Eleven weeks into the season and Middlesbrough, Portsmouth and Lincoln City lead the way after another weekend of exciting EFL encounters.
The first and last games of Matchday 13 had the biggest say on proceedings at the top of the Sky Bet Championship table.
Middlesbrough kicked off the weekend fixtures by beating Sheffield Wednesday 2-1. Britt Assombalonga scored what proved to be the winner 10 minutes into the second half with his 50th goal in the Sky Bet Championship.
It was a strike that took on greater significance throughout Saturday and Jack Marriott made it two goals in two games for Derby County, either side of the international break, to help keep Boro top of the pile, in the last game of the weekend.
He scored the winner as the Rams beat Sheffield United – when a point would have been enough for them to reclaim top spot – and that took Frank Lampard's side into fifth place.
Sandwiched in between, Norwich City moved into the top six after ending Nottingham Forest's unbeaten record at home after Timm Klose grabbed a second-half brace.
Earlier in the day, Blackburn Rovers 2-1 win over Leeds United had taken them into fifth place but they dropped down after the Canaries and Derby's victories to seventh, kept outside of the play-off places on goal difference.
Wigan Athletic then sit a point behind Tony Mowbray's side after Josh Windass scored the only goal of the game in the 74th minute to beat West Bromwich Albion.
At the other end of the table, Hull City moved off the bottom despite conceding a late equaliser, after a 1-1 draw with Preston North End took them above Ipswich Town. The point for the Lilywhites was also enough for them to climb out of the relegation zone after Reading beat Millwall 3-1.
The two managers overseeing their first games in charge of new teams experienced mixed emotions after ending up on opposite sides of games that finished 1-0. Tammy Abraham's first-half goal ensured Dean Smith made a successful start to life in the Villa Park hot seat with a win over Swansea City.
His former assistant coach and successor at Brentford, Thomas Frank, was unable to mark his first game in charge at Griffin Park with a similar success against Bristol City. The Robins left with all the points after Niclas Eliasson scored the only goal of the game in the 89th minute.
Sunderland and Accrington Stanley moved up within the Sky Bet League One play-off places and closed the gap on Peterborough United to one point after winning on the road, whilst Portsmouth doubled their lead at the top to six points after beating Fleetwood Town.
The Black Cats beat Shrewsbury Town 2-0 courtesy of an own goal from Omar Beckles and Luke O'Nien's first goal since his summer switch. Stanley assisted Pompey in extending their lead with the best result of their impressive season so far, beating 1-0 Peterborough at the Abax Stadium – Sean McConville's 11th-minute goal proving the difference.
A goal in each half helped Luton Town into seventh place after they won on home soil for the fifth time this season, the most in the division. Glen Rea and Jorge Grant scored the goals at Kenilworth Road that inflicted the Saddlers first loss on their travels this term.
Bristol Rovers and Oxford United drew 0-0, a result which was enough to lift the Pirates out of relegation zone and allowed Oxford United to also climb a place at the bottom of the table.
Macclesfield Town came from behind to win for the first time this season with a 2-1 victory over Carlisle United at Moss Rose. The victory closed the gap to Cambridge United at the foot of the Sky Bet League Two table to just two points.
Peter Vincenti scored the all-important goal seven minutes from time and in doing so, ensured that the Silkmen avoided owning in their own right the unwanted record of the most consecutive games in the EFL without a win, one they equalled last weekend.
The Us themselves also claimed an impressive result by becoming the first team to draw with leaders Lincoln City at Sincil Bank. Jevani Brown cancelled out Matt Rhead's opener for the hosts, all inside the opening 11 minutes.
Bury moved up to seventh with a 4-0 victory over Notts County and Crawley Town beat Newport County 4-1 to advance to the periphery of the play-off places, kept out only by goal difference. These were the only two matches in League Two where there was more than one goal between the teams this afternoon.
Milton Keynes Dons took advantage of the Exiles slip to move into third with a 1-0 win over Northampton Town; they inflicted the first defeat on the Cobblers under new boss Keith Curle. Colchester United were also 1-0 winners, beating Morecambe at the Globe Arena to move into fifth place.
