English Championship: Debutant Kevin Phillips fired a dramatic injury-time winner to hand Birmingham a 1-0 victory in a keenly-contested clash against a resilient Sheffield United at St Andrews.
The hosts enjoyed the majority of the possession in miserable conditions not associated with the opening day of the football season, but they failed to register a single shot on target until former Aston Villa and West Brom striker Phillips popped up in the 92nd minute.
A long kick from goalkeeper Maik Taylor was nodded on by Garry O'Connor and substitute Phillips turned Chris Morgan on the penalty spot to lash a fine effort into the bottom corner.
The result was harsh on a battling United side who had looked worthy of a point against the former Premier League side until a heartbreaking finish.
In the later kick-offs, newly-promoted Doncaster stunned Derby 1-0 at Pride Park as they made a dream debut .
Lewis Guy's sharp finish in the 59th minute was enough to silence the majority of a 33,000 crowd as Rovers defeated a County side who were playing in the Premier League last season.
Kevin Phillips scored a 93rd-minute winner on his Birmingham debut as the Championship favourites vanquished Sheffield United 1-0 at St Andrews.
A frantic but low-quality clash of few chances had looked set to end in stalemate until Phillips — who joined Blues this summer after failing to agree a new deal with West Brom — collected the ball, turned and found the corner of the net less than half an hour after coming off the bench.
QPR's billionaire owners were grateful for the unflashy presence of Fitz Hall as his brace handed them a 2-1 victory over Barnsley at Loftus Road.
Iain Hume (five) slid the ball home for the Tykes but Hall (29) equalised from a yard out after his initial effort struck the bar and then crashed in a brilliant volley two minutes later. The defender also missed a second-half penalty before the visitors' Marciano Van Homoet was sent off for a professional foul late on.
Much-fancied Wolves had to settle for a 2-2 draw at Plymouth. Rory Fallon gave the Pilgrims the lead in the seventh minute after Wolves failed to deal with a long ball but Michael Kightly (19) volleyed a close-range leveller against the run of play.
Marcel Seip (55) fired home when the visitors were slow to clear from a corner before substitute Sam Vokes (78) blasted a fine equaliser on his debut.
Preston came from behind to beat promotion contenders Ipswich 2-1 at Portman Road. Kevin Lisbie headed the Tractor Boys in front from close range in the second minute but Paul McKenna (21) conjured an equaliser with a 25-yard screamer and Simon Whaley (34) slid in a second to seal all three points for the visitors.
Crystal Palace and Watford, last season's defeated play-off semi-finalists, fought out a scrappy goalless draw at Selhurst Park.
Steve Brooker's injury-time goal gave beaten play-off finalists Bristol City a 1-0 win at Blackpool.
Sheff Wednesday made a brilliant start to the season as they thrashed Burnley 4-1 at Hillsborough. Marcus Tudgay put the Owls ahead in the first minute and Akpo Sodje finished well for a second just three minutes later, but Martin Paterson (six) headed the Clarets back into the game on his debut.
However, Sodje (17) tapped in a third and Tudgay (65) made it four.
A late goal from Roger Johnson gave Cardiff a 2-1 victory over Southampton at Ninian Park. The Bluebirds dominated from the start but had to wait until the 41st minute for Steven Thompson to give them the lead with a precise finish.
David McGoldrick then equalised on the stroke of half-time — but Johnson's header (90) clinched the points for the FA Cup finalists.
Debutant Mark Hudson's near-post header in the third minute put Charlton on the way to a 2-0 win over League One champions Swansea at The Valley.
Elliott Ward's penalty (48) and Leon McKenzie (86) gave Coventry a 2-0 victory against Norwich at the Ricoh Arena.
