Walsall 3 Doncaster Rovers 0

CJames Baxendale sparked a rout to get revenge on dire Donny.

Winger Baxendale was dumped by home town club Rovers two years ago after making only two substitute appearances, but found the net for the first time in one year at the end of the first period.

Winger Andy Forde took a short free kick to Romaine Sawyers on the left of the box and the St. Kitts and Nevis striker cut the ball back for Baxendale to send a rocket of a shot into the far corner.

Walsall boss Dean Smith was delighted with Baxendale and said:

"Bax did what we know he can do and we've been waiting for him to do for a while. You could see his relief after scoring."

"We controlled the game. It was a very good performance."

Striker Tom Bradshaw doubled the lead in the 57th minute.

Sawyers sent a low cross over from the left flank and Bradshaw slid in to prod home his fifth goal since moving from Shrewsbury in the summer.

Forde opened his Walsall account in the 64th minute with a scorcher.

Bradshaw was bundled over by midfielder Paul Keegan on the edge of the box and Forde fired in the free kick off the upright.

Neither side had posed a real threat in the first half Until Baxendale's strike.

Rovers midfielder Harry Forrester fired a long range effort from the left wide of the far post in the sixteenth minute and central defender Paul Downing nodded a free kick from winger Andy Forde just wide in the 28th minute.

Doncaster manager Paul Dickov fumed:

"I'd like to apologise to our fans, they didn't deserve that. it's not the first time it's happened this season. Next week we'll be working hard and taking a long look at ourselves."

Swindon Town 5 Sheffield United 2

Michael Smith scored a brace to blunt the Blades and bring their unbeaten run to a shuddering halt

Striker Smith scored his first in the thirteenth minute.

Midfielder Louis Thompson split the Blades defence to pick out Smith on the right side of the box and he drilled in a low shot from fourteen yards.

Smith then added his second from the spot in the 55th minute after midfielder Massimo Luongo was hacked down by defender Neill Collins.

Swindon manager Mark Cooper was delighted with Smithand said:

"I thought he was tremendous, but I thought they all were and we could've had more."

Jon Obika netted his fourth goal in three games in the 58th minute.

Iraq international midfielder Yaser Kasim fed winger Bradley Smith on the left and he picked out Obika who fired in a low shot from fourteen yards.

Striker Marc McNulty pulled United back into the game with his first league goal of the season in the 66th minute when he scooped a pass from winger Ben Davies over keeper Wes Foderingham from three yards.

And Davies gave the Blades real hope when he volleyed in his fourth of the campaign from a tight angle at the far post after Foderingham had flapped and missed substitute Ryan Flynn's left wing cross.

But Swindon substitute Andy Williams latched on to Thompson's 76th minute pass to roll in his fourth of the campaign in the 76th minute.

And with four minutes left Thompson opened his League account For the season with a belter from twenty yards after Kasim had found him in space in front of goal.

Sheffield boss Nigel Clough was seething after seeing his team's six match unbeaten run end. He said:

"They're a confident good footballing side, but we gave the ball away cheaply."

Cheltenham Town 0 Southend United 1

Conor Clifford was in the thick of it as he scored a stunner against gutsy ten-man Cheltenham

Substitute Clifford drilled in a low 22 yard shot through a crowded box for his second of the season in the 52nd minute.

But Clifford was the victim seven minutes before the break when midfielder Jason Taylor was shown a red card for lashing out at him as both players grappled on the deck.

Keeper Trevor Carson beat away a shot from Spurs loanee striker Shaquile Coulthirst and winger Kevan Hurst rattled the bar, but Southend could not add to Clifford's strike.

Mark Yates was furious with referee James Linington after he red-carded midfielder Jason Taylor for elbowing Southend substitute Conor Clifford.

Robins boss Yates fumed:

"The game got ruined by the official. Our supporters are the most mild-mannered in the world and the reaction they gave during the game and at the end said it all. I thought it was very harsh. It was a good game until then.

"We paid the price for giving the referee a chance to send one of our players off. It made it extra tough for us, but the effort and commitment is there."

Southend manager PhilBrown saw the incident differently and said:

"Conor's gone to ground and he's been elbowed on the ground. Conor's not a soft boy, but he stayed down.

"The referee was five yards away and so if he hadn't of given it he'd have bottled it. There were a lot of other decisions he didn't get right.

"When circumstances go for you - and they did tonight - you've got to grab them with both hands and we did."

Walsall 3 Preston North End 1

Romaine Sawyers has Kitts and made up with the Bescot faithful.

Striker Sawyers opened the scoring as Walsall won for the first time this season, but had been jeered by some fans before heading off to help St. Kitts and Nevis beat Dominica in the Caribbean Cup.

Sawyers, 22, even took to Twitter to apologise to fans, but said:

"I didn't play to the standard I'd set for myself. I was disappointed and said that, but now the tweets will be a lot more positive. 

"I can accept when they're not on my side when my performances were like they were, but today's reception when I came off made me feel good about myself."

And Birmingham-born Sawyers believes the visit to St. Kitts helped him relax. He said:

"It's a lot more laid back out there so it was good to refresh myself, but I put personal pressure on myself whether I'm playing for Walsall or St. Kitts."

Joe Garner equalised before the break, but Tom Bradshaw and Paul Downing headed Walsall to a second half victory.

Andy Butler returned to Walsall to make his loan debut - only three months after signing for Sheffield United and was felled by a 69th minute headbutt from Jordan Hugill who was red-carded.

But Butler refused to criticise United boss Nigel Clough for farming him out and said:

"There's been no falling out or anything and a friend sent me a text this week to let me know that Walsall haven't won since November 2010 without me playing, so that's not a bad stat!"

Manager Dean Smith took a friendly swipe at the doom mongers who had already tipped the Saddlers for the drop. He joked: 

"It's nice to get the win. It was a six-pointer in a relegation battle wasn't it?"

Walsall 3 Preston North End 1

Romaine Sawyers silenced the boo-boys as Walsall chalked up a first win against ten-man Preston.

Striker Sawyer had been getting grief from the Bescot faithful before spending the international break with St. Kitts and Nevis in the Caribbean, but scored his first goal since January in the seventh minute.

Mal Benning picked out fellow midfielder Adam Chambers on the left side of the box and he cut the ball back to Sawyers who found the back of the net with a deflected side-footed shot from fourteen yards.

Delighted Walsall boss Dean Smith said:

"It was a good result against a team who were unbeaten in the league until today and I was pleased to see Romaine get himself back on the score sheet."

Tom Bradshaw grabbed the Saddlers second four minutes after the break when he nodded in Antony Forde's right wing cross from eight yards to claim his fourth goal since a summer move from Shrewsbury.

And central defender Paul Downing sealed the win in the 76th minute when he nodded in his first goal of the season at the far post from a Forde corner.

Striker Joe Garner had pulled Preston back into the game in the 36th minute with his fourth goal in six starts when he drilled in a low shot from the edge of the box following a pass from substitute Jordan Hugill.

But Hugill gave referee Geoff Eltringham no option other than to dish out his FOURTH red card of the season in the 69th minute when he head-butted loanee defender Andy Butler who returned to the club last week despite a summer move to Sheffield United.

North End manager Simon Grayson fumed:

"Jordan's been foolish to react the way he did, but we were the masters of our own downfall."

Bristol City 2 Scunthorpe United 0

FGreg Cunningham took less than sixty seconds to seal City's unbeaten start to the season.

Substitute Cunningham started the move after coming off the bench in the 82nd minute and then latched on to a pass from midfielder Luke Freeman to drill in his first goal of the campaign from the left side of the box.

City are now second in the table behind Peterborough after winning four of their first six games, but manager Steve Cotterill warned:

"It's early days and nothing to get carried away about, but I'm very pleased with the win.

"I thought Greg's goal was fantastic, but Joe Bryan will tell you that he exhausted their full back before I took him off!"

Freeman also had a hand in City's 52nd minute opener when floated a corner to the far post and 6' 6" central defender Aden Flint nodded in his first goal of the season from two yards.

Posh loanee stopper Bobby Olejnik kept Scunny in the game with an excellent save in the 69th minute.

Striker Kieran Agard had a shot blocked by central defender Niall Canavan on the right side of the box, but curled the rebound towards the far corner only to see Olejnik touch it behind at full stretch.

Scunthorpe came close to scoring twice in two minutes.

In the 22nd minute Gary McSheffrey rattled the upright with a shot from the left side of the area and then co-striker Paddy Madden raced onto a defence splitting pass from midfielder Neal Bishop, but Frank Fielding saved his twenty yard shot.

Iron boss Russ Wilcox groaned:

"It's always disappointing when you lose a football match, but we showed what we're about and created three or four golden opportunities. We did well for an hour, but have to do better in both boxes."

Cheltenham Town 1 Hartlepool United 0

Koby Arthur dedicated his late, late winner to his forgiving team mates.

Ghanaian striker Arthur, 18, stunned Hartlepool with a header in the 90th minute before revealing:

"In the last home game against Carlisle I was selfish and took a shot and missed when I should have passed it. I felt bad and apologised to the lads afterwards. They told me not to worry about it and said that sometimes they go for you and sometimes they don't. I think I've made them happy now though."

Arthur is on a six month youth loan deal from Birmingham City and is quite happy with the super-sub tag after netting three times from the bench in Cheltenham's unbeaten start to the campaign. He said:

"I'm a young player and I'm sure that the time will come in my career when I start games regularly, but if you look at our squad there are plenty of guys with lots of experience so why should I start ahead of them? 

"The manager knows what he's doing and it's not my place to pick the team, but we all have a role to play whether we start or not."

Fellow substitute John Marquis was unlucky not to score a brace on his debut following a one month loan move from Millwall last week and said:

"The first one that hit the post was from a difficult angle, but I did everything right for my header and their keeper just made an excellent save."

Robins First Team Coach Shaun North deputised for manager Mark Yates and said:

"Everyone did their bit. It's nice to be unbeaten, it means that we're doing things right."

Hartlepool boss Colin Cooper admitted:

"I don’t think we did enough to win the game but we did enough not to lose."

Cheltenham Town 1 Hartlepool United 0

Super-sub Koby Arthur broke Pool hearts to seal the win at the death.

Striker Arthur nodded in the winner in the 90th minute from close range after skipper Matt Taylor had flicked on Troy Brown's long throw in.

Arthur has now scored three goals from the bench in Cheltenham's five game unbeaten start to the season and First Team Coach Shaun North said:

"It took a little while to come, but we kept knocking at the door and our reward came in the end.

"We've not done a lot of work on long throws, but maybe we should because Koby timed his run to perfection."

Hartlepool thought they had done enough to earn a draw thanks to a superb save from keeper Scott Flinders with seven minutes left.

Flinders beat the odds to acrobatically dive backwards and push substitute John Marquis's point blank header onto the bar with his his finger tips.

Cheltenham dominated the game and before the break Flinders was forced to beat away a stinging shot from Craig Braham-Barrett after the wing-back darted into the box from the left.

And Cheltenham should have found the net twice in the space of one minute.

Striker Terry Gornell fluffed a chance in the 55th minute and blasted his shot over the bar from ten yards before player-coach Steve Elliott headed straight at Flinders with the goal begging.

Millwall loanee striker Marquis almost had an immediate impact on his debut in the 65th minute.

Marquis raced into the box from the right, but his angled shot hit the foot of the post with Flinders beaten.

Disappointed Pool boss Colin Cooper groaned:

"With all due respect, it's the smallest player on the pitch who heads in the winner. It feels like we've been kicked where it hurts."