West Ham returned to winning ways as they cruised to a 6-0 Championship victory against nine-man Lincoln at the ProAmpac Stadium.
The hosts had Tom Hamer sent off after just three minutes and Conor McGrandles followed him off the pitch 20 minutes later, with Konstantinos Mavropanos heading West Ham ahead on the stroke of half-time.
The second half was dominated by West Ham, with further goals coming from Edvin Austbø, Jarrod Bowen, Pablo and Tomas Soucek, who scored twice, as the beleaguered home side desperately tried to keep the score down.
“I credit Lincoln as even with one man down, they were in the game and still creating a lot of problems for us,” said the West Ham manager, Nuno Espírito Santo, after watching his club’s biggest away win for 103 years.
“I think we made mistakes in terms of trying to rush things,” Nuno added. “It changed after the second goal and we played much better, in terms of being patient, recycling the ball and being clinical.”
Southampton recorded their second hard-fought 1-0 win in the space of four days as they condemned their hosts, Norwich, to a fourth successive league defeat.
Tonda Eckert’s side followed up Sunday’s victory over their local rivals, Portsmouth, with their first away win of the campaign in the league, with Kuryu Matsuki scorijng what proved to be the winner early in the second half.
Southampton are now well-placed in the top half of the table after 10 games, despite starting the campaign with a four-point deduction, while Norwich remain too close to the bottom for comfort after another disappointing display.
“To be fair there have been some good performances away from home when we just needed to finish better, ” Eckert said. “Tonight we have put in another good performance and on this occasion, we have got our reward. I am very happy for the boys because they worked very hard out there.”
Ebou Adams scored an 89th-minute winner as Portsmouth recovered after giving away a 2-0 lead to beat 10-man Sheffield United 3-2 at Fratton Park.
The hosts had been in cruise control after Zak Swanson’s stunning blast into the top corner and Adrian Segecic’s tap-in either side of Hamza Choudhury’s dismissal for two bookings. But Japhet Tanganga and Tom Cannon levelled the score and the visitors were somehow hunting back-to-back victories for the first time this season.
Adams had the last word when he jumped off the bench to convert with a minute to go to give Portsmouth their third win of the campaign. After the game, Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder criticised referee Oliver Langford for his decision to send Choudhury off.
“There were a number of decisions which were incredibly frustrating,” Wilder said. “That is three players that have been sent off in the last two games he [Langford] has refereed us. Where are the young and up-and-coming referees who would be refereeing in the Championship now, instead of the ones that are just surviving?
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“No doubt we will have another survivor ref on Saturday. Where is the quality? Where are the ones coming through?” Wilder added. It is a tough one for the players, but there is more frustration and anger towards somebody. We have to deal with it.”
The Portsmouth head coach, John Mousinho, was frustrated by his team’s display despite their late winner. “I am happy that we won the game but the nature and circumstances of it … we have a large amount to learn and a long way to come.
“There was a little bit of relief when the winner went in, but there was fury through the game and I still am furious,” he added. “I think the players are on the same page as me and that is why there was muted celebrations at the end.”
QPR continued their impressive early season form with a thumping 4-1 win at home to struggling Derby. Three of the goals came in the first half, with Alfie Lloyd scoring, Nicolas Madsen tucking away a penalty and Harvey Vale adding the third.
Paul Smyth made it four with a deflected effort midway through the second half before Lars-Jørgen Salvesen scored a late consolation goal for Derby. Rangers’ victory was marred by a potentially serious knee injury to defender Amadou Mbengue, who was carried off on a stretcher late on.
Derby have now gone six league games without a win but their head coach, John Eustace, remains optimistic despite increasing pressure. “It’s a long season. We’ve had some difficult moments and I’m confident we’ll come through it,” Eustace said. “I don’t think the players will need picking up. I think they’ll be angry and ready to go for the next game.”
