Championship
- Rafael Benítez’s harrowing start to life in the Championship continues, as it does for his Newcastle United players. For Benítez, it must all feel a world away from the days of winning the Champions League with Liverpool and Europa League with Chelsea. Newcastle slumped to defeat at home to Huddersfield Town, after Jack Payne scored the visitors’ winner to ensure Newcastle’s winless start to life in the second-tier continues, despite Dwight Gayle’s first goal for the club – albeit a rebound after his missed penalty. “We have to realise where we are and what we have to do,” said Benítez, after his team were booed off in front of more than 52,000 fans at St James’ Park.
- In contrast to the miserable mood that continues to languish around Tyneside, the feel-good factor is in full swing at Bristol City. The Chelsea striker, Tammy Abraham, scored his second goal of the game in the 95th minute to secure a late victory at Burton Albion. The England Under-19 international, who joined City on loan on the eve of the new season has scored four goals in three matches to help Lee Johnson’s side to the top of the Championship alongside Huddersfield and Fulham, who celebrated back-to-back wins at Preston.
- Aston Villa supporters are unlikely to have forgotten last season just yet but their new Twitter-friendly owner, Dr Tony Xia, has outlined big plans for the Midlands club. Villa are not there yet, but a comfortable 3-0 win at home to Rotherham United goes some way to helping them achieve their aim of earning an instant return to the Premier League. Rudy Gestede’s aerial ability helped Villa into cruise control and a two-goal lead before Jack Grealish wrapped things up with six minutes remaining.
- Elsewhere, Walter Zenga’s Wolves had the beating of Jaap Stam’s Reading – it still feels weird saying that. Stam will have been infuriated by sloppy defending at set-pieces that allowed Matt Doherty and Joe Mason to secure a 2-0 win. Garry Monk’s tenure at Leeds United is not going as planned just yet either, after Michael Morrison’s second-half winner for Birmingham City left Leeds pointless in the second tier. Barnsley breezed past Derby County 2-0 and Brentford beat Ipswich Town at Griffin Park by the same scoreline. “I’m never one for making a big scene in the public domain, but we have to do better,” said the Derby manager Nigel Pearson, seemingly ignoring last season’s headlines. Norwich City held Sheffield Wednesday at Carrow Road in a goalless draw and it just gets worse for Owen Coyle at Blackburn Rovers, who have now shipped seven goals in two league games after a 3-0 defeat at Wigan Athletic.
League One
- Gillingham look every inch like a team capable of playing a league higher, partly due to the arrival of some marquee signings. Paul Konchesky, Jamie O’Hara and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas have injected experience and a touch of class into Justin Edinburgh’s squad, who secured a 2-0 win over Bury to move top of the division after two matches. On Gillingham’s tails are Bolton Wanderers, the only other team with a 100% record in League One after their 2-1 win at AFC Wimbledon. A decade ago, that fixture would have been not only unlikely but impossible.
- If only all debuts were like Kieran Agard’s at MK Dons, eh? The striker, signed from Bristol City for a club-record fee on Friday, scored two goals to secure a draw against Millwall. Ched Evans has had a good start to life at Chesterfield too, after scoring his second goal for the club in a 3-1 victory at home to Swindon Town. Walsall, who drew 0-0 at Oldham, and Scunthorpe United, who secured a point at Fleetwood Town, make up the numbers in the play-off picture at this very, very early stage.
- It’s not been pretty at Charlton Athletic of late, but they mustered their first point of the season at home to Northampton Town, courtesy of skipper Johnnie Jackson. Another former top-flight club, Sheffield United, continue to stutter under their new manager, Chris Wilder, after Billy Sharp rescued a late draw against Rochdale at Brammall Lane. Elsewhere, Coventry City and Shrewsbury Town played out a goalless draw, Bradford City won 1-0 at Peterborough United and Port Vale coasted past Southend United 2-0.
League Two
- So, anybody really can beat anybody. Even down in the rough and tough of the fourth tier of English football, where no team has won their opening two matches of the new season. Nine teams have four points, including Luton Town and Yeovil Town who played out a 1-1 draw at Kenilworth Road, where former team-mates Nathan Jones and Darren Way went head-to-head in the dugout. John Akinde, who scored 24 goals last season, was on the scoresheet as Barnet secured a 2-0 home win over Accrington Stanley.
- Portsmouth are still in search of their first win of the season after a goalless draw at Crewe. The pressure is on Paul Cook’s side, who are in their fourth season in League Two, to finally win promotion this year after last season’s play-off disappointment against Plymouth Argyle. “I thought we started the game really well, I thought we were bright but we’ve got to score in those spells,” said Cook post-match. Argyle’s six-hour coach journey home will probably be rather quiet after they lost out 1-0 at Carlisle United, where Reggie Lambe scored the only goal of the game. Former Eastleigh defender Jamie Turley scored his first goal for Newport County, who won 1-0 at Leyton Orient. And last week’s joy was short-lived for Blackpool, who lost 2-1 away at fellow seaside club Morecambe.
- Exeter City may have triumphed in midweek against Walsall in the EFL Cup, but they are yet to register their first points of the new season. Exeter, who left 15-year-old Ethan Ampadu on the bench after his man-of-the-match display on Tuesday, lost out to two goals in 120 seconds from Hartlepool’s Michael Woods and Billy Paynter. Colchester overcame Cambridge United at home 2-0 while Doncaster Rovers drew 1-1 with Crawley Town. Elsewhere, Wycombe beat Grimsby Town 2-1, Notts County drew with Stevenage, while Cheltenham secured a point at Mansfield.
