Derby County have been relegated from the Championship after a 1-0 defeat at QPR on Easter Monday was coupled with Reading’s remarkable comeback from 4-1 down to draw 4-4 with Swansea.
Luke Amos scored the only goal of the game in west London with just two minutes to go to condemn Wayne Rooney’s side to defeat and a first season in the third tier since 1985-86. But their fate was only sealed by a stunning second-half fightback from the Royals at the Madejski, where Swansea led 3-1 at half-time and 4-1 at the hour mark.
Tom Ince started the comeback, Lucas João made it 4-3 and Tom McIntyre scored the equaliser deep into stoppage time.
Rooney wants to bring Derby back up from League One but stressed the club’s future rests on the completion of a takeover, after the Rams were deducted 21 points this season after going into administration.
Rooney told Sky Sports News: “I’ve never seen a team relegated and the crowd react like they did today. You can see what it means to the fans. This is a special club and I want to be the one to bring the happy days back.”
Absolutely gutted with the outcome from today. Proud of all the players and staff, unbelievable effort from everyone. Thanks to all our fans for the incredible support through some tough times. Hopefully we can start to rebuild as soon as possible. 🐏🤍🖤 #dcfc @dcfcofficial pic.twitter.com/iTf4kBVYFu
— Wayne Rooney (@WayneRooney) April 18, 2022
Derby’s joint administrators have named Chris Kirchner as the preferred bidder for the club and entered a period of exclusivity aimed at ending a protracted takeover process.
“We need the takeover to happen quickly,” added Rooney, who has recently been linked with the vacant job at Burnley. “We know what league we’ll be in next season now and we can get the players in. If the takeover doesn’t happen, the club’s future is in doubt and my future’s in doubt.”
Accounting breaches under the previous owner Mel Morris added a further nine points to the standard 12-point administration penalty, and without the combined deduction Rooney’s side would be comfortably safe in 17th on 52 points.
“I feel for the players more because (without the points deductions) we’d be safe now,” Rooney continued. “We’ve paid the price for what the previous owner has left behind. It’s no-one’s fault - not mine, not the players or the staff - but we’re paying the price.”
Elsewhere, Nottingham Forest maintained hopes of automatic promotion with a 4-0 defeat of 10-man West Brom at the City Ground. Brennan Johnson’s 19th-minute penalty put Forest on their way after Darnell Furlong had been sent off for two bookable offences. Ryan Yates, Jack Colback and Sam Surridge sealed Forest’s sixth win in seven games, leaving leaders Fulham needing to beat Preston on Tuesday to secure promotion to the Premier League.
WHAT HAVE WE JUST WITNESSED!!! 🤯
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) April 18, 2022
Jack Colback has just hit an absolute stunner!!! 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/KOOmcmHB8T
Luton tightened their grip on a playoff spot with a 1-0 win over Cardiff in south Wales. Harry Cornick came off the bench to score the goal, making it a very happy Easter for the Hatters, who beat play-off rivals Nottingham Forest 1-0 on Good Friday, and keeping them in fourth place.
Blackburn’s playoff hopes, on the other hand, are hanging by a thread after a 1-0 defeat at home to Stoke. Jacob Brown’s solitary strike did the damage as he combined with Josh Maja in the fourth minute to score his 13th goal of the season.
Promotional hopefuls Plymouth and Sunderland cancelled each other out in a goalless draw at Home Park. There were chances for both sides but neither could take the opportunity to close the gap to the automatic promotion places.
The draw keeps Sunderland in sixth, two points behind Plymouth in fourth and level with Wycombe on goal difference, who drew 1-1 away to AFC Wimbledon. It could have been worse for Wycombe, who trailed to Alex Woodyard’s deflected strike after 21 minutes. But Adebayo Akinfenwa came off the bench to deny his former club, heading in from Sullay Kaikai’s cross with 10 minutes left. The draw leaves Wimbledon four points adrift of safety.
The relegation clash between Gillingham and Fleetwood turned ugly as both sides had players sent off in a fiery 0-0 draw. Charlie Kelman and Paddy Lane saw red for lunging into a 50-50 challenge against each other late on. The draw leaves Gillingham in the last position of safety, one point and one place better off than Fleetwood.
Morecambe are now two points above the Gills after Jonah Ayunga’s stoppage-time goal secured a 1-1 draw against Portsmouth, ending the visitors’ hopes of reaching the play-offs. Lincoln’s relegation worries are over after a 3-0 win over Cheltenham, with all the goals coming in the opening 20 minutes of the first half.
Kyle Knoyle’s stoppage-time goal capped a stunning comeback from Doncaster, who came from 3-0 down at half-time to draw 3-3 with Shrewsbury, though it looks too little to save them from the drop. Daniel Udoh, Ryan Bowman and Shaun Whalley put Shrewsbury in what should have been an unassailable position, but Mipo Odubeko and Reo Griffiths got Doncaster back in it before Knoyle snatched a point.
Substitute Jon Dadi Bodvarsson’s brace powered Bolton to a 3-1 win over Accrington. Dapo Afolayan’s 14th goal of the season put Wanderers in front, but Jay Rich-Baghuelou levelled early in the second half.
The leading trio of Wigan, Rotherham and MK Dons all play on Tuesday. PA Media
Morgan Gibbs-White kept Sheffield United’s play-off bid on course with a second-half equaliser in a 1-1 draw at Bristol City. The home side took a 49th minute lead when Antoine Semenyo broke down the left and crossed the ball low for Chris Martin to fire home from close range. But United equalised on the hour when City goalkeeper Dan Bentley saved a low shot from Enda Stevens only for Gibbs-White to acrobatically volley in the rebound from eight yards.
Forest Green marched a step closer to promotion to League One with a 2-0 victory over relegation-threatened Oldham. Regan Hendry’s deflected effort put Rovers ahead after eight minutes and Jamille Matt headed the second before half-time. Oldham had a golden opportunity to pull one back with 10 minutes remaining but Christopher Missilou blazed a penalty over the crossbar.
Second-placed Exeter were beaten 2-0 by playoff-chasing Tranmere thanks to goals in each half from Josh Hawkes and Elliott Nevitt. Port Vale, in third, failed to take advantage despite taking the lead against Bristol Rovers after only two minutes through Jamie Proctor. Rovers quickly equalised through Elliot Anderson and went ahead via James Connolly’s close-range finish before Ryan Loft made it 3-1 in the closing stages.
Sam Hoskins went past 50 goals for Northampton with a brace in a 3-0 win over Harrogate, with Louis Appere also on target. There was controversy at Carlisle where Mansfield’s Jamie Murphy hit the underside of the crossbar with the ball appearing to cross the line, but the goal was not given. Omari Patrick then secured a 1-0 win for the hosts in the 56th minute.
Sutton climbed above Mansfield into the top six after Rob Milsom’s penalty in first-half stoppage time gave them a 1-0 win over Newport. Harry Bunn’s goal 15 from minutes from time earned already-relegated Scunthorpe a 1-1 draw with Stevenage, who had led through Jamie Reid’s smart turn and shot eight minutes into the second half.
Goals from Myles Kenlock, Brendan Sarpong-Wiredu and Freddie Sears gave Colchester a 3-0 win over Mark Hughes’s Bradford, who had Paudie O’Connor sent off. Ian Henderson came off the bench to earn Salford a 2-2 draw against Barrow.
Two goals from Omar Beckles gave Leyton Orient a 2-1 win at Swindon despite having to play for more than an hour with 10 men after losing Hector Kyprianou to a second yellow card. A goal from Eoghan O’Connell three minutes into stoppage time gave Rochdale a 2-1 win over Hartlepool, and Isaac Hutchinson was on target as Crawley beat Walsall 1-0. PA Media
Scott Malone’s freakish second-half goal helped Millwall to a 2-1 win against Hull at The Den to boost their playoff hopes. Malone made it 1-0 after 51 minutes when Richie Smallwood’s clearance rebounded off him into the net, before Tom Bradshaw doubled the lead four minutes later. But the game was far from over as Tom Eaves scored an 86th-minute consolation to make the home fans sweat.
Dominic Solanke scored twice as Bournemouth edged closer to sealing automatic promotion with a 3-0 win at Coventry, while at the bottom Peterborough gave themselves a lifeline with a 2-0 win over fellow strugglers Barnsley.
