Neil Warnock hailed Huddersfield’s “unbelievable” final points tally of 53 after overseeing a 2-0 Sky Bet Championship win over relegated Reading in his last match before returning to retirement.
The Terriers’ great escape from the drop was confirmed courtesy of last week’s victory over Sheffield United, with Monday’s triumph – the seventh under Warnock’s temporary charge – the cherry on the top for the 74-year-old.
Prospective American owner Kevin M Nagle was in attendance at the John Smith’s Stadium for the match, with the points secured by stunning second-half goals from Josh Koroma and substitute Joseph Hungbo.
Koroma broke the deadlock after 49 minutes before Watford loanee Hungbo came off the bench to seal matters six minutes from time.
“I was pleased I could leave him (Nagle) a Championship club,” said Warnock, whose side ended the campaign in 18th spot, nine points clear of the relegation zone.
“I wanted to finish on a win and to get 53 points is unbelievable.
“These times you have to treasure. I told the players that because they don’t come along very often.
“You would have thought we had got promotion to the Premier League, with the crowd. You can’t tell me it would have been any more vociferous.
“But the fans know what a job it has been to turn it round. To see everyone stay behind at the end, I can’t put it into words.”
Asked what he might be doing when the Championship kicks off again next season, the south-west-based veteran suggested he might be watching League One champions Plymouth.
“It is great because me and my daughter go to all the home matches,” he said. “If Plymouth play Huddersfield first match, I might be watching Huddersfield again.
“I can sit down, have a nice meal, a nice glass of wine, no pressure, no worry about substitutions, get driven home… it’s perfect… until February.”
Huddersfield fans pleaded for one more year from Warnock, but he said: “You can’t do this for 10 months.
“I hate the motorways, I hate the hotels, I don’t need that at my age. But I don’t mind for 10-12 weeks!”
Noel Hunt, who could not mastermind a win during his tenure as interim Reading boss, admitted his own future remains unsure but reckons the future is bright for the Royals despite relegation.
“I have not even thought about it,” the Irishman responded when asked if he would like the role permanently.
“As far as I was told, this was until the end of the season and then who knows?
“I was pretty sure I was probably going back to the under-23s. But I have not had that conversation. So your guess is as good as mine.”
On Reading’s fall into the game’s third tier, Hunt said: “I have seen teams go down to League One and two years later be in the Premier League. Norwich and Southampton did it.
“Maybe a reset is going to be good and what the club needs. But we have a lot of good players signed here and a lot of good young boys coming through.
“So the future is bright, no matter what.”
World Cup Girlz back in the fold? Gilbert hints at return of experienced players for Brazil friendlies
For the first time in almost nine months, it seems as if Jamaica’s interim Reggae Girlz Head coach Xavier Gilbert will have members of the World Cup squad at his disposal, when they visit Brazil for a two-match friendly international series in June.
The Girlz, who first locked horns with Brazil, and lost 0-3, at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France, went one better at last year’s global showpiece in Australia, as they not only held the South American giants to a goalless stalemate, but also ensured their elimination at the group stage.
By all indications, that performance, and by extension, the fact that the Girlz made an historic appearance in the knockout stages of the World Cup, earned them even more respect from the number 10-ranked Brazilians, who are currently in preparation for this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris.
The games, scheduled for June 1 and 4, are expected to assist Brazil in their preparation, while the now 42nd-ranked Jamaicans will get a much-needed test to regain their appetite for international competition, having last sported the nationals colours against Canada last September.
Since that Olympic qualifying fixture in Canada, members of the World Cup squad withdrew their services from national representation, citing lack of payment and mistreatment from the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), among their reasons.
While it is yet to be confirmed how many, if any, of the World Cup players will make the trip, Gilbert gave the clearest indication yet that there might be a few, as he welcomed the games, after not utilizing the last FIFA window.
“It is always important to secure games during the international window. It not only assists in exposing players, but it also ensures the team is active, which helps our rankings, and also our quality of play. Because as you know, the more we play together, especially against quality opponents, the better the team becomes, and we also get to work on different things both offensively and defensively,” Gilbert told SportsMax.TV.
“The expectation is for us to give a good account of ourselves, it has been a while since these players have played together, but the good thing is that they are actively engaged in their respective leagues in Europe and United States. So, it is not like they were inactive, and obviously, it is not the first time they will be playing together.
“So, we just have to keep things as simple or as close to what we did prior to, and during the World Cup, to make sure we are competitive. It is going to be a little bit different, but it’s not far-fetched that we can get another positive result against Brazil,” he added.
Atletico Madrid 3-1 Athletic Bilbao: Hosts close in on top-four finish
Atletico Madrid beat newly crowned Copa del Rey winners Athletic Bilbao 3-1 at home in LaLiga on Saturday as Diego Simeone's side moved a step closer to a top-four finish.
Fourth-placed Atletico moved onto 64 points and have increased their advantage over Athletic, in fifth, to six points with five games to play.
Midfielder Rodrigo de Paul put Atletico in front in the 15th minute with a goal from outside the box. After controlling an attempted clearance from the visitors, his effort dipped just under the bar as his strike deflected off one of the Athletic defenders.
Athletic levelled just before half-time through Nico Williams after Antoine Griezmann lost the ball through a careless pass.
But Angel Correa restored the lead for Atletico in the 52nd minute and later came close to scoring again.
With 10 minutes to play, away goalkeeper Unai Simon inadvertently made it 3-1 with an own goal after Samuel Lino’s effort came back off the post, ending any Athletic hopes of a comeback.
Hull City 3-3 Ipswich Town: Tigers fight back three times to deny Tractor Boys
Ipswich Town missed the chance to move into an automatic promotion spot as play-off-chasing Hull City came from behind three times in a thrilling 3-3 Championship draw at The MKM Stadium.
Ipswich knew a victory would take them second after Leeds United were surprisingly beaten 4-0 by Queens Park Rangers on Friday, and they led on three separate occasions, George Hirst opening the scoring before Omari Hutchinson produced two brilliant strikes from the edge of the area.
However, buoyed by slip-ups from rivals Norwich City and West Brom earlier on Saturday, Hull dug deep to fight back on each occasion, Ozan Tufan and Liam Delap scoring their first two equalisers.
With Liam Rosenior's men 3-2 down with just four minutes to play, substitute Noah Ohio blasted his shot in off the crossbar to punish an error from Ipswich goalkeeper Vaclav Hladky.
The result keeps Ipswich behind second-placed Leeds on goal difference, though the Tractor Boys have a game in hand to come at Coventry City on Tuesday.
Hull, meanwhile, are two points adrift of the top six, with Norwich's goal difference advantage meaning their top-six spot is all but assured. The Tigers will, however, leapfrog West Brom if they beat Plymouth Argyle on the final day and Albion lose to Preston North End.
Data Debrief: Hutchinson's best not enough
Hutchinson was a man who deserved to be on the winning side on Saturday, giving Ryan Allsop no chance with two near-identical left-footed strikes from the right corner of the penalty area.
His goals came from an expected goals (xG) total of just 0.6, and he led all players on the pitch for shots (eight) and passes in the final third (21), also laying on three chances for his team-mates.
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