Despite a stunning long-range goal from Northern Ireland defender Terry Devlin, Portsmouth suffered a 3-1 defeat to visitors Queens Park Rangers at Fratton Park on the opening day of the EFL Championship season.
The 22-year-old fired home from 25 yards past international teammate Pierce Charles just fifteen minutes into the opening league match; however, the west London outfit sealed the points by scoring three quickfire goals in the space of twelve first-half minutes.
Also on the scoresheet over the weekend was Oxford United defender Ciaron Brown, who salvaged a point for the League One side with a 95th-minute injury-time equaliser at home to MK Dons.
Speaking after United’s dramatic opening-day draw, Brown said: “It felt good at the time, and I was obviously buzzing to equalise in our first game at home and end it on a high.
“However, I’m a bit disappointed that it got to that stage.,” he added. “We went 1–0 ahead and kind of sat off a little bit, which is not what the manager wants and not what we want, and we allowed them back into the game.
“Fortunately, we came out in the second half with the right intent, piled the pressure on, and we are just happy we ended it in a positive way.”
In the Championship, Stoke City’s new £10 million man Ethan Galbraith’s league debut against his former club, ended in a 2-1 home defeat against Swansea City.
Substitutes took centre stage in League One as Dion Charles and Josh Magennis both provided assists from the bench. Charles turned provider to secure Blackpool a 1-1 home draw against Wycombe Wanderers, while Magennis made a similar impact to help Stevenage earn a point in their 1-1 draw at Burton Albion.
Midfielder Patrick Kelly started Barnsley’s League One opening day 1-0 defeat at home to newly promoted Bromley and admitted that the Tykes squad is still light on numbers.
Fi Morgan marked her competitive debut for Celtic with the winning goal as they opened their Scottish Women’s Premier League campaign with a 2-1 victory away to Glasgow City. The Northern Ireland defender headed home in the 40th minute at Petershill Park to secure all three points for her new club.
In the Women’s Sports Direct Premiership, Aimee Kerr scored her 13th goal of the campaign as Glentoran ran out 7-1 winners at Larne while fellow internationals Mia Moore and Emily Wilson also managed to get their name on the scoresheet.
As the Premier League gears up for next weekend’s kick off, English clubs wrapped up their pre-season preparations, with Sunderland securing a 2-1 victory over Rennes. Both Dan Ballard and Trai Hume started for the Black Cats, with Hume netting the winning goal after 70 minutes.
Following his record £30 million move from Southampton, midfielder Shea Charles made his debut for Fulham, coming on as a substitute in their 1-0 win over Stuttgart. Elsewhere, Jamie Donley featured in the final three minutes of Tottenham's pre-season friendly against Hoffenheim.
Meanwhile, striker Kerry Beattie made her Portsmouth Women debut as a 67th minute substitute as the south-coast club lost their first National League South game of the season 1-0 to Fulham.
In the U18 Development League, 17-year-old Emmett Morrison scored twice as Sheffield United got their league campaign off to an emphatic start with a 7-3 victory over QPR; meanwhile, in the U18 Premier League, Joel Kerr scored from the penalty spot for West Ham United and Jahmi Kellyman was on target for Aston Villa.
