Jack Moylan on mark again but Middlesbrough peg back Cardiff

Cardiff City's Jack Moylan (third right) celebrates after scoring his side's first goal during the Sky Bet Championship match at the Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough. Pic Richard Sellers/the Press Association. 

Will Lankshear stepped off the bench to inspire Middlesbrough’s stirring second-half fightback in their 2-2 draw with 10-man Cardiff at the Riverside.

The Bluebirds stunned high-flying Boro in the first half and led 2-0 at the interval after goals from Ireland's Jack Moylan and Ollie Tanner.

Lankshear, the Championship’s top scorer, was surprisingly rested but the striker was brought on by Kim Hellberg at half-time, and within 16 minutes of his introduction Boro were level.

Tommy Conway halved the deficit before Lankshear struck his 11th goal of the season in all competitions.

Cardiff went down to 10 men with seven minutes to play when Gabriel Osho was given a straight red card for a reckless tackle on Lankshear, but Boro – who are now unbeaten in nine league games – could not force a winner.

Moylan's goal was a fine strike, skipping past Borges and Morris with ease and beating Radek Vitek at his near post with a low drive. 

Elsewhere in the Championship, West Ham ended Swansea’s four-match winning streak with a 1-0 away victory that reduced the gap at the top of the Championship to a single point.

Divine Mukasa’s calm first-half finish proved the difference, with the result putting the Hammers second, within a point of Swansea, who lost at home for the first time since April. Swansea had made their best start since 1923 by winning seven and drawing two of their opening 10 games.

Liam Millar scored twice as Birmingham beat QPR 3-0 at St Andrew’s. Millar swung the game Birmingham’s way in the 27th minute and then doubled their advantage just after the break. On both occasions he was assisted by Tomoki Iwata while Demarai Gray added the gloss in the first minute of stoppage time by hammering a pull-back by fellow substitute Luis Vázquez into the top corner.

Luke Graham scored his first goal for Stoke as they won 1-0 at Pride Park to pile more pressure on struggling Derby. The Scotland defender headed in a free-kick early in the second half and that was enough to settle a scrappy contest. Derby, who are missing a number of key players, battled away and nearly snatched a point when David Ozoh’s shot was superbly saved by goalkeeper Viktor Johansson.

West Brom completed a stunning comeback after conceding two early goals as they beat Blackburn 3-2. Andri Gudjohnsen had Rovers two up before the break, before Barney Stewart pulled a goal back for Albion. Isaac Price’s penalty levelled it up before substitute Felix Horn Myhre netted a dramatic winner for the home side a minute from time.

James Bree, Lewis Dobbin and Leo Scienza all squandered chances as Southampton dropped points at home for the first time this season with a 0-0 draw against Bolton. The trio all wasted tap-ins, while Saints were also left bereft by a penalty not being given for a Rúben Rodrigues handball.

Watford lifted the pressure on Alessio Dionisi and quelled their supporters’ rebellion against the owner, Gino Pozzo, with a deserved 2-0 win against a sluggish Charlton. After shipping nine goals in defeats by Burnley and Cardiff, Watford had slumped into the bottom three and the fans had turned their anger on Pozzo. But goals from Luca Kjerrumgaard and the substitute Jordan Zemura extended Charlton’s worrying run to eight games without a win as they were booed off at Vicarage Road.

Dionisi said later his team was “not yet strong enough for the Championship but it’s possible to improve. I’ve been a coach for 14 years and I know when my team stays near my idea. This result is important and tonight I will drink a glass of red wine.” Portsmouth piled on the misery for struggling Norwich as they made it back-to-back Championships victories with a 1-0 win at Carrow Road. Pompey followed up their midweek victory against Sheffield United with a hard-fought success in East Anglia, with a 51st-minute penalty from striker Marezi settling the issue.

It was a sixth successive league defeat for the hosts and there were calls for sporting director Ben Knapper to go from frustrated supporters at the final whistle.

Norwich’s head coach, Philippe Clement, had no complaints with his side’s effort – but felt they sometimes failed to see the bigger picture on the pitch.

“I am very disappointed, very frustrated”, he said. “I saw a lot of passion out there, a lot of effort, but not enough overview. We had some good possession but at important moments we would make the wrong pass, or try a shot from 30 yards. It’s about getting the balance right between their hearts and their brains. I understand the frustration of our fans with our results and all I can say is that I will work even harder than I did last season to turn it around.”

Jake Cooper’s scrambled equaliser rescued a point for Millwall as they came from two goals down to draw 2-2 with Lincoln. The visitors looked on course to put Wednesday’s 6-0 home thrashing against West Ham behind them in style when goals from Andrei Coubiș and Rob Street put them in a strong position after 33 minutes at the Den. But Millwall were able to prevent back-to-back home defeats with a much-improved second-half performance, and the visitors were hanging on for a share of the spoils after having Deji Elerewe sent off soon after Cooper’s leveller. Kyrell Lisbie had scored Millwall’s first.