Championship Playoff Final: Coventry 1-1 Luton (Luton win 6-5 on penalties)
It was delight for everyone involved with Luton Town Football Club as they secured themselves a place in the Premier League for the first time in over 30 years. After a brilliant bit of play by Elijah Adebayo, Jordan Clark scored to give Luton the lead in the Championship Playoff Final after 23 minutes. Luton really should’ve made it 2-0 five minutes later, but Adebayo poorly guided his effort wide of the target. After a terrible error by Luton goalkeeper Ethan Horvath, Gustavo Hamer missed a golden opportunity to equalise for Coventry as he blazed his effort over the bar. However, midway through the second half, Hamer made up for it by finishing well from outside the box to make it 1-1. Matt Godden then missed a good opportunity for Coventry with 20 minutes to go before Joe Taylor thought he’d won the game for Luton in the 117th minute. However, his effort was rightly ruled out for a handball. It’s crazy to think that that goal would’ve been given in the “regular season”. In the penalty shootout, the first 10 penalties were all scored well before Daniel Potts scored in sudden death for Luton. Fankaty Dabo stepped up for Coventry City and blasted his penalty kick over the bar meaning Luton Town are heading to the Premier League. Overall, massive congratulations to Luton on a fantastic season and victory. The big test for the Hatters now awaits next season because staying up is going to be tough. As for Coventry City, this was the most heart-breaking way for them to lose. The Sky Blues should hold their heads up high though because they’ve had a terrific season.
League 2 Playoff Final: Carlisle 1-1 Stockport County (Carlisle win 5-4 on penalties)
Stockport County suffered penalty heartbreak as Carlisle are finally going back to League 1! Joe Garner saw his headed effort get saved well by Ben Hinchliffe before Stockport County took the lead through a Jon Mellish Own goal. There was nothing that Carlisle Goalkeeper Tomas Holy could do about it. 10 minutes into the second half, Stockport should’ve been 2 in front, but Akil Wright somehow headed the ball wide off the target. What a terrible miss. In the 82nd minute, Carlisle were screaming for a handball which wasn’t given, but it didn’t really matter as Omari Patrick scored just a minute later to keep Carlisle United in with a shot of promotion. In the second half of extra time, Tomas Holy pulled out a good save to deny Jack Stretton before Ben Hinchliffe pulled out an equally good save to deny Kristian Dennis from putting Carlisle in front. In the penalty shootout, the big moment came when Ryan Rydel saw his penalty effort saved by Holy. Even though Stockport scored the rest of their penalties, it wasn’t enough for them as Taylor Charters scored the winning penalty to secure promotion for Carlisle United. Overall, what a day to be a Carlisle United fan as they secure themselves a place in League 1 for the first time since 2014. The big test for the Blues now is whether or not they can stay there. As for Stockport County, this loss will definitely sting for a while. However, the Hatters have clearly shown they are good enough to be in contention for promotion next season.
League 1 Playoff Final: Barnsley 0-1 Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday continued their dramatic season by scoring a 123rd-minute winner to break Barnsley hearts. Dominic Iorfa had a decent opportunity for Sheffield Wednesday early on, but he hit the ball straight at Barnsley keeper Harry Isted. Right at the start of the second half, Barnsley wanted a penalty after Liam Kitching went down in the box. Personally, I have no idea how Barnsley weren’t given a penalty as Lee Gregory clearly kicks Kitching’s leg. Anyway, it got even worse for Barnsley in the 49th minute as Adam Phillips was shown a straight red card for a reckless challenge. Probably the right call. Liam Kitching then came close to putting Barnsley in front, but his headed effort hit the bar and came back out. Barry Bannan nearly put Wednesday in front soon after before Harry Isted pulled off a good save to keep the game at 0-0. In extra time, Isted pulled off another great save to deny Wednesday before Barnsley missed a golden opportunity to go in front. And then, in the 123rd minute, Josh Windass scored with the last “kick” of the game to send Sheffield Wednesday back to the Championship In the end, Barnsley will feel really hard done by to lose this game. The Tykes have to keep their heads up and believe they can go up next season though. As for Sheffield Wednesday, they’ve had to do it the hard way, but they absolutely deserve to be in the Championship next season. The Owls will now hope this is the last game they ever play in League 1.
UEFA Europa League Final: Sevilla 1-1 Roma (Sevilla win 4-1 on penalties)
Sevilla once again proved why they are the kings of the Europa League by beating A.S. Roma on penalties. Leonardo Spinazzola missed a decent opportunity for Roma early on, but Paulo Dybala wouldn’t miss his opportunity in the 33rd minute to put Roma in front. Just before halftime, Ivan Rakitic struck from range and saw his effort come flying back off the post. 10 minutes into the second half and Sevilla were level due to a Gianluca Mancini Own goal. Tammy Abraham then missed a golden chance to put Roma back in front before the referee awarded Sevilla a penalty in the 75th minute. However, the ref looked at the monitor and overturned his decision. Andrea Belotti then had a great chance to score which he didn’t take in the 82nd minute before Chris Smalling hit the crossbar for Roma in the 131st minute. Lucas Ocampos, Bryan Cristante and Erik Lamela all scored their respective penalties before Gianluca Mancini’s night got even worse as his effort was saved by Yassine Bounou. Ivan Rakitic then scored from the spot before Roger Ibanez’s penalty hit the post and came out. Gonzalo Montiel stepped up and saw his penalty get saved by Rui Patricio. However, the penalty was forced to be retaken as Patricio was off his line. I hate this rule mainly because it barely ever gets looked at. Anyway, Montiel scored on the second time of asking to give Sevilla their 7th Europa League title. Overall, you may as well just keep the trophy in Sevilla because they never lose when they get to the Quarter-Final stage of this competition. Sevilla play away to Real Sociedad on Sunday in their final game of the season. As for A.S. Roma, it just clearly wasn’t meant to be for them. Roma host Spezia in their final game of the season as they look to secure themselves a place in the Europa League for next season.
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