West Brom thrash Portsmouth on Mowbray's Hawthorns return

Tony Mowbray marked his return to the Hawthorns in stunning fashion, leading West Bromwich Albion to a 5-1 thrashing against lowly Portsmouth.

Mowbray, who managed the Baggies from 2006 to 2009, lost his opening game away to Middlesbrough earlier this week, but got off the mark with a dominant display. 

Alex Mowatt opened the scoring in the 25th minute with a left-footed effort that squeezed past Nicolas Schmid, before Grady Diangana struck either side of Jed Wallace's effort.

The hosts then piled more misery on Portsmouth after the break, with John Swift rifling the ball into the roof of the net after being picked out in the box by Mikey Johnston. 

Portsmouth scored a late consolation goal through debutant and new signing Thomas Waddingham, but their recent revival came to a shuddering halt in the West Midlands.

Saturday's win kept West Brom fifth in the table and firmly in the running for a place in the play-offs, while Pompey dropped to 21st, two points clear of the relegation zone.

Meanwhile, at the Stadium of Light, Nathanael Ogbeta netted a 90th-minute leveller to earn Plymouth Argyle a point in a 2-2 draw against promotion-chasing Sunderland. 

The Pilgrims had taken the lead when Ryan Hardie's shot from a tight angle was deflected over the line by Sunderland goalkeeper Anthony Patterson in the 58th minute. 

Seconds later, however, Sunderland were level through Wilson Isidor, who brilliantly turned home Trai Hume's delivery into the box for his ninth Championship goal of the season. 

Hume then got himself on the scoresheet after Plymouth had failed to clear Patrick Roberts' free-kick, but there would be more drama in the closing stages. 

Following a period of late pressure from the visitors, Ogbeta got the goal their performance merited late on, with his effort finding the roof of the net to seal a share of the spoils. 

The draw sees Sunderland stay fourth in the second tier, three points adrift of the top two, while Argyle remain bottom of the table and are seven points from safety.

There was also another win for Frank Lampard and Coventry City, with Victor Torp's brace earning the Sky Blues a 2-1 triumph against a spirited Watford side. 

Much of the talk leading up to the contest was around Hornets boss Tom Cleverley and his future at Vicarage Road, and that seemingly was on the players' minds early on. 

Torp opened the scoring with a prodded finish past Jonathan Bond, before the Dane doubled his tally in the second half with a stunning free-kick into the top left-hand corner. 

Liam Kitching then turned through his own net late on to provide Watford with some hope, but Coventry were able to hold on to climb into the top half of the standings. 

At the bottom of the table, Derby County's woes continued as they were beaten 2-1 by a resurgent Cardiff City, who extended their unbeaten league run to eight matches. 

Paul Warne's side were the better team in a goalless first half but were made to rue their missed chances as Cardiff scored twice in the space of two minutes after the interval.

Callum Robinson put the hosts ahead as he poked in on the rebound after his initial shot was saved, and moments later he set up Anwar El Ghazi to apply a neat first-time finish. 

Lars-Jorgen Salvesen's first goal for the Rams threatened to inspire a comeback, but they were unable to find a way through the Bluebirds' stern defensive rearguard. 

A precious victory moves Cardiff up to 18th in the Championship table, four points clear of 22nd-place Derby and the relegation zone.