Middlesbrough marked the opening weekend of the Championship season with a dramatic 2-1 comeback win over newly-promoted Lincoln City, courtesy of a memorable debut display from Will Lankshear, who netted twice in the second half to snatch victory in stoppage time.
Lincoln, playing their first second-tier fixture in 65 years, made an encouraging start under their new joint head coach setup of Chris Cohen and Tom Shaw, who stepped in after Michael Skubala's departure to Bristol City in May. The Imps took a deserved lead in the 12th minute through Adam Reach, and looked set to continue an extraordinary unbeaten run stretching back to early December — 29 matches across all competitions.
However, Lankshear, a summer arrival from Tottenham, had other ideas. The forward equalised just past the hour mark on his first appearance for Middlesbrough before turning matchwinner with a stabbed finish deep into added time, ending Lincoln's remarkable streak in painful fashion.
Elsewhere, West Brom opened their campaign with a 2-1 win at Norwich, though the result left Canaries boss Philippe Clement fuming. Norwich dominated for large parts of the contest and created a host of chances, but were made to pay after failing to convert them. The visitors' opener arrived against the run of play in the 75th minute when Jimmy-Jay Morgan's cross was bundled home by Aune Heggebø — a goal Clement believes should not have stood.
"It was clearly with the arm that the player scores – we could see that from where we were watching, 50 yards away," Clement 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."
Morgan doubled West Brom's lead with three minutes remaining, racing through and finishing well for his third goal since joining the club, before Mathias Kvistgaarden added a third in stoppage time to complete the scoring.
In London, Ilias Chair struck twice as QPR fought back from behind to defeat Portsmouth 3-1, securing their first win at Fratton Park in 26 years. Pompey had taken an early lead through a stunning long-range effort from Terry Devlin, but Rangers responded with three goals in a devastating 15-minute spell before the interval.
At The Valley, Charlton overcame Derby 2-1 thanks to a Tyreece Campbell winner in the 80th minute, following a tough week for the Rams after a proposed takeover involving Saudi official Turki Alalshikh fell through. Sammie Szmodics had given Derby the lead at the break, but Lloyd Jones equalised for Charlton before Campbell sealed the points. Charlton manager Nathan Jones later revealed the club are in advanced talks over a new contract for Campbell, whose current deal expires next summer, saying: "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."
Millwall also began well, cruising to a 2-0 win over 10-man Bristol City at Ashton Gate courtesy of a Josh Coburn brace, extending a difficult start for Skubala at his new club. Meanwhile, Steven Schumacher's Bolton held on for a first Championship win in seven years, beating Preston 2-1 despite a late scare, and Swansea came from behind to defeat Stoke 2-1 through substitute Adam Idah's near-instant impact off the bench.
Based on reporting from Guardian Football.