Doncaster snatch the title, who follows them via the play-offs?

28Apr 2013

Betfair

A thrilling final day in League One saw Doncaster clinch the title after a 96th minute James Coppinger goal, and as Alan Dudman recovers from that hammer blow, he turns his attentions to the play-off contenders.

Sometimes you are the pigeon, sometimes you are the statue, Saturday just about summed up one of the cruellest and bizarre League One campaigns following Doncaster's dramatic last-gasp victory to seal the title at the hands of not only Brentford, but most painfully Bournemouth.

The scenario was simple. Donny played Brentford at Griffin Park needing a point to confirm their promotion to the second tier. The Bees needed to win outright to go up, whilst Bournemouth (who were top of the table on Saturday going into the final round of matches) needed to get their result at Tranmere to be crowned champions - the 90 minutes that followed was simply staggering, painful and dramatic.

The pain firstly. The Cherries were 1.17 heading into the weekend, and were my ante-post selection for the title. Eddie Howe's south coast club could only manage a 0-0 draw at Prenton Park. And then came the pigeon.

At Griffin Park, Doncaster parked the bus and held off Brentford for the whole game until a 94th minute penalty for the Bees. The spot-kick was duly missed by Marcello Trotta, and Rovers picked the ball up and scored on the counter attack on 96 minutes to seal the title. Brian Flynn's side were matched at 55.0 ante-post, whilst Bournemouth's mega low in-running price for the title came down from 150.0 just after Paul Groves was sacked earlier in the season.

My christmas card list will be minus James Coppinger and Marcello Trotta.

From the carnage on the winner market, the relegation was virtually wrapped up before Saturday's games. A mathemetical miracle was needed to save Scunthorpe, who were 1.10 to go down before their match against Swindon. Although the Iron won the game, it mattered little as Colchester were victors at Carlisle to preserve their League One safety.

Meanwhile Yeovil striker Paddy Madden was crowned the division's top goalscrorer having been matched at 65.0 for £40, and the player his manager Gary Johnson described as the 'buy of the season' had a great time finding the net on 23 occasions. Clayton Donaldson 2.72, Leon Clarke 3.00 and Will Grigg 4.60 were all traded at low prices before Madden's surge.

The promotion chase:

Sheffield United will face Yeovil next month for the first leg of the play-off semi-finals, whilst Brentford will need to pick themselves up to face Swindon over two matches. The market at an early stage can barely split them, with the Bees trading at 3.50 favourites for promotion, and Yeovil the outsiders at 4.90 .

The key question is how Uwe Rosler's side recover from their last-gasp heartache. Having blown the chance of automatic, they need to regalvanise. Brentford are a good footballing team who keep possession well. However, historically they have failed in all six of their third-tier play-off attempts, and choked against Reading 12 years ago. Layers will be tempted to take them on at the price, although crucially their return leg is at home - and Rosler's team have the best home record in the league.

Swindon are trading at 3.75 for promotion but don't look the same team as they were under Paolo Di Canio. New manager Kevin MacDonald wouldn't have the same pizazz as the fiery Italian and his approach has definitely been more pragmatic and defensive since taken the job. The Robins badly miss Matt Ritchie - who was the real attacking catalyst to their play. Their games will be tight over the two legs with Brentford, but they sorely miss a prolific striker.

I have always liked Yeovil this season, and a club best finish in fourth was a superb effort. Their price is tempting at 4.90 for promotion, as they have the all-important goalscorer in Paddy Madden. Town are organised and press well in the midfield, and they also score goals from elsewhere. I wouldn't be too concerned by their end of season defeat against Bury, as the Glovers had plenty of injuries.

Gary Johnson usually goes with a 4-4-2, and Yeovil have an outstanding centre-back in Dan Burn - who hopefully will be fit for the play-offs. When on song their tempo is superb, and Johnson has performed wonders at Huish Park.

Sheffield United never traded above 5.0 all season for promotion, and are 3.85 for success in the play-offs. The sacking of manager Danny Wilson recently was a surprise considering the close proximity of the post-season. But by all accounts their football hadn't been good all year - especially at home.

Caretaker boss Chris Morgan's lack of experience is a big problem, as is their need to find a goalscorer. The Blades have failed to find the net in their last three games, which has been their Achilles heel for the whole season. They are a big strong side with a powerful squad, and are hard to play against, and could be the type to go to try and grind out games.