Northampton began the 2025/26 season with a 3-1 defeat away at Wigan Athletic.

Fraser Murray and Jensen Weir gave the home side a 2-0 lead at half-time, which was extended when Murray grabbed a third in the opening minute of the second half.

Michael Forbes grabbed a late goal back for Northampton, but the damage had already been done for Kevin Nolan’s side as they slid to an opening day reverse in Lancashire.

After a summer of player churn in the Cobblers’ ranks, Nolan named 8 of the Cobblers’ new signings in their first league starting line-up of the campaign, including Ethan Wheatley the day after he was confirmed as joining Northampton on loan from Manchester United.

Northampton will seek to puts on the board next weekend as they welcome newly promoted Bradford City to Sixfields.

The pink-clad visitors almost snatched the lead early on when a Jack Burroughs cross struck the crossbar with goalkeeper Sam Tickle a bystander.

As the half wore on, Wigan began to create more tangible opportunities, with Murray heading over and Weir having a shot saved by Lee Burge.

Just over half-an-hour into the game, Wigan broke the deadlock. Joseph Hungbo got space to deliver a cross and Murray’s header found the back of the net.

Northampton nearly equalised when Cameron McGeehan hit the side-netting from Dean Campbell’s cross, while Murray’s free-kick was repelled at the other end by a fine stop from Burge.

Wigan would make it 2-0 from the corner after Murray’s denied free-kick, however, as Weir turned home from Hungbo’s corner to give the Latics a further goal on the tally.

The hosts nearly made it 3-0 in the final moments of the first half as Weir got space for a shot that was denied by Burge.

But less than 20 seconds after half-time, Wigan got their third as Murray’s shot took a deflection off Forbes to send it beyond Burge and into the back of the net.

Although Sam Hoskins and Elliot List would miss chances, Northampton took a while to get their bearings as the second half continued.

The Cobblers would make it 3-1 with 20 minutes to go as debutant defender Forbes headed in from Campbell’s corner.

List then nearly made things even more interesting when he was only denied by a fine stop from Wigan keeper Tickle.

Dara Costelloe, who played for Northampton on loan last season, missed a great chance to grab the home side a fourth, while his replacement Paul Mullin was only denied by a fine stop from Burge.

Tyrese Fornah then came close with a shot well stopped by Tickle, but there would be no further goals on the scoreboard as Wigan saw the game out to start their season with the three points.

MK Dons began the new season with a 0-0 draw at home to Oldham Athletic after a game of few chances.

Neither side created a large deal of chances, with a combined total of just one shot on target created between the two sides, with the net result seeing both sides end the game without scoring.

The result means that the Dons have now played out four 0-0 draws in the five competitive games overseen by Paul Warne, who managed the final four games of last season but is now embarking on his first full campaign in charge of MK Dons.

After a big summer of spending and a lot of people naming the Dons as a potential promotion contender, the meeting with last season’s National League play-off winners Oldham represented the Dons’ first opportunity to try and get points on the board.

Four of the Dons’ summer signings were given debuts from the start, with Aaron Collins, Nathaniel Mendez-Laing, Rushian Hepburn-Murphy and Gethin Jones getting full starts. Fellow recruits Callum Paterson and Will Collar began their first assignment with the Dons as substitutes.

On a summer’s afternoon at Stadium MK, both sides had a few early forays forward, although creation of strong chances was proving challenging.

The first tangible opportunity was created by Oldham, with space opening up for Kane Drummond, who saw a low shot skim wide.

Mendez-Laing has a strike blocked from outside the box, while the Dons had a few set-pieces and crosses blocked or cleared as they tried to find a way through.

Although Oldham also carried a threat on the counter, neither side had their shooting boots on, with the general misfiring summed up when Kane Thompson-Sommers planted a strike in the stands for the hosts.

A flash point then came in the final moments of the half. Alex Gilbey played through Aaron Collins, who charged into the box before being challenged by Oldham defender Donervon Daniels. Many of a Dons persuasion felt Daniels had fouled Collins, with the defender going through Collins to win the ball, but the referee opted to give a corner instead.

That corner would see a Jack Sanders header across goal blocked, while the second corner was cleared.

The Dons tried to up the tempo after the break, with Liam Kelly narrowly missing out on Collins’ pass while Luke Offord later missed the target with a header at a corner.

Warne introduced Paterson, signed earlier this week from Sheffield Wednesday, but the home side continued to find chance creation problematic.

Oldham then had a bright spell of their own but they were also found guilty of wasting good positions in the final third.

The Latics then had their own question on whether they should’ve got a penalty when substitute Luke Hannant met Josh Hawkes’ pass and went down when trying to get ahead of home goalkeeper Craig MacGillivray. The referee however ruled Hannant dived, giving the hosts a free-kick and booking the former Gateshead player.

MK Dons then nearly had an unorthodox breakthrough when Jonathan Leko’s low cross-shot took a huge deflection off Oldham’s Ryan Woods, requiring a second Oldham player to stop it from going into the back of the net.

The only shot on target in the entire match ultimately came in the 88th minute. Oldham broke after MK Dons lost the ball on the edge of the Latics’ box and they worked the ball through to Mike Fondop, who fired a strike that was straight at MacGillivray.

Injury time failed to provide what would’ve almost certainly been a winner, leaving the two sides to start their campaigns off with a point apiece. It was the first time in four years that the Dons have drawn their opening game of a season, with the team having a week to process what they learned from this game before next weekend’s match away at Barrow.

MK Dons: MacGillivray – Jones, Sanders, Offord, Tomlinson – Thompson-Sommers (Paterson 61), Kelly – Mendez-Laing (Collar 87), Gilbey, Hepburn-Murphy (Leko 73) – Collins

Subs not used: Trueman, Nemane, Lemonheigh-Evans, Waller

Booked: Sanders

Oldham: Hudson – Ogle, Daniels, Monthe, Leake (Hammond 84) – Morris (Hawkes 59), Woods, Conlon, Stevens (Hannant 68) – Drummond – Fondop

Subs not used: Donaghy, Sutton, Harratt, Waters

Booked: Hannant, Conlon, Fondop

Luton Town have confirmed the double signing of defender Cohen Bramall and striker Jerry Yates.

Bramall became Luton’s 9th summer signing after arriving on a free transfer following his departure from Championship side Portsmouth, before Yates became the Hatters’ 10th summer arrival after signing for an undisclosed fee from Swansea City.

Both have signed contracts of undisclosed length with the Bedfordshire club, although confirmation of both joining came too late for the two to feature in Luton’s opening match of the League One season against AFC Wimbledon today (01/08).

The arrival of 29-year-old Bramall was confirmed first, with the defender confirmed this afternoon.

Capable of playing as a left-back or left-sided centre-back, Bramall has made over 200 appearances for EFL clubs in his career, turning out for the likes of Birmingham, Colchester, Lincoln and Rotherham, as well as his stint with Portsmouth.

The defender had joined Portsmouth from Rotherham in January 2025 for an undisclosed fee before leaving upon expiry of his short-term contract at the end of the 2024/25 campaign. He made 12 appearances for the team from Fratton Park.

Luton boss Matt Bloomfield told the club’s official website that he was happy to recruit an additional option with League One experience.

He said, “Cohen’s been a real solid performer at this level and above for a number of years now.

“He’s very athletic, extremely quick and has a great left foot. He’ll get up and down the flank and give us really good options in the wide left positions.

“We believe his profile and experience in this league will mean he’ll play an important role in the squad. It’s an area of the pitch we knew we had to look at and in Cohen we have someone whose experience and know-how of the level – and athletic profile – will provide a good addition to our group.”

Striker Yates was then confirmed as a new signing in the final half-hour or so before kick-off in the Hatters’ season opener.

The 28-year-old scored 10 times in 42 league games for Derby on loan from Swansea last season, having scored 8 for the Swans in his first season in South Wales after joining from Blackpool in 2023.

Yates had previously spent 3 seasons with Blackpool, scoring 42 league goals, including 20 as the Seasiders won promotion in the 2020/21 campaign.

His career also saw him spend time with Rotherham, Harrogate, Carlisle and Swindon.

Bloomfield hailed the move as a big signing. He said, “This is a massive signing for us. Jerry is a seasoned pro and proven at Championship and at League One level.

“He had a desire to stay in the Championship but he’s brought into what we want to achieve, who we are as a football club and because we want him to spearhead our attack.

“He’s a real Luton-type player; someone who doesn’t stop running, doesn’t stop working, and plays with real energy and enthusiasm.

“He was a handful against us when playing for Derby at the back end of last season and when the opportunity arose to sign him we grabbed it with both hands.”

An own goal by Ryan Johnson was the deciding factor as Luton beat AFC Wimbledon 1-0 on the opening day of the season.

In a Friday night game of few chances, Luton won the first EFL match of the 2025/26 season with a hard-thought victory over last season’s League 2 play-off winners.

Victory was the first time since 2021 that Luton have won their first match of a new season, with Matt Bloomfield’s side aiming for it to be the launchpad to begin a fightback after two successive relegations.

A new campaign saw Luton aiming to rebuild after back-to-back relegations from the Premier League and Championship.

On a day that saw Luton confirm the new signings of Cohen Bramall and Jerry Yates, albeit too late for either to feature, Bloomfield handed full debuts to four of the Hatters’ new signings, with Josh Keeley, George Saville, Nigel Lonwijk and Nahki Wells in from the start.

For the most part, however, AFC Wimbledon proved to be a roadblock, serving in some the defensive resistance that helped them win promotion from League Two last season.

Perhaps the closest to a major opportunity in the first half came in the 25th minute, when Wells had a shot blocked.

Wells put another shot wide just after half-time, but a chance of significance was finally created almost out of nothing just after the hour. Reuell Walters was first to a half-cleared corner and his strike was on target, only to be denied by a flying stop from visiting keeper Nathan Bishop.

The visitors continued to be a tough nut to crack for Luton, however, who continually tried but failed to land a breakthrough as the game entered the final stretch.

But a breakthrough would come their way with 85 minutes on the clock. A floated cross into the box by Wells had aimed to find home substitute Cauley Woodrow. Defender Johnson got their first, but his looping header ended up spiralling in via the crossbar.

Luton then duly kept the visitors at bay to confirm they would be starting off a new campaign with the three points. They will play their second match and first away game of the season next weekend, when they travel to play Peterborough United next Saturday (09/08).

Northampton Town have signed striker Ethan Wheatley on a season-long loan from Manchester United.

The 19-year-old is the Cobblers’ 13th new signing of the 2025 summer transfer window, with the news announced the night before Northampton’s season opening match against Wigan Athletic.

Wheatley spent time last season on loan in League 2 with Walsall, while he has also made 4 appearances for the Manchester United first team and scored for England at the under-19 Euros earlier this year.

Northampton boss Kevin Nolan voiced his delight to confirm the deal that brings Wheatley to Sixfields in remarks with the club’s official website.

He said, “We are delighted to get Ethan’s signing over the line.

“We have been speaking to Manchester United, Ethan, his Dad and his agent over the last few weeks to make sure everything is right and everyone is happy.

“He has played in the Premier League for Manchester United at the age of 18 and you don’t do that without having a lot of ability. I have seen enough of him to know what he is all about, what his attributes are and to believe that he can come in and be a good addition for us.

“He is tall, strong, powerful and quick and a really good athlete. We believe he fits in with what we are trying to do, how we want to play and what we need from our strikers. With his qualities and what he brings, we believe that he can be a good addition to what is already a sound squad.

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