Welcome back to EFL Round-Up by Last Word on Football. This column delves deep into the world of the Football League, looking at the key games from each of the three divisions as well as providing a brief overview of every result from the Championship, League One and League Two.
In this week’s edition, we look at how Sheffield United fared in their trip to Bolton Wanderers, Karl Robinson’s Oxford side gaining their first win of the season and the unbeaten MK Dons side managed by Paul Tisdale, who continued his streak against his former employers.
EFL Round-Up – Gameweek 5
Blades Batter Bolton
Sheffield United ended Bolton’s unbeaten start to the season as they claimed a big victory at the Macron Stadium. The Blades took the lead when Mark Duffy converted a cross, and they doubled their lead midway through the opening period as Kieron Freeman’s cross was dummied by Leon Clarke, going in off the post.
Ben Alnwick kept the scores down with a wonderful save from David McGoldrick’s dipping volley, but he couldn’t prevent United from extending their lead further late on when John Fleck steered Enda Stevens’ cross into the net.
Bolton remain third in the table as Aston Villa could only draw, but Sheffield United are now just a point behind the Trotters. If Phil Parkinson has ambitions to remain in the dizzy heights Bolton are currently in, he needs to make sure they perform much better than this, especially at home.
Oxford Get First Win
Karl Robinson said in the week that Oxford United didn’t need a Plan B, they just needed to do Plan A better, referring to their awful start to the season. They certainly did it better this weekend, as second-half goals from James Henry and Ricky Holmes helped them on their way to victory over fellow strugglers Burton.
John Mousinho opened the scoring for the hosts, glancing in Marcus Browne’s free-kick but Burton levelled before half-time through Marvin Sordell.
Henry restored Oxford’s lead five minutes into the second-half and Holmes made the game safe late on as he slid Henry’s pass beyond Steven Bywater.
The win still means that both sides are in the relegation zone, but it could provide the spark for Robinson and his players to reverse their fortunes ahead of the rest of the season.
Tisdale Defeats Former Side
MK Dons continued their unbeaten start to the season while also ending the same run for Exeter as Paul Tisdale faced the side where he spent the first 12 years of his professional management career.
A quiet game in the first-half sprung to life in the second as the Dons were awarded a penalty. Dean Moxey was penalised for handball as he jumped to head away George Williams’ cross, and the defender was sent from the field for his second bookable offence.
Kieran Agard stepped up to take, but saw his effort brilliantly pushed away by Christy Pym. However, within ten minutes, Agard had the chance to redeem himself as Jayden Stockley this time had handball given against him, and Agard sent Pym the wrong way to put the hosts in front.
Exeter rarely threatened, but the Dons defence stood firm when called upon and the three points sent them up to second in the league.
Elsewhere in…
The Championship
Leeds United moved to the top of the Championship with an easy 3-0 away win at Norwich City, which included a stunning third goal by Pablo Hernandez.
Stoke and Derby both recorded 2-0 home victories as Gary Rowett finally got off the mark as Potters’ manager, beating Preston and Hull respectively, while there were also home wins for Blackburn and Sheffield Wednesday, beating Brentford and Ipswich.
A last-gasp penalty from Sam Baldock earned Reading a 1-1 draw away to Aston Villa and it was also a share of the spoils for Nottingham Forest and Birmingham, as the hosts battled back to earn a 2-2 draw.
QPR got their first win of the season after conceding ten goals in their previous two games, beating Wigan 1-0 thanks to Tomer Hemed’s acrobatic finish, and Bristol City struck early at Swansea, hanging on as Andreas Weimann netted the only goal after just 31 seconds.
League One
Peterborough set a new club record of five wins out of five to start the season and, continuing the theme, they scored five goals in an away victory over Plymouth; Ryan Edwards managed a consolation for the hosts.
Luton twice came from behind to beat Shrewsbury thanks to two free-kicks, while Barnsley also came from behind to preserve their unbeaten start against Scunthorpe, who had parted company with manager Nick Dawes prior to the game.
There were narrow away wins for Walsall and Wycombe, who won 2-1 against Bradford and Rochdale respectively, and a single goal was enough for Southend to take all three points at Bristol Rovers.
Finally, there were two stalemates in League One; Charlton were held at home to Fleetwood and neither Doncaster or Portsmouth could find a way past each other.
League Two
Lincoln City moved to the top of the league as they brushed aside a struggling Notts County side who, since the game, have sacked their manager, Kevin Nolan.
Carlisle United moved into the play-off spots with a 1-0 home victory over Crewe Alexandra while, at the other end of the table, Northampton Town got their first victory of the season away at Colchester.
A late resurgence from Crawley saw them score two in the dying minutes to complete a turnaround against Bury and Cheltenham Town, who sacked Gary Johnson mid-week, recorded an away win against Cambridge United.
Yeovil Town were 2-0 victors over Stevenage, there were home wins for Tranmere and Newport, winning their games 1-0 against Port Vale and Grimsby, and finally, Forest Green and Macclesfield drew 1-1 against Swindon and Mansfield respectively.
Stats You May Have Missed
- There are an average of 3.60 goals in games involving Leeds United, the highest of the current Championship top six.
- Mansfield Town and Nottingham Forest are the lowest-ranked unbeaten sides in their respective divisions, sitting 13th.
- Oxford United’s six goals this season make them the highest-scoring side in an EFL relegation zone so far in this campaign.
- Middlesbrough’s Darren Randolph has the most clean sheets of any keeper in the EFL so far this season.
- League Two has the lowest percentage of away wins in the EFL (21%). The Championship has 27% while League One has 40%.
All stats from FootyStats
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