Weekend Notes: the shun has begun – Leicester regain the lead + relegation for Rotherham & Carlisle
As Dolly Parton famously said: "... if you want to enjoy the rainbow (promotions), you gotta put up with the rain (relegations)."
The shun has begun. We’ve seen plenty of passion, action and reaction over eight months of EFL football. We’ve witnessed the unravelling narratives, with the doomed and the damned becoming the saved and enlightened — looking at you Martí Cifuentes. Now, we are amidst the moment of peak bubbling up and fizzling out. Now it all boils down to outcomes.
The fights, flights and capitulations. The sharp edges of a season. Time to belt up and brace for the shuns — promotion and relegation. Rotherham and then Carlisle became the first two clubs to suffer the drop this season, whilst Pompey edged ever closer to the EFL’s first promotion.
Welcome to Weekend Notes.
DER DER DER DER DERDERDER DER DER! Núñez wins The Old Farm Derby.
That silverware looks A Bit Posh — Peterborough win the
PizzaCar TrophyPaddy’s Day: Madden’s second treble of the season, against the same opposition!
May in April — Addicks’ Alfie at the double.
CB weaker foot cross? Opposition CB scores an own goal? Pompey chug towards promotion.
Championship
Huw Davies & Sam Parry
Ooohs, ahhhs and Rs. Let’s start with the R…
Rotherham relegated
Like a hangover after ten pints, Rotherham’s relegation has felt inevitable since the middle segment and was confirmed in the Friday night kick-off against struggling Argyle. Millers fans will have rattled through most stages of the grief cycle already, but there is one wrinkle in the formbook that spells hope for next season: no team has scored 3+ goals at The New York Stadium in the league this season. Has a team ever finished bottom of a league without conceding 3+ at home? We haven’t attempted the calculus.
Rotherham nonetheless remain the worst home side in the division (19 points from 21 games), but it’s their away form that has put paid to the possibility of a third consecutive season in the Championship, with only 4 points from 4 draws to show for 20 attempts on the road.
We wish them all the best in what should be a stronger League One renewal next season.
Rotherham United 0-1 Plymouth Argyle
Mumba (32)
Viktor Johansson faced his 250th shot of the season against Argyle. He made 11 saves. The one effort he could do nothing about was Bali Mumba’s – Morgan Whittaker cut inside from the right and curled an inch-perfect cross to the left, where Mumba’s first touch dragged him to the left corner of the six-yard box, his second shaped outside, his third cut back inside, and his fourth fired home at the near post.
It was the clinical finish Argyle needed if they were to ensure that one of their 21 shots counted for something: three points. Their much-needed win featured interim boss – and director of football – Neil Dewsnip dropping all four January signings made by Ian Foster, who was sacked a week ago. Argyle’s survival won’t come down to this game; QPR are up next… and that relegation picture looks wild.
QPR 0-2 Sheff Wed
Gassama (59), Musaba (90+6)
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