Middlesbrough opened their Championship campaign with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over newly promoted Lincoln, ending the Imps’ remarkable nine-month unbeaten run.
Will Lankshear scored twice on his debut, becoming the decisive figure in a match that Lincoln had threatened to control for long stretches.
Lincoln, playing their first second-tier fixture in 65 years, made an electric start and took the lead through Adam Reach in just the 12th minute.
The former Tottenham forward Lankshear, making his first league appearance since joining Middlesbrough, pulled the hosts level just after the hour mark.
He then stabbed home a stoppage-time winner to complete the comeback and shatter Lincoln’s unbeaten run of 29 games in all competitions.
It was a bitter way for Lincoln to begin life back in the Championship, particularly for their new joint head coach partnership of Chris Cohen and Tom Shaw, who stepped up after Michael Skubala departed for Bristol City in May.
West Brom claimed a dramatic 2-1 win at Norwich, with Philippe Clement furious after feeling his side were denied a fair result by a controversial opening goal.
Clement was adamant that Aune Heggebø’s opener, which arrived against the run of play, should have been disallowed for handball, and he made no attempt to hide his frustration afterwards.
“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.”
Callum Styles played in Jimmy-Jay Morgan on 75 minutes, and his cross was bundled over the line by Heggebø before Morgan completed the victory with his third goal since joining the Baggies, racing clear to blast home with three minutes remaining.
Mathias Kvistgaarden added a consolation for Norwich deep into added time, but the damage had already been done on a frustrating afternoon at Carrow Road.
Ilias Chair scored twice as QPR fought back to beat Portsmouth 3-1 at Fratton Park, claiming their first win at that ground in 26 years, after Terry Devlin’s long-range screamer had given Pompey the lead.
Josh Coburn scored twice as Millwall beat 10-man Bristol City 2-0 at Ashton Gate, with Adam Randell’s second yellow card after 36 minutes turning the match firmly in the visitors’ favour.
The result means Michael Skubala’s tenure as Bristol City head coach has now produced two home defeats and no goals scored, following their Carabao Cup exit to League Two Walsall.
Bolton celebrated their first Championship win in seven years as Steven Schumacher’s side survived a late scare to beat Preston, with Sam Dalby and Thierry Gale scoring first-half goals before Preston substitute Jusef Erabi pulled one back in the 86th minute.
“That’s what this division is all about,” Schumacher 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 80th-minute strike earned Charlton a 2-1 win over Derby at The Valley, with manager Nathan Jones keen to tie the forward down to a new deal before his contract expires next summer.
“TC gets in those positions all the time and one-v-one he is a threat,” Jones said. “We are in really advanced negotiations with him. We’re hoping we can get that done.”
Adam Idah came off the bench to score with his first touch in the 66th minute as Swansea came from behind to beat Stoke 2-1, claiming their first victory at the bet365 Stadium in more than five years.