Brighton left it late to move to the top of the Championship as Tomer Hemed's stoppage-time penalty clinched a dramatic 2-1 victory against Fulham on Saturday. Chris Hughton's side had taken the lead when Sam Baldock swept home Bruno Saltor's pass in the 30th minute at Craven Cottage. But former Hull and Blackburn midfielder Tom Cairney drew Fulham level with a superb curling effort just before half-time.
It appeared that would be the end of the scoring as the match entered the final moments, but Kazenga LuaLua tricked his way into the box and Shaun Hutchinson lunged in. LuaLua tumbled, the referee pointed to the spot and Hemed sent Marcus Bettinelli the wrong way to score from the spot. The victory follows Brighton's 1-0 home triumph against Nottingham Forest on the opening day of the season, while Fulham have taken just one point from their first two fixtures.
Kike scored twice as second placed Middlesbrough eased to a 3-0 victory over Bolton at the Riverside Stadium. On-loan Watford midfielder Diego Fabbrini's early opener preceded the Spaniard's brace as last year's play-off finalists, who began their season with an uninspiring goalless draw at Preston, put in a more stylish performance. Derby's new manager Paul Clement is still waiting for his first win after the Rams were held to a 1-1 draw by Charlton at the iPro Stadium.
Clement's side, who drew at Bolton last weekend, were looking to bounce back from their midweek League Cup exit to fourth tier Portsmouth, but they fell behind to a Tony Watt strike in the 48th minute. Although Derby's Chris Martin equalised in the 68th minute, Clement, who served as Carlo Ancelotti's assistant at Real Madrid, Chelsea and Paris Saint German, couldn't secure his maiden victory. Rotherham's miserable run against Nottingham Forest continued as the hosts came from behind to claim a 2-1 win at the City Ground.
Steve Evans' team looked on course to end a run of 16 games without a win over Forest, a woeful sequence that stretched back to 1956, after Danny Collins had put them into the lead with a 13th minute header against his former club. But Matt Mills headed home in first-half stoppage-time and Michail Antonio's third goal in two matches helped to complete the recovery for the Reds in the 61st minute, sealing Forest's first win of the season. Paul Gallagher's first-half effort saw 10-man Preston claim a 1-0 victory at Milton Keynes Dons despite Jordan Hugill's late dismissal. Elsewhere, Ipswich came from behind to beat Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 at Portman Road and Brentford defeated Bristol City 4-2 at Ashton Gate.
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