Norwich suffered relegation back to the Championship as Dean Smith’s return to Aston Villa ended in a 2-0 Premier League defeat.A 10th loss in 12 meant the yo-yo specialists made it four straight seasons which have ended in either promotion or relegation, a painful way for Smith to mark his return to the ground where he began the season in charge.Defeat was down to goals from Ollie Watkins...Full Story »

Burnley came back from a goal down in the final 10 minutes to move five points clear of the bottom three with a 2-1 win at Watford which confirmed Norwich’s relegation.The Clarets’ fightback also all but relegated their opponents, who fell 12 points from safety with four games to go, and turned up the heat on 18th-placed Everton and fellow strugglers Leeds.An own goal from James Tark...Full Story »

Ollie Palmer’s 22nd goal of the season proved enough for promotion-chasing Wrexham to beat Southend 1-0 in the Vanarama National League.The 30-year-old has now scored 14 in 19 matches since joining from AFC Wimbledon in January.Palmer made the crucial breakthrough for the second-placed side just two minutes after the interval, converting Jordan Davies’ cross at the far post.The strik...Full Story »

Swindon surged into the League Two play-off positions as Louis Reed’s late winner earned them a 2-1 win over Barrow.A third straight victory, coupled with Sutton’s home defeat to Bradford, saw the Robins move into the top seven with one game to go.It looked like they were heading for a draw after Matt Platt’s late goal cancelled out Josh Davison’s first-half opener, but R...Full Story »

Wilfried Zaha came off the bench to score a stoppage-time winner for Crystal Palace as they snatched a 2-1 win at Southampton.The Eagles looked to have rescued a point when Eberechi Eze scored his first goal of the season to cancel out Oriol Romeu’s early goal, but a moment of magic from Zaha saw Palace leave St Mary’s with all three points.The result lifts Patrick Vieira’s sid...Full Story »

Exeter went top of League Two with a 1-1 draw at Northampton who are now level on points with Bristol Rovers in the battle for the third automatic promotion spot.The Cobblers needed to win both remaining games to be guaranteed promotion but Sam Nombe cancelled out Mitch Pinnock’s superb opener to open the door to Rovers and Port Vale.Cameron Dawson produced a good stop from Josh Eppiah to ...Full Story »

Leam Richardson was quick to credit everybody but himself as he saw Wigan finally seal the League One title with a 3-0 victory at Shrewsbury.A 43rd-minute own goal from Josh Vela and a second-half brace from Will Keane ensured that Latics finally got themselves over the line after no win in their last five matches. Keane also won the division’s Golden Boot with 26 goals.Richardson said: &l...Full Story »

Rotherham manager Paul Warne revelled in the satisfaction of a 2-0 League One win over Gillingham that saw his side seal promotion, a result that relegated the Kent outfit.The Millers made their first-half dominance count when Rarmani Edmonds-Green met Michael Ihiekwe’s goal-bound header to poke home from close range after 34 minutes.A draw would have been enough to extend Gillingham&rsquo...Full Story »

Stephen Crainey succeeded in retaining Fleetwood’s Sky Bet League One status but does not know if he will be at the club next season.Despite a 4-2 defeat at Bolton – with strikers Dion Charles and Jon Dadi Bodvarsson scoring late goals for the Trotters – Town remained above the relegation zone on goal difference.Crainey was appointed caretaker boss after Simon Grayson’s d...Full Story »

AFC Wimbledon boss Mark Bowen insists the club have a bright future despite suffering relegation to Sky Bet League Two after a 4-3 home defeat to Accrington.The visitors led 3-0 at the break through Jay Rich-Baghuelou, Colby Bishop and Michael Nottingham before four goals in the space of 10 second-half minutes gave the Dons hope of a final-day result.Ayoub Assal’s strike and a Jack Rudoni ...Full Story »

MK Dons boss Liam Manning was delighted with his side as they won 5-0 at 10-man Plymouth to cement third spot and secure a two-legged semi-final against Wycombe.Scott Twine was Dons’ four-goal hero, scoring twice in each half, while Harry Darling got a headed goal just before half-time.Plymouth – who slipped to seventh and missed out on a play-off spot – had midfielder Jordan H...Full Story »

Michael Appleton confirmed he was leaving as manager of Lincoln after his side finished the Sky Bet League One season with a 2-1 win over Crewe.After almost 150 games in charge of the Imps, Appleton has decided to step down, with chairman Clive Nates claiming the 46-year-old is looking “for a challenge elsewhere”.A statement from Appleton read: “It has been a privilege to manag...Full Story »

Jurgen Klopp saluted “role model” James Milner after Liverpool maintained their quadruple challenge with a 1-0 Premier League victory at Newcastle.The 36-year-old former Magpie, who made his senior debut for Leeds almost 20 years ago, was one of five men drafted into Klopp’s much-changed starting line-up for a vital league game sandwiched between the two legs of the Champions L...Full Story »

Mark Bonner reflected on Cambridge’s outstanding season following their final-day League One draw with 10-man Cheltenham.Sam Smith and Alfie May both scored twice as they finished the campaign as their respective club’s top goalscorer as the game ended in an entertaining 2-2 draw.May struck at the death despite Cheltenham ending with 10 men following Will Boyle’s dismissal for ...Full Story »

Oxford boss Karl Robinson said the 1-1 draw with Doncaster at the Kassam Stadium helped cement his idea that he needs more aggression in the team next season.Billy Bodin opened the scoring for Oxford after 23 minutes but Josh Martin equalised midway through the second half for Rovers, whose relegation was confirmed.Robinson said: “To finish on 76 points is unbelievable.“The fans here...Full Story »

Alex Neil admitted it was a case of “job done” after Sunderland secured a play-off spot with a 1-0 win at Morecambe.A goal from Nathan Broadhead earned the Black Cats the three points they needed to seal a place in the top seven in Sky Bet League One, while Morecambe survived the drop as both Gillingham and Fleetwood lost.Neil claimed his side were far from their best in a nervy game...Full Story »

Wycombe boss Gareth Ainsworth was proud as goals from Sam Vokes and Jordan Obita sealed their place in the Sky Bet League One play-offs for the second time in three seasons.Wanderers, relegated from the Championship 12 months ago, have always been in the mix for an immediate return and Ainsworth had faith.“It’s job done and a new job to come,” he said, reflecting on a semi-fina...Full Story »

Darren Moore praised his Sheffield Wednesday side for “getting the job done” as they booked their place in the Sky Bet League One play-offs with a stylish 4-1 win over Portsmouth.A midweek victory at Fleetwood meant the Owls started the day fourth but still needing a win to guarantee a top-six finish.That looked unlikely when George Hirst, a former Wednesday player and the son of Hil...Full Story »

Preston manager Ryan Lowe was proud of the way that his side responded to last Monday’s loss to Blackburn after they swept aside Barnsley 3-1 in the Sky Bet Championship.Barnsley took the lead in the 17th minute through Aiden Marsh. Victor Adeboyejo managed to get the ball to the by-line with some excellent skill and pulled it back to Marsh who struck it into the net.Daniel Johnson equalis...Full Story »

Charlton manager Johnnie Jackson was disappointed with his side’s 4-0 League One loss at Ipswich on the final day, saying that it was a “timely reminder” of where they “are as a group”.Addicks’ debut-making goalkeeper Nathan Harness had to pick the ball out of the net following two strikes from leading scorer Wes Burns and one each from Tyreeq Bakinson and a t...Full Story »