Harrogate manager Simon Weaver believes the club have made “massive strides” this season despite seeing their play-off hopes extinguished by a 5-3 home defeat by MK Dons.
The Sulphurites have, nevertheless, racked up a club-record number of EFL points in a campaign since their 2020 promotion and are also guaranteed to finish in their highest position.
A brace from 18-goal leading marksman George Thomson, following Abraham Odoh’s opener, proved insufficient as the visitors secured maximum points thanks to efforts from Alex Gilbey, Max Dean, Stephen Wearne, Emre Tezgel and Ellis Harrison.
Weaver said: “It was a crazy game really.
“To see the first goal go in after 30 minutes and then have so many after that and it could have been even more with the number of times we hit the woodwork. We looked very good going forward but we made some poor decisions defensively.
“But I can still take a lot of pride from playing such a great style of football throughout and creating so many chances against a good team who almost went up automatically. We have made massive strides this season without a doubt.”
Weaver is also running out of superlatives for talismanic 31-year-old skipper Thomson, adding: “He’s been immense this season and played an integral role for us throughout. You can just feel his presence on the pitch.
“He’s a good leader out there and on the training ground and he’s capable of scoring goals from all angles at the moment.”
The visitors were already guaranteed a play-off place prior to kick-off but Dons boss Mike Williamson hailed his team’s character after coming back from behind twice.
He also pointed to the squad’s strength in depth after Gilbey and Dean were replaced at half-time by Wearne and Harrison, who also found the net.
“I enjoyed the game because it was a good spectacle, especially for the neutral,” Williamson declared.
“It showed us we still have things to work on and it was a performance we can learn a lot from and that’s always the case when you’re in that relentless pursuit of excellence.
“But when things click we also look unstoppable. We know how good the boys are and they respond to every setback they have because they are an unbelievable group.
“I made changes and we are at a level now where competition is very good. Everyone who came into the team and on as a substitute was excellent.
“We want to breed a winning mentality and we’ll now sit down and discuss what we do for the next game, have a hard week’s training and make sure we keep up our momentum and confidence levels and keep improving in every moment.”
Howe taking plenty of positives despite frustrating Newcastle campaign
Eddie Howe was keen to look at the positives after Newcastle United secured seventh place in the Premier League on Sunday.
Alexander Isak and Bruno Guimaraes were among the goalscorers as Newcastle won 4-2 at Brentford to finish their Premier League campaign.
The victory ensured a seventh-place finish, and a Manchester City victory over Manchester United in next Saturday's FA Cup final will confirm Newcastle's place in next season's Europa Conference League.
While this season did not quite live up to the heroics of last term, which saw the Magpies finish in the Champions League spots, Howe still feels it has been a successful campaign.
"It summed up our season," Howe told BBC Sport. "We weren't totally secure at the back, but great credit to the players. They've done their job - now we wait and see.
"We anticipated after losing against Manchester United that our control of the [European] situation had gone. It's never a nice situation, but whatever happens, happens.
"We have issues to solve defensively. If we can do that, next season could be another season of really strong performances. This was a season that could have been better, but a good season overall.
"We're a really united club. I think we're still moving forward, so there's a lot to be positive about."
Postecoglou will not settle until Tottenham hit his 'lofty ambitions'
Ange Postecoglou warned Tottenham he will not settle until the club hits the "lofty ambitions" targeted in his mind.
Spurs were 3-0 victors over Sheffield United at Bramall Lane on Sunday, ending their Premier League season with a convincing win to finish fifth in the table.
Postecoglou voiced his frustrations after Tuesday's 2-0 defeat to Manchester City ended their hopes of Champions League football next term.
The Spurs head coach was far more relaxed after his side performed well in Sheffield, with Dejan Kulusevski twice on target, along with a goal for Pedro Porro against the relegated Blades.
Yet Postecoglou insisted his ambitions remain high as the Australian attempts to take Tottenham to the next level.
"Contrary to my general demeanour, I have loved every minute of it," former Celtic boss Postecoglou said of his first season in charge of Tottenham.
"It is a great challenge in the Premier League and taking over a big club that didn't have a great year last year. You understand it is not going to run smoothly, but I have enjoyed the whole season.
"I have got some lofty ambitions for the football club and until we reach that point I am not going to be smiling too much.
"As I said, all any manager wants is maximum effort and I have got that from everyone involved. I have enjoyed it and looking forward to pushing on from here."
Asked to summarise his first campaign in England's top league, Postecoglou continued: "It's been good, it's been eventful, it's had a bit of everything.
"I am obviously not delighted with the way we finished the season but in fairness to the players and staff we have been in the top five all season, in a year where there was a fair bit of upheaval.
"We finished eighth last year, player turnover, different football, different way of training, it is not easy to maintain a level when you are trying to do that.
"Even in our tough periods this year we have still been competitive for the most part."
Kulusevski scored his seventh and eighth Premier League goals of the season (36 outings), more than he managed in his first two league campaigns with Tottenham combined (seven across 48 games).
Only in the 2019-20 season with Parma has the Sweden winger scored more times in a league season (10 in Serie A), and Postecoglou hailed Kulusevski's returns.
He added: "I thought Deki was good. He's worked awfully hard this year without a lot of reward in the front third.
"We thought playing him through middle today would help us with his mobility and ability to run in behind. He did well.
"He always works hard but it's that sort of final third where we need him to get rewards and he got them today so he did well."
Al-Nassr 1-1 Al-Hilal: Mitrovic scores last-gasp penalty
Aleksandar Mitrovic scored a penalty in the 10th minute of second-half stoppage time as Al-Hilal denied Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr victory in a 1-1 draw.
Mitrovic netted his 27th Saudi Pro League goal of the campaign after Sadio Mane was harshly judged to have fouled Saud Abdulhamid in the area.
Mane stuck out an arm to shield the ball, catching his opponent in the throat, though the contact appeared to have been outside of the box.
Mitrovic made no mistake to keep Al-Hilal's unbeaten campaign going.
The Serbian's spot-kick cancelled out Otavio's first-minute opener, with Ronaldo having set up his compatriot.
Champions Al-Hilal remain 12 points clear of Al-Nassr at the summit of the Pro League standings.
Data Debrief: Ronaldo the provider
Ronaldo leads the scoring charts in Saudi Arabia this season, though he had to settle for an assist on Friday.
That came from the only chance he created, with the 39-year-old limited to 25 touches, though he did have four shots.
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