Watford beat Derby, West Brom win at Stoke

Moussa Sissoko scored for the first time on his return to Watford as Derby were beaten 2-1 at Vicarage Road. Ebou Adams fired the Rams ahead early on but that was cancelled out by a spectacular Vakoun Bayo effort in a first half that also saw Derby assistant manager Richie Barker sent to the stands.
Sissoko, the 35-year-old former France midfielder, struck in the 76th minute to complete a comeback that saw Watford maintain their 100 percent start to the season. winning all three Championship games plus an EFL Cup tie. They sit second in the early table, level on points with leaders Sunderland who beat Burnley 1-0 thanks to a Romaine Mundle strike.
West Brom continued their unbeaten start as they claimed their second successive away victory in a 2-1 win at Stoke. A frantic first half saw the Baggies take the lead through Karlan Grant before the hosts levelled the game after on-loan Liverpool man Lewis Koumas netted on his home debut. Less than two minutes later, West Brom were back in front as Josh Maja’s sweetly struck effort whistled past Viktor Johansson.
Arnor Sigurdsson scored his first goal of the season as Blackburn came from behind to beat Oxford 2-1. John Eustace’s men showed their character and quality to recover from a goal of the season contender from Mark Harris who volleyed the U’s into a 44th-minute lead. The hosts still went in level after Joe Rankin-Costello’s smart turn and shot in stoppage time before Sigurdsson curled in a classy 83rd-minute winner, seven minutes after his introduction off the bench. It was a second successive agonising away defeat for Des Buckingham’s side, who shaded the first half and ought to have scored earlier than they did but Idris El Mizouni planted a free header wide.
Summer signing Tommy Conway came off the bench to score a last-gasp penalty and earn Middlesbrough a 2-2 draw with Portsmouth at the Riverside. Championship newcomers Pompey looked set for their first win of the season after first-half goals from Christian Saydee either side of Matt Clarke’s header for Boro. But Conway struck in the 90th minute to earn a deserved point for Boro, who had 29 shots on Portsmouth’s goal.
Norwich are still looking for their first league win of the season and Sheffield United remain undefeated after a hard-fought 1-1 draw at Carrow Road. The Canaries took a 22nd-minute lead through Josh Sargent against the run of play, but the visitors were level just after the half-hour mark following an assured finish from young captain Ollie Arblaster.
Will Keane ensured Preston made a winning start to life under new manager Paul Heckingbottom with the only goal of the game against Luton at Deepdale. Keane bagged his first goal of the season in the 39th minute to secure three points in Heckingbottom’s first game since being named as Ryan Lowe’s replacement. Heckingbottom had been out of work since leaving Sheffield United last December but it was his opposite number, Rob Edwards, who was left with more questions to answer after a second defeat in three league outings.
Mark Robins heaped praise on goalscorer Kasey Palmer after the midfielder’s second-half strike against his old club Bristol City earned Coventry a hard-earned 1-1 draw at Ashton Gate. Bristol City took a deserved lead in first-half stoppage time when George Tanner volleyed home following a corner, but Coventry improved after the break and hit back on 76 minutes. Robins said: “Kasey is Kasey and what you get is what you get. Sometimes what you get is unbelievable and sometimes less so – but he is a top player.”
QPR manager Marti Cifuentes indicated that Lyndon Dykes could be on his way out of the club after the Scotland striker was left out for their 1-1 draw against Plymouth. The visitors secured a point despite playing most of the match with 10 men and ending it with nine. Straight after Morgan Whittaker’s equaliser for Argyle just before the half-hour mark cancelled out Michael Frey’s opener, Adam Forshaw was sent off after picking up a second yellow card and, in stoppage time, teenage substitute Freddie Issaka was dismissed for a crude challenge. Asked why Dykes, who is not injured, was left out, Cifuentes said: “I just pick players based on availability. He wasn’t available.”
Neil Harris expressed relief after Millwall claimed a first point of the season with a goalless draw against Hull. The well-disciplined visitors were resolute from the outset and deservedly left with a point. “I asked for a clean-sheet mentality, “ said Harris. “We discussed the importance of getting back on the coach with at least a point.”