Charlton moved to the top of the table with a 1-0 victory against struggling Preston. Karlan Grant’s first goal for Charlton since rejoining on a free transfer from West Brom ensured that the south Londoners are the only side in the division still boasting a 100% record.
It is the first time that Charlton have won their opening three matches in the second tier since the 1992-93 campaign.
Nathan Jones is not getting carried away. The Addicks were tipped by the bookies to be one of the strugglers this season and the manager, when asked about promotion aspirations, said: “Let’s not be silly – it’s three games. We have got a long way to go. We’ll enjoy an hour or two tonight and then we’ll instantly start looking at West Brom on Wednesday.
“We won’t dare to do anything, nobody wins anything yet. If I had a time machine then I’d quickly zip to May and we’d be in the Premier League, but that is not the case.”
He added: “It’s not so much that we are top of the league, it’s that we’ve got nine points from three games – that is a big haul. It is the manner as well. We have gone to West Ham and had to defend really well but in the other two games we have been well worth the wins.”
Millwall had kicked off the day with a 100% record but were thumped 5-1 at Southampton. Mark Sykes had given Millwall an early lead, but two goals from Cyle Larin along with Finn Azaz’s tap-in, Leo Scienza’s penalty and Tom Fellows’ first Southampton goal blew the visitors away. Southampton have now wiped out their four-point deduction for Spygate.
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Ian Evatt believes there is still lots of improvement to come from his table-topping Blackpool side after they continued their unbeaten start to the season with a 4-0 victory over Peterborough.
The fan favourite Jerry Yates marked his loan return from Luton with the fourth goal after coming off the bench in the second half, after Jordan Williams, Dion Charles and Karoy Anderson (pictured) had put Blackpool well ahead.
“It’s a fantastic result,” Evatt said. “Winning 4-0 at home and Jerry scoring on his comeback feels like the perfect day.”
Sheffield Wednesday crushed Bromley 7-2 in a wild clash. Callum Slattery got things started with a close-range opener in the seventh minute and Mason Burstow fired in a second from the edge of the area just after the half-hour mark.
Jamal Lowe scored shortly before the break to extend their advantage and Louie Barry bagged a double inside four minutes at the start of the second half before Lowe added his second in the 73rd minute.
Gabriel Otegbayo got in on the act with nine minutes remaining before Bromley offered some late resistance. The substitute Victor Adeboyejo beat Joe Lumley from the penalty spot before Otegbayo scored an own goal.
Second-placed Huddersfield kept pace with Blackpool after Joe Taylor scored in the 82nd and 89th minutes to earn a dramatic 2-1 come-from-behind victory at Cambridge.
Harry Wood was also on target twice as Stockport trounced Wycombe 5-1 and Barnsley beat Leyton Orient 3-1, while Notts County fought back in the second half to win 2-1 over Burton and Plymouth beat Bradford 2-0. Stevenage drew 2-2 with Doncaster.
Russell Martin thought Leicester deserved to take all three points after a goalless draw at MK Dons. The Foxes are still yet to win a game this season but missed several chances during their trip to Stadium MK. Bobby De Cordova-Reid fired wide early on when one-on-one with Craig MacGillivray, who made several smart saves, and Jayden Joseph hit the bar late on.
Martin said: “It’s a brilliant performance. The only thing missing is a goal, unfortunately for us. If you score , we win and keep a clean sheet. If we fought and play with the energy we did and scored, everyone would be talking about what a brilliant performance it was.” PA
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Wolves are second after coming from behind to beat Stoke 4-1 and continue their unbeaten league start. Sam Gallagher’s stunning second-minute goal gave Stoke the lead at Molineux, but two goals in three minutes from Rodrigo Gomes turned the game on its head before half-time. Raúl Jiménez’s penalty made it 3-1 after 55 minutes before Jordan James scored on his home debut with six minutes remaining.
Gallagher shocked Wolves with a superb goal. The forward held off Marshall Munetsi before curling a tremendous shot into the top corner from 25 yards. He went close to making it 2-0 when his shot was blocked and Sorba Thomas should have buried the rebound only to fire wide.
Wolves equalised in the 20th minute from their first serious chance and took the lead three minutes later, both goals coming from Gomes. The Portuguese attacker was ideally placed to stab home after the goalkeeper, Viktor Johansson, parried Jiménez’s side-footed effort and then pounced again when Johansson was unable to hold a cross from Mateus Mané.
Jiménez was impeded by Ben Johnson at the far post challenging for Hugo Bueno’s corner and the Mexican fired home his second goal of the season, sending Johansson the wrong way from the spot. James, who replaced Gomes in the 77th minute, started and finished the move for Wolves’ fourth. The Wales international swept home from 12 yards out inside Johansson’s left post.
West Ham remain winless after being held 1-1 at Watford.
Swansea extended their unbeaten start to the league campaign after goals from Joseph Opoku, Eom Ji-sung and Ronald secured a convincing 3-0 win at Derby.
Opoku scored for the second time after his summer move from the Belgian club Zulte Waregem, while Eom – the architect of that opener – got on the scoresheet himself just before half-time. Ronald added a deserved third in second-half added time.
The routine victory meant Swansea are third, with seven points from a possible nine, while Derby are still waiting for their first win.
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QPR also have seven points as they came from behind to secure a 2-1 win at Blackburn. After an even first half, Blackburn took a 49th-minute lead through Ryoya Morishita’s spectacular volley, but the visitors hit back within two minutes through Paul Smyth’s composed finish and they deservedly completed the turnaround in the 74th minute thanks to Jimmy Dunne’s powerful header.
Will Lankshear made it six goals in five games after his summer move from Tottenham as Middlesbrough’s strong start to the season continued with a 3-1 home win over West Brom.
Lankshear scored twice at the Riverside, with both goals coming after rebounds off the West Brom goalkeeper, Max O’Leary, with Alfie Jones sealing Boro’s win with three minutes remaining. Jimmy-Jay Morgan had briefly levelled for West Brom in the second half, but Middlesbrough were able to complete a good week after their Carabao Cup success at Doncaster.
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Dean Brennan praised Barnet’s response to adversity after they fought back from 2-1 down to maintain their unbeaten start with a 2-2 draw against Cheltenham.
The Bees took the lead inside 11 minutes through Charlie Lakin but Ryan Broom equalised on the hour before Charlie McCann put the visitors ahead four minutes later. Barnet’s Oisin Gallagher was then fouled in the penalty area, with the referee awarding a spot-kick which Kabongo Tshimanga converted.
“It was a brilliant game of football,” said Brennan. “We were on top and should have been 2-0 up … We made those errors, and we went 2-1 down and we fought back. That’s what we are about. We fought, we kept going.”
The draw was enough for Barnet to top the table, one of five teams with seven points. Walsall are second after entertaining 3-2 win over Accrington. Reece Smith, Harrison Burke and Aaron Pressley scored for the victors, Josh Woods and Stefan Mols replying.
Jovan Malcolm marked his York debut with a goal as the Minstermen, now third, won 2-1 at home to Exeter. The visitors have not won on the road since January. Alex Newby’s first-half opener was added to by Malcolm, who joined on loan from Stevenage earlier this week. A late goal from Jack Fitzwater gave the Grecians some hope, but it was too little too late.
The other promoted side, Rochdale, are still without a point after losing 1-0 at Colchester.
Alex Bruce thought Rotherham were good value for their last-gasp 2-1 victory over Chesterfield at the New York Stadium. Paul Mullin was the hero when he scored his first goal in Millers colours after being introduced from the bench with less than half an hour remaining.
Mullin’s classy 90th-minute finish came shortly after Liam Mandeville had equalised for the Spireites from the spot following Fábio Tavares’s first-half opener.
Bruce, who earned his first victory in charge of the Millers, said: “I was proud of the way they performed. We stuck together and there have been signs that it is getting there. We have signed so many new players, but they have bought into what we are trying to do.”
Lee Bell came away from Port Vale disappointed that Crewe’s point from a goalless draw was not all three. After three games, the Railwaymen are yet to concede in the but the manager said: “I’m coming away from the game with a tinge of disappointment. I thought we created the better opportunities in the game and it was, to a man, an outstanding away performance.”
Bristol Rovers were 2-0 victors at Crawley and Gillingham drew 1-1 with Northampton. Grimsby against Fleetwood and Newport versus Tranmere both ended 2-2, while Oldham beat Swindon 3-0 and pointless Salford lost 1-0 at Shrewsbury. PA
Norwich finally got their Championship campaign up and running after a sluggish start as they recorded an emphatic 4-1 home win over Burnley. The Canaries never looked back after scoring twice in the opening five minutes, with two goals apiece from Mo Touré and Andre Brooks guiding them to a welcome win, after being beaten in their opening two league games.
It was another disappointing afternoon for Burnley, however, summed up late on when Josh Laurent, who had scored their consolation goal, was dismissed for a second bookable offence.
Lincoln earned their first second-tier win for 65 years as Ben House’s 66th-minute goal gave last season’s League One champions a 1-0 victory at previously unbeaten Bolton. Lincoln had lost their opening two league fixtures but after Bolton had failed to unlocked the visitors’ defene, House stole in to earn the Imps their first three points at this level since April 1961.
Lorent Tolaj netted a spectacular first goal for Bristol City to set them on course for a 2-1 home win over Portsmouth. The hosts took a 31st-minute lead through a breathtaking move and finish. Yu Hirakawa and Jason Knight combined to free Jed Wallace on the left and his cross was brilliantly converted by Tolaj with a first-time, right-footed finish at the near post.
Knight doubled the lead after 56 minutes with a header from a corner. The Portsmouth substitute Marezi reduced the arrears in added time, sending Sam Tickle the wrong way with a low penalty after he had been fouled in the box by Lisav Eissat.
Cardiff and Sheffield United both remain winless after they drew 2-2 in south Wales. Jack Moylan’s opener for Cardiff after 80 seconds was cancelled out a minute later by Tom Cannon after he won and converted a penalty. Callum O’Hare put United ahead three minutes later but Cian Ashford levelled before half-time