Play Offs Special Result Supplement

Monday, May 30, 2011

REPORT – Pages 2-3 REACTION – Pages 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 ■ FLOORED: Gary Roberts covers his eyes as teammates Antony Kay, left, and Danny Cadamarteri contemplate defeat

EIGHT MINUTES OF HELL

Town’s pain game

TOWN’S promotion dream crumbled – in what boss Lee Clark called “eight crazy minutes”.

Free-scoring Peterborough withstood a spell of second-half pressure in yesterday’s League I play-off final – then netted three times in a late blitz to claim a Championship berth.

It meant misery for Town chairman Dean Hoyle, boss Clark, skipper Peter Clarke (right) and his players, and more than 31,000 fans in a 48,410 crowd at Old Trafford.

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Page 2

Town

4-3-3

IAN BENNETT The final outcome was desperately harsh on the former Posh keeper who has been so solid this season. 7

JACK HUNT Made some telling tackles and pushed forward to get in crosses whenever the opportunity arose.

7

GARY NAYSMITH Made a decent contribution but couldn’t prevent Town’s first defeat in a league game in which he has figured.

7

ANTONY KAY Retained his centre-back slot and set the tone with the early challenge which helped thwart Craig Mackail-Smith.

8

PETER CLARKE The skipper worked manfully and looked devastated as Town’s promotion dream was dashed once again.

7

DANNY WARD Showed flashes of his ability and grazed the bar in the second half, but was generally well policed.

7

KEVIN KILBANE Struggled to find his touch with passes as his first experience of the play-offs ended in big disappointment. 6

LEE PELTIER No doubting his tenacity and added bite in midfield, but a first-half caution left him walking a tightrope.

7

SCOTT ARFIELD Worked extremely hard on his return to the starting XI, and tracked Grant McCann until his 81st-minute substitution. 7

BENIK AFOBE Once again ran himself to a standstill in a demanding strike role but could have done better with his chances.

7

GARY ROBERTS Like fellow wideman Ward, was effective at times, but over the entire game, was shackled fairly tightly.

Huddersfield Town 0

By DOUG THOMSON

HOW THEY RATED

7

Substitutes: Danny Cadamarteri (for Ward, 79mins) 5; Jordan Rhodes (for Afobe, 81mins) 5; Alan Lee (for Arfield, 81mins) 5.

Not used: Jamie McCombe, Joey Gudjonsson, Lee Novak, Nick Colgan.

A nightmare Posh’s late blitz spells misery in Manchester

TOWN suffered a nightmare end to the season in the Theatre of Dreams as hopes of promotion c r u m b l e d i n t h e w a ke o f Peterborough’s late goal blitz.

It was a cruel end to a campaign which promised so much as three strikes in a d e v a s t at i n g e i g h t - m i nu t e s p e l l condemned Lee Clark’s men to a first defeat since January.

It was end-to-end for the bulk of the Old Trafford play-off final, and while the final scoreline, sealed by Tommy Rowe, Craig Mackail-Smith and Grant McCann, flattered Posh, it will be of little consolation as Town contemplate another season in League I. Boss Clark ended days of pre-match debate among fans by choosing to go with his ‘away’ line-up, playing striker Benik Afobe between wide men Gary Roberts and Danny Ward and restoring Scott Arfield to midfield, 22-goal top scorer Jordan Rhodes being left on the bench.

Peterborough kept the side which clinched a place in the final by beating MK Dons in the semi second leg.

Town’s vast travelling army of fans outnumbered their opponents two to one, with chairman Dean Hoyle’s gift of a free T-shirt to every supporter creating a huge wall of blue and white stripes stretching from the famous Stretford End into each adjacent stand.

But it was the Posh contingent who could be heard in the opening stages as their side came quickly out of the blocks on a hard pitch made greasy by pre-match rain.

Craig Mackail-Smith, on 34 goals for the season and needing two more to bring up a century for the club, came close to a fifth-minute breakthrough when he burst onto Lee Tomlin’s pass.

But the challenging Antony Kay got a vital touch as the Scotland

international’s shot was deflected against the outside of Ian Bennett’s left-hand post and away for a corner.

McCann’s inswinging flag kick was safely punched clear by former Posh player Bennett, who then collected George Boyd’s swerving eighth-minute long-range effort with little fuss.

Town’s first chances fell to Lee Peltier, who twice got in headers from corners

by Gary Roberts, before skipper Peter Clarke brought a first save of the match from Posh keeper Paul Jones with a 19th-minute header after Danny Ward nodded back a Roberts cross.

It took a timely tackle from centre-back Gaby Zakuani to thwart Afobe as he shaped to shoot a minute later, but Posh poured forward on the counter-attack, and Kay did well to hold off Mackail-Smith.

The game was becoming more open, and when Roberts produced a neat 28th-minute cross, Afobe hooked a shot off target as Ward lurked menacingly.

Town survived a 32nd-minute penalty appeal when James Wesolowksi went down under Gary Naysmith’s challenge, while Kay again came to the rescue as he robbed Mackail-Smith near goal.

Boyd’s 44th-minte foul on Peltier set up a free-kick opportunity for Roberts, whose curling shot was pawed away by Jones for the first of successive Town corners, the second of which was flicked on by Kay to Afobe, who was unable to get his shot on target.

Town had come right into the game as the half progressed, but Posh had the final chance before the break, when Mackail-Smith met Boyd’s pass only to poke the ball wide as Bennett came out.

Both sides were playing towards their own fans in the second half.

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Peterborough United 3 Rowe 78, Mackail-Smith 80, McCann 85

Page 3 TOWN WEBCHAT

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finale for Town

■ STRETCHED TO THE LIMIT: Benik Afobe gets in a shot (above), Lee Peltier protests his innocence as George Boyd lies in pain (left) and Danny Ward is stopped in his tracks (right) Pictures by Andy Catchpool And after Roberts fouled Boyd 25 yards out, the Posh supporters were out of their seats as McCann curled the free-kick just over.

Ward drove a 55th-minute shot from Afobe’s lay-off well wide before Roberts’ hooked effort from Peltier’s pass was headed away by defender Ryan Bennett.

Then Ward came close with a fine solo effort in the 59th minute when he worked his way from the right flank to the byline and stepped back inside before unleashing a left-foot shot which grazed the top of the bar.

Posh made the first change in the 64th minute, and substitute Charlie Lee, on for left-back Grant Basey, was yellow carded within minutes after catching Peltier with a high foot.

He joined Peltier and Tomlin in referee Steve Tanner’s book, both having committed first-half fouls, and Kay was cautioned on 75 minutes after bringing down Mackail-Smith when he was in full flight.

Tomlin fired that free-kick straight into the wall, but when Naysmith was ruled to have fouled Boyd three minutes later, Posh made the breakthrough,

Rowe glancing home a header from McCann’s curling delivery.

It was to prove the start of an avalanche which ended any hopes of a fightback and left Town beaten for the first time in 28 league games.

Mackail-Smith made it two in the 80th minute, picking up Boyd’s pass and leaving Bennett in no-man’s land with a shot which took a deflection off Kay. Then when Clarke fouled Mackail-Smith just outside the penalty area five minutes later, McCann squeezed the free-kick between Bennett and his left-hand post.

Town, you done us proud.

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Page 4

Huddersfield Town 0

MATCH DOSSIER

Peterboro

Jones, Little, Bennett, Zakuani, Basey (Lee, 64), Wesolowski, McCann, Rowe (Whelpdale, 84), Boyd, Tomlin (Ball, 90), Mackail-Smith.

Subs not used: Newell, Langmead, MendezLaing, Richardson.

Referee: Steve Tanner (Somerset).

Att: 48,410.

Booked: Town’s Lee Peltier, Jack Hunt and Antony Kay and Posh’s Lee Tomlin and Charlie Lee, all for fouls.

MAN OF THE MATCH ...

Antony Kay Defended stoutly throughout.

TALKING POINT ...

What a massive shame Town, having put in such a huge effort this season, should suffer their first defeat since January and first in 28 league games on an occasion like this.

MOMENT OF MATCH Had Danny Ward’s 59th-minute dipped in rather than hit the top of the bar, it might all have been very different.

MOAN OF THE MATCH Town had a real spell of concerted pressure in the second half, but couldn’t make it count.

REF WATCH Somerset’s Steve Tanner was once a Premier League whistler and showed his quality with firm decision making and by keeping the game flowing.

■ DANGERMAN: Town’s Antony Kay tussles with Craig Mackail-Smith

It’s great to see dad smile again

PETERBOROUGH boss Darren Ferguson dedicated his side’s win to chair man Dar ragh MacAnthony – and said he was delighted to be able to give his dad Sir Alex something to smile about.

Ferguson said his father, whose Manchester United side suffered defeat

by Barcelona in Saturday’s Champions

By DOUG THOMSON Deputy Sports Editor

doug.thomson@examiner.co.uk

League final at Wembley, had been in contact soon after the final whistle.

“I wanted to get a smile back on his face, and I think I’ve done that,” said the 39-year-old boss after Peterborough returned to the Championship at the first time of asking.

Ferguson won two promotions in his first spell as manager of Posh, returning in January after he parted company with Preston and Gary Johnson left London Road.

“I’m delighted for the chairman, who has backed all his managers and showed bottle in bringing me back here,” added Ferguson, who said he took no satisfaction from Preston’s relegation to League I.

“I think what won us this game was that we didn’t concede in that spell in the second half when Huddersfield, who are a good team with a good manager, had a right go at us.”

Ferguson is resigned to losing Craig Mackail-Smith, who got Posh’s second goal to take his season’s tally to 35 and his overall haul for the club to 99.

“He’s a great player and a great lad, and I wish him all the best,” he said.

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Page 5

Peterborough United 3

TOWN WEBCHAT

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Rowe 78, Mackail-Smith 80, McCann 85

By DOUG THOMSON Deputy Sports Editor doug.thomson@examiner.co.uk

LEE CLARK looked back at the eight-minute goal blitz which shattered Town’s promotion hopes and earned Peterborough a quick return to the Championship and admitted: “This game is all about putting the ball in the net.

They did it and we didn’t.”

Town, unbeaten in the league since December and in all competitions since January, couldn’t make their spell of second-half pressure count and paid the price as Tommy Rowe, Craig MackailSmith and Grant McCann netted for Posh between the 78th and 85th minutes.

It meant Town lost out on a place in the Championship having finished third, eight points above fourth-placed Posh in the final League I table.

But Clark, who saw Danny Ward fire a 59th-minute shot against the bar, continued: “We knew it was a one-off game and we ended up suffering because of a crazy eight minutes.

“For half an hour of the second half, we were the dominant team, and as long as we kept on doing the right things, I was expecting us to score eventually.

“But we knew they had a set-piece expert (Grant McCann) with a fantastic delivery, and that led to two of their goals.

“They withstood our attacking then hit us with a triple whammy.

“They got a touch to a free-kick for the first, the second took a deflection and then we lost a bit of shape as we chased the game.

“Let’s take nothing away from Peterborough. I’ve lost out to a good manager who has good people about him, and I wish them well.

“But defeat is eating away at me and the scoreline was certainly harsh. It looks as if it was a one-sided game but it was anything but.”

Clark added: “I’m hurting as much as I’ve ever hurt in my career, but I’m hurting more for my chairman Dean Hoyle, for my players and four our supporters.

“Dean is a fantastic man who was first into the dressing room to see us at the end of the game.

“My players don’t have to be ashamed for anything that’s happened this season.

They’ve run through a proverbial brick wall for me and they’ve set numerous club records.

“And of supporters have been brilliant, not just in this match but over the whole season.”

Clark, who suffered play-off semi-final defeat last season, will now take time out with his family but vowed: “I know what it takes to bounce back.

“At the moment, I’m mentally and physically drained, but once the batteries are recharged, I’ll be ready to go again.

“As a player at Sunderland, we lost a play-off final to Charlton but responded by romping the league the season after.

“And after last season’s play-off defeat to Millwall, I knew what I had to do in terms of rebuilding my team and went out and did it.”

A crazy eight minutes cost us says Clark

■ FOOT UP: James Wesolowski looks on as Gary Roberts brings the ball down during yesterday’s clash

Picture by Andy Catchpool

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Page 6

The

■ LEADING ROLE: Town skipper Peter Clarke takes the fight to Peterborough at Old Trafford

Town CRIER Soccer’s darker side

Spot the spectators as tournament flops ENGLAND’S decision to shun the Carling Nations Cup looks to have been an astute one.

The official attendance for Friday’s game between Wales and Northern Ireland – which the Welsh won 2-0 – was just 2,100, with most of the matches at the Aviva Stadium struggling to attract decent crowds last week.

Aside from the obvious reason that in half the games there was no ‘home’ team for fans to watch, the fact that nearly every side was weakened by absentees and also managers shuffling their resources to cover games in quick succession further undermined the fledgling tournament.

In the cavernous new stadium in Dublin the tiny crowds barely made themselves heard and even the Tartan Army were hard pressed to turn it into any kind of occasion.

While there have been voices of support from players and managers at the tournament it is hard to see how a re-run at the end of next season will ever get off the ground – not least because the sponsors can have got very little out of the venture.

Taking the games to different venues so there is at least half a chance that one set of fans will

■ SPOT THE CROWD: Northern Ireland's Niall McGinn and Wales' Danny Gabbidon (left) battle for the ball at the Aviva Stadium, Dublin turn up in numbers is the painfully obvious solution, but even then could what are essentially meaningless end-of-season fixtures really put bums on seats anywhere.

The other solution would, of course, be to involve England when the opposing fans would probably be paying touts over the odds for tickets to see their boys have a go at the old enemy, but with the European Championships in the offing next summer there would appear to be absolutely no chance of the FA changing tack on this one.

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Bin Hammam, the president of the Asian Football Confederation, had been due to face current FIFA president Sepp Blatter in the election on Wednesday, but has

now stepped aside leaving the Swiss as the only candidate.

Just how this helps FIFA’s cause in avoiding the mud and emerging squeaky clean is unclear and about as likely as the wash-lady at Derby County being told to go home because there was nothing to do after the Rams had played in those white shirts on the old Baseball Ground pitch.

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It’s an empty feeling: Clarke

CRESTFALLEN Peter Clarke reflected on Town’s broken play-off dream and said: “It’s just a horrible, empty feeling.”

Voted player of the season by both the fans and his Town colleagues, centre-back Clarke couldn’t hide his despondency after yesterday’s 3-0 defeat.

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By MEL BOOTH Sports Editor “There are a lot of disappointed boys in our dressing room and it’s not nice at all. It’s a horrible, empty feeling.

“We are all bitterly disappointed and hurting and I can’t remember a worse feeling in my career.

“I really thought we were going

to do it. I never contemplated anything other than winning.”

Clarke, 29, added: “The fans have been terrific all season, they carried it on for us too and I’m just sorry we couldn’t give them the ultimate to shout about at 5pm.

“We’ve got to come back stronger, that’s a given, but there’s a lot of disappointment to get over first.”

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■ PROUD EFFORT: Town’s team line up with manager Lee Clark to sing the national anthem at Old Trafford yesterday, with our massed banks of supporters filling the stands behind. What a proud scene it was and, while it wasn’t to be our day, we’ve got an awful lot to look forward to at this club ( JH290511Etown-12)

We’re all gutted WE’RE all totally gutted to have come so close to our goal of promotion only to end up with nothing.

It was a must-win game, one on which the whole season depended, and we just came up short at the finishing line.

It was so disappointing to end up losing 3-0 when it had been a close tussle most of the way through.

In fact, I thought we were getting well on top in the first 25 minutes of the second half and if we’d got a goal then it might well have been a different story.

But you have to give Peterborough credit.

Having got their noses in front they

But we’ve got so much to look forward to if we all stick together quickly nicked another goal, which gave us no time to recover, and then they finished things off with a top class strike from a free-kick.

It was a few minutes of madness and it cost us very dearly.

What a sad way for a great season to end, and it’s not surprising that everyone in the club and our brilliant supporters were so disappointed at

the end. You could see on the pitch how distraught the players were and it was a bitter pill to swallow after going into the match with a magnificent record of 27 League games unbeaten.

It is obviously very early to start thinking about the future, but I think we should all recognise that the club is progressing and a lot of good things

are happening at the Galpharm Stadium which we can build on.

Yesterday’s defeat is going to hurt for a few weeks yet and it will take some getting over, but once people have time to reflect they will know there are a lot of positives to come out of this season.

We couldn’t have done much more.

We were just 11 minutes away from

possible promotion and yet our hopes were finished by three goals in seven minutes.

That’s hard to take.

I know how the gaffer, Lee Clark, will be feeling because I know how much he has put into this, and I feel particularly sorry for both him and for Dean Hoyle because they have put their hearts into it.

I also feel very sorry for our fans, because they have backed us so magnificently all season and we desperately wanted to give them the reward of promotion.

We’ve got a lot to look forward to next season, though, it’s important eve r yo n e s t i c k s t og e t h e r a n d hopefully this time next year our emotions will be entirely different.

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Page 8

League I

We’ll be be We’ll back as as back champions champions next year year next Disappointed Dean vows: We’ll continue DEAN HOYLE cut through the heartbreak of Town’s play-off misery and pledged: “We must aim to be champions next time.”

The club owner promised to fund another shot at promotion after watching Lee Clark’s side lose 3-0 to Peterborough at Old Trafford in the League I play-off final and miss out on a potential £10m Championship windfall.

The chairman, who provided blue and white T-shirts for a 31,000 Town following in a crowd of 48,410, comforted players on the pitch after goals from Tommy Rowe, Craig Mackail-Smith and Grant McCann in the space of eight minutes ruined a record 27-match unbeaten run.

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“I’m proud of everyone,” said Hoyle, who has bankrolled the club against big losses.

“There were plenty of tears and we are all gutted, but the players, management and fans gave it their all.

“It’s very disappointing right now and we’ll feel sorry for ourselves for a few weeks, but we’ve got to pull ourselves together and make sure we are champions next year.

“The bottom line is we need to aim for 100 points, forget about the play-offs and go for the automatic.”

He added: “It’s been Peterborough’s day and let them enjoy it, but this will only make us more determined.

“Our fans were unbelievable and they deserved promotion. So did the players.

“It said on everyone’s shirts ‘Believe’ and that’s what we have to do, because we will get there.

“We thought it would happen last year and we though it would happen again this year, but it hasn’t. That’s football and we have to take it as a lesson.

“Football isn’t all about highs. This was a hard lesson to learn but we will emerge stronger for it. We all will.”

Hoyle promised to try and keep the bulk of the squad together for 2011-12, when the likes of Sheffield United,

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Page 9

Play Off Final

to Believe ■ WE’LL BE BACK: Town chairman Dean Hoyle applauds the army of disappointed Huddersfield fans who travelled to Old Trafford – and offered a message of hope for next season

Preston, Scunthorpe are on the fixture list along with promoted trio Chesterfield, Bury and Stevenage.

“I will do my best on the squad, but it’s going to be tough,” he explained.

“I’m sure there are one or two people who fancy a few of our players. We have people under contract and we will try and keep them, but that’s not always how football works, we know that.

“All I can say to the fans is that we are determined to keep moving forward. Some may think it’s a false hope but it’s not.

“I am determined to try next year and make sure we avoid the play-offs and nail it on the head with automatic promotion.”

It’s very disappointing right now but we’ve got to pull ourselves together and make sure we are champions next year

Page 10

Now back to League I playing for our country THIS memorable season is not yet over for two of Town’s Old Trafford warriors.

As the dust settles on the League I play-off final against Peterborough, Kevin Kilbane and Benik Afobe are heading straight off on international duty.

Influential on-loan Hull City midfielder Kilbane – a Division III (now League II) title winner with his first club Preston in 1996 – hopes to extend his record caps tally to 110 for the Republic of Ireland in the big Euro 2012 qualifier in Macedonia on June 4.

Afobe, the teenage striker who has become a bit hit since signing on loan from Arsenal, is linking up with the England Under 19s in Switzerland.

“It’s been an exciting time to be around the club and I’m proud to be a part of things,” said Kilbane.

“Lee Clark made it clear to me when I first signed just how important winning promotion was.”

Town’s involvement in the play-offs meant Kilbane missed both Carling Nations Cup matches against Northern Ireland and Scotland.

Afobe, meanwhile, is hoping for a chance in the European Under 19 elite qualifying tournament.

He is on his way to join up with Noel Blake’s international squad after playing his 35th match for Town at Manchester United’s Theatre of Dreams.

It’s a busy schedule, but the 18-year-old striker, who can already boast four Under 19 caps, has dismissed any suggestion he’ll be playing too much.

“I love playing football and with the England games coming thick and fast, I’ll still have a four-week break before I’m due back at Arsenal,” he said.

Added to the squad after Ipswich frontman Connor Wickham was promoted to the Under 21s, Afobe added: “It’s a huge boost for me.

“I love representing my country, and after thinking the chance of going to Switzerland had passed, I’m excited to be involved after all.

“I won’t be considered for the first match against Montenegro (tomorrow), but I’ll be doing all I can to get a call to play against Switzerland (Thursday) and Spain (Sunday).”

England must top their group to make the eight-team finals in Romania in July.

And Afobe, a member of last year’s Euro Under 17 title winning side, admitted: “Switzerland are the world champions and Spain are talented at all levels, but it’s a great opportunity to test yourself against the best.”

LET’S USE THE HURT Lee: This can spur us to title

ALAN LEE says Town will take “a little bit of hurt” into next season and go on to be promotion winners.

The vastly-experienced Republic of Ireland international, 32, got on as a late substitute at Old Trafford yesterday as Town lost 3-0 to Peterborough in the League I play-off final.

It means another season in the third tier of English football, but Lee was immediately in bullish mood about Town’s chances of reaching the Championship in 2012.

“It wasn’t our day and congratulations to Peterborough because they took the bull by the horns,” said Lee, who was signed from Crystal Palace at the end of the August transfer window.

“We had a bit of a crazy 10 minutes or so, and it was bitterly disappointing for us all – particularly the younger lads in the squad.

“Our season deserved to end better, but we will stick together, crack on and keep a little bit of hurt inside us.

“We need to remember that hurt for next season and go out and win the title in style.

I’m very confident we are capable of doing that.”

Lee, who went on for the final 10 minutes in place of Scott Arfield, added: “I feel we have learned a lot since Christmas.

“If we had anything like our end-ofseason form at the start of the campaign then we would have been fine, so I just hope we can keep everyone together – keep the likes of Killer (Kevin Kilbane) at the club – and we can put the lessons to good use.”

On the match, Lee explained: “The first

By MEL BOOTH Sports Editor mel.booth@examiner.co.uk

goal made all the difference. That was the key.

“I thought we were all over them for the first half hour of the second half but, once they got the first goal, we lost a little bit of composure and you see that all the time in football.

“It gave them a lift, so the first goal was the crucial thing and then they got another very quickly.

“The result hurt. There was a lot of pain in our dressing room and a lot of s h e l l - s h o c k e d p e o p l e. T h a t ’s understandable because a hell of a lot of hard work has gone into our season and it will take time to recover from the fact we’ve ended up not going up.

“There’s nothing we can do about that now, but we have a great club here, with great support and excellent players, and we will take that into next season with the aim of being champions.”

Scottish international Gary Naysmith was another to applaud the fans, but also pointed out why some of Town’s squad were so cut up about the defeat.

“We will come back and be installed among the favourites for promotion again, but the disappointment is too much to really think about that at the moment,” said the 32-year-old left-back.

“The club is not in any financial hardship because we’ve got a great chairman, but I feel for people like Lee Peltier and Alex Smithies, and some of the

younger players we’ve got. They are more than good enough to be playing Championship football and they are potentially players for the Premier League in the next couple of years, so to have another year in League I is very disappointing.

“That’s not being disrespectful to League I, it’s just that players like that should be playing Championship football week in week out and we were so close to doing it.”

Naysmith added: “I don’t think the squad will break up. It will only break up if the lads want it to, because I don’t think we are under any pressure to sell people.

“We are fortunate to have such a good owner (Dean Hoyle) who is a Huddersfield man through and through, and I feel sorry for him with this defeat because of the money he has put into the club.

“I don’t think we really played like we have been doing. In the first half, we were all huff and puff and then, after 60 or 65 minutes, I thought we were going to go on and win it, because we were on top and you could really feel it.

“But then we gave away two or three free-kicks and they took the lead with a great delivery, got a deflection for the second and then we were fighting a losing battle from there.

“There is always a winner and a loser and we are feeling now like Bournemouth felt when we beat them on penalties.

“At times like this all you can do is give credit to Peterborough, because they have come and done what they had to do, wish them luck for next season and then make sure we are ready to come back when the time comes.”

Pictures: JU and ANDY

Page 11

Play Off Final

■ SAVE: Posh keeper Paul Jones beats away Gary Roberts’ free-kick

Millwall defeat wasn’t this bad GARY ROBERTS reflected on the “madness” which ended Town’s promotion hopes and admitted it was a much worse feeling than losing to Millwall in last year’s play-offs.

The 27-year-old Liverpudlian was one of Town’s most dangerous threats against Peterborough but admitted the defeat was the lowest point of his career.

“This is a much worse feeling than Millwall last season,” he explained.

“A 3-0 scoreline looks like a bit of a whooping, but I don’t think it was.

“We had a big part of the game and if we had scored when we were on top it would have been totally different.

“But it’s all ‘ifs and buts’ and at the end of the day it’s another play-off defeat.”

Roberts went as close as anyone for Town with a curling first-half free-kick beaten away by keeper Paul Jones.

“It was very quiet in the dressing room, the manager said his piece and

all the lads were hurting. We knew we were in for a tough game, but we also knew that whoever scored first would go on to win the game and so it proved.

“It would have been hard to take under any circumstances, but when we went into the game unbeaten in 27 matches it was even harder.

“That’s especially so when you see our support.

“They were fantastic. They filled every seat and they really got behind us, encouraging us and it was such a shame that it just wasn’t to be.”

Roberts added: “ I hope we don’t have to go through the play-offs again.

“I thought we’d done enough this season to go up automatically and it would be nice to do that next year.

“We’ve got a lot of good players here and if we keep them together we will have a right go.

“It was just an eight-minute spell of madness which cost us this time but that’s the play-offs. It’s a lottery.”

Let’s do it next year GIANTS chairman Ken Davy – Town’s life president, left – was one of the first to commiserate.

“We are all gutted about the result at Old Trafford,” he said. “After the fantastic run since Christmas, I really think Town deserved promotion and to lose 3-0 was a very cruel end to the season.

“Town are a Championship club in waiting and we at the Giants hope they can end that wait next year.”

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Page 12

League I

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Page 14

League II and Championship play-offs

Westley shows faith in players Stevenage grab glory

S T E V E N AG E b o s s G ra h a m Westley intends to give the members of his play-off final winning squad every chance to prove themselves in npower League 1 next season.

The Hertfordshire club secured a second successive promotion with a 1-0 win over Torquay at Old Trafford and can now look forward to playing in the third tier of English football for the first time in their history.

Westley does not under-estimate the size of the challenge facing Stevenage and will understandably look to add to his squad over the coming months.

However, the 43-year-old is also determined to show faith in the players who have impressed this term and points to last November’s FA Cup first round victory over MK Dons, who reached the League l play-offs, as

■ CLOWNING AROUND: Stevenage goalkeeper Chris Day celebrates their promotion to League 1 after the npower League ll play-off final at Old Trafford evidence of his side’s potential.

Westley. “We know it’s going to be a progressed following a penalty “I think when you win promotion, really tough league but we played shoot-out). it’s important the players who have got against MK Dons earlier this season “We did have to dig in and certainly you into the next league get a chance to and managed to knock them out over at times it was really tough for us, but go and show what they can do,” said two games (Stevenage eventually you wouldn’t have looked at the game

and thought there was a massive gulf in class.”

Westley is well aware he and his staff have work to do before the club return to competitive action in August.

“I haven’t had a chance to do any long-range planning,” he added.

“Until you know which league you are in you can’t start that planning in earnest.

“We’re not going to have Sheffield Wednesday’s resources or Sheffield United’s resources, but the television monies will increase and I’ll sit down with the chairman and understand what implications there are going forward.

“We know it’s going to be tough but for now my focus is on enjoying the moment rather than looking too far ahead.”

Westley’s opposite number Paul Buckle is expected to announce whether he will remain at Torquay in the next 48 hours after meeting with the club’s board following their defeat.

Buckle has been strongly linked with the vacancy at Bristol Rovers, but insists he has yet to come to a conclusion over his future.

“I need to take a couple of days to think about it. I’ve worked too hard to get where I am today and then make a rash decision.

“We’ve had these three massive games (in the play-offs) but we’ll take stock now. Everyone will think about their future and we will make some decisions on Monday.”

Torquay saw a host of opportunities go begging in an improved second half display, but Buckle refused to condemn his players.

“But for a bit better finishing and the situations we got in around the box where we probably picked the wrong pass, it could have been us who got promoted,” he added.

“However, I can’t criticise the players because they have been excellent for me this year.

“It’s a fine line and as a manager you take the rough with the smooth.”

It’s a case of deja-vu for Dobbie

SWANSEA midfielder Stephen Dobbie is no stranger to the pressures of a Championship play-off final.

Out of favour under then Swans boss Paulo Sousa following injury, the Scot was last February allowed out on loan to Blackpool whom he duly helped clinch Wembley success in a thrilling showpiece against Cardiff.

Just like last year, Dobbie last week scored a semi-final second-leg goal to help shoot down Nottingham Forest – the difference when he walks out under the famous arch of the national stadium 12 months on being that he will now be wearing the white of his parent club and not the tangerine of the Seasiders.

But Dobbie can draw comparisons between the Blackpool side of last May and the current Swans set-up.

“The gaffer (Brendan Rodgers) is fantastic and I’m sure you’ve all seen the videos of Ian Holloway, he’s just a character the same as the gaffer,” Dobbie said.

“He’s turned the team around from defending into attacking.

“There are similarities with the team spirit as well, it shows when we go away on activity days and everyone is together.

“There’s good banter and I think that is what sets you in good stead for the big games.”

On a personal level, Dobbie added: “For me growing up and watching finals at Wembley, obviously this is a new one, I would never have thought I would be there once let alone twice in two years.

“So it‘s a dream for me and the boys are buzzing for it.”

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Regarding this year’s encounter, Dobbie believes neither Swansea or Reading can be separated going into the clash.

“I wouldn’t say we’re favourites. They’ve been on a fantastic run, especially to go and play Cardiff and beat them 3-0 (in the semi-final) on their own patch,” he added.

Not only does the fixture gives Swansea a tilt at the Premier League but it also allows boss Rodgers a chance to get some revenge over Reading, the club that he left by mutual consent in December 2009.

Rodgers worked with the club’s academy from 1995 and after leaving nine years later to join up with Chelsea, returned to the club as manager in June 2009.

Current Reading boss Brian McDermott worked with Rodgers during his two spells at

the Berkshire club and believes his counterpart has proven a “hell of a lot” during his time in south Wales.

“We get on brilliant,” he said of the pair’s relationship. “We are good friends. I worked with Brendan.

“I did the under-17s and he helped me with that, and then under-19s he helped me with that.

“Then he was academy manager here for a while, went to Chelsea as youth team manager and ended at Watford as manager.

“There’s no real secrets, I’ll know how Swansea play he’ll know how Reading play.

Then you leave it to the players on the day.

“Now they’re in the play-off final and that has proved he has done a fantastic job.”

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Page 15

Champions League final

BARCA THE BEST

Revolving doors at Old Trafford

BARCELONA superstar Lionel Messi has warned the world that Pep Guardiola’s team are hungrier than ever after confirming their place among history’s greatest sides at Wembley.

The revered Catalans earned Guardiola his second Champions League trophy in three seasons and the club’s fourth in total with an awesome 3-1 win over Manchester United.

It was Guardiola’s 10th trophy in his first three years as a top-flight coach and effectively sealed Barca’s place as one of the game’s finest.

Messi, who characteristically scored Barca’s winner with an excellent opportunist strike in the second half, has now won the European Cup three times. But the Argentinian, still just 23, wants so much more.

“This team is incredible,” he said. “I think we can’t really fully appreciate what we’re doing, what we are achieving.

“We want to keep winning trophies – and we can keep going further and further.”

Even the modest Messi had to acknowledge the gulf in class.

“We were superior against Manchester and deserved the win,” he said.

Victory saw Guardiola lift the European Cup as a coach 19 years after winning Barca’s first as a player at Wembley.

It came, too, against the side Barca edged in Rome two years ago when the Catalans’ class prevailed in a 2-0 win over Sir Alex Ferguson’s United.

This time, victory was even more comprehensive.

Pedro, the most under-rated of Barca’s illustrious line-up, gave his side a deserved lead when he coolly buried his chance from Xavi’s incisive pass.

United, who had started brightly, recovered well and went in at the break level following Wayne Rooney’s well-worked equaliser.

But Barca’s spirit and class told after the break as United struggled to keep answering questions posed by their opponents’ dominance of the ball.

Guardiola’s side, so often accused of trying to walk the ball in, won it with two uncharacteristic strikes.

First, Messi received a square pass from Andres Iniesta, carried it forward casually and, looking up, bent the ball past Edwin van der Sar with deceptive power.

Barca were not done, however, and wrapped it up with a deserved third when David Villa curled home a beautiful shot to really kick-start the victory celebrations.

Guardiola was then forced to spend time deflecting questions about his future, having been linked with the Chelsea job recently.

While he is known to be keen to avoid going stale at the Nou Camp, the local boy seems content to continue building a phenomenal legacy.

“We’re pleased with the win because of how we did it, against Manchester United, one of the greats,” he said.

“We have four European Cups now, joining Ajax and Bayern Munich.”

The win took Barca ahead of United, who boast three, and one behind Liverpool, with five - though they remain five off record-holders Real Madrid.

Guardiola also highlighted the progress made since 2009, when he led Barca to an unprecedented treble in his first season in charge.

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■ THE BEST: Barcelona's Lionel Messi lifts the UEFA Champions League trophy after the final at Wembley Stadium

■ THE BEST: Barcelona's David Villa celebrates after scoring his side’s third goal against Manchester United

• • • • •

DIMITAR Berbatov looks certain to discover within the next couple of weeks whether he has any future at Manchester United.

Although the Bulgarian and his representatives have repeatedly stressed there is no desire to leave the club, his prospects of remaining at Old Trafford have never looked bleaker.

Not only was the 30-year-old left out of Ferguson’s Champions League squad at Wembley, the man who took his place, Michael Owen, remained on the bench throughout the 90 minutes even when United were desperately in need of a goal to exert some pressure on Barcelona.

So, if Berbatov finds himself not only behind Wayne Rooney and Javier Hernandez in the striking pecking order, but also a player Ferguson opted not to call on in a crisis, and whose own Red Devils future is under a major cloud, it is hard to see how the former Tottenham man can have any meaningful role.

Michael Owen is unlikely to get a new contract as Ashley Young and Wesley Sneijder have both been tipped strongly for an Old Trafford move.

Paul Scholes is yet to state his intentions and Ryan Giggs looked every inch a 37-year-old as Xavi and Andres Iniesta buzzed around him like determined little bees.

Sir Alex Ferguson admitted Barcelona were the best side he had ever faced in 25 years as United manager.

U n i t e d we re o u t - p a s s e d a n d out-played in a 3-1 Champions League Final defeat by the La Liga champions, who many believe are the best club side in the world.

While Wayne Rooney equalised Pedro’s opener in the first half, second half strikes by Lionel Messi and David Villa gave Barcelona victory.

Ferguson said: “In my time as a manager it is the best team we have faced. No one has given us a hiding like that. It’s a great moment for them.”

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Page 16