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It was just a matter of when as far as QPR were concerned and that 'when' came at Watford on Saturday when they won 2-0. No surprise to see who scored the goals either. Adel Taarabt got the first and the second came from former Watford favourite Tommy Smith.
Norwich's promotion was clinched yesterday after Cardiff went bottling it again in an amazing opening 20 minutes of their last home game of the season against Middlesbrough. They were 3-0 down and the game was over meaning almost certainly they would have to go through the play offs again.
That was all confirmed when Norwich took all three points from Portsmouth at Fratton Park with a Simeon Jackson goal giving them a 1-0 win.
That should mean QPR and Norwich promoted - but QPR will have to wait now for the verdict from the independent commission regarding the charges brought against them relating to the signing of Alejandro Faurlin.
Cardiff, Swansea and Reading will contest the play offs with either Nottingham Forest or Leeds, and it is virtually certain that it will be Forest despite our defeat at Elland Road on Saturday.
Down at the bottom, the final nails were hammered into the Scunthorpe and Sheffield United coffins. Scunny's relegation means a quick return to Bury for Alan Knill with the two sides set to meet in the league last season.
As for Sheffield United; what a fall from grace. Just two years after playing us in the play off final they find themselves preparing for a Steel City derby in League One. Think Leeds, it's called the Blackwell effect.
So the last day is on us with virtually nothing to play for - just a failed attempt from Leeds to make the top six.
The weekend results and stats are below along with the leading scorers, each club's disciplinary record and the last fixtures of the season.
The Weekend Results | |
Saturday 30th April | |
Coventry 0 Reading 0 | Leeds 1 Burnley 0 |
Derby 0 Bristol City 2 | Millwall 0 Swansea 2 |
Doncaster 1 Leicester 1 | Nottingham Forest 5 Scunthorpe 1 |
Hull 1 Crystal Palace 1 | Sheffield United 2 Barnsley 2 |
Ipswich 2 Preston 1 | Watford 0 QPR 2 |
Monday 2nd May | |
Cardiff 0 Middlesbrough 3 | Portsmouth 0 Norwich 1 |
The Weekend Stats | |
Biggest win | Nottingham Forest 5-1 v Scunthorpe (home) |
Total goals scored | 28 (12 home - 16 away) |
Player scoring most goals | Kris Boyd (Nottingham Forest) |
Highest Attendance | 31,186 - Leeds v Burnley |
Lowest Attendance | 11,757 - Doncaster v Leicester |
Total Yellow Cards | 41 |
Total Red Cards | 1 |
Most cards in a game | Cardiff v Middlesbrough (9Y) - Graham Scott |
The leading scorers (league only) | |
23 | Danny Graham (Watford) - includes 1 penalty |
21 | Shane Long (Reading) - includes 5 penalties |
20 | Grant Holt (Norwich) - includes 3 penalties |
19 | Luciano Becchio (Leeds) Adel Taarabt (QPR) - includes 6 penalties |
18 | Jay Bothroyd (Cardiff) - includes 1 penalty |
17 | Max Gradel (Leeds) - includes 2 penalties Scott Sinclair (Swansea) - includes 5 penalties |
15 | Bill Sharp (Doncaster) - includes 4 penalties Steve Morison (Millwall) - includes 1 penalty |
14 | Andy King (Leicester) |
13 | Kris Commons (Derby) - includes 2 penalties Simeon Jackson (Norwich) Jay Rodriguez (Burnley) |
12 | Kris Boyd (Nottingham Forest) - includes 2 penalties and 6 for Middlesbrough Heidar Helguson (QPR) - includes 5 penalties Marlon King (Coventry) - includes 3 penalties Scott McDonald (Middlesbrough) Lewis McGugan (Nottingham Forest) - includes 3 penalties David Nugent (Portsmouth) Brett Pitman (Bristol City) - includes 4 penalties Marvin Sordell (Watford) |
Hat Tricks (league only) | |
11th Sep | 3 - Chris Iwelumo - BURNLEY v Preston |
14th Sep | 3 - James Coppinger - DONCASTER v Norwich |
14th Sep | 3 - James Vaughan - CRYSTAL PALACE v Portsmouth |
28th Sep | 3 - Jon Parkin - Leeds v PRESTON |
30th Oct | 3 - Jonny Howson - Scunthorpe v LEEDS |
13th Nov | 3 - Luciano Becchio - LEEDS v Bristol City |
27th Nov | 3 - Grant Holt - NORWICH v Leeds |
28th Dec | 3 - Wes Hoolahan - NORWICH v Sheffield United |
1st Jan | 3 - Jason Puncheon - MILLWALL v Crystal Palace |
5th Feb | 3 - Matt Fryatt - Scunthorpe v HULL |
15th Feb | 3 - Connor Wickham - Doncaster v IPSWICH |
2nd Apr | 3 - Grant Holt - NORWICH v Scunthorpe |
2nd Apr | 3 - Simeon Jackson - NORWICH v Scunthorpe |
2nd Apr | 3 - Yakubu - Middlesbrough v LEICESTER |
23rd Apr | 3 - Scott McDonald - Hull v MIDDLESBROUGH |
25th Apr | 3 - Simeon Jackson - NORWICH v Derby |
Disciplinary Record (all domestic games) | |||||
| Club | Y | R | Club | Y | R |
| Barnsley | 71 | 3 | Middlesbrough | 67 | 1 |
| Bristol City | 60 | 3 | Millwall | 62 | 6 |
| Burnley | 86 | 5 | Norwich | 70 | 3 |
| Cardiff | 61 | 1 | Nottingham Forest | 71 | 4 |
| Coventry | 67 | 5 | Portsmouth | 89 | 9 |
| Crystal Palace | 83 | 9 | Preston | 89 | 5 |
| Derby | 78 | 3 | QPR | 64 | 6 |
| Doncaster | 50 | 3 | Reading | 68 | 4 |
| Hull | 76 | 2 | Scunthorpe | 57 | 4 |
| Ipswich | 69 | 5 | Sheffield United | 74 | 11 |
| Leeds | 90 | 4 | Swansea | 65 | 2 |
| Leicester | 56 | 3 | Watford | 53 | 2 |
The Next Fixtures | |
Saturday 7th May | |
Barnsley v Millwall | Norwich v Coventry |
Bristol City v Hull | Preston v Watford |
Burnley v Cardiff | QPR v Leeds |
Crystal Palace v Nottingham Forest | Reading v Derby |
Leicester v Ipswich | Scunthorpe v Portsmouth |
Middlesbrough v Doncaster | Swansea v Sheffield United |