the times | Monday April 4 2022 1GG 13
thegame
Team of the week
Swansea City’s meeting with
Cardiff City may not have
affected matters at either end of
the table but a 4-0 away victory
meant that Swansea became the
first side to complete a league
double in the fixture.
Player of the week
Tim Ream, the Fulham centre
back, helped to lay the
foundation for his side’s 2-0 win
away to Queens Park Rangers.
Goal of the week
Marcus Tavernier’s curling shot
put Middlesbrough on course for
a 4-0 win away to Peterborough
United, as they moved up to fifth.
Rising star
Brennan Johnson, Nottingham
Forest’s 20-year-old winger,
underlined his growing
reputation with two goals and anassist in an outstanding display
in the 4-1 win away to Blackpool.
Villains of the week
Liam Lindsay, of Preston North
End, and Max Bird of Derby
County were both sent off at
Pride Park. Fortunately for the
Derby midfielder, his team-mate
Ravel Morrison struck a late
winner to ensure it was Preston
who paid the heavier price.
Stat of the week – 1,254
Cardiff have spent more minutes
trailing this season than any
other Championship side.
Quote of the week
“There is nothing like scoring a
goal and it’s a feeling I’ve missed
for a long time.” Bradley Dack on
his first goal in 389 days, after a
second anterior cruciate ligament
injury, in Blackburn Rovers’ 2-2
draw away to Coventry.CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND-UPTeam of the week
Joe Edwards’s goal clinched a
1-0 win for Plymouth Argyle over
Oxford United, one of their rivals
for a play-off place.
Player of the week
Lee Gregory, the Sheffield
Wednesday striker, claimed a
92nd-minute winner in their 2-1
victory over AFC Wimbledon.
Goal of the week
Chris Long’s intricate footwork
and a blistering 20-yard shot
gave Crewe Alexandra the
equaliser in an eventual 3-1 loss
to Fleetwood Town.
Rising star
Nathan Broadhead, the forward
on loan at Sunderland from
Everton, marked his return
from a month-long injury layoff
with a 95th-minute winner
against Gillingham.Villain of the week
Bolton Wanderers felt that James
McClean, the Wigan Athletic
goalscorer, should have been
sent off for a second yellow,
after fouling Oladapo Afolayan.
Stat of the week – 4
Goals scored after the 87th
minute in the 4-4 draw between
Accrington Stanley and
Cheltenham Town. Each side
scored twice in that period.
Quote of the week
“Football has brought us
together, but life will keep us
together. I wouldn’t be able to
do what I’ve done here without
him.” The Wycombe Wanderers
manager, Gareth Ainsworth, on
Adebayo Akinfenwa, who has
announced that he will retire at
the end of the season, when he
will be 40.LEAGUE ONE ROUND-UPTeam of the week
Oldham Athletic’s 1-0 win away
to Stevenage lifted them three
points clear of their hosts, above
the relegation places.
Player of the week
Brad Walker, the Port Vale
midfielder, helped his team to
a dramatic 2-1 win away to
Barrow as they held on to their
automatic promotion position.
Goal of the week
Jason Lowe, the veteran Salford
City right back, scored from
almost 30 yards in a 2-0 win
away to Hartlepool United.
Rising star
Noah Chilvers, Colchester
United’s 21-year-old midfielder,
grabbed the winning goal in a 2-1
win away to Harrogate Town.
Villains of the week
There were straight red cards forTranmere Rovers’ Calum
MacDonald and Kieron Morris
against Carlisle United, with
the former sparking a brawl
between the two sets of players
that resulted in six bookings,
including for both managers.
Stat of the week – 9
Forest Green Rovers, the leaders,
beat Scunthorpe United but
failed to score more than one
goal for a ninth straight match.
They remain comfortably the
division’s leading scorers, on 67.
Quote of the week
“It hit him on the side of the
head, so it’s not hit his beautiful
forehead... but he put his head in
there and got the rewards.” Matt
Taylor, the Exeter City manager,
on Tim Dieng scoring the only
goal in a win away to promotion
rivals Newport County.LEAGUE TWO ROUND-UPAs Michael Ihiekwe wheeled away
after giving Rotherham United a 4-2
lead over Sutton United in extra time
of the Papa Johns Trophy final, the
difference between the two sides was
suddenly clear. Sutton ran the Sky Bet
League One leaders close in normal
time, but ultimately Rotherham gave
the EFL newcomers a reality check
after a whirlwind 18 months.
Nobody could fault Sutton for
effort. They had been one minute
away from securing their first
Wembley win, but Jordi Osei-Tutu’s
equaliser in the sixth minute of
stoppage time broke their resistance.
Chiedozie Ogbene’s 25-yard effort
in the 96th minute ripped up another
chapter in the Sutton fairytale, before
Ihiekwe’s header put the gloss on a
victory that asserted Rotherham’s
League One promotion credentials.
Sutton will hope defeat provides the
motivation they need to secure back-
to-back promotions to League One —
an achievement that would be even
more impressive than lifting the EFL
Trophy. Matt Gray’s side led twice
and produced a battling display, but
it was Paul Warne’s team who took
the spoils in front of a raucous
Wembley crowd.
Warne had been poised to shake
Gray’s hand with two minutes left of
normal time before Osei-Tutu’s goal,
while he admitted to not knowing
there would be extra time. The
Rotherham manager said he had
eaten nothing all day because of
nerves and having to drop players
PAPA JOHNS TROPHY FINAL
TOMÁS HILL
LÓPEZ-MENCHERO
from the squad for the final. “I’m
absolutely drained,” Warne, 48, said.
“If you’re stood where I’m stood, it
is exhilarating, terrifying, disgusting
in equal measure, so to come away
with a win is great.”
Sutton’s previous visit to Wembleyhad been at the old national stadium
for an FA Trophy final defeat 41 years
ago, while for Rotherham this was
their fifth at both grounds since they
won the EFL Trophy for the first time
in 1996. Both sets of supporters were
in fine voice throughout, with Suttonfans determined to enjoy the occasion
after being locked out for much of
last season’s promotion-winning
campaign.
The Sutton winger David Ajiboye
was a constant threat for the
underdogs. He ran forward with
purpose in the 13th minute before
laying off for Will Randall. Sutton’s
vocal supporters held their breath as
Randall took a touch to leave him
one-on-one with the Rotherham
goalkeeper, Viktor
Johansson, but the
winger dragged
his shot into the
side netting.
He made up
for that miss by
setting up
Sutton’sReality bites for dogged Sutton
opening goal in the 30th minute.
Ajiboye swung in a cross which found
its way to Randall. He laid off for
Donovan Wilson, who took a touch
before slotting low with his left boot
to give Sutton their first goal at the
new Wembley and send their fans
into delirium. “I was quite glad we
conceded when we conceded, I
thought, ‘There might be a reaction
now,’ and there was,” Warne said.
Sutton’s dogged defending meant it
was always going to take a moment of
inspiration for Rotherham to score.
They got that in the 42nd minute
through Ben Wiles. The midfielder
took two touches before unleashing a
right-footed shot from outside the D,
which curled in off the bar and left
Dean Bouzanis, the Sutton
goalkeeper, stranded.
But Sutton have upset the odds
several times in the past two years
and they did so again when Craig
Eastmond put them in front three
minutes after the break. His initial
shot was blocked by Ihiekwe after a
dangerous cross from Ajiboye, but the
Sutton captain reacted quickest to
stab home the rebound. Eastmond
has been there throughout Sutton’s
rise up the divisions and nobody
deserved it more than him.
Rotherham did not give up. Mickel
Miller twisted and turned into the
area in the 54th minute, but his shot
deflected off Ben Goodliffe for a
corner. Bouzanis was almost wrong-
footed by another long shot from
Wiles, but the keeper scrambled back
in time. Rotherham breathed a sigh of
relief when Ajiboye dashed through
in the 68th minute, but he fired into
the side-netting instead of scoring the
goal his contribution deserved.
Still Rotherham kept pushing. The
substitute, Freddie Ladapo, ran
through unopposed in the 79th
minute, but Bouzanis stood up to him.
The Sutton replacement, Ben Wyatt,
produced a fine block to deny
Michael Smith, before the Arsenal
loanee Osei-Tutu found a way
through in stoppage time. His left-
footed shot took a deflection off
Bouzanis to spark wild scenes and
ensure a pulsating contest went to
extra time. That was as far as Sutton
would go — at least this time.
“Your overriding emotion is of
course being gutted — gutted for
everyone, the players more than
anybody for the shift and hard work
they put in, the staff, the supporters,
and the board for being that close. I
felt extra time was just a little step too
far for us,” Gray said.4
Wiles 42, Osei-Tutu 90+6
Ogbene 96, Ihiekwe 112RATINGS
Rotherham United (3-1-4-2): V Johansson 6 —
M Ihiekwe 7, R Wood 6, J Mattock 6 (S Ferguson
80min, 7) — D Barlaser 6 (J Lindsay 90+4, 6) —
C Ogbene 7, O Rathbone 6 (W Harding 61, 6), B Wiles
8, M Miller 7 (J Osei-Tutu 80, 8) — M Smith 6,
J Kayode 6 (F Ladapo 60, 7). Booked Wiles.
Sutton United (4-4-2): D Bouzanis 6 — J Kizzi 6,
B Goodliffe 6 (C Rowe 73, 6), L John 6, R Milsom 6
(B Wyatt 82, 6) — D Ajiboye 8, C Eastmond 8
(K Davis 82, 6), H Beautyman 6, W Randall 7 —
O Bugiel 7 (R Bennett 82, 6), D Wilson 7 (I Olaofe 67,
6). Booked Kizzi, John.
Referee S Stockbridge. Attendance 30,688.Rotherham Sutton Utd
2
Wilson 30
Eastmond 48ZAC GOODWIN/PAAfter extra timeRotherham
United’s players
celebrate after
being pushed
all the way
at WembleyOgbene hammers Rotherham’s third goal from long range to win the trophy that
comedian and fan Paul Chuckle, right, had delivered with Tim Vine on a motorbike