EFL Championship LIVE: scores & text commentary from 10 games (2024)

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Summary

West Brom go back top after beating Plymouth
Leeds triumph 2-0 at 10-man Cardiff, Burnley snatch late winner against Portsmouth
Sheff U edge out Derby; Luton come from behind to beat 10-man Sheff Wed
Swansea win at Coventry - despite delay due to lightning storm
Sunderland claim lunchtime 1-0 derby victory over Middlesbrough
Norwich beat Watford 4-1; QPR draw with Millwall
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Live Reporting

Ian Woodcock, Andrew Aloia & Katie Holloway

When you're hot, you're hotpublished at 18:15 British Summer Time 21 September
18:15 BST 21 September
Image source, Rex Features
That's as far as we go in here on another dramatic afternoon of Championship action.
West Brom end the day where they started, at the top of the pile, as Josh Maja's sixth goal in six second tier games gave them a 1-0 win over Plymouth.
Sunderland stay second after beating Middlesbrough in one of the early games and bottom side Cardiff remain without a win all season as they had a man sent off in their 2-0 reverse by Leeds.
We'll be back tomorrow for more EFL live text action as Preston host high-flying Lancashire rivals Blackburn at 12:00 BST.
In the meantime you can join the live page on the Crystal Palace v Manchester United game here or read reports from today's Championship games here.
Thanks for your company today. Cheers!
Championship headlinespublished at 18:13 British Summer Time 21 September
18:13 BST 21 September
Not a single game ended goalless in the Championship today for what has been an eventful Saturday afternoon.
This is how some of today's events unfolded:
- Earlier this afternoon, Norwich put in a dominant display to beat Watford 4-1 at Carrow Road while Sunderland got the better of Middlesbrough through a stunning Chris Rigg backheel to go back to the top of the table - for a little while at least.
- The Black Cats didn't enjoy their time at the peak very long before West Brom retook the number one spot with a 1-0 win against Plymouth Argyle.
- Rob Edwards' Luton Town got their second successive victory through a dazzling Carlton Morris brace after Sheffield Wednesday defender Di'Shon Bernard was shown red in their 2-1 loss.
- Meanwhile there was another scarlet sighting over at Cardiff City Stadium as Bluebird Joel Bagan was sent down the tunnel in the 23rd minute during their 2-0 defeat to Leeds United.
- Portsmouth's hopes of a first league win of the season came to an abrupt end after Burnley scored two in the second-half to take a 2-1 victory.
'Morris deserves the headlines' - Edwardspublished at 18:11 British Summer Time 21 September
18:11 BST 21 September
FT: Luton Town 2-1 Sheff Wed
Luton Town
Luton coach Rob Edwards told BBC Radio Three Counties:
“I don’t think we should have been a goal down, but we have a squad for a reason and they made an impact today, absolutely.
“The hardest part of my job is disappointing people, whether it’s the fans when we don't win or the players when they don't play.
“They have to be focussed, ready, know their jobs and be motivated, and Carlton is all of those things. He will get the headlines and rightly so, but he is all of those things and I’m delighted for him.
“They were well-organised we weren't playing with the right intensity and were a little bit slow in the press in the first half.”
'The better team lost' - Rohlpublished at 18:09 British Summer Time 21 September
18:09 BST 21 September
FT: Luton Town 2-1 Sheff Wed
Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday coach Danny Rohl told BBC Radio Sheffield:
“The better team lost. The direction, the improvement is there. This was a step forward for what I want to see.
“If we work this way we will get the points. Last week we had a 50-50 decision against us and we had a 50-50 decision against us today [for the penalty].
“When I looked to our box and we had a corner and two times Di’Shon (Bernard) goes down and there’s nothing, it’s a little bit hard to take.
“The players on the pitch should decide the game and not somebody else.”
'Relief tangible at Ashton Gate'published at 18:04 British Summer Time 21 September
18:04 BST 21 September
FT: Bristol City 2-1 Oxford
Laurence Herdman
BBC Final Score
Image source, Rex Features
The sense of relief around AshtonGate at full-time was tangible.
Oxford United led at the breakand Bristol City were left to rue a series of missed chances.
Home supporters lookeddisenchanted as they faced a third defeat in a row and the pressure wasstarting to mount on manager Liam Manning - far from ideal on the day of hisfirst reunion with the U’s.
But Bristol City lookedrejuvenated in the second half, full of energy, desire and commitment, allqualities demanded by Manning.
Sinclair Armstrong deservedlyequalised, and substitute Nahki Wells completed the turnaround with a penalty.
It leaves Oxford United stillseeking a first point in the road in the Championship since promotion.
But on a Family Fun Day atAshton Gate, Bristol City fans finally had something to smile about.
'Stay calm and it will happen, which it did'published at 18:01 British Summer Time 21 September
18:01 BST 21 September
FT: Bristol City 2-1 Oxford United
Bristol City
Bristol City boss Liam Manning, speaking to BBC Radio Bristol, said:
“We were frustrated to come in at half time a goal down, we created some really good chances and played some good stuff.
“First-half we had purpose and showed energy so we said at half-time that we should stay calm because it will happen for us which it did.
“Second-half we went after it and showed some moments of real high quality, I’m delighted for the lads and the fans."
Buckingham questions Bristol City penaltypublished at 17:59 British Summer Time 21 September
17:59 BST 21 September
FT: Bristol City 2-1 Oxford
Oxford United
Oxford United boss Des Buckingham, speaking to BBC Radio Oxford:
“Games like today show us adapting to the level, I think we should come away from here with something though.
“Watching back the penalty incident I just don’t think it is a penalty, I’m just disappointed for that to be the winning goal for them.
“We can’t do anything about it now, we just have to dust ourselves off and get ready for another home game at the Kassam.”
Postpublished at 17:58 British Summer Time 21 September
17:58 BST 21 September
Time for a bit more reaction to today's 15:00 BST kick-offs now...
Today's Championship resultspublished at 17:55 British Summer Time 21 September
17:55 BST 21 September
- Norwich City 4-1 Watford
- Queens Park Rangers 1-1 Millwall
- Sunderland 1-0 Middlesbrough
- Bristol City 2-1 Oxford United
- Burnley 2-1 Portsmouth
- Cardiff City 0-2 Leeds United
- Coventry City 1-2 Swansea City
- Luton Town 2-1 Sheffield Wednesday
- Sheffield United 1-0 Derby County
- West Bromwich Albion 1-0 Plymouth Argyle
Click here for reports from all of today's games.
Today's top Championship stats - Part IIpublished at 17:51 British Summer Time 21 September
17:51 BST 21 September
- QPR are the only side to have scored (8) and conceded (9) in each of their games in the Championship this season, drawing four of their last five (W1). Having come from a goal down today to draw 1-1 with Millwall, QPR have rescued the joint-most points from losing positions of any side (six, also Bristol City).
- Bottom of the table Cardiff (P6 W0 D1 L5) have lost as many as five of their first six games in a league campaign for the first time since 1984-85 (also 5).
- Carlton Morris became the first Luton player to score 2+ goals in a league game as a substitute since Luke Berry vs Blackburn in September 2021.
- Scott Twine created seven chances for Bristol City today against Oxford. No player has created more chances in the Championship this season without registering a single assist than Twine (16).
Today's top Championship stats - Part Ipublished at 17:46 British Summer Time 21 September
17:46 BST 21 September
Image source, Getty Images
We've had a afternoon of Championship leapfrog at the summit, and thanks to Opta we can now look at some of the top statistics to come from the day's action.
- For just a secondtime in the club’s history (also in 1894-95), Sunderland have begun a leaguecampaign with three consecutive home wins without conceding a single goal.
- Following their 4-1win against Watford, Norwich are unbeaten in their last 18 home Championshipgames (W12 D6), while the Hornets have lost four of their last five leaguegames on the road (W1).
- Coventry City havefailed to win any of their last 18 league games against Swansea City (D10 L8),since a 3-1 win over the Welsh side back in October 1981.
Millwall's 'glass half full' after derby - Harrispublished at 17:41 British Summer Time 21 September
17:41 BST 21 September
FT: QPR 1-1 Millwall
Millwall
Millwall boss Neil Harris, speaking to BBC Radio London, said:
“I thought we were the better team, and for long periods we were really, really good, I think you’ll find that QPR’s possession was mainly in their own third.
“I thought we dominated the final thirds and created enough chances to win the game. The one place we let ourselves down was being too open down our end.
“I’d use the phrase glass half full today. We were creating chances, but I think we just need to be a bit more clinical."
'I'm not satisfied with the way we played' - QPR boss Cifuentespublished at 17:37 British Summer Time 21 September
17:37 BST 21 September
FT: QPR 1-1 Millwall
QPR
Image source, Getty Images
QPR manager Marti Cifuentes, speaking to BBC Radio London, said:
“I’m not that satisfied with the way we played. We knew we were playing against a team with a very clear style.
“We tried to put the ball on the ground and play faster than what we do. We lacked some tempo, and we knew Millwall is good in the way they play, and we needed to make the tempo higher but unfortunately didn’t.
“In the second half we improved a bit more in regards to tempo but not good enough to create more chances."
Beaten Boro 'the better team'published at 17:33 British Summer Time 21 September
17:33 BST 21 September
FT: Sunderland 1-0 Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough head coach Michael Carrick said:
"It was pretty close but I thought if anything, we were the better team. We had more play around their box, more shots in general.
"Apart from their goal, I thought we limited them to a few individual moments. But we had the first big chance and then it was a 100% red card on Emmanuel Latte Lath.
"They are two big moments and we are finding that the longer it goes, teams are defending very deep with a lot of numbers and we’ve got to face that challenge to break teams down."
Black Cats boss Le Bris praises side's mentalitypublished at 17:29 British Summer Time 21 September
17:29 BST 21 September
FT: Sunderland 1-0 Middlesbrough
Sunderland
Image source, PA Media
Sunderland head coach Regis Le Bris told BBC Radio Newcastle:
"We needed to solve many problems during the game against this opponent, especially our left side when they had overloads.
"I felt that the team wanted to work together to find the solution. In possession, we had an interesting first half but the second half was more difficult because the momentum was against us.
"But our mindset was very good today."
Watford 'need to get balance right' - Cleverleypublished at 17:25 British Summer Time 21 September
17:25 BST 21 September
FT: Norwich 4-1 Watford
Watford
Watford head coach Tom Cleverley said:
"We conceded early again and they had a very good chance to score before that. In the second half we also nearly conceded early again.
"Obviously we will have to work on our game plan for the first 10 minutes and we will keep doing that until we get it right.
"I wanted to come here and be high energy, be on the front foot – it was also like that when I played – but sometimes you can be open as a result and be punished for that.
"I think we have shown enough this season to prove we can be a top team but it is a case of getting the balance right going that other way."
Thorup delighted with 'beautiful goals' and 'good football'published at 17:21 British Summer Time 21 September
17:21 BST 21 September
FT: Norwich 4-1 Watford
Norwich City
Image source, PA Media
Norwich head coach Johannes Hoff Thorup:
"I think with the football we have played so far this season we should have a few more points and I certainly feel we are moving in the right direction.
"We are not where we want to be yet and we will keep working hard at it until we get there. But I think this was the best performance since I’ve been here.
"We knew how important it was to start well – it gives confidence in the side, brings the crowd into it, and I thought we played some really good football and scored some beautiful goals.
"I was so pleased for the players – it hasn't always been the case this season but today they were rewarded with three points for a really good performance."
Postpublished at 17:18 British Summer Time 21 September
17:18 BST 21 September
OK, while we get our collective breath back after today's Championship action, let's get some reaction from the lunchtime kick-offs...
Four on bounce for Baggiespublished at 17:15 British Summer Time 21 September
17:15 BST 21 September
FT: West Brom 1-0 Plymouth Argyle
Sanny Rudravajhala
BBC Radio 5 Live at The Hawthorns
Image source, PA Media
Well,what a time to be a Baggie. Albion are top of the league, unbeaten and have nowwon four on the bounce.
The first half saw chances rain in more heavily thanthe pre-match deluge. Albion his the post three times – first through KarlanGrant driving into the area and then Alex Mowatt and John Swift outside the18-yard box but unable to get that opener.
JoshMaja bookended that first 45 with big chances – shooting wide early on and thenhaving the ball in the net but to be ruled offside with five to go. His timewould come.
Therewas, though, lots to hearten the 2,000-strong Green Army, who gave their playersa standing ovation when they headed to the away end. Ryan Hardie had bigchances in that first half and Morgan Whittaker and Ibrahim Cissoko’s positivityshowed Wayne Rooney may well have his Argyle side playing his way.
But,in these parts, Maja is the main man. A low cross from the right by Uros Racicwas swept in by the ex-Bordeaux front man for his sixth goal in six games.
CarlosCorberan’s side are very good at controlling games and he rang the changes tolimit Plymouth’s push for parity. Positives for them but it’s the homesupporters sprightly in step as they leave The Hawthorns.
How it looks at the bottompublished at 17:13 British Summer Time 21 September
17:13 BST 21 September
Cardiff's 2-0 home defeat by Leeds United leaves them bottom of the Championship with just one point from their six games so far this season.
The late heartbreak for Portsmouth, as Burnley snatched a dramatic late win, has them parked second from bottom.
Image source, BBC Sport