EFL ROUND-UP: QPR gate crash Burnley title celebration with late Chris Martin winner at Turf Moor… as Blackburn’s play-off push is dented by Preston’s late equalizer
- Queens Park Rangers recorded a remarkable 2-1 win over Turf Moor
- Chris Martin scored the late winner as QPR pulled themselves to safety
- Wigan and Blackpool remain the bottom two clubs in the Championship despite victories
The Championship Cup was ready with burgundy ribbons and the supporters showed up for a party.
But Queens Park Rangers denied Burnley their title celebration with a remarkable 2-1 win over Turf Moor.
Substitute Chris Martin scored the late winner as QPR lifted themselves to safety and manager Gareth Ainsworth said: ‘Burnley are a great team. We were in and defended. The boys had to believe in it and they did.’
Next for Burnley tomorrow is a trip to Blackburn, who conceded an injury-time equalizer against Preston to draw 1-1 and dent their play-off push. Wigan and Blackpool remain the bottom two clubs in the Championship despite beating Millwall and Birmingham respectively.
After four seasons of yo-yoing between the first and second tiers of English football, Norwich are now clearly in mid-table after a 3-0 home defeat to Swansea in which Sam McCallum was shown a red card.
Substitute Chris Martin scored the late winner as QPR pulled themselves to safety
The top of the League One table is tight – with Plymouth on 92 points, Ipswich on 91 and Sheffield Wednesday on 90. All three won on Saturday in their battle for the two automatic promotion places.
Ipswich’s 3-0 win at Peterborough was marred by a fan who appeared to spit at the visiting players as they celebrated opening the scoring – the man was arrested. At the other end of the table, Morecambe gave himself a fighting chance to avoid the drop by beating Charlton 3-2, including a stunning strike from Cole Stockton.
But the goal of the weekend went to Lincoln’s Lasse Sorensen – his rocket from inside his own half sealed a 2-0 win over Wycombe.
In League Two, Leyton Orient clinched the title by beating Crewe 2–0, sparking a cheering pitch invasion at Brisbane Road. But there was only heartbreak for Rochdale, whose 1-0 defeat at promotion-chasing Stockport confirmed that their 102-year stay in the Football League has now come to an end. Second-bottom Hartlepool will follow after a 2-0 loss to fellow contenders Crawley, giving them six points out of safety with two games remaining.
Even worse for Hartlepool, it’s common knowledge in the Northeast that Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney originally wanted to buy them.
The Hollywood stars instead bought Wrexham, who will now take their place in the Football League.