AFC Wimbledon have reached the third tier of English football for the first time in their history, after goals from Lyle Taylor and Adebayo Akinfenwa saw them to a 2-0 win over Plymouth. It was a day on which their experienced professionals stood tall, as the team put in a battling performance and restricted their… Read more →
It has been an incredible four months for Barnsley and Paul Heckingbottom. When the 38-year-old took over his hometown team as caretaker boss, they had been on a good run, but were 12th in League One and had never won at Wembley in their 129-year history. 22 games later, they are now a Championship club… Read more →
In a league as competitive as the Championship, it is not easy to win one promotion, let alone four in a row. That is what Steve Bruce has achieved, after his Hull City side won 1-0 against Sheffield Wednesday in the play-off final, thanks to Mohamed Diame’s stunning strike. Although his team had finish higher… Read more →
There are some matches in which a red card changes a game. In the FA Cup final on Saturday, Chris Smalling’s extra-time dismissal changed the game, perversely, in Manchester United’s favour. Crystal Palace had spent 105 minutes sitting deep and denying space in the final third, which they had done to reasonable success. Once they… Read more →
Newcastle United’s 5-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur is one of the most bizarre final day matches England’s top flight has ever seen. The hosts, already relegated, faced a team that had enjoyed a hugely impressive campaign. And yet, it was Newcastle who finished the match with the happier set of supporters, having won by four goals. It was a… Read more →
Grimsby Town’s six years in the non-league wilderness came to an end on Sunday afternoon, after a 3-1 victory over Forest Green. Omar Bogle’s double salvo shortly before half-time put the Mariners in a commanding position. Their opponents applied pressure in the second half and reduced the areas through the impressive Keanu Marsh-Brown, but Nathan… Read more →
At their respective levels, Harry Kane, Tomer Hemed and John Akinde have all proved that there is still a place for a big striker in the modern game. Those individuals play in teams not overly concerned by ball retention, and instead look to get early balls forward and play to the strengths of their main man. Millwall do the… Read more →
It seems unusual for two caretaker managers to go head-to-head in a play-off semi-final, but that was the case for Paul Heckingbottom and Jon Whitney. It was ‘Hecky’s troops that proved victorious after a fluid performance of passing football, thanks to Jason Demetriou’s own goal and Sam Winnall’s second half brace. Walsall lacked intensity. In the first half, Paul… Read more →
On Friday night, we saw Sheffield Wednesday win their play-off semi-final first leg by out-passing Brighton. They showed composure, movement and quality in a fine performance of possession football. Hull did things a little differently at Derby, but to the same or even better effect. They showed experience and defensive qualities to come away with a 3-0… Read more →
Sheffield Wednesday had finished their league season in poor form but if they or their fans were nervous about their play-off semi-final with Brighton, it did not show. A rocking Hillsborough saw the Owls produce a fine performance of slick, attacking football to secure a 2-0 win over their toothless south-coast visitors. The decision to… Read more →