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Will Lankshear scored a second-half double on his debut as Middlesbrough fought back to kick off their Championship campaign with a hard-fought 2-1 victory, ending promoted Lincoln’s remarkable nine-month unbeaten run.
The Imps – playing their first second-tier match in 65 years – made a strong start and opened the scoring in the 12th minute through Adam Reach. But the former Tottenham forward Lankshear marked his first league appearance since his move to the Riverside by equalising just after the hour and then stabbing in a stoppage-time winner.
It was a devastating end for Lincoln as a run of 29 games undefeated in all competitions since early December was brought to a halt in their first league match since their new joint head coach partnership of Chris Cohen and Tom Shaw stepped up to take over after the departure of manager Michael Skubala to Bristol City in May.
Philippe Clement was left feeling extremely hard done by after watching his Norwich side lose 2-1 at home to West Brom. Clement felt his side should have won the game comfortably with the number of chances they created – and also felt Aune Heggebø’s opener, which came against the run of play, should have been ruled out for handball.
“It was clearly with the arm that the player scores – we could see that from where we were watching, 50 yards away,” he said. “It was the decisive moment in the game and should have been spotted. There are four officials and one of them should have seen it. Maybe the referee didn’t have the best view – but the linesman on our side needs to see that. Missing game-changing moments like this shouldn’t happen – it has cost us at least two, maybe three points.”
Norwich were on the front foot for most of the game but could not find a way past a resolute defence, and were made to pay for failing to take their chances as Albion scored two late goals to make it a dream start to the new season.
The visitors went in front on 75 minutes when Callum Styles played in Jimmy-Jay Morgan, whose cross was bundled over the line by Heggebø. With three minutes remaining, Morgan made it two with his third goal since joining the Baggies in the summer, racing clear and working his way into the box before blasting the ball home. Mathias Kvistgaarden nodded home a loose ball as the game entered added time.
Ilias Chair scored twice as QPR came from behind to beat Portsmouth 3-1 and claim their first win at Fratton Park in 26 years. Pompey dominated the opening half an hour and took the lead through Terry Devlin’s long-range screamer. But Rangers scored three times in 15 minutes before half-time.
Josh Coburn scored twice as Millwall kicked off their campaign with a comfortable 2-0 win over 10-man Bristol City at Ashton Gate. The home side went a man down after 36 minutes when midfielder Adam Randell was shown a second yellow card for a foul to prevent a counterattack.
Five minutes later, Coburn converted a low Ryan Leonard cross from the right with a near-post volley. Coburn then doubled the advantage after 50 minutes, taking advantage of poor defending to score unchallenged with a downward header from 10 yards.
The result meant that Skubala’s reign as City manager has begun with two home defeats, after the shock Carabao Cup exit at the hands of League Two Walsall, and without his side scoring a goal.
Steven Schumacher celebrated Bolton’s first Championship win for seven years after surviving a late scare against Preston. Sam Dalby and Thierry Gale put Bolton in command with first-half goals, but the Preston substitute Jusef Erabi ensured a nervy ending by pulling a goal back in the 86th minute. Liam Lindsay passed up a chance to equalise heading over in added time to leave Schumacher a relieved man.
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“That’s what this division is all about,” he said. “From being in control of the game we’re happy they missed a sitter at the end not to take away our three points. It’s going to be an exciting ride so strap in.”
Tyreece Campbell’s impressive start to the new season continued as his 80th-minute goal earned Charlton a 2-1 victory over Derby at The Valley. It capped off a week to forget for the Rams after the takeover by the Saudi government official Turki Alalshikh collapsed on Monday.
Sammie Szmodics, who scored in the EFL Cup loss to Lincoln, put Derby into a lead at the halfway point. But Lloyd Jones, who signed a new two-year contract on Friday, headed the Addicks level before Campbell produced an excellent finish to seal maximum points the home side.
Charlton’s manager, Nathan Jones, said later is hoping to secure Campbell on a new contract, with his current deal expiring next summer. “TC gets in those positions all the time and one-v-one he is a threat. We just want the outcomes from him. We are in really advanced negotiations with him. We’re hoping we can get that done.”
Adam Idah snatched the winner with his first touch as Swansea battled back from a goal down to beat Stoke 2-1. The Republic of Ireland international had been on the pitch for barely 60 seconds when he scored in the 66th minute as the Swans claimed their first win at Stoke for more than five years. Eric Bocat had fired Stoke into a 10th-minute lead and Joseph Opoku hit a 23rd-minute equaliser for the Swans, powering in with a sweet right-foot shot after some poor defending.
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