Scott Parker’s return to West Ham had had looked like beginning in painful fashion but instead featured a stunning comeback from 3-0 down. The east London club’s new head coach had watched Cardiff’s Jack Moylan help himself to a first-half hat-trick, before a rousing response after the break ended with Max Kilman levelling the scores at 3-3 eight minutes from time. Elsewhere in the Championship, leaders Middlesbrough went down 2-0 at Wrexham.

Parker had been confirmed as West Ham’s head coach earlier on Wednesday, taking over from Nuno Espírito Santo, who was sacked on Tuesday. The club’s former midfielder was appointed on a two-and-a-half year contract.

Moylan halted the initial feelgood factor among the visiting support in the 11th minute at Cardiff City Stadium. His right-foot drive from the tip of the D left visiting goalkeeper Mads Hermansen helpless as it sped into the top left corner. Moylan was then brought down for a penalty – the Ireland midfielder got up to spank it home to the left as Hermansen dived right in the 37th minute.

Within two minutes, Will Fish thought he had turned in a corner for Cardiff’s third – the centre-back deftly headed towards goal, but Moylan was directly behind him and claimed his hat-trick after making the final touch.

After the break, a completely different story. Divine Mukasa reduced the deficit in the 58th minute, finishing calmly over the stranded Nathan Trott after a fine ball over the top from Jarrod Bowen, before Arne Engels capitalised on a mix-up in the home defence to make it 3-2.

In the 82nd minute, Bowen was again the supplier, curling in an inviting cross from the right that was turned in by centre-back Kilman to make it 3-3 from close range.

At the Racecourse, Wrexham waited until the 70th minute to break the deadlock against Middlesbrough, before George Thomason smashed a shot into the ground from just outside the area, which rocketed past a crowd of defenders and through the unsighted visiting goalkeeper Radek Vítek. Oli Rathbone then made it 2-0 in the 84th minute.

Scott Twine scored a stunning, curling free-kick to give Bristol City the lead at Ashton Gate but promotion-chasing Wolves turned the match around with two late goals from Sean Neave to make it a 2-1 win to the visitors. Neave, on loan from Newcastle, came off the bench to score on 82 and 89 minutes to win it for the visitors.