Preston’s fine start to the Championship continued with their fifth straight victory, a 2-1 home win against Plymouth. Duane Holmes was straight out the blocks for the Lilywhites, scoring in the first minute, with Liam Millar doubling their lead going into the break and Ryan Hardie pulled one back for the Pilgrims, but three points meant Ryan Lowe’s side went back to the top of the table, replacing Leicester, 4-1 winners at Southampton on Friday.
Lowe praised Argyle as well as his own side, saying: “We knew they were going to have large parts of the ball, we didn’t do as well as we would have liked in the second half. It could have been 4-4 or 5-5, there were that many chances, we both did the right thing and tried to win.”
Ipswich stay third after securing back-to-back league victories with Conor Chaplin’s strike the difference against Sheffield Wednesday, who are still without a win this season, while Norwich sit fourth thanks to Jack Stacey’s goal which earned a 1-0 home win against Stoke. David Wagner said: “It was a tough game against a strong Stoke side with a lot of good individuals and we have come away with a deserved win. The only thing I can complain about is the way we managed the game in the final five minutes when we should have been taking the ball to the corner flag rather than going for a second goal.”
Sunderland also made it two successive league victories after coming from behind to beat 10-man QPR 3-1. Kenneth Paal put the hosts ahead but they were soon reduced to 10 men when Jack Colback was dismissed with a straight red card and Jack Clarke levelled the score going into half-time.
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League One roundup: Exeter clamber to summit
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Exeter claimed top spot in League One as Caleb Watts marked his debut with a second-half winner against struggling Cheltenham.
Watts settled a tight game at St James’ Park with the only goal after 68 minutes, lifting the Grecians to the summit on goal difference above Port Vale as Stevenage were held 1-1 by Charlton. Cheltenham, meanwhile, are still awaiting their first victory of the campaign.
Port Vale moved into second as they earned a tight 1-0 win of their own against Northampton, courtesy of an 84th-minute strike from Ben Garrity. Oxford United are just a point behind in third after crushing bottom side Fleetwood 3-0 with goals from Stanley Mills, Billy Bodin and Kyle Edwards.
Stevenage, having looked set to end the day top, slipped to fourth after being pegged back by a late Charlton equaliser. Jamie Reid had put them ahead after 34 minutes but an injury-time penalty from Corey Blackett-Taylor meant it ended honours even.
Bolton lost ground as they conceded twice late on to lose 2-1 at troubled Reading. Dion Charles put the Trotters ahead but Reading, who have now had four points docked this season after a second deduction this week, responded through Charlie Savage and Caylon Vickers in the final 13 minutes.
Portsmouth extended their club-record unbeaten run to 18 games thanks to a last-minute Colby Bishop goal against Derby. An 86th-minute James Collins penalty had looked like winning it for the Rams but the game ended 1-1.
Elsewhere, Shrewsbury lost 2-0 to Bristol Rovers, Wigan edged Cambridge United 2-1, Barnsley beat Burton 2-0 and Wycombe overcame Blackpool by the same scoreline. Peterborough were held to a 1-1 draw by Leyton Orient thanks to an equaliser from Omar Beckles following Hector Kyprianou’s opener, while Lincoln also battled to a 1-1 stalemate against Carlisle.
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Dan Ballard then gave Sunderland the lead in the second half before Abdoullah Ba put the game to bed in the 81st minute, leaving the Black Cats tied on 10 points with Blackburn, who piled more misery on Middlesbrough with a 2-1 win. Sammie Szmodics’ double either side of half-time gave Blackburn the advantage with Matt Crooks scoring a consolation for Boro, who remain rock bottom.
It was a special day for Rovers, the club’s 5,000th league game. The Premier League-winning defender Colin Hendry and the 89-year-old Bryan Douglas, who played in the 1958 and 1962 World Cup finals for England, were among the luminaries parading on the pitch before kick-off.
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League Two roundup: Gillingham flying high
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Gillingham moved top of League Two with a 2-1 win over 10-man Morecambe at Priestfield.
Connor Mahoney scored what proved the winner after 23 minutes after the Shrimps’ Michael Mellon had cancelled out George Lapslie’s opener. Mellon was sent off for a second bookable offence 14 minutes from time.
Unbeaten Swindon sit third after a 2-0 win over Walsall. Charlie Austin opened the scoring after just two minutes at the County Ground and Rushian Hepburn-Murphy made victory secure late on after Walsall had Tom Knowles dismissed.
Wrexham continued their strong start to life back in the league with a convincing 3-0 win over Grimsby at the Racecourse. Ollie Palmer, Will Boyle and Elliot Lee were on target.
At the opposite end of the table, Doncaster moved off the bottom as they claimed their first win of the campaign with a last-gasp 2-1 success at Forest Green.
Ben Close claimed the winner in injury time after Jordan Moore-Taylor had equalised for Rovers in the 84th minute.
Sutton fell to the bottom as they suffered their seventh successive league defeat, losing 4-1 at Accrington, for whom Tommy Leigh scored twice.
Tranmere were beaten 3-2 in a dramatic finish at Crawley in their first match since sacking Ian Dawes as manager and appointing Nigel Adkins as interim boss. Klaidi Lolos scored Crawley’s winner deep into injury time.
Summer signings Nick Powell and Louie Barry were on target to help Stockport secure a 2-1 victory at MK Dons.
Elliott Nevitt pounced in the 100th minute to earn Crewe a late 2-2 draw at Wimbledon. Bradford were held 1-1 at home by local rivals Harrogate. The same score saw Colchester and Mansfield share the points, while 10-man Newport held on to draw with Barrow.
There was late drama at Vicarage Road as Watford overcame Birmingham, sparked by the visitors being reduced to 10 in the 88th minute. After Lee Buchanan was dismissed with a second yellow card, Mileta Rajovic and Ryan Andrews were able to take advantage with late goals for the Hornets, who move into 11th.
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In the evening game, Cardiff ended their losing derby streak with a 2-0 home win against Swansea. Ollie Tanner wrote his name into the history of the fixture just seconds after coming on as a 70th-minute substitute with his first Cardiff goal and then won the penalty which Aaron Ramsey converted.
Huddersfield have back‑to‑back victories after goals from Josh Koroma and Sorba Thomas beat Rotherham, while Bristol City’s game with West Brom finished goalless.