Blades finally bounce back, Cov walk over Birmingham, Imps hit three, and did Grimsby score the greatest ever quick-fire double in thrashing Cheltenham 7-1?
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Championship
Huw Davies
Blackburn had a bad week. Still seeking a ‘free goal’ to be agreed in their replayed fixture against Ipswich, after their match was called off with Rovers leading 1-0, they then received pelters for banning the Lancashire Telegraph from covering the club, and lost 3-0 to Charlton. The Addicks could even afford Reece Burke to miss a sitter at 1-0. After early substitute Macauley Gillesphey had scored within a few minutes of coming on, second-half substitute Tanto Olaofe had a big hand in the other two goals, finished by Sonny Carey – a sweet strike – and James Bree. This combination of physicality, fluidity and fearlessness could take Charlton far. It’s already taken them to 7th.
A Rudoni-less Coventry beat Birmingham 3-0, their impressive display aided by Jack Robinson’s first-half red card for two clear bookings – or “harsh” ones, if you’re Blues boss Chris Davies. Since their stoppage-time comeback at Ewood Park, Birmingham have played three away games and had one shot on target, so Davies’ focus on Coventry players escaping bookings for kicking the ball away hasn’t convinced supporters who might’ve welcomed a frank assessment of his team’s performance, because all three goals were very soft. Cov deserved the win and deserve their place in the Championship’s top two.
Sheffield United are off the mark, and after six straight defeats to start the season, a slightly fortuitous one-nil-er at Oxford is as good a win as any. The Yellows had more of the ball, the shots and the chances, and Greg Leigh hit the post late on, but when Callum O’Hare fired home to double the Blades’ goal tally for 2025/26, it’d be the game’s only goal. Did the ball go out of play in the build-up? We’ve looked frame-by-frame and think the answer is no.
Elsewhere, half of the Championship drew 1-1. No, really: six matches finished 1-1, with another ending goalless.
Most notable were: Middlesbrough drawing at Southampton to remain unbeaten at the top; Sheffield Wednesday holding QPR at Hillsborough, because QPR had won three on the spin while Wednesday had lost each of their three prior home games to nil; and Wrexham drawing with Derby. Lewis O’Brien should’ve been sent off early doors for a horrific challenge, but he was reprieved and inevitably scored, only for Ben Brereton Diaz’s superb equaliser to deliver Derby some justice. Issa Kaboré was a constant threat from wing-back; he has three assists from his first two Wrexham appearances.
League One
Matt Watts
It’s as you were at both the top and bottom of League One, with 1st to 5th all winning and 21st to 24th all losing.
Bradford beat Blackpool 1-0 thanks to Josh Neufville’s third goal in three league games, so they remain top. The only other team in the division with seven wins is second-place Stevenage: a goal and two assists from Harvey White helped Alex Revell’s men to beat Leyton Orient 3-2 at Brisbane Road. Despite playing a fixture fewer than the majority of the teams around them, Stevenage are just a point behind Bradford – and a point ahead of Lincoln, who racked up their third consecutive league win by beating Peterborough 3-0 at London Road.
AFC Wimbledon moved into the top six with a 2-1 victory over Wycombe. First-half goals from Omar Bugiel and Steve Seddon put them in a commanding position, and although Ewan Henderson pulled one back as Wycombe dominated the second half, it ended up being a first defeat for Mike Duff. Wimbledon have now won four in a row in all competitions, three of those in the league.
The top-six door was opened for the Dons by Barnsley’s 2-0 defeat at home to a rejuvenated Port Vale. It’s been a tough week for the Tykes, who lost 6-0 to Brighton in the Carabao Cup, while Vale bounced back from their midweek defeat to Arsenal by picking up their third consecutive league win. Darren Moore’s side amassed 2.1 xG and eight shots on target while restricting their hosts to 0.4 xG and zero shots on target.
Kevin Nolan got the better of his former club as Northampton beat Bolton 2-0 at Sixfields. Cameron McGeehan gave Cobblers the lead in the 70th minute and Sam Hoskins made the points safe three minutes later, following in after his penalty was saved by Teddy Sharman-Lowe. This was Northampton’s fifth win in six games across all competitions, and their first league victory over Bolton since December 1989.
Burton Albion remain bottom after a 4-0 defeat at home to Plymouth Argyle, taking them to 10 goals for the week after thumping Spurs’ academy side 6-2 on Tuesday. Gary Bowyer’s Brewers are without a league win since opening day and without a league goal since 23rd August.
League Two
Sam Parry
On a weekend where Harrogate ended Gillingham’s unbeaten record – and away from home, no less – while a 95th-minute penalty took Crewe to victory over Notts County and title favourites MK Dons got their first win of September, League Two teemed with tall tales. Last week, we wrote of 40 goals in a single slate. It happened again. And we start with 20% of the tally…
The boat came in for Grimsby. It’s crazy to think, after a 7-1 win, that it all began with a Cheltenham goal. If that was the bait, Dave Artell’s side had no trouble reeling in the prize. A quick-fire Jamie Walker double on 39 and 41 minutes was so good that Jaze Kabia was left head in hands, and Grimsby 2-1 up at the break.
In the second half, a double-double of second yellows spelled disaster for Cheltenham, and the nine men were caught hook, line and stinker. Kabia bagged his own from range for 3-1 before it all got a bit trippy for Cheltenham. Attack vs defence, training-ground style. 11 vs 9. Four more goals without reply. An unmitigated disaster. A flustercluck.
Elsewhere, against the club he represented last season, Matt Butcher scored a thunderous volley to put Salford a goal to the good against Bristol Rovers. Gas stuck it on Karl Robinson’s side, getting in behind and going route one. A goalkeeper taking a free kick on the halfway line is a fine thing – finer still when your meaty centre-back nods it into the path of your unmarked striker. Salford’s defence were nowhere to be seen, leaving Ellis Harrison to tap in for his third of the season and 1-1. Shoddy defending from another lumped ball allowed Fabrizio Cavegn to nip in for 2-1; the new signing, who excited us in the summer, has now scored two in two.
Still. Deep into added time at the Peninsula, a questionable penalty for Salford handed them the chance to grab a dramatic leveller. Before it could be taken, Haji Mnoga was sent off for some off-ball shenanigans. Luke Garbutt stepped up, but Luke Southwood dived down to his right to save it. It wasn’t his best stop even after 90’+5, because he denied Adebola Oluwo spectacularly on 90’+7 to give Rovers all three points. They’re unbeaten in seven matches.
Fleetwood 4-2 Colchester was a scoreline that doesn’t do justice to the heave-ho. It went 0-1, 1-1, 2-1, 2-2, 3-2, 4-2. Both sides had good opportunities; both sides took them. Fleetwood just took a couple more. And speaking of clinical finishing, Aaron Drinan continues to sizzle for Swindon: he scored his eighth goal to double their lead over Bromley. It wasn’t as cut and dry as it looked, though. Swindon had Connor Ripley to thank for a couple of brilliant saves, which preserved a clean sheet, another win, and second place.
That leaves the early front-runners. Not another one: it’s Walsall. Matt Sadler’s side owed much to a double save from Myles Roberts to go into the break all-square against Accrington. Then came three second-half goals from a total of four second-half shots. The pick of them was a Football Manager-style lob from Albert Adomah, the 37-year-old ageing like fine wine, to make it 3-1 late on. What a league!
🎦 Our Top 5 clips from the EFL weekend
15:39 - Hello Jamie Walker… 15:41 - Goodbye Cheltenham.
Jan gives an uncontrollable pass the VIP treatment.
Save of the season already? Iversen preserves life at the death.
Alexa, define “super sub”.
And Castledine puts on a feast.
📊 Your Monday morning cheat sheet
⚡️ On the comeback trail — Watford’s 2-1 win over Hull ended a run of 18 Championship games without victory after conceding first (D4 L14). The last time they managed it was Boxing Day 2023, against Portsmouth.
🎯 Home comfort — Swansea’s Zan Vipotnik has six goals in nine appearances this season, finding the net in each of his last five home games.
📉 Grecians stumble — Exeter have lost seven of their opening 10 league matches (W3), their worst start at this level since 2011-12, and their poorest in any division since 2016-17 in League Two. They’re still 18th, mind.
🚂 Pilgrims on the move — Plymouth Argyle have won back-to-back away league games for the first time since the end of 2022/23. Their 4-0 win was also their biggest winning margin on the road since Fleetwood away in February 2014.
🔥 Wootton the money — Stockport’s Kyle Wootton has more goal involvements than any other League One player this season (5 goals, 3 assists), scoring in back-to-back games for the second time.
🔴 Robins flying — Swindon’s 2-0 victory over Bromley means they’ve collected 21 points from 10 games — their best Football League start since 2014/15.
⚓️ Grimsby’s rout — The Mariners’ 7-1 thrashing of Cheltenham was their biggest Football League win since beating Boston United 6-0 back in February 2007.
🟡 Points dropped — Derby (8) have lost more the most points from winning positions in the Championship, with Norwich and Wrexham just behind them on 7.
⚠️ County in crisis — Newport are now winless in eight league games, the longest current run without a victory in the EFL.
😬 Slow starters — No team in the EFL has conceded the first goal more often than Shrewsbury (8). They’re the only side yet to open the scoring this season.
⏳ Fast out of the blocks — Lincoln have been ahead in nine of their 10 first halves this season, more than any other team in the EFL.
Sky Bet Championship
Charlton 3-0 Blackburn
Coventry 3-0 Birmingham
Ipswich 2-1 Portsmouth
Oxford 0-1 Sheffield United
Preston 0-0 Bristol City
Sheffield Wednesday 1-1 QPR
Southampton 1-1 Middlesbrough
Stoke 1-1 Norwich
Swansea 1-1 Millwall
Watford 2-1 Hull
West Brom 1-1 Leicester
Wrexham 1-1 Derby
Sky Bet League One
AFC Wimbledon 2-1 Wycombe
Barnsley 0-2 Port Vale
Bradford 1-0 Blackpool
Burton Albion 0-4 Plymouth Argyle
Exeter 0-1 Huddersfield
Leyton Orient 2-3 Stevenage
Luton 1-0 Doncaster
Mansfield 2-1 Rotherham
Northampton 2-0 Bolton
Peterborough 0-3 Lincoln
Stockport 1-1 Reading
Wigan 0-2 Cardiff
Sky Bet League Two
Accrington 1-3 Walsall
Bristol Rovers 2-1 Salford
Chesterfield 4-1 Newport
Crawley 1-2 Barrow
Crewe 2-1 Notts County
Fleetwood 4-2 Colchester
Gillingham 0-1 Harrogate
Grimsby 7-1 Cheltenham
Oldham 1-1 Barnet
Shrewsbury 1-2 MK Dons
Swindon 2-0 Bromley
Tranmere 0-0 Cambridge
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