THERE was no fairy-tale start for Hollywood-owned Wrexham on the opening day of League Two. In front of 10,000 people, Wrexham were beaten emphatically on their own turf by MK Dons. It was Wrexham’s first home defeat since November 2021 and was something of a wake-up call for the Welsh club as they returned to the EFL. They were two goals down inside 10 minutes and trailed 4-1 before a flurry of goals in the last eight minutes left Wrexham two goals behind the visitors with the final scoreline of 5-3. “We were a long way off today,” said Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson. Elsewhere in League Two, Notts County were thrashed 5-1 at Sutton United, while Forest Green Rovers, who were relegated from League One in 2022-23, lost at home to Salford by 2-0. Crawley, who were close to the drop last season, beat Bradford 1-0 and AFC Wimbledon, another struggler, drew 0-0 at Grimsby Town.
Barnsley stole the headlines in League One with a 7-0 drubbing of Port Vale. Devante Cole netted a hat-trick in a 30-minute spell either side of half-time. Cole, the son of former Newcastle and Manchester United striker Andy Cole, has impressed new manager Neill Collins, who had a perfect start to his career at Oakwell. He told the local BBC radio station: “Today’s result tells me a lot about the players, their mentality, their attitude, that’s the most important thing. I said we would learn more about the team once we started playing league football so for me I’ve learned a lot of positives today.” Notable scorelines from the opening day in League One included Wigan’s 2-1 win at Derby, Charlton’s 1-0 London derby victory against Leyton Orient and Stevenage’s 1-0 success at Northampton.
The three Premier League relegated clubs, Southampton, Leeds United and Leicester City got off to a decent start in the Championship with all three avoiding defeat. Southampton kicked off the season on Friday night with a 2-1 win at Sheffield Wednesday, while Leeds United came back from 2-0 down at Elland Road to earn a point against Cardiff City. Leicester City went behind at home to Coventry City, who scored through Kyle McFadzean on 47 minutes, but two late goals from Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall gave the Foxes victory. Ipswich Town made a good start on their return to the Championship, going 2-0 up against Sunderland, who had Trai Hume sent off midway through the second half. Sunderland pulled a goal back four minutes from the end, but Ipswich held on to win 2-1 at the Stadium of Light. Other scores of note: Middlesbrough 0 Millwall 1, Watford 4 QPR 0, Stoke City 4 Rotherham 1, Plymouth 3 Huddersfield 1.
Non-League: In the Southern League Premier Central, Hitchin Town got off to a respectable start with a 2-0 victory against Alvechurch at Top Field. This scoreline looked unlikely in the first half as Alvechurch were the better side with Jennai Gordon’s pace causing the Hitchin defence problems. But just before the half-time break, Alvechurch had Yaw Nantwi-Osusu sent off after he received two yellow cards, much to the disgust of the away bench. This changed the game as Alvechurch were not as threatening in the second period. Hitchin took the lead through Jack Snelus with a fierce drive following a free kick in the 47th minute. The points were settled in the 73rdminute when Finley Wilkinson’s “textbook header” found the back of the net.
