League One news: Portsmouth’s rivals Stevenage and Wigan hit with fines as Bristol Rovers confirm loan move

League One leaders Portsmouth maintained their impressive start to the season with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Carlisle United.

Conor Shaghnessy was the hero for his team in added time and his vital goal leaves Pompey three points clear of second place Oxford and eight points clear of Barnsley in third as they aim to achieve automatic promotion.

Portsmouth end October with two away games against Camrbridge United and Reading. In the meantime here is a look at all the latest headlines surrounding Portsmouth’s League One rivals.

Pressure intensifies on Ruben Selles who refuses to ‘point fingers’ for loss

Portsmouth are enjoying a sensational start to the season but they could face competition later in the season from Charlton Athletic who have now extended their record to seven games without a win. Reading were on the receiving end of a 4-0 loss against the Addicks and have not collected a single point on the travels this season.

The Royal are closing in on an unwanted record of going a full 12 months without an away win with their last one coming on 12 November 2022. Ruben Selles has had an immensely difficult start to life in the dugout but is keen to avoid a ‘culture of pointing fingers.’

He said: “For 60 minutes we showed that we could compete against anybody. But we need to be more ruthless in both boxes, grow into the game and have a stronger mindset.”

Selles is under pressure to turn things around at Reading and has a crucial bottom of the table clash against Fleetwood before taking on Portsmouth.

Stevenage and Wigan Athletic hit with huge fine

Stevenage and Wigan Athletic hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons earlier this month when the players were involved in a mass confrontation during a League One match.

The two teams both admitted that they failed to control the behaviour of the players - Wigan were hit with an £8,000 fine for their actions while Stevenage were fined £3,750 after a hearing.

Midfield departs Bristol Rovers despite injury crisis

Bristol Rovers have made the decision to loan out one of their youngsters despite a series of injury concerns, as reported by BristolWorld.

Midfielder Jerry Lawrence has joined Southern League Premier Division outfit Tiverton Town on loan for an unspecified period. Lawrence made three appearances last season before going on loan to Sailsbury in the seventh tier of English football.