Jack Hunt scored his first goal in Bristol Rovers colours to put the West Country side on course for a thumping 4-1 win over Wigan at the Memorial Ground.

The tone was set for a vibrant home display on 13 minutes as winger Luke Thomas put Rovers ahead in style, cutting in from the right and shooting left-footed beyond Sam Tickle’s dive.

Charlie Wyke drew the Latics level on 21 minutes with his sixth goal this season, tapping past Matthew Cox, but that was as good as it got for Shaun Maloney’s team.

Rovers regained the lead five minutes later when right-back Hunt popped up in the attack to head in from close range and Joey Barton’s side never looked back.

Welsh forward Aaron Collins doubled the advantage eight minutes after half-time when he smashed the ball beyond Tickle from 12 yards out.

Hunt, who joined Rovers from Sheffield Wednesday last month, turned provider on 68 minutes with a curling cross that striker John Marquis rose to nod in and leave Wigan struggling in the relegation zone.

Burton manager Dino Maamria said he never lost belief in his team ending their torrid start to the League One season after they beat high-flying Port Vale 3-2 to claim a first win at the eighth time of asking.

Watford loanee Kwadwo Baah scored what proved to be the decisive goal to deny Vale the point they needed to move to the top of the table.

“I’ve been emphasising that without winning a game in the last seven, we’re a good group of people, good group of staff and players, we believe in each other and it was always coming,” Maamria said.

“We’re going to win a lot of football matches together, no doubt about it.

“We had a tough start like everybody else, without going on about the ifs and the injuries we’ve had and everything else, but I know when we get this group of players going, we’re going to go on and win a lot of matches.

“But I’m really pleased for the group because they work so hard.

“When it was two weeks off, we did a lot of work and I thought overall it was a brilliant performance, a brilliant win.

“We showed a lot of quality on the ball, we scored three brilliant goals.

“We could have scored more.”

Burton took an 11th-minute lead when Beryly Lubala headed home at the back post to score his first goal for the club.

The home side responded well, though, and their pressure told in the 40th minute as Ben Garrity headed in off a post.

Burton went in front again six minutes after the restart as Steve Seddon poked the ball in from close range.

It got even better just after the hour mark, with Baah, making his full debut, rifling a shot into the net.

Ollie Arblaster halved the deficit in the 86th minute, but Burton held on for a much-needed win.

Port Vale boss Andy Crosby was left to rue his side’s performance off the ball as they suffered a first defeat in 10 matches in all competitions.

“I thought we made a poor start,” he said.

“We certainly lost too many individual aerial duels defensively from their goalkeeper’s kicks.

“We spoke pre-game about the threat of them from set plays, so I think we’ve given them opportunities.

“Not a good night in terms of when we haven’t had the ball, but a hell of a lot to be pleased with when we did have the ball.

“We created a lot of opportunities, we had shots on goal, shots on target, the keeper’s made saves, they’ve blocked things.

“We’ve created good opportunities but I think we’ve been looking to get better at that. So things to be happy with, but you can’t afford to give chances away like we did.

“You’ve got to win balls that come into your box.

“You’ve got to win individual duels, aerial duels, and we didn’t do it in the first half.”

Under-fire Wade Elliott insists he is still the right man to lead Cheltenham after they hit rock bottom after a 3-0 loss at Peterborough.

Town had two players sent off as they slumped to defeat – with their wait for a first win and first goal of the season continuing.

James Olayinka saw red after just three minutes and 41 seconds for a boot to the head of Ephron Mason-Clark – a decision questioned by both Elliott and rival boss Darren Ferguson.

Aidan Keena blasted against a post as the 10 men almost snatched the lead before Posh took control, with a player who was lined up to be substituted taking on a starring role.

Harrison Burrows grabbed a 54th-minute opener before he could be replaced and then delivered a corner for Jonson Clarke-Harris to head in a second goal seven minutes later.

New captain Peter Kioso blasted his first Posh goal deep into stoppage time after troubled Town had been reduced to nine men following the dismissal of substitute Nathan Butler-Oyedeji after just 12 minutes on the pitch.

Elliott said: “This club at this level is always going to go through sticky periods.

“People might not want to hear that but it is the truth. We are always swimming against the tide.

“Do I genuinely believe I am the best person for this job, to build this club and to take it forward long-term? The answer is yes.

“I’m sure there will be people howling and not especially happy with that, but it is the way I feel and it makes it easy to keep coming to work every day and chipping away.

“I love the club and love working with this group of players. We will keep pushing and keep progressing.

“I’ll be honest…if people think someone else is going to come in, click their fingers and all of a sudden we are going to transform into a top team in this division, then I think we’re all kidding ourselves.”

Posh boss Ferguson said: “We had to be very patient when playing against 10 men and try to find the quality to break Cheltenham down.

“After speaking to the players on Monday morning and seeing the way we trained, I felt good about the game.

“The early red card changed things and also affected our flow as Ephron was off being treated for a while.

“I’ve only seen it live, but it looked soft to me at the time. If it was one of my players sent off like that I would have been very disappointed.

“I was going to take ‘H’ (Burrows) off as I felt Zak (Sturge) would give us more pace down the outside, but he scored one goal and made the other so what do I know?

“Once we got the first one, the game was pretty much done. It ended up a thoroughly deserved victory after not having a win in the last four games.”

Manager John Mousinho hailed Portsmouth’s first-half showing against Barnsley as one of the best displays since he took charge after they clung on for a 3-2 win at Oakwell.

Colby Bishop, Paddy Lane and Connor Ogilvie all struck inside 16 minutes as the Blues made a dream start before second-half strikes from Barry Cotter and Callum Styles led to a tense finish.

However, Pompey held on for the win to go top of Sky Bet League One.

Asked if the first half was one of the best performances since he took over, Mousinho said: “It definitely was.

“We started on the front foot, we got the goals we deserved – the only thing that was lacking was the fourth or fifth goal that we definitely could have got.

“It’s one of the big areas of improvement for us to make sure we put games like this to bed because you saw second half that they come out, they make the changes and the whole game transforms.

“I thought we started to make poor decisions at certain moments.”

Mousinho’s side are now 19 games unbeaten in the league stretching back to March, a run which was preserved by Bishop’s stoppage-time equaliser at Derby on Saturday.

“I’m absolutely delighted – if you’d offered me four points from these two games I’d have snapped your hand off,” Mousinho added. “Being top is a bonus at this stage of the season.

“You saw the quality Barnsley have; they’ve won 7-0 here, they’ve won four on the spin without conceding and to do that to them, I’m really delighted.”

Pompey had already gone close twice when they were awarded an eighth-minute penalty.

Lane beat two players before feeding the ball to Gavin Whyte on the right and Bishop’s attempt to convert his low centre saw him fouled by Barnsley keeper Liam Roberts.

Bishop converted the spot-kick and 30 seconds later the visitors doubled their lead when the former Accrington striker’s flick-on found Lane and he calmly finished.

Ogilvie added the third when he headed home Joe Morrell’s cross from the right after 16 minutes.

Having failed to mount an attack of note before the break, Barnsley pulled one back just four minutes after the restart when half-time substitute Sam Cosgrove found Cotter, who drilled a low finish past Will Norris.

The hosts scored again with 13 minutes left when Norris fumbled Styles’ header and the ball trickled over the line.

Barnsley boss Neill Collins said: “I think I’d say that it’s important we don’t take anything out of proportion – I say that about both halves.

“The first goal really affected us because within a minute you’re 2-0 down.

“You can’t start a game like that but lots of positives and we went right to the very end; we could have been sitting here with a point.”

Crisis club Cheltenham had two players sent off as they crashed to a 3-0 defeat at Peterborough on a night to forget.

Troubled Town – still without a win or a league goal all season – were dealt a major blow when James Olayinka was sent off in just the fourth minute after catching Ephron Mason-Clark in the head with a reckless boot.

But the 10 men came agonisingly close to opening their account for the campaign when Aidan Keena thumped a 25-yard shot against a post 10 minutes before the break.

Posh eventually took command with two goals in seven minutes in the second half as Harrison Burrows played a key role.

Burrows steered in the 54th-minute opener after Kwame Poku’s low cross was diverted into his path and then delivered a corner for Jonson Clarke-Harris to head home a second goal after 61 minutes.

Town’s night got even worse as substitute Nathan Butler-Oyedeji was sent off in the 88th minute after receiving two cautions in quick succession.

Peter Kioso then smashed in his first Peterborough goal from 25 yards in the fifth minute of stoppage time to add more pain for under-fire Cheltenham boss Wade Elliott.

Burton beat Port Vale 3-2 to secure their first win of the season and prevent their opponents from moving to the summit of League One.

Watford loanee Kwadwo Baah scored what proved to be the decisive goal as the Brewers ended their wait for three points in their eighth league game of the campaign.

Burton took a surprise lead in the 11th minute, when an unmarked Beryly Lubala headed home at the back post from Tom Hamer’s cross to score his first goal for the club.

Lubala nodded over a good chance eight minutes later, but barring that it was all Vale through to half-time.

Ben Garrity threatened on a couple of occasions and James Wilson’s drilled shot struck a post just before the half-hour mark.

The home side’s pressure finally told in the 40th minute as Garrity headed in off the post from Conor Grant’s delivery.

Having hung on to go in level at the break, Burton found themselves in front again six minutes after the restart as Steve Seddon poked the ball in from close range from Hamer’s nod down.

It got even better just after the hour mark, with Baah, making his full debut, rifling a shot past Connor Ripley having broken free down the right.

Ollie Arblaster smashed the ball into the net in the 86th minute to halve the deficit, but Burton held on for a much-needed win.

A blistering start helped Portsmouth secure a 3-2 win over Barnsley at Oakwell that sent them top of Sky Bet League One.

Colby Bishop, Paddy Lane and Connor Ogilvie gave the Blues a dream start before second-half strikes from Barry Cotter and Callum Styles led to a tense finish.

Gavin Whyte had already seen a first-minute effort deflected wide and Bishop had headed over the bar before Pompey were awarded an eighth-minute penalty.

Lane beat two players before feeding the ball to Northern Ireland winger Whyte on the right and Bishop’s attempt to convert his low centre saw him fouled by Barnsley keeper Liam Roberts.

Bishop converted the spot-kick and 30 seconds later the visitors doubled their lead when the former Accrington striker’s flick-on found Lane and he calmly finished.

Ogilvie added the third when he headed home Joe Morrell’s cross from the right after 16 minutes.

Having failed to mount an attack of note before the break, Barnsley pulled one back just four minutes after the restart when half-time substitute Sam Cosgrove found Cotter, who drilled a low finish past Will Norris.

The hosts scored again with 13 minutes left when Norris fumbled Callum Styles’ header and the ball trickled over the line but despite a spell of late pressure they could not find an equaliser.

Port Vale manager Andy Crosby says matchwinner Ben Garrity may still have to wait for greater game time after the 1-0 win over Northampton.

Garrity came off the bench to score in the 84th minute – his third goal of the season – and move Vale up to second in League One.

It came shortly after Sam Hoskins spurned a sitter to put the Cobblers in the driving seat after a backs-to-the-wall performance.

Vale are now unbeaten in nine games in all competitions since an opening 7-0 hammering at Barnsley.

“Our performance was exceptional,” said Crosby.

“It is difficult to break a team down when they put everyone behind the ball.

“They changed formation four times to try and stop us. But we kept probing and trying to move them around.

“The guys from the side of the pitch came on to impact the game. That’s what they are asked to do. There is a lot of frustration from some that they are not in the team.

“We have people on the side who can change a game and want to play. I get that. It is my decision.

“I won’t always get it right but they come on and do the job. We have a competitive group who deliver every single day.

“Our performances are a reflection of that. We just kept trying to find a way.

“It was a focus for recruitment in the summer to make ourselves more robust, more reliable, fitter and to run at high speed more often.

“When we train, we train at full pelt and that’s what you see out there on a Saturday.”

Northampton are still trying to find their feet in the third tier after last season’s promotion.

Boss Jon Brady said: “We know how tough this level is. Sometimes you are going to come away and not dominate the ball.

“They suffocated us on our shape and it was hard to stop their momentum. But we need to be better all round.

“It was a hell of a strike by Garrity. But we should be tighter and not give him an opportunity to shoot.

“You have got to be better defensively at this level. And we probably had the best chance of the game before that.

“Usually Sam puts that away for us. If it goes by him it goes through to Mitch (Pinnock) and he taps it in.”

Stevenage boss Steve Evans is confident his side will enjoy a strong season in Sky Bet League One despite dropping points at home for the second game in succession following a 1-1 draw with Charlton.

Boro looked set for all three points thanks to Jamie Reid’s first-half strike but were made to settle for a point after Corey Blackett-Taylor converted from the penalty spot in the second minute of second-half stoppage time.

It is the second time in a week Stevenage have given up three points at the death following last week’s 2-2 draw with Carlisle, but Evans is confident his side will continue to cause plenty of problems.

“We’ll do alright,” he said. “People wrote us off before the game. If that’s a £10million budget, well we’ll do alright, that’s all and that’s not knocking them.

“They are full of good players. They’ve got a good manager in. I think he’d have been scratching his head at half-time because we should have been three-nil up.

“We should have had the game put to bed. We were frighteningly dominant and then you’re going to get a reaction, aren’t you, from good players, and they got a reaction.

“It was a little bit galling to see every time there’s a free-kick and it’s contested there’s seven Charlton players running around the referee.

“I think they get the penalty from that because I’ve just watched it back and there’s not a chance in a world that’s a penalty.

“They should have had one earlier but we should have had one in the first half, so it equals itself out.”

While it was disappointment for Evans, new Charlton boss Michael Appleton admitted a half-time rollicking was required to produce a better second-half showing from his players and earn him a first point in charge.

“I was disappointed with the way we competed,” he said. “I’d expect us to be much better and stronger, and to be fair to the players they proved in the second half that they are more than capable of doing it.

“It was one of them where I knew there was more to come and I expected more from them, certainly in possession.

“Out of possession you could argue it could be stronger and more physical, but the reality is we’ve come up against a side that are probably one of the best in the division at it.

“But for me, I still like some of our players, whether they’re 5ft 2ins or 6ft 2ins, to make sure they’re competitive, and we didn’t get it in the first half.

“We did in the second half and the performance obviously in both halves was chalk and cheese.”

Carlisle boss Paul Simpson felt aggrieved after his side were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw at Lincoln.

Loanee Luke Plange fired the visitors in front and the Cumbrians felt they should have had a penalty when Sean Maguire appeared to be wiped out inside the box.

But Ethan Hamilton’s superb long-range strike secured a point for the hosts, who are yet to lose at Sincil Bank this season.

“It’s a wrong decision from the referee not to give a penalty,” Simpson said.

“As I’m coming down the tunnel, I think it’s their director of football who says ‘we’ve got out of jail there, it’s a stonewall penalty’.

“Everybody on this side of the ground could see it was a penalty.

“Sean had nodded it past the lad and he’s just took him out. I’ve seen it back at half-time, but I can’t say I’ve seen it because it’s an instant red card.

“There were a lot of things today which weren’t good decisions. But we can’t let those things upset us.

“These are big decisions that they’re getting wrong. People say they level themselves over the season, so let’s hope they do.

“I just hope the assessor looks at it. They get judged on those key moments in games.

“I thought we were excellent. I thought we started the game well and played with a good discipline.

“We had to defend for our lives when the time came, but we should have had an opportunity to go 2-0 up.”

Mark Kennedy’s spirited team talk, which included telling Hamilton to shoot more, worked wonders as the Imps grabbed a point.

He said: “We’ve got an incredible group of hard working, honest, brave, humble and grounded players.

“I just thought that for the first time ever, because there’s a bit of expectation, that the pressure showed a little bit.

“I just said at half-time that it can’t happen. I can’t say what I said, there was no swearing, but I urged them to show some bravery, some heart and some willingness to make mistakes by being brave on the ball.

“We’re all of those things, and I don’t know why, but it was one game where I was scratching my head.

“I’m glad Jack Burroughs has told the press I told Ethan Hamilton to shoot because I don’t want to pat myself on the back.

“It’s about getting a positive outcome, even if you boot the ball over the bar you’ll get some applause from the fans and that’s a positive outcome.

“It’s was nice that having spoken about it that he’s scored. I’m glad it’s gone in because he’s a very coachable guy and I think he’s got goals in him.”

Reading manager Ruben Selles praised his side’s character – on and off the pitch – after they secured a 2-1 comeback victory over Bolton in League One.

The Trotters took the lead through top-scorer Dion Charles in the 20th minute, straight after the game had resumed after a three-minute break.

The delay had been caused by home fans throwing tennis balls on to the pitch in protest at the running of the club by Chinese owner Dai Yongge and the subsequent three-point English Football League deduction in midweek.

Reading dominated much of the game and were rewarded towards the end, when Charlie Savage levelled and substitute Caylon Vickers snatched the late winner.

Wanderers also had defender Eoin Toal sent off for a second yellow card.

“I’m really proud of the players,” Selles said.

“They have showed me that not only as footballers but also throughout the entire week. They have just focused on this game and on the things that we can affect. It is important to get the win and also the way we do it.

“The whole squad has all committed to our task and, for me, it was as much about the victory as the team spirit today.

“There is a big feeling of togetherness in the dressing room. That’s why we can get through everything that is put in front of us. Every time they step on the pitch, they want to make a difference.”

Of the fans’ actions and Charles’ immediate strike afterwards, Selles said: “We knew that the protest was coming. I don’t want to make excuses for it (the goal).

“It was more a disconnection from us, we’d had problems in that area before. But the fans have been supporting the team and me personally in every sort of situation that we have been in.”

Bolton dropped from second place to seventh after the defeat.

“I’m absolutely baffled as to how we ended up losing the game,” manager Ian Evatt said.

“We had so many critical chances and the game should have been out of sight for us at half-time.

“You can’t afford to miss those opportunities – one, maybe, but the two, three, four that we missed just isn’t OK.

“And away from home, if you don’t take those opportunities, you give the opposition a little bit of sugar and galvanise them and their crowd.

“Then you get a shot from distance (Savage’s goal) and that changes the entire momentum of the game.

“Then, we didn’t wrestle it back. We wobbled and we conceded a second. It’s absolutely crazy that we lose that game when we had created so many chances.

“We spoke about it in the week (Reading’s points deduction). When you get those, it creates a sort of siege mentality that they’re going to have.”

Darren Ferguson was not happy with his Peterborough side despite the 1-1 draw with Leyton Orient halting their three-match losing run in League One.

Hector Kyprianou struck from point-blank range after a 21st-minute corner from Harrison Burrows to put Posh ahead against his former club.

But the capital club restored parity when Joe Pigott and Omar Beckles both threw their heads at a fine Jordan Graham cross in the 34rd minute – with the latter being credited with the leveller.

Neither side could strike again with Ferguson, who served the second game of a two-match touchline ban, demanding a rapid improvement from the misfiring hosts.

He admitted: “It was important we didn’t lose another game, but it was still a disappointing result.

“I felt the first half was not how we play. There was no urgency and no enthusiasm. We didn’t even up it when we scored.

“Then we lost a tackle on the edge of our box, didn’t stop the cross, didn’t defend the cross and Orient are back in the game with something to hang on to.

“I made two changes at half-time and, honestly, I could easily have made more. That is not what I expect from my team and the players hopefully now realise that.

“We had better tempo and quality at times in the second half, but still without creating too many clear-cut chances. We have a lot to think about as we clearly we need to be better than that.

“Some players need to start performing to the level I expect as they are nowhere near it at the minute.”

Orient boss Richie Wellens was much happier with the outcome, saying: “Peterborough are a yo-yo club between League One and the Championship so you have to be happy to take a point away to them – especially after going 1-0 behind to a poor goal.

“I would be disappointed to concede that type of goal against a really big, physical team, but even more so against a good footballing side that aren’t very physical.

“But that’s the second time in two away games we have come from behind and to get four points from them is really pleasing.

“Our equaliser was the first time we got the ball into the right areas and Jordan showed again how good his delivery is from a wide area.

“We could probably even have won it with the amount of counter attacks we had towards the end.

“Everyone said we had a bad start, but the performances were good and the results could have been different.

“We wanted to get our points tally ticking over and these four from the last two away games have helped that.”

Portsmouth head coach John Mousinho wants his team to be more ruthless despite a stoppage-time goal at Derby maintaining their unbeaten start to the season.

Colby Bishop pounced deep in added time to cancel out James Collins’ 85th-minute penalty in a 1-1 draw.

Until the late drama, there were few clear chances as both teams failed to capitalise on some promising positions.

Portsmouth had kept Derby at arms length until the 85th minute when Martyn Waghorn’s near-post shot was handled by Regan Poole and Collins coolly converted the spot-kick.

That looked to have secured the points but, in the fifth minute of stoppage time, Bishop found space in the six-yard box to turn in Terry Devlin’s cross.

Mousinho admitted there was “elation” in the dressing room but wants to see improvement in two areas.

“We need to start games better, we were sloppy in the first half, and I didn’t have to say a huge amount at half-time because I came in and the players were saying ‘we’ve been a bit sloppy in possession’,” he said.

“We had the majority of the chances in the second half and there were a couple of goalmouth scrambles so we need to be more ruthless in that respect definitely but we have to start games better and not wait for things to happen and that’s my problem to address.

“The feeling when we scored was absolute elation but now that things have settled down we slightly rue the fact we haven’t come away with three points.

“In the second half I didn’t have too much criticism, I thought they were really good, we created chances, were brave on the ball and the only thing we didn’t do was put the ball in the back of the net.”

Derby head coach Paul Warne could not hide his disappointment at conceding so late in the game.

“We weren’t at our best, Portsmouth came here in really good fettle and they kept going to the very end but to concede one so late on is disappointing,” he said.

“We can’t leave Bishop in the middle of the six on his own when we’ve got three centre-halves – that is very disappointing.

“We will obviously play a lot better and lose but today, once you’ve got your head in front we should be able to see the game out.

“If we had won everyone would have left the ground thinking great but I wouldn’t have thought that, I just thought we made too many unforced errors today which isn’t really like us.

“I think this team can achieve really good things but we have to perform collectively a little bit higher than that.”

Joey Barton was pleased with John Marquis’ application after Bristol Rovers claimed a 2-0 win at Shrewsbury.

Just before Marquis grabbed his goal, he was involved in a controversial decision at the other end of the pitch.

Shrewsbury won a corner in the 70th minute and the ball reached the back post where Chey Dunkley was lurking.

The Salop captain looked to have been bundled to the floor by Marquis, but referee Tom Reeves waved away the appeals.

Three minutes later, the away side broke the deadlock when Aaron Collins drilled in a low cross to Marquis, who, from close range, tapped home at the near post.

Rovers wrapped up all three points in the 90th minute when Collins bundled the ball over the line to get his side’s second league win of the season.

Barton said: “I thought lots of aspects of it (the game) were really good. It’s a tricky pitch and they have obviously prepared that for us!

“It didn’t allow us to play the way we wanted to play, which is entirely at their discretion as it’s their stadium, but I thought we had to remain calm and patient.

“They have tested us as well and got some vital blocks in there and good defending at times.

“Jevani Brown came on and found that little pocket and a great through ball to Aaron (Collins). (It was) a hell of a ball in from Az (Aaron) and it wasn’t an easy finish that, so I’m delighted for John.

“I thought his attitude and application in the midst of the Jonson Clarke-Harris saga was first class and he kept working hard and didn’t get disappointed and sulk and moan because we were linked with another striker, and as it was, that didn’t happen.”

Shrewsbury boss Matt Taylor said: “I felt we were comfortable in the game. We most definitely had the better moments up to the point at which they scored, which is avoidable, but we weren’t ruthless enough in the final third.

“We created 12 chances and haven’t scored again, so we’re getting in those areas. We were on top for the majority of the game until they scored.

“We concede a goal from a mistake and it puts a pin in all the hard work that we’ve been doing.

“Now, we haven’t scored enough goals, so we must look at that and accept that and address that.

“So the players are understandably upset that we’ve lost a game of football where I feel it should be a 0-0 at worst for us.

“Joe and his team will be happy; it’s the perfect away performance for them. They’ve hit us on the counter-attack and scored from a set play.”

Shaun Maloney admitted Wigan made the last 15 minutes of the Sky Bet League One victory over Cambridge “more tense than it needed to be” after failing to make the most of their earlier dominance.

Goals from Stephen Humphrys and Thelo Aasgaard in the space of five minutes around the hour mark put Wigan firmly in charge at the DW Stadium.

The home side should have been ahead at the break, only for top scorer Charlie Wyke to fire against a post before he was denied in spectacular fashion by U’s goalkeeper Will Mannion.

A nervy finale ensued when, after Callum McManaman felled James Brophy in the box, Fejiri Okenabirhie reduced the arrears 14 minutes from time.

And although Wigan held on for the win, Maloney felt his side were almost their own worst enemy.

“It was probably a bit more tense than it should have been,” he said.

“But I guess that’s football, if you’re maybe not as clinical as the chances we had, especially in the first half.

“It was actually a very hard game, and it is very hard to stay patient when your opponent puts 11 players behind the ball.

“You have to be patient, and then when you get your chances, you’ve got to be clinical.

“There was a five-minute period when we went 2-0 up, and I felt we maybe became a little bit comfortable, we dropped our levels slightly.

“And as soon as it goes to 2-1 it’s game on and they can attack because they’ve got nothing to lose.

“But there was also a part of it I really like, at the end, when I see players putting their bodies on the line to not concede.

“I didn’t think we’d be in that situation, but there’s a real satisfaction I get when I see players really putting everything on the line for the team.”

For Cambridge head coach Mark Bonner it was almost a very good point on the road against a side he says “will be up there” at the end of the campaign.

“I thought it was a good game, both teams had plenty of chances,” he said.

“I was really pleased with how we started both halves, and how we finished, when we were chasing the game.

“Obviously Wigan defended their box great at the end and we couldn’t quite create, or make, one of those moments happen.

“I thought at the start of the second half we had enough moments to create some good chances and get ourselves in front in the game.

“But we haven’t stopped Humphrys cutting in off the wing and he’s hit it brilliantly.

“The second goal comes really quickly after that and that’s a tough for one for us as well, it’s poor defending really.

“We gave a really good account of ourselves, we created chances, but we were too erratic with them.

“We had a lot of attempts at goal, really good entries into the final third, but not enough of them worked the goalkeeper.”