Charlie Griffin was the hero as Stevenage ended their first ever Football League game with a point following a 2-2 draw with Macclesfield. Peter Vincenti gave the hosts an early lead when he headed in Griffin's cross but Nat Brown soon headed in an equaliser. Emile Sinclair found Tyrone Bennett to put Macclesfield ahead from close range but Griffin pounced with a minute remaining.
Scott Rendell's cool penalty on his debut and a late solo goal from the substitute Jon-Paul Pittman gave Wycombe a 2-0 home victory over Morecambe. Rendell headed Kevin Betsy's cross wide but made amends from the spot after Matt Bloomfield had been tripped in the area by Chris Shuker. Ben Strevens curled a 20-yard shot against the crossbar before Pittman sealed the win with a sublime 25-yard effort.
Southend's substitute Blair Sturrock salvaged a point for the financially troubled Essex club against Stockport. George Connelly appeared to have scored a controversial winner for Stockport when he scored from a seemingly offside position. The Southend manager Paul Sturrock was sent to the stands for his complaints but saw his son Blair equalise from a corner.
Paul Buckle's young Torquay United side sent out an early-season warning of their potential when three goals in six minutes overwhelmed Northampton. The left-back Kevin Nicholson got the ball rolling with a thumping drive before Danny Stevens set up Chris Zebroski to double Torquay's tally. A brilliant passing move resulted in Lee Mansell releasing the striker Elliot Benyon to secure the 3-0 win.
Port Vale showed their promotion credentials by kicking off their season with a hard-fought 1-0 win at Bury. Vale are looking to build on last season's 10th-placed finish and claimed a deserved victory through a rare goal by their left-back Lee Collins. Marc Richards knocked a Gary Roberts corner down for Collins to lash in from 10 yards.
Chesterfield celebrated a 2-1 victory over Barnet at their new £13m home but had their striker Craig Davies sent off. Dwayne Mattis tapped in and Jack Lester curled in a second goal before Glenn Poole replied for Barnet from 20 yards. Steve Kabba was then caught by Davies who was given a red card while Kabba was carried off with what appeared to be a serious injury.
A debut goal for Gillingham's Adebayo Akinfenwa rescued a point for the newly relegated Kent club in a 1-1 draw with Cheltenham at Priestfield. The debutant Wesley Thomas had put the visitors ahead when he took Keith Lowe's pass on and scored but Akinfenwa, on as a substitute, latched on to a Jack Payne throw before watching his header be tipped into the net by Scott Brown.
Last season's beaten play-off finalists Rotherham left it late to snatch a 2-1 victory over Lincoln. Rotherham went ahead when Adam Le Fondre pounced as Kevin Ellison's volley was cleared off the line. Lincoln equalised when Mustapha Carayol cut in from the left and scored but Ryan Cresswell headed in to mark his debut with a late goal.
Hereford's captain, Janos Kovacs, scored on his debut as a new-look side sank Crewe Alexandra 1-0.
Graham Turner's second spell as the Shrewsbury manager got off to an excellent start as a Jake Robinson hat-trick saw them come from behind to defeat Bradford 3-1. Bradford took the lead when Tom Adeyami converted a flick-on by James Hanson but Robinson levelled after Ian Sharps's shot was blocked on the line. Robinson then headed in Lionel Ainsworth's cross and completed his hat-trick five minutes later after latching on to Matt Harrold's flick-on. The Shrewsbury midfielder Kevin McIntyre was shown a straight red card late on.
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