A review of Wednesday's action in the Sky Bet Championship, where West Brom hit four past Sheffield United.
Results
West Brom 4-0 Sheffield United
West Brom continued their unbeaten start to the season with a one-sided 4-0 win at The Hawthorns against fellow relegated side Sheffield United, whose goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale is poised to join Arsenal.
Ramsdale was omitted from United’s squad for the Sky Bet Championship game as the transfer neared completion after the clubs agreed an initial fee of around £24 million.
Ramsdale’s place went to Michael Verrips, who endured a torrid time, allowing a corner to slip through his hands for Albion’s second goal then beaten in the air for the fourth as West Brom went top of the table after three games.
Valerien Ismael’s side continued their bright early form and had the ball in the net twice in the first 16 minutes, but both efforts from the former Sheffield United forward Callum Robinson were ruled out.
Robinson prodded over the line after 64 seconds when Matt Clarke flicked on a long throw-in by Darnell Furlong, but Robinson was judged to be offside and the ball hit him on the arm.
Then Robinson volleyed home after a Furlong flick-on but this time there was a foul in the build-up.
Hull 0-1 Derby
Debutant Sam Baldock ended Derby’s nine-game run without a Championship victory by securing a 1-0 triumph at Hull.
The 32-year-old forward, who did not manage to find the net in any of his 23 outings for Reading last season, settled the contest with a predatory 57th-minute finish.
Baldock was one of two new signings who were thrown straight into the team at the MKM Stadium by Rams boss Wayne Rooney, with 39-year-old veteran Phil Jagielka marshalling the visitors’ defence to a clean sheet at the other end.
For Hull, the defeat represented a fifth loss in their last six meetings with Derby.
Middlesbrough 2-3 QPR
QPR continued their unbeaten start to the Sky Bet Championship season with a 3-2 win at Middlesbrough – despite falling behind and being reduced to 10 men.
Moses Odubajo was shown a second yellow card in the 50th minute.
That formed part of a dramatic second half which started with Middlesbrough captain Jonny Howson turning Lee Wallace’s cross into his own net to cancel out Uche Ikpeazu’s seventh-minute penalty.
Six minutes after Odubajo was sent off, QPR took the lead when striker Lyndon Dykes hammered the ball low and through former team-mate Joe Lumley’s legs.
It looked like Middlesbrough would still make the extra man count when Matt Crooks’ cool finish levelled things up again after 72 minutes.
But less than four minutes later Chris Willock, who set up QPR’s second, found the net himself with a calm finish into the bottom corner to give his side seven points from nine.
Birmingham 0-2 Bournemouth
Dominic Solanke and Jaidon Anthony showed Bournemouth boss Scott Parker there is life without want-away striker Arnaut Danjuma after hitting late goals to claim a 2-0 win at Birmingham.
With last season’s fellow joint top Cherries scorer Danjuma reportedly on the verge of sealing a move to Europa League winners Villarreal, Solanke’s classy 77th-minute finish put the Cherries ahead.
Former Arsenal trainee Anthony, 21, sealed the points by hooking home Bournemouth’s second after 87 minutes for his first professional goal.
Defeat was harsh on Birmingham, who had looked set for a fourth successive clean sheet and, indeed, created the better chances before Bournemouth’s late rally.
But Lee Bowyer’s side were left to rue missed chances as a Lukas Jutkiewicz header was ruled offside while Cherries keeper Mark Travers made three good saves.
However, despite missing the suspended David Brooks – sent off in Saturday’s win at Nottingham Forest – and Danjuma, the visitors found a way to record back-to-back away victories for Parker.
Nottingham Forest 1-2 Blackburn
Nottingham Forest suffered a third straight Championship defeat as Blackburn claimed a 2-1 win at the City Ground.
Philip Zinckernagel looked to have earned Chris Hughton’s side a point when he hammered Forest level in the 69th minute, to cancel out Daniel Ayala’s goal, which had come two minutes into the second half.
But Hughton finds himself under pressure after Darragh Lenihan’s 86th-minute header piled on the misery, which was only added to when Jordan Gabriel collected a second yellow card in the 90th minute.
