Weekend roundup: Eagles in distress, Fulham flying, Hammers and Barnet power on
If there is one match Crystal Palace fans really don't want to see their team lose 5-0, it's against those pesky rivals Brighton.
But that was the scenario for them just a few days after a Europa League defeat in Lyon (3-2) and just ahead of another tiring foreign trip to Turkey to face Besiktas on Thursday.
The Eagles were overrun at the Amex, going 3-0 down inside 10 minutes through an own goal from Jaydee Canvot, a spectacular halfway line strike from Diego Gomez and a smart finish from Yasin Ayari. And it didn't get much better after the break with further goals from Charalampos Kostoulas and Jack Hinshelwood completing the rout.
Pierre Sage is a man under pressure now, having seen his side concede 17 goals in their first seven games of the Premier League season. He said he felt "shame" at the result. "We played so bad, it's my fault," he added.
Midfielder Adam Wharton said: "We couldn't have started any worse. Nowhere near good enough from every single one of us, from the start to the end of the game. We've had a couple of slow starts and we have to sort it out."
It was a much better weekend for Fulham and their boss Alvaro Arbeloa as the Whites clinched a deserved first win of the season at the expense of Hull City. Alex Iwobi's deflected strike in the 33rd minute settled it. A late red card for Ryan Sessegnon slightly spoiled an otherwise very happy day.
"Our rivals punish our mistakes or take their chances but today we were brilliant for 90 minutes," said the Spaniard after overseeing his first league win since taking the hotseat at Craven Cottage. "We controlled the game, had many chances and didn't concede any clear chances."
In the Championship, West Ham won a top-of-the-table clash at Swansea City, thanks to a first-half strike from Divine Mukasa. It puts the Irons just a point behind the Swans at the top of the table. They are now unbeaten in nine matches.
"The commitment, the unity, the way they played today was really good against a very good Swansea side that its chances also," said Nuno Espirito Santo, the Hammers boss. "It was a very intense football match."
The weekend's other big winners were Watford - who ended a dreadful run of heavy defeats with a 2-0 win over Charlton Athletic at Vicarage Road. Luca Kjerrumgaard broke the deadlock just before the hour and Jordan Zemura added a second in injury time. The Addicks have now gone eight games without a win.
Hornets head coach Alessio Dionisi, another man under scrutiny after his side's recent poor form, said: "We believe in this team because we stay together and work together, but football is difficult when negative results arrive. Today the result is right."
Charlton boss Nathan Jones said: "We've been a mile off. We probably had seven or eight who didn't come out with any real credit. We didn't pass the ball well, we didn't defend well....we were really poor in transitional play. Teams are not having to do a hell of a lot to score against us. We're not doing the basics."
Millwall can take credit for salvaging a point at home to Lincoln City after being 2-0 down at the break. Kyrell Lisbie halved the deficit on 63 minutes and skipper Jake Cooper scrambled home the equaliser eight minutes from time.
"It was probably as poor as we've been first half in the time that I've been here," said boss Alex Neil. "The only positive I'll take from it is that we didn't lose. We didn't have any fighting spirit in the first half - we lost every header and every duel. I'm disappointed but the fact that we did manage to come back and didn't lose is a positive."
Meanwhile, QPR had a bad day at the office, having their run of five unbeaten games ended by Birmingham City in a 3-0 defeat at St Andrews. Liam Millar scored in each half for City with sub Demarai Gray rubbing salt into the wounds in stoppage time.
"Today we concede three goals on transition, it's really unusual for us," said Hoops boss Julien Stephan. "Probably we conceded more in one game than the last 10 games. The players never gave up but probably we face an opponent today better than us in some details, more fresh than us as well."
In League Two, super Barnet remain unbeaten and right on the coat tails of leaders Salford after recovering from a half-time deficit to win 2-1 at Tranmere. Kabongo Tshimanga was the hero of the hour, scoring both goals in the comeback, the second from the penalty spot three minutes from time. They are unbeaten in all nine games so far.
In League One, Leyton Orient overcame Blackpool 2-0 with goals from Will Forrester (31 minutes) and Dane Scarlett (a 76th minute penalty). It was only the O's second home win of the campaign. Boss Richie Wellens declared it " a really enjoyable day".
That was far from the case for the capital's two other League sides as both Bromley (1-0 at Stockport County) and AFC Wimbledon (5-0 at Sheffield Wednesday) were left empty-handed. Bromley, who host Leicester City in midweek, are in the bottom four after back-to-back losses.
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