Football: Endsleigh Round-Up: Hendrie sees double again

NOT that Bryan Robson will be too upset, but Middlesbrough are starting to look like a one- man bandwagon, and the man pulling all the goalscoring weight, John Hendrie, was not brought to the club by the new manager.

Hendrie scored twice last week at Ayresome Park to give Robson his first three points as a manager, and did the same trick again, punishing two defensive errors, in a 2-0 win at Southend to make it six points and a clear lead at the top.

Claims of World Cup fatigue cut no ice at Prenton Park, where Tranmere's Irish striker John Aldridge put his side into the lead after only two minutes, on target from a cross by Ged Brannan.

And seven minutes later Norway's World Cup marksman Jan Fjortoft equalised for Swindon, beating Danny Coyne with an angled shot.

Fjortoft edged ahead in the battle of the World Cup veterans, scoring a second just before half-time to demonstrate his continuing progress in the English game. After a barren start in the Premiership last season he scored 12 goals in Swindon's last 16 games and has three in two of this campaign.

Still, as one Fifa official found in the US, there's no holding back Aldridge. He equalised after 62 minutes before Pat Nevin, an Italia '90 man, scored his side's winner.

Charlton, having conceded five goals at Oldham last week, were forced to use their substitute goalkeeper, the American Mike Ammann, after only 16 minutes at home to many people's tips for the drop Barnsley when Mike Salmon injured a hand saving from Andy Payton.

Payton then gave Barnsley the lead before Charlton's David Whyte, another Crystal Palace refugee striker seeking his fortune away from Selhurst, equalised and Phil Chapple put them 2-1 up in the last minute. Just as Barnsley's hopes of a result seemed totally snookered, Steve Davis was right on cue with a last-gasp reply. They share second with five clubs, among them Millwall who drew 1-1 at Sunderland.

Another Steve Davis, this time at Burnley, was on the wrong end of the same late act. He had given his side the lead at home to fellow comatose giants snoozing in the First Division, Stoke City, only to see it cancelled out with seconds left by the visitors' John Dreyer. The game should by then have been out of Stoke's reach. A minute before half-time Burnley's Gary Parkinson had a penalty saved by Carl Muggleton after Lee Sandford had needlessly handled in the Stoke area.

Bolton's Neil McDonald could sympathise with Charlton's injured goalkeeper, Salmon. He was also forced off on a stretcher against Bristol City though he had only himself to blame having fallen awkwardly. His side were already one down after Ian Baird finished off Wayne Allison's neat approach work with a firm shot. Allison went one better and got himself on the scoresheet after 67 minutes to seal the 2-0 victory.

They are a temperamental lot at Oxford United - witness Joey Beauchamp's decision to skulk away from West Ham, having moved from the Manor Ground in the summer, before even kicking a ball in training. So it was mean of Phil Stant to give Cardiff the lead against Oxford yesterday after only seven minutes, but Paul Moody roared back to the rescue with a hat-trick in 56 minutes.

Billy Kenny had more reason than most to impress for Oldham yesterday - the 'temperamental' former Everton striker is being employed on a match-by-match basis by Joe Royle to see if he has calmed down since his tempestuous days on the fringes at Goodison Park. The good news is he scored; the bad news is he did it for the opposition, putting through his own net against Port Vale.

Another former Evertonian, Graeme Sharp, briefly spared his blushes with an equaliser but 15 minutes and two Port Vale goals later the game was lost 3-1.

Second Division Bradford City sold their 18-year-old gem of a striker, Graeme Tomlinson, to Liverpool in the summer, but have hung on to an equally bright finisher in Paul Jewell, who scored twice to add to his hat-trick last week and bury Leyton Orient 2-0.

Jurgen Klinsmann was not the only Teutonically linked scorer in English football yesterday. David German of Halifax scored his side's second in a 3-1 win at Woking in the GM Vauxhall Conference. Like Klinsmann he left the field prematurely - sent off for violent conduct.