EFL roundup: Kone hits early hat-trick as QPR thrash Swansea, West Ham lose and Lincoln put four past Burnley

Richard Kone scored a hat-trick inside 15 minutes as QPR beat Swansea City 5-0, while West Ham also lost on a Saturday that left both clubs behind Middlesbrough in the Championship promotion race.

Southampton won 3-2 at the London Stadium, Lincoln City came from behind to beat Burnley 4-1, and Mansfield Town recorded a convincing away victory in League One. Chesterfield and Accrington Stanley both scored five in League Two.

Championship: Kone punishes Swansea as West Ham miss their chance

Kone settled QPR’s contest remarkably early, completing his treble from the penalty spot before Swansea had made it through the opening quarter of an hour.

As talkSPORT’s report explains, the distinction matters when discussing the achievement: completing a hat-trick early in a match is different from the shortest interval between a player’s first and third goals.

The defeat left Swansea on 23 points, two behind Middlesbrough. West Ham remained a point further back after Southampton ended their nine-match unbeaten league run.

Kuryu Matsuki, James Bree and Lewis Dobbin scored before half-time for Saints. Kyle Walker-Peters had briefly reduced the deficit, while Tomáš Souček’s stoppage-time goal proved insufficient to rescue the hosts.

Southampton moved to 20 points, with Wolves and West Brom both on 21 after their respective win over Watford and draw at Preston. The Championship standings underline how little separates the chasing clubs.

For context on West Ham’s position before the game, read our Southampton preview.

Lincoln turn the game around against Burnley

Burnley led through Andréas Hountondji’s 39th-minute goal, but Ben House equalised in first-half stoppage time before Lincoln took control after the interval.

Mikkel Ladefoged scored twice, either side of a Dom Jefferies goal, to complete a 4-1 victory. George Wickens then saved Marcus Edwards’ late penalty, according to Sky Sports’ match commentary.

The timing of House’s equaliser was pivotal. Burnley were close to taking a lead into the dressing room; instead, Lincoln reached the break level and scored three times between the 49th and 67th minutes.

Saturday’s Championship results

Home	Score	Away
Charlton Athletic	1-3	Norwich City
Portsmouth	2-1	Millwall
Sheffield United	1-1	Derby County
Blackburn Rovers	2-0	Wrexham
Cardiff City	1-0	Birmingham City
Lincoln City	4-1	Burnley
Preston North End	1-1	West Brom
QPR	5-0	Swansea City
Stoke City	0-0	Bristol City
West Ham United	2-3	Southampton
Wolves	1-0	Watford

Results are recorded in the Guardian’s Saturday clockwatch.

League One: Mansfield win away as Wednesday lose at Doncaster

Mansfield produced the division’s biggest winning margin, beating Blackpool 4-1 at Bloomfield Road.

Plymouth also won away, edging Cambridge United 3-2, while Huddersfield and Luton secured 2-1 home victories over Wigan and Leicester respectively.

Sheffield Wednesday’s fortunes changed sharply from the previous Saturday. Having beaten AFC Wimbledon 5-0 in the results covered by our previous EFL roundup, they lost 2-0 at Doncaster.

Bradford drew 0-0 at Oxford, while Stockport were held 1-1 at Notts County. Those dropped points made the victories for Huddersfield and Plymouth particularly useful among the clubs competing near the top.

Saturday’s League One results

The League One results service records the afternoon’s outcomes.

Home	Score	Away
Huddersfield Town	2-1	Wigan Athletic
Luton Town	2-1	Leicester City
AFC Wimbledon	1-1	Wycombe Wanderers
Blackpool	1-4	Mansfield Town
Bromley	1-1	Peterborough United
Burton Albion	2-1	Leyton Orient
Cambridge United	2-3	Plymouth Argyle
Doncaster Rovers	2-0	Sheffield Wednesday
Notts County	1-1	Stockport County
Oxford United	0-0	Bradford City
Reading	2-1	Barnsley
Stevenage	0-1	MK Dons

League Two: Chesterfield score five before half-time

Chesterfield’s 5-1 victory over Crewe was effectively settled before the interval, with all five home goals arriving in the first half.

Koroma, Naylor and Bryden put Chesterfield three ahead before a Stephenson own goal and Mandeville’s stoppage-time strike completed an extraordinary opening period. McNeill replied after the break, as recorded in the full-time match details.

Accrington matched Chesterfield’s five-goal haul with a 5-0 win at Rochdale, while Grimsby won 4-1 at Gillingham.

Rotherham and Shrewsbury shared six goals in a 3-3 draw. Barnet were held by Oldham, and York beat Port Vale 2-0.

Saturday’s League Two results

All results below are confirmed as full-time by Sky Sports.

Home	Score	Away
Bristol Rovers	0-0	Swindon Town
Cheltenham Town	1-0	Newport County
Northampton Town	2-0	Colchester United
Barnet	1-1	Oldham Athletic
Chesterfield	5-1	Crewe Alexandra
Crawley Town	1-1	Tranmere Rovers
Exeter City	2-1	Fleetwood Town
Gillingham	1-4	Grimsby Town
Rochdale	0-5	Accrington Stanley
Rotherham United	3-3	Shrewsbury Town
York City	2-0	Port Vale

The round continues on Monday, when Walsall host Salford City at 8pm.