The Sunday Times - UK (2022-05-01)

6 May 1, 2022The Sunday Times

Football Premier League

Philip Billing scored twice and

Dominic Solanke struck his 30th

goal of the campaign to keep

Bournemouth on track for

automatic promotion with a 3-0

win away to Blackburn Rovers

(Peter Wilson writes).

It was a confident performance

before what is being billed as a

promotion decider at home against

in-form Nottingham Forest on

Tuesday. The result ended

Blackburn’s play-off hopes.

Huddersfield Town will have to

settle for the play-offs — barring a

mathematical miracle —despite a

2-1 win away to Coventry City. Harry

Toffolo’s goal put the visiting side in

P W D L F A Pts

Fulham (P) 44 26 9 9 99 39 87

Bournemouth 44 23 13 8 72 39 82

Nottm Forest 44 23 10 11 72 38 79

Huddersfield 45 22 13 10 62 47 79

Luton 44 20 12 12 62 48 72

Sheff Utd 45 20 12 13 59 45 72

Middlesbrough 45 20 10 15 58 46 70

Millwall 45 18 15 12 53 44 69

Blackburn 45 18 12 15 57 49 66

West Brom 45 17 13 15 48 45 64

Coventry 45 17 12 16 59 58 63

QPR 45 18 9 18 59 59 63

Stoke 45 17 10 18 56 51 61

Preston 45 15 16 14 48 55 61

Swansea 45 16 13 16 58 67 61

Blackpool 45 16 12 17 54 53 60

Bristol City 45 15 10 20 62 75 55

Hull 45 14 8 23 40 53 50

Cardiff 45 14 8 23 49 68 50

Birmingham 45 11 14 20 49 73 47

@Reading 45 13 8 24 54 86 41

*Derby (R) 45 14 13 18 45 52 34

Peterborough (R) 45 8 10 27 38 87 34

Barnsley (R) 45 6 12 27 33 69 30

* deducted 21pts for breaching financial rules

and for going into administration

@ deducted 6pts for breaching financial rules

SKY BET CHAMPIONSHIP

Billing brace keeps Bournemouth on course for automatic promotion

front just before half-time. Faustino

Anjorin’s first Huddersfield goal,

from the penalty spot, doubled the

lead. Viktor Gyokeres replied in the

90th minute for City.

Middlesbrough stayed in the

hunt for a play-off place after the 3-1

defeat of Stoke City. Chris Wilder’s

side are two points behind fifth-

placed Luton Town, who play at

Fulham tomorrow, and Sheffield

United. Matt Crooks and a Lewis

Baker own goal settled Boro nerves.

Crooks hit his second before Nick

Powell’s stoppage-time effort.

Millwall maintained their outside

play-off hopes with a 3-0 win

against relegated Peterborough

United. Benik Afobe, a Josh Knight

own goal and a George Saville

header leaves them having to beat

Bournemouth on Saturday and

hope the other results — and the

goal difference — go their way.

Steve Bruce got one over his

former Manchester United team-

mate Paul Ince as Karlan Grant’s

late goal was enough for West

Bromwich Albion to win 1-0 away to

Ince’s Reading.

Will Vaulks’ late penalty ended

Cardiff City’s four-match losing run

in the 1-1 draw at home to

Birmingham City. Jérémie Bela’s

neat finish had given the visiting

side a first-half lead. Bristol City are

ending the season in style after the

5-0 defeat of Hull City extended

their unbeaten run to five games.

Andreas Weimann and Chris Martin

each scored twice, with Antoine

Semenyo also on target.

Relegated Derby County won 2-0

away at Blackpool, while Barnsley,

also heading for League One, lost

3-1 at home to Preston North End.

Dan Johnson scored twice for the

Lancashire club.

CHAMPIONSHIP

ROUND-UP

Chris Kamara’s “unbelievable”

catchphrase will be heard no

more. The former footballer,

below, is leaving Sky Sports at the

end of the season after 24 years.

The 64-year-old recently revealed

he had developed a speech

apraxia disorder alongside an

existing thyroid issue.

‘UNBELIEVABLE!’

KAMARA QUITS SKY

D

ean Smith endured a miser-

able return to Villa Park as

defeat by his former club

Aston Villa — combined

with Burnley’s stunning

late turnaround against

Watford — confirmed

Norwich City’s relegation

back to the Sky Bet Championship for

a record sixth time.

Smith, the Norwich head coach,

was making a first visit back to the

club he supported as a boy since being

sacked as their manager in November,

and was given a warm welcome by the

home support. But that was as good as

it got for him as Norwich fell to their

23rd league defeat of a desperate sea-

son, thanks to goals from Ollie Wat-

kins and Danny Ings.

“My reaction is bitter disappoint-

ment and I fully take my responsibility

as well,” said Smith, who took over at

Norwich only a week after leaving

Villa. “I think over the last four or five

weeks there has been an inevitability

about it.

“I’m disappointed that we got rele-

gated today because I thought the per-

formance was good but unfortunately

over the season the performances

haven’t been good enough and we’ve

lacked the quality that is needed.”

Smith, who had asked to be kept

updated on the touchline with the

Villa strikers

send their old

boss down

Charlotte Duncker

Villa Park

LINDSEY PARNABY/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

THE GAFFER TAPES

STEVEN GERRARD

I’m disappointed for

Norwich and Dean.

He’s someone I’ve got

the utmost respect

for, but I think they’ve

employed him for the big picture. It

was always going to be a tough job

to keep them up.

DEAN SMITH

I’ve got an English

O-level but I’ve had to

go and look up the

word apathy because

there’s a lot of talk

about that between our supporters

and the football club and I don’t see

that at all

Krul

7

Byram

7

Williams

6

Aarons

6

Lees-Melou

5

Rashica

7

Hanley

6

Pukki

6

Normann

6

Gilmour

6

Dowell

6

4-2-3-1

Martinez

7

Mings

7

Cash

7

Digne

6

Coutinho

7

Bailey

5

Iroegbunam

7

Watkins

7

Chambers

6

Ramsey

6

McGinn

8

4-3-3

Star man John McGinn (Villa)

Substitutes: Aston Villa Ings (for Bailey 39min, 7),

Douglas Luiz (for Iroegbunam 72), Buendía (for

Coutinho 75). Norwich Sargent (for Lees-Melou

67), Rowe (for Rashica 78), Rupp (for Sargent 81).

Sub booked: Villa Ings.

Referee J Brooks. Attendance 40,290.

ASTON VILLA

Watkins 41, Ings 90+3 2

NORWICH CITY

0

Watkins fires expertly past Krul to put Villa 1-0 up and help seal the fate of Norwich and Brandon Williams, below

Watford v Burnley score, knew his

team’s fate had been sealed even

before Ings doubled Villa’s lead in

stoppage time, after two goals in the

final seven minutes gave their relega-

tion rivals the three points with a 2-1

win at Vicarage Road.

When Watkins put Villa ahead in

the 41st minute, the writing was on the

wall for Smith’s side, who had lost all

16 of the games in which they had

trailed at half-time this season.

The home side only really got going

when Ings replaced the injured Leon

Bailey six minutes before the interval.

Villa’s mascot, Bella the Lion, was

mier League and, as they resorted to

speculative efforts from range, you

could see why.

One effort from Pierre Lees-Melou

in the first half nearly hit the corner

flag and while they pushed for an

equaliser in the second half they were

kept at bay by a strong Villa back line

and a commanding John McGinn in

the middle. He was exceptional, and

worked to cut out any Norwich threat.

Emi Buendía, off the bench, looked

lively against his old club. After com-

ing close himself he was involved in

Villa’s second goal. Jacob Ramsey’s

effort was parried back into the box

and Buendia did well to hold off

his marker and create the

space for Ings to fire

home.

Steven Gerrard and

Villa can look towards push-

ing for a positive end to the sea-

son. After a run of four straight

defeats, they have bounced

back with a draw and a win. But

for Smith, it is a first taste of rele-

gation as a manager and an

immediate return to the second

tier for Norwich.

spotted pretending to nap on the floor

near the corner flag at the Holte End,

in a move which summed up how

most of the first half played out.

Tim Krul and Emiliano Martínez

were both called into action to deny

good long-range efforts from Bailey

and Milot Rashica respectively and

while Villa were the more lively push-

ing forward they lacked a spark.

Ings’ introduction changed that

and with his first touch he produced a

superb ball to play in Watkins. The

Villa forward knocked it past Brandon

Williams, leaving him scrambling on

the floor, and finished past Krul

with a forceful shot at his near

post, helped by a slight

deflection from Sam

Byram.

It was Villa who

looked the more likely

to score in the second half as

Watkins and Ings combined

again to great effect only for the

latter to have his shot blocked

by Byram before Ings headed

against the woodwork.

Norwich have had the few-

est shots of any team in the Pre-

effort was par

and Buen

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Villa

ing for a

son. Aft

defeats,

back with

for Smith

gation a

immedi

tier for N

ed past Krul

his near

slight

am

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d half as

ombined

nly for the

t blocked

gs headed

k.

thefew-

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