Lankshear's debut volley fires Boro past Wrexham; Wolves and Stevenage advance

The £10m summer signing from Tottenham struck in the 61st minute at the Riverside, swivelling sharply before dispatching a first-time volley into the far corner after Leo Castledine's header found him space. Lankshear had already curled an effort over the bar moments into the second half, but his breakthrough—set up by Jeremy Sarmiento's cross—proved enough to settle a tightly contested tie.

Wrexham threatened early when Adilson Malanda headed at goal following Sebastian Berhalter's delivery, though Danny Ward made a sharp save. Sam Smith went close for the visitors before the interval, while Boro almost extended their lead late on when Morgan Whittaker's shot struck the post.

Wolverhampton cruised past Port Vale 3-0, all three goals arriving in the opening 45 minutes. Adam Armstrong, Andre and Fer Lopez found the net as Cesar Peixoto enjoyed a comfortable debut in charge. Port Vale had chances—Jordan Lawrence-Gabriel cleared an extraordinary opportunity off the line, and Mo Faal's low penalty was saved—but could not prevent their hosts' comfortable passage. Raul Jimenez, Wolves' returning former top scorer, appeared as a late substitute and fired one shot on target without adding to the scoreline.

Stevenage won a dramatic contest at Wycombe, with substitute Josh Magennis heading the winner in the 95th minute from Phoenix Patterson's corner. Dan Kemp had given the visitors a 27th-minute lead against the run of play, only for Ewan Henderson to equalise before half-time. The match remained competitive until Magennis rose to settle it in stoppage time, according to Sky Sports.