It’s been a long, hard slog full of drama, thrills and spills, but the EFL season is almost at its conclusion.
So much is still to be decided as the Championship enters its final week and there was plenty of housekeeping to address as Leagues One and Two reached their respective finish lines.
Here is what you may have missed in the EFL last weekend.
Rohl turns fortunes around at Wednesday
West Bromwich Albion boss Carlos Corberan may have claimed the Hillsborough crowd had no bearing on his team’s abject display against Sheffield Wednesday, but there is no doubt the boisterous home crowd aided their team’s efforts.
Wednesday’s 3-0 win over Corberan’s side means that in the worst-case scenario, they need a point from the final day to secure their safety in the Championship, a remarkable feat considering they were bottom when Danny Rohl replaced Darren Moore in October.
Rohl’s appointment has galvanised players and fans at Wednesday, maintaining a positive outlook even as they remained in the relegation zone. Their run of three wins and two draws from their last five games has proved crucial.
Anthony Musaba has been key to Rohl’s revival (Alex Davidson/Getty Images)
Frenchman Anthony Musaba was on the scoresheet against West Brom, his seventh goal of the season to add to his five assists. Musaba’s goals have been vital to Wednesday’s chances of survival: they have been responsible for six points this season — stoppage-time winners against Stoke and QPR. Without those four points gained from drawing positions, Wednesday would have been relegated on Saturday.
As such, Wednesday are close to securing survival. For them to go down on the final day would require Birmingham (at home to Norwich) and Plymouth (at home against Hull) to both win. A point for Wednesday away at Sunderland would see them safe.
Even owner Dejphon Chansiri appearing to have an altercation with a young fan outside the stadium couldn’t dampen spirits. Sheffield Wednesday have been approached for comment.
In fact, topping off their day was the confirmation of relegation from the Premier League of their bitter rivals, Sheffield United. So, barring some surprise results next weekend, we will see a Steel City derby in the Championship next season for the first time in five years.
Oh no, O’Nien
Sunderland’s Luke O’Nien is a polarising character, to say the least. His popularity grew during the Netflix documentary Sunderland ‘Til I Die, where his candid conversations captured the hearts of viewers.
Off the pitch, he’s saving dogs on Sunderland’s beaches. On it, he is engaging in s***housery to rile up opposition forwards.
Saturday, though, saw O’Nien adopt the “f*** it” approach.
A move from opponents Watford had dragged Sunderland all over the place, so much so that both Sunderland centre-backs had been pulled ahead of the halfway line and the full-backs were nowhere to be seen. Spotting an opening, Watford played a lofted pass to an onrunning forward who would have been through on goal. O’Nien had other ideas, showcasing his best volleyball skills to spike the ball and stop it from going through.
If it was earlier in the season, O’Nien would likely have been sent off. But with both sides mired in mid-table mediocrity, that he only received a yellow card didn’t have much of an impact.
Limping Imps
Going into the weekend, Lincoln were among the form sides in League One. Only Saturday’s opponents Portsmouth and Derby Country had better records this calendar year — and both have secured promotion to the Championship.
Michael Skubala’s side went into their final game in the last play-off place knowing that a win would secure their place in the top six.
And, when they won a penalty in the second half, their fate remained in their hands. All Danny Mandroiu had to do was score. Sadly for him, he slipped upon making contact with the ball and his effort was saved.
Champions Portsmouth then scored twice in the last 10 minutes to win 2-0 and Lincoln were pipped to the play-offs by Oxford United, whose win at Exeter saw them leapfrog the Imps into the top six.
Football can be cruel.
Donny’s amazing ascent
One of the best stories this season has come at Doncaster Rovers.
In February, they were one place above the League Two relegation zone with their Football League status in doubt.
Since then, no team in the league has matched their 43 points from 18 games. It resulted in an amazing ascent that gave them a strong chance of making the play-offs. Only a point was needed to secure that top-seven spot, which they duly delivered. Not that it came without nerves. A brilliant Luke Molyneux free kick had put Grant McCann’s side 2-0 up against Gillingham but, when they let the lead slip, fingernails would have been chewed.
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Thankfully for them, their closest rivals all dropped points. Barrow were in the final play-off place going into the weekend, but their draw with promoted Mansfield Town proved costly, as Crawley Town leapfrogged them to make the League Two play-offs for the first time.
Crewe needed a stoppage-time equaliser to make sure of their place in the top seven against Colchester, who themselves needed to avoid a heavy defeat to avoid relegation.
With both sides sure of their status, the game went from 100mph to zero, with both teams playing at a walking pace. Colchester stayed up at the expense of Sutton who, despite a late-season revival, were relegated after a frenetic 4-4 draw with MK Dons.
The best ending to a game I’ve seen in a while #colu #crewealex pic.twitter.com/biSiwUigO4
— CJ (@onlyColU) April 27, 2024
Saddled with namesakes
Last May, League Two Walsall, nicknamed The Saddlers, announced former defender Mat Sadler as their new head coach. A coincidence, maybe, but Sadler did have two spells at the Midlands side spanning four years before joining the backroom staff, first as a player-coach and then as a coach upon his retirement in 2020.
But things got interesting when the club announced their new CEO, Ben Sadler, of no relation to Mat, earlier this month. So, when it emerged last week that Mat Sadler had extended his contract at the club, it was a case of Sadler gives Sadler a new deal at the Saddlers.
“We want consistency running throughout the club,” the head coach said. Quite.
For what it’s worth, Sadler has impressed at the helm this season, securing the club’s highest points tally since returning to the fourth tier in 2019 (65) and the most wins (18) and goals scored (69) since the 2015-16 season.
Walsall ended their season on the end of a 5-1 thrashing by AFC Wimbledon, finishing 11th in the table.
With Sadler in charge, the Saddlers will aim for promotion next season to bring League One football to the Poundland Bescot Stadium for the first time in six years.
Who will join Chesterfield in League Two?
The race to get into the Football League is also hotting up.
Chesterfield are already up from the National League and Barnet, who finished second, were well placed to join them. They just needed to navigate the play-offs. They failed to make home advantage count, however, and were emphatically beaten 4-0 at home by Solihull Moors.
The Midlands side will be joined in the play-off final by Bromley, who came from behind to beat Altrincham.
Interestingly, defeats for Scunthorpe and Chelmsford City in the National League North and South play-offs respectively means all three sides who finished in second place in Step One and Two missed out on promotion. Harsh.
What we know so far…
Championship
Promoted: Leicester City
Relegated: Rotherham United
League One
Champions: Portsmouth
Promoted: Derby County
Play-offs: Bolton Wanderers, Peterborough United, Oxford United, Barnsley
Relegated: Cheltenham Town, Fleetwood Town, Port Vale, Carlisle United
League Two
Champions: Stockport County
Promoted: Wrexham, Mansfield Town
Play-offs: MK Dons, Doncaster Rovers, Crewe Alexandra, Crawley Town
Relegated: Forest Green Rovers, Sutton United
National League
Champions (and promoted to League Two): Chesterfield
Play-off final: Solihull Moors vs Bromley
(Top photos: David Rogers; Stu Forster/Getty Images)
