Republic of Ireland striker Adam Idah scored deep into injury time to earn Norwich a first home win since February as they beat Hull 2-1 on the opening weekend of the new Sky Bet Championship season.
It had looked like being a draw after Liam Delap's early goal for the Tigers was cancelled out by Jon Rowe's equaliser before Idah's heroics.
After a corner had only been half-cleared, the ball was fed back into the box and took a fortunate deflection to land at the feet of Idah, who steered it home from close range with Hull appealing in vain for offside.
The Corkman scored his first senior international goal with the third goal in Ireland's 3-0 victory over Gibraltar in the Euro 2024 qualifiers in June.
Shane Duffy made his Norwich debut at the heart of the back four, with fellow Boys in Green centre-back Andrew Omobamidele entering the fray on 74 minutes.
Aaron Connolly was a second-half substitute for Hull, having made a permanent move to the club from Brighton on a one-year deal this week, as was Cyrus Christie, while Harry Vaughan and Sean McLoughlin started.
Ireland forward Will Keane was also on target as his return to Preston began with him earning a point with a late goal in a 1-1 draw at Bristol City, who led through Sam Bell's opener at Ashton Gate.
Keane's manager Ryan Lowe was delighted with his team's efforts and said: "Will is capable of adding 14 goals to our team this season. That's how many he got last season and, while I don't want to put pressure on him, I have faith in his ability to excite our fans.
"His goal was a fantastic finish, a great swivel and a shot into the bottom corner. It showed that if we give him opportunities, he will score for us."
Jason Knight made his debut for Bristol City after his summer arrival from Derby County, while Mark Sykes was a 70th minute introduction, with Max O'Leary starting in goal for the Robins.
Preston club captain Alan Browne played the full 90 minutes but Robbie Brady missed out on the matchday squad due to injury.
Meanwhile, Watford laid down an early marker of their Championship promotion credentials with a 4-0 hammering of QPR.
After a disappointing campaign last time out, where they fell short of the play-offs, the Hornets hit the ground running and took the lead after just 36 seconds through Tom Dele-Bashiru.
Imran Louza, Matheus Martins and Vakoun Bayo added first-half goals as the Hornets ran riot against a woeful QPR, who brought Ireland U21 forward Sinclair Armstrong on as a half-time sub. Defender Jimmy Dunne was absent through injury.
Stoke also did the heavy lifting of their 4-1 win over Rotherham in the first half.
They led in the fifth minute thanks to Ki-Jana Hoever's opener before Andre Vidigal scored twice in first-half injury time.
Lee Peltier gave the Millers hope after the break but Cafu's red card ended any hopes of an unlikely comeback, with Jacob Brown adding a late fourth for the hosts.
Ireland goalkeeper Mark Travers made his Stoke debut, where he is on loan from Bournemouth for the season, while left-back Enda Stevens also started, while Irish strikers Georgie Kelly and Josh Kayode were used off the bench by Rotherham.
Plymouth registered their first Championship victory since April 2010 as they beat Huddersfield 3-1.
Last season's League One champions started the season in style as Morgan Whittaker put them ahead after just six minutes.
Michael Helik equalised for the Terriers on the stroke of half-time but Bali Mumba and Ryan Hardie won it for Argyle in the second half.
Ireland U21 caps Finn Azaz and Tyreik Wright made late substitute appearances for the home side.
Two goals in two first-half minutes laid the foundations of Blackburn's 2-1 win over West Brom.
Dilan Markanday got the first in the 20th minute and then straight after Ryan Leonard stroked home.
Matt Phillips gave West Brom hope after the break but they could not find a leveller and a frustrating day for boss Carlos Corberan ended in him being sent off. Ireland midfielder Jayson Molumby started in midfield for the Baggies, with Boys in Green-qualified Sammie Szmodics in action for Rovers.
Romain Esse's 79th-minute goal gave Millwall a 1-0 victory at Middlesbrough, with Ireland U21 and former Shamrock Rovers striker Aidomo Emhaku setting up the goal six minutes after coming on.
Danny McNamara also started for the Lions at right wing-back, while Ireland centre-back Darragh Lenihan started for Boro.
Jerry Yates' debut goal for Swansea earned a 1-1 draw against Birmingham, who went in front through Siriki Dembele's first-half effort and also had Kevin Long and Scott Hogan in their starting 11.
Additional reporting: PA
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