John Mousinho hailed Portsmouth’s “remarkable achievement” after the come-from-behind 3-2 win over Barnsley at Fratton Park secured the League One title and promotion to the Championship.
Pompey looked to be missing their opportunity in front of their own fans when, needing one point to return to the second tier after a 12-year absence, they were 2-1 behind after Devante Cole and John McAtee struck either side of Kusini Yengi’s equaliser.
But the hosts hit back in the final seven minutes with Colby Bishop scoring from the penalty spot and Conor Shaughnessy heading home the winner.
Mousinho told BBC Radio Solent Sport: “I think once everything settles down it will sink in properly. I’ve never experienced anything like that, the last 15 minutes, it was absolutely incredible.
“Even at 2-1 down, to get the momentum and the crowd behind us, I am just so proud of the boys. I’m genuinely just so pleased for everyone connected to the football club. They’ve gone through so much.
“When we got it back to 3-2 I thought we have played so poor, but found a way to win somehow in a game where we really struggled. It really does sum up the boys.
“A tough night, tough conditions, but they got the job done. It’s hard for me to sum it up, but I get what’s happened over the last 15 years at the club and how difficult it was, on the brink of liquidation, to come back and have a night like this is incredible to be involved in.
“To be head coach, it is a privilege. Hopefully we can have a few more nights like this.
“I never could have imagined this happening this quickly. This was obviously the goal at some point, but didn’t think it would happen with two games to go this season. It is a remarkable achievement. That is a serious effort to be crowned champions ahead of some of the big boys in this league as well.”
Play-off chasing Barnsley, having lost three of their last four games, are four points above seventh-placed Lincoln.
Boss Neill Collins told the club’s official website: “There are a lot of positives. But the biggest frustration is that all those positives didn’t add up to what I thought would be a deserved victory.
“We perform like that, we’ll be fine. We’ll win games. It’s just the fine margins. For me, it’s the fine margins that have gone against us the past four or five games.
“Tonight again, it’s some of our doing. But that’s what we need to concentrate on. That’s what the Football League is all about.”
Israel 1-4 France: Rampant Bleus clinch back-to-back Nations League wins
France made it back-to-back wins in the Nations League, with Christopher Nkunku and Bradley Barcola among the scorers as they thrashed Israel 4-1 in Hungary.
Playing at a neutral venue in Budapest's Bozsik Arena, France flew out of the traps as Israel goalkeeper Omri Glazer let Eduardo Camavinga's strike squirm past him in the sixth minute.
Israel did draw level midway through the first half as Omri Gandelman headed Oscar Gloukh's cross home, but they were on terms for less than five minutes as Chelsea forward Nkunku flicked the ball through Ilay Feingold's legs before slotting a low finish into the far corner.
Randal Kolo Muani twice went close to extending France's lead before Matteo Guendouzi gave them breathing space in the 87th minute, rolling a finish beyond Glazer and into the bottom corner.
Didier Deschamps' men added further gloss to the scoreline two minutes later, Guendouzi finding a similar position, but this time opting to pick out Barcola for a curled finish.
The result sees France move onto six points in Group A2, one adrift of Italy – who beat them on matchday one. They face Belgium next time out on Monday.
Data Debrief: New-look Bleus sparkle
With Kylian Mbappe absent due to a niggling injury and Antoine Griezmann retiring from international football, Deschamps fielded a new-look frontline of Nkunku, Kolo Muani, Ousmane Dembele and Michael Olise.
Recording 33 touches in the area to Israel's five, and 15 shots to their opponents' one, France certainly impressed.
Kolo Muani was a particular bright spark despite not getting on the scoresheet, with his four chances created being at least twice as many as any other player (Theo Hernandez laid on two).
Haaland becomes Norway's record scorer with Slovenia brace
Erling Haaland became Norway's all-time leading scorer with a brace in their 3-0 victory over Slovenia.
The Manchester City striker was captaining his first nation for the first time, and marked the occasion in trademark record-breaking fashion.
Haaland broke the deadlock after just seven minutes of the Nations League clash at the Ullevaal Stadium, where Alexander Sorloth doubled the lead seven minutes after the restart.
Sorloth then turned provider just after the hour mark for Haaland, who broke Jorgen Juve's 87-year record with his 34th international goal in just 36 caps.
The result put Norway firmly in charge of Group B3 with seven points, three ahead of Austria and Slovenia, with Kazakhstan propping up the table on one point.
England 1-2 Greece: Pavlidis ends Carsley's perfect start with stunning brace
Vangelis Pavlidis' dramatic 94th-minute winner brought Lee Carsley's perfect start to life as interim England coach crashing to a halt, as the Benfica forward netted twice in a stunning 2-1 win at Wembley.
Pavlidis danced through the Three Lions' static defence to give Greece a shock lead early in the second half, only for Jude Bellingham to fire home a leveller in the 87th minute.
But England struggled to find their groove with captain Harry Kane out injured, and after Greece had three goals disallowed, they could have few complaints when Pavlidis took advantage of a defensive mix-up to score a famous winner deep into stoppage time.
England's willingness to throw men forward allowed Greece plenty of opportunities in the first half, and only a spectacular goal-line clearance from Levi Colwill prevented the visitors from going ahead when Anastasios Bakasetas lobbed Jordan Pickford.
Pickford was then arguably fortunate to win a foul when his missed punch led to Konstantinos Mavropanos nodding the resulting corner in, before Cole Palmer fired off-target from a great position at the other end.
Anthony Gordon headed Trent Alexander-Arnold's cross over shortly before half-time, but Greece continued to threaten and got their reward four minutes after the restart.
Receiving the ball with three white shirts surrounding him in a crowded penalty area, Pavlidis showed great feet to retain possession before slotting his finish beyond Pickford.
Pavlidis was denied a second goal by the offside flag seven minutes from time, and England drew level just four minutes later, with Bellingham's side-footed finish packing too much power for Odysseas Vlachodimos in the Greece goal.
There was to be one final twist, though, as England's hapless defence missed multiple chances to clear their lines in the 94th minute, allowing Pavlidis to take possession and fire into the bottom-left corner to spark wild celebrations among the Greek fans.
Data Debrief: Wembley woes ancient history for Greece
Prior to Thursday, Greece had never scored at Wembley and had failed to beat England in nine competitive meetings (two draws, seven losses), being shut out on seven occasions.
But they showed no fear on a memorable night in London, beating a team ranked in the world's top five by FIFA for the first time since overcoming France en route to their stunning success at Euro 2004.
While Lee Carsley fell short of becoming the first England boss since Fabio Capello (in October 2008) to win his first three competitive matches in charge, Greece claimed a huge scalp on an emotional night, one day after the tragic death of full-back George Baldock.
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