{"id":439402,"date":"2019-05-17T20:23:21","date_gmt":"2019-05-18T00:23:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosonfootball.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=439402"},"modified":"2020-12-28T11:33:57","modified_gmt":"2020-12-28T16:33:57","slug":"efl-play-offs-shown-how-good-football-league","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2019\/05\/17\/efl-play-offs-shown-how-good-football-league\/","title":{"rendered":"The EFL Play-Offs Have Shown Just How Good The Football League Is"},"content":{"rendered":"

Football has given us plenty of gifts over the last few weeks. The Champions League semi-finals alone provided viewers with enough drama to last a lifetime as Liverpool<\/a> and Tottenham Hotspur<\/a> set up an all-English final with their respective stunning comebacks.<\/p>\n

Manchester City<\/a> and Liverpool then concluded a nail-biting title race last weekend when City’s win over Brighton & Hove Albion<\/a> ensured the Reds’ 97-point tally was, painfully, not enough to end their top-flight title drought.<\/p>\n

Prior to this and going back perhaps just a tad, Watford<\/a> were the architects of another remarkable comeback<\/a> as they beat Wolverhampton Wanderers<\/a> at Wembley to reach the FA Cup final<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Alongside those, however, the EFL play-offs have been taking place, and they deserve to be mentioned alongside these moments. Twelve teams from the three EFL divisions have battled all the way through their extra games and six will now head to Wembley to have one last stab at promotion after providing us with some of the most gripping drama of the 2018\/19 campaign.<\/p>\n

The EFL Play-Offs Show the Quality of the Football League<\/h1>\n

The Championship<\/h2>\n

Villa’s Comeback Leads to Shoot-Out Success<\/h3>\n

Aston Villa and West Bromwich Albion<\/a>\u00a0were pitted together for their semi-final, with the Baggies looking to return to the Premier League at the first attempt and Villa hoping to go up after losing in the final to Fulham<\/a> last season.<\/p>\n

Dwight Gayle gave West Brom the lead in the tie, but quickfire second-half goals from Tammy Abraham and Connor Hourihane turned the game on its head and swung it in Villa’s favour. They were then further helped by a controversial second yellow card for Gayle, which meant he would be suspended for the second leg.<\/p>\n

Craig Dawson’s header was all that separated them at the Hawthorns in round two, but the singular goal and the lack of strikes in extra time took the game to penalties. Jed Steer was the hero for Villa, saving Albion’s first two penalties, and Abraham’s spot-kick sent Villa to Wembley for the second year running.<\/p>\n

Super-Sub Marriot the Rams’ Hero<\/h3>\n

Kemar Roofe gave Leeds the advantage in the first leg against Derby County with the only goal away from home, but all the action in this one came at Elland Road.<\/p>\n

Stuart Dallas’ tap-in looked to have Leeds on course for Wembley, but Jack Marriott, less than a minute after being introduced for the injured Mason Bennett, pounced on a mix-up at the back to bring Derby back into it.<\/p>\n

Mason Mount levelled the tie less than a minute after the restart and Harry Wilson’s penalty completed the turnaround before Dallas cut inside and fired home for Leeds.<\/p>\n

The Whites were reduced to ten men soon after and Derby made them pay when Marriott raced through and dinked over Kiko Casilla to put the Rams 4-3 ahead on aggregate, ending any chance Leeds had of promotion to the Premier League. Their 16-year exile continues.<\/p>\n

League One<\/h2>\n

King Maguire’s Stunner Enough For Sunderland<\/h3>\n

The lowest-scoring of all the ties, Sunderland<\/a> needed just one goal across their two legs against Portsmouth. It was a stunner, though.<\/p>\n

After 62 minutes at the Stadium of Light, the ball fell to Chris Maguire in the Portsmouth area and he volleyed home brilliantly to give the Black Cats a slender lead.<\/p>\n

Alim Ozturk’s red card threatened to derail their bid, but Jack Ross steered his side through a feisty second leg which saw midfielder Luke O’Nien kicked by a fan.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

The incident everyone is talking about ?<\/p>\n

Last night Sunderland full-back Luke O’Nien was punched and kicked by a Portsmouth fan after falling into the crowd! ?<\/p>\n

“That’s disgraceful!” ? pic.twitter.com\/2eyG2xUHLm<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Soccer AM (@SoccerAM) May 17, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n