Jon Brady brought back Onel Hernández and Max Watters, and they took barely 90 seconds to make the difference. Watters headed the ball down to Kyle Dempsey, Dempsey dinked it through, and Hernández found Sam Waller's bottom corner.

Nine minutes later Aden Flint tripped Hernández in the box, and captain George Byers fired the penalty past Waller. Rochdale had one moment in between, when Cian Hayes sent Dajaune Brown through against his old club, but Jasper Moon got across to stop him.

Then the third. Dempsey's fierce drive was parried by Waller, and Jordan Lawrence-Gabriel was first to the rebound. Watters headed over from close range before the break, and it could easily have been four.

Ian Watson didn't hide from it afterwards.

He made a triple change at half-time, sending on Ian Henderson, Luke Hannant and Ed Francis. Rochdale had more of the ball after the break, and Brown went close twice with headers, but Marko Maroši wasn't beaten until the 82nd minute, when Henderson headed in Hannant's set-piece cross.

Vale answered straight away. Substitute Keyrol Figueroa, on loan, tapped in George Hall's cross from close range four minutes from time. With the last kick of the game Maroši saved a header, and Charlie Tasker put away the rebound. It made the score a bit more respectable, and that was all.

Jon Brady, a week on from defeat at York, wanted the focus on what his side had finally done in front of goal.

He picked out Hernández. "Onel stood out for me, he was excellent, his movement was great for the first goal and the way he finished it was brilliant," he said. "We said last week had to be just a bump in the road and we've bounced back this week."

The visitors were ahead inside three minutes. Reece Smith's corner caused havoc, Isaac Moore helped it towards goal, and Declan Skura, on loan from Wycombe and moved to centre-back for the day, prodded it over the line in the scramble.

Colchester thought they were level moments later, when Sean Raggett headed in at the near post, but Chiwome was standing offside in Jed Ward's eyeline and it was ruled out. They had to wait until the 34th minute. Moses Sesay, on loan from Southampton, was brought down by Elicha Ahui, who was booked, and Jack Payne sent the penalty into the bottom right corner, even though Ward guessed the right way. The home side finished the half on top, and Sean Raggett went close twice from Payne's corners.

The second half was open. Jed Ward saved from Oscar Thorn and Paul Digby, and then from Sesay's shot towards the top of the net. At the other end Thimothée Lo-Tutala twice saved from Pressley inside three minutes.

Walsall took over in the last 15 minutes. Smith hit the bar from outside the box on 76 minutes, and two minutes later Lo-Tutala kept out Isaac Moore's shot. A minute after that, Mason Hancock's cross took a deflection and Pressley glanced a header beyond Lo-Tutala. It was his tenth goal of the season.

Colchester sent on Ben Perry and Bradley Ihionvien, and Perry headed over from another Payne corner in stoppage time. With Colchester pushing, Walsall broke. Pressley set up Andy Dallas, whose shot was saved, and Clarke, on as a substitute, seized on the rebound and found the net via the crossbar.

Lee Grant wanted a response after the defeat by Salford and got one.

Danny Cowley, winless in ten, felt his side had pushed the game after the break.

It could have come much sooner. Shaun Rooney picked out Aaron Loupalo-Bi, on loan from Fulham, and he hit the bar from close range in the fifth minute, and Rhys Bennett and Mark Helm both went close before half an hour was up. Rovers' only real chance of the half was a Jack Sparkes shot on the break that went wide.

The breakthrough came eight minutes before the interval. Helm picked out Loupalo-Bi in the middle of the box, and this time he rolled it into the bottom left corner.

Rovers made a change at half-time, sending on Joe Quigley for Shaq Forde. It made no difference. Fleetwood kept crossing, and Brad Young was kept busy in the Rovers goal. Ronan Coughlan forced him into three saves with headers from Crispin McLean's deliveries, and a fourth from distance.

Bennett, who'd been booked in the 10th minute and needed treatment a few minutes later, made it two on 59 minutes. Harrison Neal crossed and Bennett headed into the top of the net from the centre of the box.

Rovers sent on Reiss-Alexander Russell-Denny and Philip Sanyaolu just after the hour, and Russell-Denny gave the visitors a sniff with six minutes left. Clinton Mola set him up wide on the left, and his looping cross floated over Jay Lynch and into the net at the far post.

Fleetwood didn't let it get nervy. Josh Robertson, on for McLean in the 85th minute, settled it five minutes after coming on. Will Davies set him up on a fast break, and Robertson finished low into the bottom left corner from the centre of the box.

By the end it was 21 shots to four, eight on target to one. It was a performance Fleetwood will want to repeat, and one Rovers will want to forget.

Matt Lawlor's side had beaten Arsenal on penalties in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday, and he was determined there would be no hangover.

Rovers were without the suspended Tommy Leigh and Kofi Balmer, and four more were injured. Evans wouldn't call it an excuse, but he made the point anyway.

Darrell Clarke's side responded well to falling behind. Jordan Turnbull headed Will Vaulks' delivery towards the top corner on nine minutes, but Wyll Stanway saved. On 23 minutes Jacob Slater found Jones in the middle of the box, and his left-footed shot went into the bottom right corner.

Cheltenham had most of the ball, 59 per cent of it by the end, but they didn't do much with it. McCann had a shot blocked and then sent another over the bar. Tranmere were more direct. On 39 minutes Jones went for goal again, from 25 yards this time, and his superb left-footed shot flew past Stanway into the bottom left corner.

There was still time for a third. Stanway saved from Charlie Whitaker on 44 minutes, but deep into stoppage time Tom Ince teed Whitaker up again, and his dipping right-footed strike from the edge of the area left Stanway no chance.

The second half was mostly about Stanway. He saved from Jones within a minute of the restart, from Whitaker on 54 minutes and again from Ince on 61. Whitaker also had a header saved on 79 minutes. Tranmere had nine shots on target to Cheltenham's two, and without the Cheltenham goalkeeper the scoreline could have been much worse. It was Tranmere's first home win since early September.

Steve Cotterill made changes in search of a way back, bringing on George Nurse, George Miller and Jake Bickerstaff, but Cheltenham never really threatened. Evans kept shooting from range, and his last effort in stoppage time was saved by Luke McGee. It was McGee's only save of the afternoon.

Cotterill was adamant his side had deserved more.

Tranmere had drawn seven of their first 13 league games, so a win this clear will feel like progress. Cheltenham were third at kick-off. On this evidence, they will need to tighten up if they're to stay in the promotion places.

Dean Whitehead, the Tranmere assistant, faced the press in place of Darrell Clarke.