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Ephron Mason-Clark scored a brace as Coventry clinched the Championship title with a convincing 5-1 victory over Portsmouth.
Haji Wright opened the scoring before Mason-Clark pounced on an error from Nicolas Schmid just 90 seconds after the break, which was compounded by Regan Poole’s own goal three minutes later.
Adrian Segecic got one back for the visitors, but Mason-Clark fired in his second before Kaine Kesler-Hayden got in on the act in added time.
Frank Lampard’s side had been promoted following their 1-1 draw at Blackburn on Friday night and went a step further to clinch the title four days later. The Sky Blues will return to the Premier League for the first time in 25 years after relegation at the end of the 2000-01 season.
The defeat ended Portsmouth’s run of three straight victories without conceding, including over promotion-chasing Ipswich and Middlesbrough, but Oxford’s 1-0 loss to Wrexham means John Mousinho’s side have secured their place in the Championship for next season.
Phil Parkinson said Wrexham “feel in a good place” after returning to the playoff positions. Josh Windass struck five minutes before the interval to give Wrexham a hard-fought 1-0 success and push Oxford to the brink of relegation.
Wrexham move above Hull – who drew 2-2 at Leicester – into sixth and are now level on 70 points with the Tigers and boasting a goal difference superior by two.
“The [Premier League] dream is still alive and we feel we’re in a good place,” said Parkinson, whose side complete their regular season away to Coventry on Sunday and at home to fifth-placed Middlesbrough on the final day. “Nothing more we can do than win and we just concentrated on making right decisions from the bench and getting another three points.”
Alex Neil issued a warning to Millwall’s automatic promotion rivals after a 3-1 win at Stoke guaranteed a Championship playoff place for the first time in two decades.
Camiel Neghli’s second goal in successive games put the Lions into a 20th-minute lead and Femi Azeez’s second-half rocket, aided by goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu’s mistake, doubled the visitors’ lead. A Caleb Taylor own goal on the hour put the result in doubt but Josh Coburn made up for two earlier misses with his 10th goal of the season after 69 minutes to take Millwall three points clear of Ipswich and Southampton.
EFL clubs reject VAR plan for Championship
ShowEnglish Football League clubs have rejected the chance to use a video assistant referee challenge system in the Championship next season.
Football Video Support – a version of VAR which is used in other sports – was proposed by Professional Game Match Officials at the EFL’s annual meeting in March. FVS would provide managers with two reviews per match, with the referee presented with different camera angles at a monitor by the side of the pitch. The manager would keep a review if successful.
However, the introduction of the system was opposed by the majority of clubs following a subsequent EFL survey. It is understood goalline technology – currently the only technology used outside the Premier League – will continue to be used in the Championship next season and could be extended to League One, pending a vote on fully costed proposals in June.
VAR was introduced to the Premier League in 2019, but a recent survey by the Football Supporters’ Association discovered that three-quarters of top-flight fans are against its use. Nearly 8,000 supporters, just over half of whom attend in excess of 15 home games a season, took part in the poll to assess attitudes to the technology.
The results demonstrated just how unpopular it has become, with more than 97% of respondents opposing the statement that VAR makes watching football more enjoyable, while more than 90% disagreed that it has made the matchgoing experience better.
Asked if they support the use of VAR in football, meanwhile, 75.71% said they do not, with more than 70% disagreeing that it has improved the overall accuracy of refereeing decisions. More than 90% also believe the technology has removed the spontaneous joy of goal celebrations. PA Media
“We will fight to the end and see where it takes us,” said the former Potters boss, as Millwall sit second with two games remaining. “It is the biggest achievement the club has had in the last 24 or 25 years and we still have two games to play.
“We have our eye on what the next two games look like. We need to try and win those games and let’s see what happens elsewhere. The fact we are in the fight for automatic promotion is an incredible achievement for this team, this club and everyone connected with it. If we end up in the playoffs we will give it our best shot. There is so much to like about this team and I’m privileged I have this opportunity to coach them.”
Tonda Eckert admitted Southampton’s seemingly endless streak of must-win games caught up with his side after their 2-2 draw with Bristol City.
Saints extended their unbeaten run to 20 matches, which has catapulted them into the automatic promotion race, but they failed to win for the first time in over a month. Ryan Manning’s own goal and Sam Bell’s glancing header twice had the Robins ahead but Cyle Larin and Ross Stewart cancelled them out.
Eckert, the Saints manager, said: “There have been so many games in April and the expectations have gone up and up. That is credit to the players for what they have done over the last few weeks but today proves there are no easy games in the Championship. They made it difficult for us but we had two chances to win it, in recent games we have done it but today we just have to take the point and move on.
“We have never looked too much ahead. We don’t reflect on each game. We get that one out the way and then more on to the next one – that is exactly the same for Saturday.”
In League One, Lincoln City are champions after a 2-0 triumph at Doncaster. Goals in either half from Ben House sparked wild scenes of jubilation among the 3,000 travelling fans.
“The goal was to get promoted, but the way we’ve done it has definitely gone above and beyond everyone’s expectations… and made some dreams come true,” said Michael Skubala, the Lincoln head coach. “Once you get the steamroller moving, these boys are just a machine, they just keep going and going.”
In League Two, Tranmere brought their dire run to an end with a 3-1 win at Cheltenham, their first league victory since 14 February.
