Middlesbrough v Lincoln leads a packed afternoon of action across the EFL, with major moments already unfolding in the Championship and beyond.
Middlesbrough v Lincoln
GOAL! Middlesbrough 0-1 Lincoln City (Reach 12). Adam Reach drifted in from the left to meet captain Tendayi Darikwa’s pull-back and guided a precise finish into the bottom right, marking Lincoln’s first second-tier goal in 65 years.
Middlesbrough 0-1 Lincoln City. Earlier, Luke Ayling whistled a long-range effort inches wide of the bottom-left corner as the hosts nearly punished the newly promoted side inside the opening minutes. Later, Kyle Joseph tested George Wickens with a first-time flick from 10 yards, the Lincoln goalkeeper reacting sharply with a strong one-handed stop.
Bristol City v Millwall
RED CARD: Adam Randell (Bristol City). The midfielder was dismissed for two bookings inside 36 minutes. The second caution came for hauling back Josh Coburn as the Millwall striker spun clear on a counterattack.
GOAL! Bristol City 0-1 Millwall (Coburn 41). Coburn turned in a low cutback from the right at close range to put the visitors ahead against 10 men.
Bristol City 0-0 Millwall. Before the red card, Coburn was cautioned for simulation after going down under Sam Tickle when through on goal. Millwall also lost Femi Azeez to a suspected hamstring problem, with Kyrell Lisbie introduced.
Norwich City v West Bromwich Albion
Norwich City 0-0 West Bromwich Albion. Kenny McLean exchanged passes with Anis Ben Slimane down the right and burst into the area but dragged his shot wide of the far post. It was an eye-catching move from the Scotland international.
Portsmouth v Queens Park Rangers
GOAL! Portsmouth 1-0 QPR (Devlin 15). Terry Devlin was allowed space 30 yards out and struck a rising effort into the right side of the net. QPR keeper Pierce Charles, under scrutiny after an error in the League Cup last weekend, may feel he could have done better.
GOAL! Portsmouth 1-1 QPR (Chair 33). A floated delivery from the inside-right channel tempted Nicolas Schmid, but the Portsmouth goalkeeper hesitated and Ilias Chair nipped in to glance home.
GOAL! Portsmouth 1-2 QPR (Saito 40). Koki Saito carried the ball into the inside-left channel and his deflected strike from the edge of the box completed the turnaround.
GOAL! Portsmouth 1-3 QPR (Chair 45+2). Amadou Mbengue’s low cross from the right found Chair, who deftly lifted his finish over the keeper.
Stoke City v Swansea City
GOAL! Stoke City 1-0 Swansea City (Bocat 10). Eric Bocat spun at the left corner of the six-yard box and lashed an unstoppable finish into the net.
GOAL! Stoke City 1-1 Swansea City (Opoku 23). On debut, Joseph Opoku met a deep cross from the left and, via a deflection, found the bottom-right corner.
Early results
Championship
Bolton Wanderers 2-1 Preston North End
League One
Notts County 1-1 Leicester City
Oxford United 2-2 MK Dons
Reading 3-4 Luton Town
League Two
Newport County 3-0 Rochdale
Oldham Athletic 2-0 Port Vale
Madejski thriller
FULL TIME: Reading 3-4 Luton Town. Luton overturned a 3-1 half-time deficit, with Gideon Kodua striking deep into stoppage time after first rattling the bar, then converting the rebound scramble.
GOAL! Reading 3-4 Luton Town (Kodua 90+6). Kodua cut in from the left and thundered a shot off the woodwork, then tucked away at the second attempt to complete a remarkable comeback.
Derby strike at The Valley
GOAL! Charlton Athletic 0-1 Derby County (Szmodics 23). Sammy Szmodics tried his luck from the edge of the area and the ball squeezed under the diving goalkeeper.
Bolton end long wait
FULL TIME: Bolton Wanderers 2-1 Preston North End. First-half goals from Sam Dalby and Thierry Gale put Bolton in control. Jusef Erabi’s late header set up a tense finish but the Trotters recorded a first win over their rivals since the early 2000s.
GOAL! Bolton Wanderers 2-1 Preston North End (Erabi 86). Erabi nodded in late to halve the deficit, threatening Preston’s lengthy unbeaten run in the fixture, but Bolton held firm.
League One snapshot
FULL TIME: Notts County 1-1 Leicester City. Russell Martin’s Foxes were held at Meadow Lane. Leicester had led through Jayden Joseph before Conor Grant levelled on 81 minutes for the hosts.
First goal of the 3pm kickoffs
GOAL! Cambridge United 1-0 Wigan Athletic (Watts 3). Kell Watts volleyed clinically into the bottom left to open the scoring slate for the afternoon fixtures.
The 3pm teamsheets
Bristol City: Tickle, Tanner, Dickie, Eissat, Atkinson, Knight, Randell, Hirakawa, Ballard, Greenwood, Tolaj.
Subs: Collins, Cardines, Williams, Yah, Wallace, Eile, Twine, Bell, Jakobsen.
Millwall: Jensen, Leonard, Taylor, Cooper, Sturge, De Norre, Metcalfe, Azeez, Neghli, Arconte, Coburn.
Subs: Crocombe, Baggott, Dykes, Kelly, Sykes, Lisbie, Batth, Cundle, Bangura-Williams.
Charlton Athletic: Mannion, McNamara, Jones, Koumetio, Bell, Coventry, Chalobah, Campbell, Carey, Ahearne-Grant, Godden.
Subs: Brooks, Knibbs, Leaburn, Mesik, Alli, Rankin-Costello, Sichenje, Apter, Nwamba.
Derby County: Zetterstrom, Langas, Sanderson, Taylor, Ward, Clark, Travis, Fraulo, Forsyth, Szmodics, Morris.
Subs: Vickers, Brewster, Bilbija, Salvesen, Mowatt, Johnston, Nyambe, Blackett-Taylor, Eames.
Middlesbrough: Vitek, Brittain, Ayling, Malanda, Borges, Kante, Berhalter, Whittaker, Castledine, Lankshear, Joseph.
Subs: Brynn, Jones, McGree, Peart-Harris, Sarmiento, Arfsten, Edmundson, Ibeh, Cartwright.
Lincoln City: Wickens, Darikwa, Hamer, Towler, Elerewe, Reach, Jefferies, McGrandles, Varfolomeyev, Draper, House.
Subs: Gauci, Coubis, Hackett, Bayliss, Melia, Street, Olaofe, Honohan, Elder.
Norwich City: Kovacevic, Fisher, Darling, Cordoba, Chrisene, Mattsson, McLean, Brooks, Ben Slimane, Maghoma, Toure.
Subs: Grimshaw, Stacey, McConville, Wright, Diallo, Field, Bruno Alves, Schwartau, Kvistgaarden.
West Bromwich Albion: O’Leary, Galves, Phillips, Campbell, Styles, Whitwell, Diakite, Myhre, Price, Heggebo, Morgan.
Subs: Ingram, Williams, Mepham, Bielik, Townsend, Johnston, Molumby, Stewart, Nzingoula.
Portsmouth: Schmid, Devlin, Poole, Shaughnessy, Swanson, Segecic, Adams, Shein, Brooke-Smith, Bishop, Kamara.
Subs: Bielica, Arthur, Dia, Swift, Le Roux, Bailey, Murphy, Milovanovic, Kavuma-McQueen.
Queens Park Rangers: Charles, Mbengue, Dunne, Clarke-Salter, Kemper, Vale, Edwards, Poku, Chair, Burrell, Saito.
Subs: Ward, Adamson, Morrison, Smyth, Lloyd, Kamara, Kone, Varane, Alemayehu.
Stoke City: Johansson, Wilmot, Lawal, Graham, Bocat, Galbraith, Ingelsson, Manhoef, Rigo, Thomas, Gallagher.
Subs: Griffiths, Pearson, Bozenik, Bae, Gibson, Soumare, Talovierov, Anderson, Martin.
Swansea City: Vigouroux, Lissah, Cabango, Welsh, Tymon, Fulton, Stamenic, Opoku, Just, Yeo, Vipotnik.
Subs: Fisher, Key, Widell, Eom, Parente, Walta, Idah, Ronald, Heywood.
Scene-setters
Lincoln’s return. Lincoln City are playing second-tier football for the first time since 1961, a 65-year wait that adds extra significance to today’s trip to Teesside.
Scotland’s search. Away from club action, the Scottish FA are exploring a fresh approach in their hunt for a new national team manager, with Sébastien Pocognoli emerging as a candidate.
Preamble
The Championship campaign began with late drama on Friday and ramped up today with six 3pm fixtures: Bristol City v Millwall, Charlton Athletic v Derby County, Middlesbrough v Lincoln City, Norwich City v West Bromwich Albion, Portsmouth v Queens Park Rangers and Stoke City v Swansea City. We are tracking key moments from across the grounds as the new season takes shape.
The Scottish FA are exploring a fresh approach in their hunt for a new national team manager, with Sébastien Pocognoli emerging as a candidate, and more details can be found via the Scottish FA.
Luton overturned a 3-1 half-time deficit, with Gideon Kodua striking deep into stoppage time, echoing the kind of late drama seen in other competitions such as Ty Gibbs victory in Iowa.
For fans following Lincoln City’s historic return to the second tier after 65 years, the club’s official site at Lincoln City provides additional background and reaction.