Lynch.

It was 2-0 to Wigan just past the half-hour mark when Stephen Humphrys worked a short corner well and crossed for Sean Clare to bundle the ball home off goalkeeper Lynch.

Only brilliant goalkeeping from Lynch prevented Jones scoring his second goal after an incisive Wigan move.

But the game was effectively over as a contest in first-half stoppage time when Fleetwood’s Joshua Earl picked up a second booking for simulation in the box, leaving his side down to 10 men.

Wigan added the third goal their dominance warranted just after the hour, Pearce curling a lovely free-kick into the roof of the net after on-loan Fulham forward Martial Godo had been fouled on the edge of the box.

Sam Hoskins scored the winner for the second time in four days as Northampton edged to a 2-1 victory at Blackpool.

Jordan Rhodes headed in his 11th goal of the season to cancel out Kieron Bowie’s opener, but the Seasiders failed to back up Saturday’s stunning win at Portsmouth.

Northampton’s Marc Leonard came close in the opening stages when he shot from range and forced Dan Grimshaw to tip behind.

The hosts strung together a good move that ended with Jake Beesley playing in Karamoko Dembele, who was stopped in his tracks by Leonard’s well-timed tackle.

Blackpool’s front two of Beesley and Rhodes both had sights of goal, but could only hit straight at Max Thompson.

Bowie put Northampton ahead 30 minutes in, cooly slotting past Grimshaw and into the corner.

Rhodes put Blackpool back on level terms on 65 minutes when he glanced Kenny Dougall’s cross beyond the reach of Thompson.

Blackpool pushed for a winner but they were caught out as Hoskins intercepted James Husband’s back pass before tucking it away.

Oxford denied table-topping Bolton a ninth straight win to give their new boss Des Buckingham a point in his first home game in charge, which ended goalless.

But Wanderers had the satisfaction of keeping a clean sheet for the seventh game in a row in league and cup games to equal a 123-year-old club record.

Oxford were hoping to give Buckingham a first win and bounce back from a surprise 2-0 defeat at lowly Cheltenham last Saturday.

They had skipper Elliott Moore back after suspension at centre-half, and he made a big difference, several times cutting out dangerous situations.

Stanley Mills should have put United in front just before the break when Billy Bodin played him in – but Nathan Baxter superbly diverted his shot for a corner.

Cameron Brannagan then curled a 30-yard effort over Baxter, only to see it hit the top of the bar.

Brannagan almost caught Baxter off his line at a free-kick with a brilliant effort, yet Baxter was equal to it, scampering back to turn it over the bar.

Wanderers stepped up a gear in the second half and Dion Charles skied a very presentable chance 14 yards out and then saw a close-range drive well blocked by James Beadle.

The U’s keeper also kept out Jack Iredale’s angled blast, while substitute Jon Dadi Bodvarsson squandered a good opportunity at the far post.

Bolton almost snatched victory in stoppage time with George Thomason firing in a shot from the edge of the box that Beadle saved to his right on the line.

Alfie May scored twice against his former club Cheltenham as Charlton extended their unbeaten league run to four matches.

The forward is on 17 goals in all competitions for the Addicks after converting two penalties to end the Robins’ own three-game unbeaten sequence.

Cheltenham took a 10th-minute lead, Liam Sercombe’s cross from the right met by the unmarked Will Goodwin to head emphatically home.

May levelled soon after from the penalty spot, drilling past Luke Southwood after centre-back Lewis Freestone tripped Miles Leaburn.

Town were indebted to goalkeeper Southwood for smart saves from Slobodan Tedic and Tennai Watson before the break while Corey Blackett-Taylor also struck the inside of the right upright.

Cheltenham went close in the 50th minute but George Lloyd’s header just cleared the bar.

Tedic squandered a big chance for the Addicks and then Southwood used his legs to keep out Blackett-Taylor’s shot.

But May kept his cool to beat Southwood again from the spot in the 86th minute after Will Ferry handled Tyreece Campbell’s cross.

Michael Skubala’s impressive start as Lincoln boss continued with a 3-0 League One win at Cambridge.

The Imps took the lead after 16 minutes when Dylan Duffy was hauled down in the box by Jordan Cousins, allowing Daniel Mandroiu to fire home from the penalty spot.

Duffy produced a surging forward run before shooting at Jack Stevens but – on his 21st birthday – Duffy did then double Lincoln’s advantage just after the half-hour mark.

The hosts cleared a corner but failed to close Duffy down and his powerful shot from the edge of the box went under Stevens on its way into the net.

Cambridge struggled to threaten a comeback until late on, waiting for the 77th minute for teenage substitute Glenn McConnell to fire an effort over the crossbar.

Lukas Bornhoft Jensen pushed away a Jack Lankester header and then made a fine save to tip Adam May’s deflected drive wide.

Lincoln then made the game safe with five minutes left when Hakeeb Adelakun’s corner found its way to Jack Vale to turn in.

Ruben Selles saluted the loyal Royals who stuck by his side after Reading ended a 378-day wait for an away league win with a 2-1 triumph at Wycombe.

Former Chairboy Lewis Wing scored the winning goal four minutes before half-time after Killian Phillips had cancelled out Sam Smith’s opener.

The under-fire boss believes his side were deserving of the three points and looked forward to brighter days after cutting the gap to League One safety.

“I know the fans have been suffering during the entire season for a lot of different reasons, one of them being us not being able to win as much away,” said Selles.

“I’m happy for them. They have always been supportive of the boys. It’s always a pleasure to have that amount of fans away from home, get a victory away from home and for the boys to celebrate together.

“We were the best team on the pitch for 100 minutes. The team is growing and I’m very proud of the players and how they played the game.”

The league’s bottom side fielded Nelson Abbey, 20, and Tyler Bindon, 18, at the heart of their defence, with full-back Andy Yiadom the only outfield player over the age of 30.

But they acquitted themselves well and saw out a victory which will have banished memories of their last away league fixture – a gut-wrenching late 3-2 defeat against Shrewsbury.

“We have a couple of young centre-backs growing with the games, getting experience with the league and we had a plan from the very beginning,” said Selles.

“We knew after the second goal, if we started to go lower and lower, we would get in trouble. But the team continued applying the pressure with the high-line.

“We were not defending for 50 minutes. It was a pleasure we could keep a good team like our opponent today away from our goal in the second half.”

Wycombe boss Matt Bloomfield was left to bemoan a growing injury list as his side’s winless league run stretched to six matches.

“It isn’t easy,” said Bloomfield. “We’ve got nine to 10 injuries and some big players are missing.

“It feels like we’re making at least one or two changes regularly due to injury, which is tough, but ultimately we have to be better than what we were.

“Competing for the second balls, running, heading, tackling, those little bits that go into a performance that are actually massive.

“I’ve said many times this season how proud I am of the performance but today wasn’t one of those days.

“We were poor and we have to make sure we’re ready to bounce back on Tuesday evening against Barnsley.”

Paul Warne was glad Tyrese Fornah ignored him and set up Derby’s winning goal in a 2-1 League One victory over Bristol Rovers.

The midfielder delivered the pass that Nathaniel Mendez-Laing put away in the last minute to take Derby into the top six.

It ended Rovers’ six-game unbeaten run in all competitions but for long periods the visitors looked like frustrating Derby.

In a scrappy first half, the away side came closest to scoring when a Grant Ward shot was touched onto the post by Joe Wildsmith.

Mendez-Laing produced a moment of quality Derby needed in the 66th minute when he went past Josh Grant on the right and whipped in a low cross which Jack Hunt could only turn into his own net.

Derby missed chances to score a second and Rovers looked to have earned a point in the 87th minute when former Rams striker Chris Martin headed in an Antony Evans free-kick.

But Fornah had other ideas and three minutes later, picked out Mendez-Laing who fired a low shot from the centre of the box past Matthew Cox.

Warne said: “He’s (Fornah) been on international duty. It was good to have him back and he looked as if he had a bit of a spring in his step.

“He came on today and was a real force. The first goal, if you watch it back you’ll see him running into the box like an absolute whippet and if Jack Hunt hadn’t connected, he probably would have scored.

“For the second goal – in fairness to him – I’m glad he didn’t listen to me because I wanted him to give it to Nat (Mendez-Laing) straight away and he didn’t.

“I’m thinking ‘what’s he doing’ and then he gives it back to Nat and I’m thinking ‘that’s what he’s doing, I get it’! He was excellent and played a big part in our win.

“We changed the shape at half-time. Created enough chances to win but if you’ve only got one goal, you’re always susceptible to an equaliser so then to get a late winner is great.”

Rovers interim manager Andy Mangan said: “It’s tough. First half, I thought everything went to plan, we frustrated them, hit them on the counter and had chances.

“I’m gutted for the lads because I think they deserved more, I thought everything we planned came to fruition. Mistakes happen in games but we’ve got to cut that out.

“But I thought we had some really good moments and I think that’s probably up there with the best performance since I’ve been in charge.

“Unfortunately, we’ve made a couple of mistakes but there were loads of moments we can take great confidence from.”

Blackpool boss Neil Critchley said ‘belief in the group is showing’ after his team ended Portsmouth’s 27-match unbeaten record in Sky Bet League One with a 4-0 win at Fratton Park.

Former Pompey loanee Owen Dale, Jack Beesley, CJ Hamilton and Albie Morgan scored the goals as Pompey, who had midfielder Joe Morrell dismissed, were knocked off the top of the table by Bolton.

Critchley said: “It’s a big win for us, coming to the leaders and getting four goals.

“The team was selected to go at Portsmouth and get the win. Even after we went ahead, you could see Pompey’s quality in how they came back at us.

“We’ve got the second early in the second half, and then we’ve seen them go down to 10 and gone on to get two more.

“You could say things have gone slightly for us today, but we played bravely for the whole game.

“We had to defend the goal very well, which we did.

“The belief in the group is showing after a busy summer, and it’s showing on the training ground.”

The Seasiders took the lead in the ninth minute as Hamilton crossed for the unmarked Dale to find the net.

Pompey should have equalised on 23 minutes, but new signings Josh Martin could not beat goalkeeper Dan Grimshaw in a one-on-one situation.

Grimshaw then produced a stunning push out from Marvin Ekpiteta’s sliced attempted clearance a few minutes later.

Blackpool made it two 11 minutes into the second half as Karamoko Dembele’s shot was deflected in by Jake Beesley.

Things got worse for Pompey when skipper Morrell received a second yellow card and was sent off in the 64th minute.

Hamilton got a third 16 for the visitors minutes from time and substitute Morgan sealed the rout with three minutes remaining.

Pompey boss John Mousinho felt Morrell’s dismissal was a key moment in the game.

He said: “The result is obviously very disappointing, and I think there is loads to pick out of the game.

“You’ve probably got to look at it as two separate games really. What happened before the red card and after it.

“We responded well to going behind, and I said to the lads at half-time that we played pretty well.

“We created some chances that we didn’t put away, along with a couple of good saves from their goalkeeper, who we didn’t work enough.

“We were slow to get at it in the second half. Their second goal was deflected off of Beesley, who was blatantly offside, but the officials said he wasn’t interfering.

“I thought Joe’s sending off was correct. He needs to stay on his feet, and I’ve told him that.”

Boss Andy Crosby wants Port Vale to “demand more of each other” after his side lost 2-1 to Shrewsbury to remain without a league win in over two months.

The Valiants’ last victory in the league was in the middle of September, beating Northampton 1-0 at home, and it is now 10 games without a win.

After securing their place in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup and the second round of the FA Cup, Crosby wants their cup form to translate into the league.

He said: “We are talking about another performance with control of the ball, domination of the ball, getting into really good areas of the pitch, number of shots, but we need to be more resilient as a group.

“We have to demand more of each other as a group because we did a lot of preparation coming into the game on how they could hurt us and it would probably be a direct ball or a counter attack or set play.

“We go in 1-0 down at half-time and we re-emphasised that point that their next goal from how they played first half would be from one of those reasons.

“We get punished three minutes into the second half, which is really disappointing.

“I thought the reaction was good; we continued to dominate the ball and we created opportunities from set plays and had a number of shots and shots blocked.

“We worked there keeper but at the end of the day we have lost another game and it has been a similar game to what we had previously in this run of games.”

Shrewsbury boss Matt Taylor was pleased with the response of his players.

He said: “Every result we have had this season, I would argue, has been hard-earned.

“It feels really sweet. I questioned the players very honestly and openly during the week and what they have done is what they have done recently at home a lot and found a way to win a game of football.

“If I look at the aspects of the game in terms of did we keep the ball well enough, no, but we defended our box apart from that one set play really well.

“Unbelievable result at home. I was over the moon for Max Mata to get his goal which was long overdue.

“Hopefully now what that does is give him the opportunity to kick on and get more goals and do what he was brought to the club for. I thought he was really good.

“Dan Udoh, an unbelievable individual goal. He has done that now this season two or three times, so he was really pleased to get the win.

“All credit to Port Vale, they will be disappointed they haven’t got anything from the game from the amount of chances they have had.”

Steve Evans hailed his Stevenage side’s resilience after they overcame injury doubts and travel disruption ahead of their 3-0 win at Fleetwood.

The visitors ran out convincing winners at Highbury thanks to Jamie Reid’s eighth-minute strike and second-half goals from Ben Thompson and Elliot List.

And the performance delighted Evans, especially in light of their far-from-ideal build-up, which included the team bus breaking down on their drive north on Friday.

Evans, who side remain fourth in the table, said: “I thought it was a really good away performance.

“We played some really good football in the first half. We knew we’d have to work hard, but I must admit, as I’m watching the game, I don’t really remember them creating a clear chance that I thought they’d score from.

“There were wide free-kicks and corners that they sent in, but the one thing they weren’t going to do was outmuscle us and bully us, like they do to other teams. They weren’t going to do that to us.

“Our big boys stood strong and got good blocks in when they needed to.

“All three front boys were touch and go before the game – Jordan Roberts and Jamie Reid have both done a warm-up since last Saturday, that’s all they’ve done, warm up with the team on Thursday.

“And when we travelled north yesterday our team coach broke down, so we’ve had all sorts of issues that meant we couldn’t train properly. We had to use our experience and we spoke to Preston, who organised some indoor facilities, so we were still able to get the players’ legs moving.

“So when you consider those factors and that our front three have hardly been on the training ground, it demonstrates what efforts they’ve given us today.”

Fleetwood’s defeat put an end to a six-game unbeaten run and boss Lee Johnson could not hide his disappointment as they missed a chance to climb out of the bottom four.

Despite hitting the bar twice, Johnson urged his side to impose themselves in the early stages of games.

“It was really disappointing performance,” he said. “I can imagine our supporters are scratching their heads.

“Again we’ve taken that punch on the nose in terms of the goal with the first real entry into our box by the opposition and that’s happened far too many times at this club.

“And I don’t think they deserve that to be honest, so it’s my job to find a way of getting the boys going when the atmosphere isn’t like a Blackpool game, in which it’s easy to think forward, play forward and be aggressive in our tempo in those early stages, because we can’t keep giving teams head starts.

“We were all right in the majority of our play today, in our box-to-box play and we were quite fluid in our possession and moving the ball.

“Phoenix Patterson was excellent for us in his dynamism, we just lacked a bit of quality in the final third. On a number of occasions we got in some great areas and couldn’t pick somebody out or we didn’t have the composure at the levels we’ve had in recent weeks.

“We need to show a lot more pitch personality in the early stages of games and I’ve told the two or three players that very strongly.”

Proud Carlisle boss Paul Simpson paid tribute to his side’s battling qualities as they came from behind in front of the club’s new owners to secure a welcome point in a 1-1 draw with Charlton.

Corey Blackett-Taylor put the Addicks on course for an excellent away win with a clinical 54th-minute opener.

But defender Sam Lavelle hauled the hosts level eight minutes later with his first goal for a year to rescue a point at Brunton Park.

“It’s been a fantastic few days with the news that the takeover had been completed,” said Simpson.

“But I’ve said it all along that the football has to be right for the supporters after all the planning that has gone to put things in place.

“I thought the players showed incredible character. Sometimes when there’s a takeover they fall flat on their backs, but we didn’t and we took a point out of the game.

“It could be a really good point to keep us going and keep us in there until we get the cavalry in.”

“We had to accept that Charlton are a very, very good team. They caused us all sorts of problems, particularly for the first part of the game.

“But I thought we were better once I’d shuffled it around when we went from a back five to a back four, we were able to get a little bit more control in the game.”

The point keeps Carlisle in touch with safety as they look to get out of the drop zone.

Simpson added: “We played well in the first half and things didn’t quite drop for us despite getting into good areas. Unfortunately we didn’t get that little bit of luck we were crying out for.

“But in the end I thought it was a really good point – and we got it, probably not through total football, but desire, determination, character and a real will to get something.

“We’re down to a very depleted group at the moment. It’s tough for us at the moment, but we’ve just got to get on with it.”

Charlton remain in mid-table and manager Michael Appleton thought this was a missed opportunity.

“It’s two points lost, we dominated the game,” he said.

“I’m disappointed with the lack of concentration for their goal because I didn’t see them being too much of a threat other than that.

“But it’s one of them, you’ve got to make sure sometimes when you’ve got teams on the rope you finish them off.

“We had a spell of about five or 10 minutes where we looked like we going to score, but we weren’t aggressive enough in that final third.

“Little things like that can be very frustrating, but ultimately it’s another point on the board and we’ve got two home games coming up against Cheltenham and Cambridge, so hopefully we can get maximum points.”

Lincoln manager Michael Skubala praised the mentality of his side after TJ Eyoma struck late to earn the Imps a point against Barnsley.

Barry Cotter and John McAtee both scored in the second half to cancel out Danny Mandroiu’s penalty early on, but Eyoma struck in the 88th minute – his first goal of the season – when a corner caused mayhem in the Barnsley area.

It ensured Skubala avoided defeat in his first home game in charge, having won one and lost one on the road since being appointed earlier this month.

“We’ve got an honest group,” he said. “I think they’re a hard-working group and I think they’re really good in those [difficult] periods.

“They stuck with it, they stuck together and then let’s just keep hold of the ball a little bit better in moments, but I was really pleased with the mentality.”

Skubala saved specific praise for Eyoma, but felt it was a good all-round team performance.

“I thought he (Eyoma) was really solid again today at the back and he’s got on the scoresheet with that goal,” he added.

“I think Danny Mandroiu was good today. I thought a couple of other lads performed really well.

“Jovon (Makama) gave us a really good 60 minutes for his start up there. So yeah I think there were some really positive performances there.

“One thing, maybe we could just have looked after the ball a little bit better.”

Barnsley boss Neill Collins believes his side’s performance was worthy of a win and that they were hard done by with the late equaliser.

“I think we should be celebrating three points based on our performance,” he said.

“To give away a penalty after a really strong start was disappointing, but then after that I thought we controlled the majority of the game.

“It really came to a crescendo when we got the equaliser and then we went ahead.

“So to lose a goal off a set piece is very disappointing, especially when the set piece should never have been in the first place.

“Their player’s headed the ball over the bar and the referee’s decided to give them a corner.

“We need to be better in those moments, but it’s hard to be too critical of our players.”

Captain Jordan Williams’ clumsy challenge on Jack Burroughs gave Mandroiu the opportunity to open the scoring from the penalty spot and Collins would like to see those sort of errors avoided.

“I think the performance was good – it’s just trying to iron out a couple of the details,” he added.

“If we can stop giving penalties away, it’d be a good start.”

Brilliant Bolton handed Exeter their heaviest league defeat for 65 years, but boss Ian Evatt insisted: “The hard work starts here.”

Top scorer Dion Charles bagged a second-half brace in Wanderers’ biggest win since March 1997 – a defeat under pressure Grecians chief Gary Caldwell described as “embarrassing.”

Victory also lifted the Trotters to the League One summit though Evatt refused to get carried away.

“We have finally got to top spot but things only get harder from here,” he said. “We need to go again and step up again.

“We are nowhere near the finished article. There are lots of things to improve on.

“It feels good (being top) but it will only feel really good at the end of this season. We have done nothing yet.

“It’s not about being top in November it’s about finishing top in April.”

Despite playing down the magnitude of Wanderers’ eighth successive win in all competitions Evatt added: “This is the best group I have worked with as a manager professionally as well as personally.

“The togetherness is exceptional. We have always been wanting to do that and everyone has seen we are capable.

“But to go ahead and do it is something we are pleased about. Once we found our rhythm some of the football was scintillating.”

Bolton took 34 minutes to break down Exeter but Jack Iredale and Victor Adeboyejo then scored before the break.

However, the floodgates opened in the second half. Paris Maghoma made it 3-0, Northern Ireland international Charles netted twice in 11 minutes before substitutes Dan Nlundulu and Kyle Dempsey rounded off the Trotters highest win of the Millennium.

Exeter boss Caldwell received a midweek vote of confidence but admitted: “We have to take what is coming.

“I have had great dialogue with board. They know the long-term plan we have. We are in a difficult moment and we have to stay strong and stick together.

“That is the whole football club: the board, the supporters, staff and players

“We know what we are doing moving forward. But in the short-term we have to win a game of football. Hopefully, this is rock bottom and we can start to build up.

“I believe in this group of players but they need to stand up in these difficult moments. It was embarrassing. We let the club down and let the supporters down.”

Caldwell, whose side topped League One in September but have also been humiliated 9-0 in the EFL Trophy by Reading, added: “We all have to stand up and be counted in this difficult run. We have had problems scoring goals but for me defensively it is an even bigger worry.

“In every single of defending we have to be so much better.”

Darrell Clarke praised his rapidly-improving Cheltenham side’s mentality as they upset high-flying Oxford with a 2-0 League One home success.

Goals from Rob Street and Will Goodwin were enough to spoil Des Buckingham’s first match in charge of the promotion-chasing U’s, with both sides reduced to 10 men at the Completely-Suzuki Stadium.

“I’m proud of everyone today, even more so when we were down to 10 men for a period of time,” Clarke said.

“I thought we started very, very well and managed the game well. We created opportunities and yes, they’ve had one or two, but you’d expect that with them flying in the league.

“We’d certainly have been everyone’s away banker today and we are glad to prove the form wrong. I am proud of my players.”

Cheltenham started strongly and broke through in the 34th minute when Liam Sercombe’s corner was cleared to Street, who smashed a sweetly-struck effort through a crowd of bodies from 20 yards.

Goalscorer Street then saw red for catching Stephan Negru with an elbow in first-half stoppage-time.

On the dismissal, Clarke said: “I am asking our players to be aggressive, but we don’t want to go over the line.

“Streety has struck a great goal and I am not going to kill the lad’s confidence.

“We’ll look at it, but I am not here to criticise my players. I am asking them to be aggressive, fair but aggressive.

“Sometimes we might step over the mark and we have to be mindful of that. I don’t want to be critical of him because he was having a fantastic game up until then.”

Oxford forward Ruben Rodrigues was given his marching orders for dissent after a foul on Ben Williams after 68 minutes.

Cheltenham made sure of the points when George Lloyd set up Goodwin for his third of the season with 14 minutes remaining.

Buckingham, who replaced Liam Manning as Oxford head coach a week ago, said: “It’s a disappointing result, of course.

“They started better than we did in the first half and as the game went on, we grew into it and found ourselves again.

“I actually thought they scored against the run of play, while we were on top.

“They were a very direct side and a very physical side and I thought we stood up and matched that for most of the game.

“We made some changes at half-time and we started the second half extremely well and had several chances.

“A switch off and a long ball costs you a second and then a sending off kills the momentum.”

Darren Ferguson spoke of his pride after promotion-chasing Peterborough dismantled injury-ravaged Burton in a 4-0 Sky Bet League One rout.

The Peterborough manager’s only frustration would have been that his team did not rack up a more emphatic scoreline as a host of other chances went begging in another dominant performance at London Road.

First-half goals from Joel Randall and Ephron Mason-Clark put the hosts in cruise control, then a Cole Stockton own goal and Kwame Poku’s close range finish completed the rout after the break.

Dino Maamria’s patched-up Brewers side were on the rack for most of this one-sided encounter, although Stockton nearly capitalised on a mistake from Posh goalkeeper Nicholas Bilokapic, only to see his first-half stoppage time volley headed off the line by Josh Knight.

It was a rare moment of panic for fifth-placed Peterborough, who have dropped just two points from their last six home matches – a run which includes a 5-0 derby day demolition job on local rivals Cambridge.

Ferguson said: “When you’re a manager and you enjoy watching your team play, that’s always a good sign.

“In the last two home games I’ve seen a different level of maturity. Especially when we’re 3-0 up to Cambridge at half-time, they’ve gone on and been really professional. And today, the same again.

“The quality has always been there for me. It’s just getting it on a consistent basis now.

“These games are never easy. Burton are a decent team. We spoke about how to match them in every area, and we did that.

“These games are better results for me than when we play against your Portsmouths and your Derbys. Those game just take care of themselves. These are the games you’ve got to have the correct mentality in, and make sure you do the basics right.

“We started really strongly and were aggressive. We spoke about that in terms of having the correct mentality in a game that everyone on the outside would expect us to win. That’s not always the case so we had to make sure we were correct from the first minute, and we were.”

Burton manager Maamria was forced to field his second year scholar Will Tamen, aged just 17, as a centre-half against one of the highest-scoring teams in the league.

Maamria admitted: “It was a difficult afternoon, and we expected that. It’s a tough place to come and they score a lot of goals.

“We knew it would be difficult with our best team but, with our back four all out, and our holding midfielder out, they are our five best players. If you take five of Manchester City’s players out they will suffer.

“A club like ours, we’ve got what we’ve got when you come up against a team like these with half of your team out.

“To pick up points against teams like Peterborough you’ve got to disturb their rhythm and manage the tempo of the game. You’ve got to show controlled aggression as they have good players if you allow them to play.

“This afternoon we didn’t show enough passion to compete in terms of duels, and that’s the biggest disappointment.”