Swindon boss Michael Flynn said his in-form side’s 2-1 victory over Grimsby was among their most pleasing wins of the season after seeing them claim the points despite not firing on all cylinders.

Town equalled a club record as they made it nine league games unbeaten to start a season, but they were made to work hard by a Grimsby side struggling in the bottom half of League Two.

Goals in either half from Dan Kemp and Jake Cain put Swindon in charge but Grimsby pulled a goal back through substitute Donovan Wilson to set up a nervy finish for the high-flying Robins.

Flynn said: “The way the players stuck together really got them through that. It wasn’t a good second half from our point of view.

“We have played a lot better than that and thrown points away.

“It was probably up there with the most pleasing win this season. We weren’t at our fluent best in the second half, but we dug in and made blocks, and followed our runners.

“I know that they had one or two chances, but so did we to put the game to bed.

“It was a pleasing win because you can’t just win every game with total football.

“They put the ball in the box, they kept the pressure on, and they gave everything, so for us to stand up against that was really pleasing.”

Swindon took the lead after 26 minutes when Charlie Austin chipped the ball through for Kemp to fire into the bottom right-hand corner.

Home goalkeeper Murphy Mahoney kept the hosts ahead with impressive saves from Harry Clifton and Danny Rose before Cain made it 2-0 in the 64th minute when he latched onto a superb through-ball from Kemp.

Wilson made an instant impact off the bench, turning Frazer Blake-Tracy before finishing neatly into the near post to make it 2-1 in the 70th minute, but Grimsby could not find a leveller as they slumped to a fourth defeat in their last five competitive games.

Mariners boss Paul Hirst was frustrated his side were made to pay for the same mistakes once again.

He said: “I just feel like it’s Groundhog Day at the minute. We’re getting punished for small mistakes but obviously they matter and at the other end we had enough chances.

“I think they (Swindon) had very little in that second half. But we know we leave pointless and very frustrated.

“They are unbeaten and right up there. And I felt that we started the game better and were the better team. I thought we were on to get a point or something.

“I’m kind of sick of saying but I think that we look a decent side and we are well in games.

“I think you risk making yourself look silly, or people think that because if it’s the same thing you know, same results, same outcome – everyone will see that we got beat.”

Barrow signed off September with a return to winning ways and praise from boss Pete Wild for finishing the month with a positive points haul.

The Bluebirds’ hard-fought 3-2 victory over Doncaster, ultimately settled by Emile Acquah’s 85th-minute strike, took Wild’s side up to 10th in Sky Bet League Two, with a game in hand on all but one of the clubs ahead of them.

“I put pressure on the lads to say we have got to ‘win’ September and make sure we come out with run rate I keep talking about,” said Wild. “And that’s the best they have dealt with the pressure.

“So, that is August won and now September. We have now got to try and win October.

“There will be bumps in the road so we have got to keep grinding out results, and keep staying above the run rate I talk about.

“We dominated large parts of the game but kept letting Doncaster back in. We knew the areas we could hurt Doncaster and we knew the areas they could hurt us.

“Had we not got the win I would have been highly frustrated.

“But scoring three goals at home is what we wanted to do. To get into those areas and then finish them off was brilliant.

“I always say believe in the process and if you keep doing the right things it will come off.”

Tyrell Warren headed Barrow in front after 12 minutes while Ged Garner also netted his first goal of the campaign to make it 2-0 after 53 minutes.

Joe Ironside quickly pulled a goal back and Acquah’s fourth of the season late on gave the Cumbrians breathing space, with Donny sub Mo Faal striking in stoppage time.

Doncaster’s bid for a third successive league win ended frustratingly for boss Grant McCann, who said: “On transitions we treated it as a rest, which is frustrating  because we had worked on it all week.

“It was not good enough and we deserved to lose, even though we showed a bit of fight to get level at the end.

“When we scored  and went to 2-1 we went route one and stopped doing what we needed to.

“It is not the way I want to play and I didn’t enjoy the last 30 minutes of the game. It is a disappointing day for us.

“In the 20 minutes spell we had before half-time we should score one or two goals.

“But for whatever reason, we didn’t have the hunger about us to score. That is something I need to look at and watch. It is so disappointing.”

Harrogate boss Simon Weaver hailed goalkeeper Mark Oxley following his match-winning display in their 1-0 win at MK Dons.

Oxley made two fine stops to deny Mo Eisa inside the first 10 minutes before later keeping out Daniel Harvie’s strike from range as the hosts applied early pressure.

Having ridden the storm, Harrogate went ahead in fortuitous circumstances when Dons goalkeeper Craig MacGillivray’s clearance struck the unfortunate Warren O’Hora and flew into the back of the net four minutes before the break.

The visitors dug deep in the second half to secure all three points and leave their manager beaming.

“We are buzzing and delighted with the victory,” Weaver said.

“We initially lacked a little bit of the intensity which we really desire and demand. It probably took a fine save from Mark Oxley to be the catalyst to have a better performance.

“After the first 15 minutes we were terrific and really hard to beat, which we have been for the last few weeks.

“The confidence has grown with our efforts on the ball in order to counter-attack and pass our way up the pitch, and we showed great courage in that respect at a difficult place to come.

“There were signs on the counter-attack, where we caused a bit of mayhem, sucked them into the middle third, and when we broke it up, we had threats.

“Second half was all about grit and seeing it through, and we could have added to the tally. But we’re delighted with the clean sheet and victory.”

The hosts struggled to create clear-cut chances in the second half, Harvie and Jack Payne missing the target from outside the box, but Graham Alexander felt his side were hard done by as their winless run stretched to five league matches.

“The way we played, there’s no way we should lose that game,” he said.

“The keeper’s made some wonderful saves and we gave a really, really poor goal away just before half-time.

“It played into an away team’s hands. They sat deep and looked to counter us and got deeper and deeper and became a solid sort-of back 11.

“There were instances we could have done better but I can’t admonish the players for their work ethic and commitment. It’s a tough result to take where I don’t think it was deserved.

“Anyone looking at the game again in the cold light of day will say we did more than enough to win.

“It’s probably more than some of the games we won in the start of the season, but that’s how football works sometimes.

“What we do is stay together, crack on, work on Monday and try to put it right on Tuesday.”

Ben Garner felt his Colchester side could have scored even more after they beat Notts County 5-4 in a scintillating League Two clash.

The U’s never trailed in the nine-goal thriller but had a nervy end to the game after Cameron McGeehan’s dismissal and Macaulay Langstaff’s stoppage-time strike.

But they held on to record a first win in three games and earn the praise of their head coach.

“I’m so proud of the players,” Garner said.

“We were disappointed in the last two games to take one point, given the level of performances.

“The way that the players have trained this week and applied themselves and the performance that they have put in was tremendous and they deserve massive credit for it.

“We scored five and I thought we should have had more, especially in the first half.

“They’re a really good side. They’re really disciplined in their shape and the way they move the ball.

“I thought it was an outstanding game, for League Two level.

“In the first half in particular, we moved the ball really well and were such a threat and created opportunities.

“At 5-3, I was really comfortable and I felt we dealt with their shape but then we had the red card, which made it a more difficult ending than it needed to be.”

Colchester took a 10th-minute lead through Noah Chilvers but Sam Austin equalised for Notts County.

Jayden Fevrier’s deflected strike and an outstanding free-kick from Arthur Read put the U’s 3-1 ahead at the break.

Notts County fought back with Langstaff and then Jodi Jones making it a one-goal game but on each occasion Colchester quickly replied through McGeehan and Read.

McGeehan was dismissed for a second caution in the 79th minute and Langstaff nodded in Jones’ cross in stoppage time to set up a tense finish, but Colchester held on.

Notts County manager Luke Williams said: “The opposition were fantastic, a brilliant team.

“We didn’t deal well enough with the two strikers in the first half.

“But the game is very difficult because we gave a goal away from a lack of concentration.

“Because of this, we find it more difficult to build up because, understandably I think, the confidence is not the same when you make a mistake like that.

“The game is different after that but they just caused us no end of trouble.

“I think we cause them a lot of problems as well but it’s OK going toe to toe with a team but if you give them a goal start, it’s a different feeling from the sideline.

“When we thought we’d got ourselves back into the game we conceded more goals and it’s very, very difficult.

“I like the spirit we had but to concede so many goals is really worrying.”

Derek Adams praised his bunch of Morecambe underdogs as his side recorded their first away win of the season in a 2-1 victory at Forest Green Rovers.

Goals either side of half-time from Michael Mellon and Jordan Slew helped the Shrimps move into the top half of the League Two table.

Tyrese Omotoye’s late header was not enough to prevent Rovers from slipping to a sixth successive home defeat.

“If you give players an ethos, an understanding, willingness,and determination – it takes you far. You don’t have to spend a lot of money – it’s about getting that right and not driving flash cars,” said Morecambe boss Adams.

The visitors were frustrated that referee Adam Herczeg blew up for a free-kick on the edge of the box when Tom Bloxham was in on goal.

Mellon’s resulting free-kick arrowed wide of the bottom corner from a promising position.

Matty Stevens exchanged a one-two with Troy Deeney before the forward dragged his shot wide of the post after 15 minutes.

Mellon was in the action again as he powered struck a low effort straight at Belshaw from inside the penalty area.

The visitors took the lead in the 26th minute when Donald Love supplied an inch-perfect pass for Mellon who calmly chipped over Rovers’ debutant goalkeeper James Belshaw.

Slew tapped home Morecambe’s second after Bloxham was given time and space down the right side to measure a low cross for his opposing winger.

Lavinier met Dom Bernard’s deep cross on the half-volley but could not keep his effort on target on the hour mark.

Forest Green rallied late on and got one back through Omotoye’s late header but it wa snot enough to avoid defeat.

Adams said: “It was an excellent performance. Over the afternoon, 2-1 flatters Forest Green.

“We were in control of the match. The goal gave Forest Green some belief but they should have been put to bed long before then.

“We had a lot of top performers today. To come here and control the game as we did was terrific for us.

“I’ve got plans to take this club to the Championship. I’ve got big plans that I haven’t shared with anyone,” claimed Adams.

Forest Green boss David Horseman was far from happy with the performance of his players.

He said: “I’d like to apologise to our supporters. Today it was a mismatch – we were physically weak in every duel and lacked real quality.

“We had probably as many good chances as they had but at the moment they put there’s in and we don’t. Until we start converting, we don’t give ourselves a chance.

“We need more pace and physicality in the team. Whether we have that in the building or whether we get to January and have a look, maybe that’s something we look at.”

Graham Coughlan blasted the officials for denying Newport “a very legitimate goal” in their 2-1 defeat to Salford at the Peninsula Stadium.

Salford took the lead thanks to Matthew Lund’s 25th-minute header but Bryn Morris’s strike levelled things six minutes later.

An unfortunate own goal from Declan Drysdale put Salford back in the lead just before half-time.

The visitors thought they were level again on the hour, but Will Evans’ goal was disallowed and the Newport winger was booked for protesting to the linesman after he flagged for offside.

Exiles boss Coughlan said: “We scored a second goal which was a very legitimate goal. I don’t see what the issue is with it.

“We’ve looked back at it and we can’t see where they’re coming from, so we’re absolutely fuming to be honest. Decisions like that don’t belong in the game, someone needs to look at the decision and give us an honest explanation as to why the goal has been disallowed.

“There’s no excuses, you can’t disallow that goal but these guys get protected and that needs to be explained because it’s not good enough and we expect better.

“In my eyes, it’s a 2-2 draw today.”

Coughlan did also concede that errors cost his side.

He added: “We made two basic, silly errors and if you don’t make them errors you win the game today. I thought our performance overall was excellent, but we have to look at the errors and we have to look at the two goals that we conceded.”

Salford came into the game off the back of six straight defeats – a run that Neil Wood was relieved to put an end to.

Ammies head coach Wood said: “It was always going to be a battle to get back on track. We knew it was going to be a day like that and we were much better in that department than we have been in recent games, which was a positive for us, and it’s a relief.

“When we play quickly and we attack quickly, it’s a really high level to see. We need to make sure we are strong and difficult to play against. All of the things we looked to address this week in training, there was a large improvement.”

Salford travel to Gander Green Lane on Tuesday night to play Sutton, who currently lie at the foot of Sky Bet League Two.

Wood said: “We have to go to Sutton and put the same energy in, defend the same way, and when we get our moments create some chances.

“It was nice to win a game, but we have to go and do it again. We look forward to Tuesday night and next weekend and we have to win.”

Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson hailed his side’s “immense character” after coming from behind three times with only 10 men to claim a dramatic 3-3 draw against Crewe.

Crewe took the lead through Mickey Demetriou and received a further boost when Wrexham midfielder Ryan Barnett was sent off in the 36th minute following a late challenge on Shilow Tracey.

Paul Mullin levelled soon after with an overhead kick but Chris Long’s penalty gave Crewe the half-time edge at the Racecourse.

Another impressive Mullin equaliser made it 2-2 soon after the restart but Tracey restored Crewe’s lead and that looked set to earn Alex the points until Wrexham substitute Steven Fletcher headed in a stoppage-time equaliser

Parkinson felt Barnett should not have been sent off, saying they appeal the red card, and also praised Mullin’s performance on the back of a family bereavement as the prolific frontman scored his first goals of the new season.

“There was immense character from the lads,” said Parkinson.

“In the second half I thought we were the better team and had some great chances. If we had not got the draw it would have been an injustice and I’m actually disappointed we didn’t win it given we had 10 men.

“It was an exciting game with lots of talking points. Even if we hadn’t got that goal I would still have been proud of the way the lads played today.

“It has been a tough week with a family bereavement so I’m pleased for him (Mullin). He was firing on all cylinders and with the two goals I don’t think there are many players who would produce moments like that at this level.

“The sending off was a very poor decision. It was never a sending off. It was the fourth official who gave it. It was a low challenge that wasn’t endangering the player. We will appeal that straight away.”

Though disappointed at not seeing out the win, Crewe boss Lee Bell believes few sides will replicate the Railwaymen’s impressive first-half showing against the Dragons.

He said: “I thought it was two good teams having a go at each other. I thought we were outstanding first half, to come here and play in that manner, I thought we were outstanding.

“The killer really is the goal they scored straight after half-time, that’s the hard one. It makes the crowd go up.

“We’re a young team and it’s new experiences for them in terms of being the better team more often than not now throughout games, and now we’ve just got to show that little bit of belief when we take the lead in games like this to really kill it off.

“With the negative that there was in the game in terms of the goals we conceded, there were so many positives.

“To come here, particularly the first half with 11 players, I thought we were outstanding because there won’t be many teams that come here and are able to perform like that.”

Stockport manager Dave Challinor was full of praise for Louie Barry after the on-loan Aston Villa forward netted for a club-record seventh consecutive league game in the 3-1 win at Accrington.

Isaac Olaofe and Will Collar put County 2-0 ahead inside 16 minutes before Barry added a third from the penalty spot just before the hour mark.

Jack Nolan fired home an 86th minute consolation for the Reds.

Challinor, whose side have now won four on the trot, said: “It was really special for Louie.

“It was a soft penalty. If it was against me I wouldn’t be too happy and I know John Coleman isn’t happy with it.

“But Louie showed composure to take the penalty and he deserved the record. Let’s hope he can make it eight on Tuesday.”

Challinor added: “I was pleased with the result but not overly happy with the performance. We never really had control of the game, even when we were 3-0 up.

“It was like a game of basketball where we could have scored three, four, five but they could have scored more if things dropped for them.

“In the last five games we have scored fives, threes and twos and that’s a positive as every game is tough to win in this league so four in a row is great.

“We had a sticky spell at the start of the season but we have picked up the momentum, we have been challenged with adversity when we have lost players to injuries but others have picked up the baton and ran with it.”

Stanley finished the game strongly but Reds manager John Coleman knows it was too little too late.

He said: “We did finish the game well, we gave the fans a thrilling end to the game and it’s the only thing I can be pleased about is that we never gave up, we kept going until he end.

“We showed spirit and fight but it was dramatically lacking in the first half. We lacked the appetite in the first half.

“The buck stops with me, I pick the team, we set out with a game plan to match them up but unfortunately they were better than us in the first half without having to do much. We can’t have no complaints going in behind.

“But we were better than them in the second half. We started the second half brightly but had the door slammed in our face with a penalty when we were on top that no one expected to be given. That was frustrating.

“We have to learn and we have to learn quickly as we will find ourselves in the relegation zone.”

Crawley continued their dream start to the League Two campaign with a 3-0 victory over rock-bottom Sutton.

Adam Campbell, Laurence Maguire and Danilo Orsi scored as Town secured a fourth straight league win to climb up to second in the table.

The Reds took the lead after only six minutes, with former Gateshead striker Campbell scoring his fourth goal of the season after being played in by skipper Ben Gladwin.

Sutton tried to respond and Aiden O’Brien had the ball in the net but the effort was ruled out for offside.

Former Carlisle winger Omari Patrick had a shot saved by the legs of Reds goalkeeper Corey Addai before wastefully putting another chance wide.

Sutton were forced into making a goalkeeping change only seven minutes after the break when former Crawley loanee Jack Rose replaced the injured Dean Bouzanis.

Rose was picking the ball out of the net a minute later when Maguire made it 2-0 from close range.

It got worse for Sutton in the 66th minute when Orsi struck from point-blank range from Ronan Darcy’s cross.

Crawley substitute Rafiq Khaleel rifled a shot against the post three minutes from time.

Swindon equalled a club record as they made it nine league games unbeaten to start a season with a 2-1 victory over Grimsby.

The Robins took the lead after 26 minutes when Charlie Austin chipped the ball through for Dan Kemp who, despite the ball bouncing up, managed to fire into the bottom right-hand corner.

Harry Clifton almost levelled the scores when Abo Eisa found him seven yards from goal only for Swindon goalkeeper Murphy Mahoney to stay big and make the stop.

Mahoney again had to be at his best to keep Swindon in front as Tariq Uwakwe misplaced a pass and Remeao Hutton mishit a clearance, allowing Danny Rose a shot from inside the six-yard box which the Town keeper Mahoney kept out after flinging himself across his line.

Kemp turned provider in the 64th minute for Swindon’s second goal as he played a marvellous through-ball into Jake Cain, who sent his shot over keeper Jake Eastwood with a first-time finish.

Grimsby chased a way back into the game and Donovan Wilson made an instant impact off the bench, turning Frazer Blake-Tracy before finishing neatly into the near post to pull a goal back for the visitors 20 minutes from time, but Swindon held firm for the win.

Ali Al-Hamadi bagged a hat-trick as AFC Wimbledon earned their first home win of the Sky Bet League Two season, fighting back to beat Tranmere 4-1.

Connor Jennings’ early opener was cancelled out by Armani Little, before three from Al-Hamadi tied up the points for the hosts, moving them into the play-off positions.

A well-worked corner handed the visitors the lead inside four minutes, with Jennings pouncing at the far post to fire into the roof of the net.

The game soon turned on its head, however, and after Little’s deflected effort brought parity, Al-Hamadi slotted home in the 32nd minute to give the Dons the advantage going into the interval.

Tranmere’s Jordan Turnbull saw red for a reckless challenge eight minutes after the break, before Al-Hamadi doubled his tally to compound the visitors’ woes.

The Iraqi international completed his hat-trick two minutes from time, shooting into the far corner to secure the win for Johnnie Jackson’s side and keep Tranmere in the bottom two.

Wrexham trailed three times and had Ryan Barnett send off in the first half but still escaped with a 3-3 draw against Crewe thanks to Steven Fletcher’s stoppage-time equaliser.

Mickey Demetriou headed the visitors ahead before Wrexham’s Ryan Barnett was dismissed in the 36th minute and although Paul Mullin levelled soon after with an acrobatic effort, Chris Long’s penalty gave Crewe the half-time edge.

Mullin netted again after the break to make it 2-2 but Shilow Tracey put Crewe back in front again and that looked set to earn Alex the points until Wrexham substitute Fletcher headed in five minutes into stoppage time.

After early pressure, Crewe took a deserved lead when Demetriou nodded home Joel Tabiner’s corner in the 25th minute.

Wrexham were reduced to 10 men when referee Lee Swabey dismissed Barnett after a late challenge on Tracey but the hosts still managed to draw level through Mullin’s overhead kick.

It was Crewe who held the upper hand at the interval though as, after James McClean brought down Rio Adebisi, Long fired home from the penalty spot.

Wrexham hit back at the start of the second half and Mullin’s sublime finish drew them level again before visiting keeper Harvey Davies denied James Jones and Elliot Lee as the home side looked to go ahead.

Crewe got their noses back in front again in the 65th minute when a Wrexham mix-up at the back saw Adebisi find Tracey who finished, but Wrexham rallied once more and Fletcher hit the bar before heading home deep into injury time to earn a share of the spoils.

Bradford manager Mark Hughes was booed after Walsall came from behind to win 3-1 at Valley Parade.

The home side had taken the lead from Andy Cook’s penalty midway through the first half after Joe Riley fouled Rayhaan Tulloch.

But Walsall responded well to equalise three minutes later as Liam Gordon took advantage of nobody closing him down to plant an angled low shot past home keeper Harry Lewis.

Isaac Hutchinson and Donervon Daniels had chances as the visitors grew in confidence and they went ahead through a scrappy goal just before half-time.

Ross Tierney’s corner was flicked on by Oisin McEtee and then deflected off Kevin McDonald and Walsall striker Aramide Oteh, who claimed the goal.

Walsall went further in front after 56 minutes as Freddie Draper headed home unmarked from another Tierney corner.

Tulloch almost pulled one back but was denied on the line by Riley’s block as Walsall bounced back from consecutive defeats with a well-deserved win.

Angry home fans made their feelings clear at the final whistle.

Morecambe recorded their first away win of the season with a 2-1 victory at Forest Green Rovers.

Goals from Michael Mellon and Jordan Slew scored the goals that moved the Shrimps up a couple of places to 12th in the League Two table.

Tyrese Omotoye’s late header was not enough to prevent Rovers from slumping to a sixth straight home defeat of the season.

Matty Stevens exchanged a one-two with Rovers strikerTroy Deeney before the forward dragged his shot wide of the post early on.

The visitors took the lead in the  26th minute when Donald Love supplied an inch-perfect pass for Mellon who calmly chipped over Rovers’ debutant goalkeeper James Belshaw.

Slew tapped home Morecambe’s second after Tom Bloxham was given time and space down the right-hand side to measure a low cross for his opposite winger.

Marcel Lavinier met Dom Bernard’s deep cross on the half-volley but he fired over on the hour mark.

Omotoye’s header gave them hope of a comeback following a late Forest Green rally but Morecambe held out for a valuable win.

Colchester stunned Notts County 5-4 in a pulsating League Two encounter.

The U’s took a 10th-minute lead through Noah Chilvers’ long-range shot, following Aidan Stone’s scuffed clearance.

But County equalised in the 22nd minute when Sam Austin netted after goalkeeper Owen Goodman had denied Macaulay Langstaff.

Colchester edged ahead again in the 31st minute when Jayden Fevrier’s delivery deflected in off Magpies Richard Brindley and Arthur Read’s outstanding 20-yard free-kick seven minutes later made it 3-1.

Notts County reduced the deficit when Langstaff diverted home Cameron’s 48th-minute delivery.

United restored a two-goal cushion in the 58th minute as Cameron McGeehan converted Joe Taylor’s pass.

Jodi Jones’ excellent top-corner strike in the 67th minute reduced the arrears but again Colchester responded, this time after just seven minutes as Read struck with a magnificent shot.

McGeehan was dismissed in the 79th minute following a second yellow card for dissent and Langstaff nodded in Jones’ cross in the second minute of stoppage time but Colchester held on.