The Football League kicked off on Friday night this week with two rivalry games. Forest Green hosted Swindon in the Cotswold derby, while MK Dons travelled to South London to face AFC Wimbledon. Both games resulted in 2-0 wins for the away sides.
Saturday then saw the rest of the teams from the three divisions play their games, and they more than matched the entertainment on display the day before.
Football League Roundup: Week Eight
Long-Range Stunners Seal win for Brentford
Brentford scored three astonishing goals in their away win at rock-bottom Bolton. Yoann Barbet, Nico Yennaris and Ollie Watkins were the scorers, moving Brentford out of the relegation zone. Bolton, meanwhile, remain winless this season.
Barbet opened the scoring on 38 minutes, curling in a stunning free-kick. Yennaris then got arguably the best of the three, firing into the top corner from 30 yards, before Watkins sealed the win by cutting inside and firing beyond Ben Alnwick in the Bolton goal.
Bolton set a club record of six games without scoring in what is fast becoming a season to forget for them. Brentford, meanwhile, ended a run of five games without a win in all competitions.
Free-Scoring Rotherham big Winners Again
Rotherham scored five in one game for the third time this season, dispatching Oldham 5-1 on Saturday. Kieffer Moore scored a brace, and Michael Ihiekwe, Anthony Forde and Jerry Yates all added goals of their own on a perfect afternoon for the Millers.
Ihiekwe opened the scoring after just eight minutes at the New York Stadium. Moore headed a corner onto the crossbar, and Ihiekwe was on hand to nod in the rebound.
Oldham have found a bit more fight recently after an awful start. They matched this by pegging back the hosts mid-way through the first half. Craig Davies scored his fifth goal of the season, turning in Jack Byrne’s corner.
It looked as though the Latics were going to hold out for a point, but Rotherham turned on the style late on. Moore scored a quick-fire double, Forde tapped in after an excellent run from Joe Newell and it was sealed by Yates when he scored his first for the club.
Emphatic Carlisle win on Road
A Danny Grainger double helped Carlisle on their way to a romping 5-0 win away at Crewe. The Cumbrians hadn’t won a league game in over a month prior to their visit, but were celebrating the first of their goals after just 13 minutes. Grainger let fly from the edge of the area and saw his effort nestle in the bottom corner.
That was how it stayed until half time, but after that the visitors really turned on the style. Grainger scored his second of the game from the penalty spot after Michael Raynes tripped Reggie Lambe, and Raynes’ afternoon didn’t get any better 24 minutes later. He was credited with the final touch from Grainger’s corner, giving the visitors a dominant 3-0 lead.
Lambe then added himself to the scoresheet by collecting Jamie Devitt’s pass and cooly slotting underneath Ben Garratt to make it 4-0. The misery was complete for Crewe in the 90th minute, when substitute Hallam Hope broke free and placed in Carlisle’s fifth.
The result means Carlisle move above Crewe in the table on goal difference, with both sides on 11 points.
Elsewhere…
Championship
In the Championship, Leeds remained top of the league by seeing off a spirited Ipswich side in a 3-2 win at Elland Road. Cardiff and Wolves are both level on points with the Yorkshire side after 2-1 wins. Cardiff were victorious at Sunderland while Wolves got a 93rd minute winner over Barnsley at Molineux.
Aston Villa won back-to-back games as Conor Hourihane’s stunning free-kick gave them a 2-1 victory over Nottingham Forest.
Derby, Fulham and Reading were all held to 1-1 draws at home. Birmingham, Middlesbrough and Hull were the sides to take points from them on the road.
Finally, three games finished goalless. Norwich were held by Bristol City, Preston couldn’t find a way past Millwall and Burton Albion held on at Queens Park Rangers.
League One
In League One, Southend were the big winners as they scored four on their travels. They were 4-2 winners over a Fleetwood side who have dropped off the pace in recent weeks.
Peterborough were victorious in the battle of the two in-form sides, as Jack Marriott scored in the 90th minute to edge a 3-2 thriller against Wigan.
Plymouth continued to struggle as they were easily swept aside by Doncaster in a 3-0 loss. Also losing 3-0 were Gillingham, another of the strugglers, as they fell to defeat at Rochdale.
Northampton lost at home for the first time under Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, as Tony McMahon scored Bradford’s only goal of the game at Sixfields.
Close by in Oxford, the U’s were also beaten at home as goals from Erhun Oztumer and Tyler Roberts gave Walsall a 2-1 win.
Scunthorpe were 2-0 victors over Portsmouth, and finally Charlton and Shrewsbury were held to 1-1 draws by Bury and Blackburn respectively.
League Two
Finally, in League Two, Notts County replaced Exeter at the top of the league as the Magpies easily beat Lincoln 4-1. Exeter, meanwhile, were beaten 2-0 by Coventry.
Crawley needed a last minute winner from Jimmy Smith to win 2-1 at Barnet, and Wycombe were also victorious by the same score away at Colchester.
Steve Evans’ Mansfield beat Cambridge 2-1, and Morecambe’s trip to Stevenage also ended in a 2-1 win for the home side.
Luton and Newport both recorded 1-0 home victories against Chesterfield and Grimsby respectively, and finally Yeovil were held to a 1-1 home draw by bottom side Port Vale.
The Football League continues on Tuesday with a full programme from all three divisions. The only exceptions are Sheffield Wednesday’s visit to Birmingham and Sheffield United’s home fixture against Wolves. Both of these are being played on Wednesday.
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