Darrell Clarke admitted his Cheltenham side are “falling at the last hurdle” in their survival bid after they went down 1-0 at home to already-relegated Carlisle.
Sam Lavelle’s first-half goal was enough to seal the points for the Cumbrians, whose fate was sealed by a 2-0 defeat at Northampton last Saturday.
Cheltenham knew a win would lift them out of the bottom four for the first time since mid-August, but they came up short and Clarke admitted he is scratching his head over the performance.
“I am very disappointed with our performance and with the whole night,” Clarke said.
“Yet again, after a poor first half, I am searching for answers and I am not coming up with the right solutions at the minute.
“The group is lacking a bit of confidence, but it’s no excuse and I’ll take responsibility as manager.
“We are falling at the last hurdle as things stand, and that’s not acceptable after working so hard to give ourselves a platform to stay in this division.
“I have to get better, the group has to get better as well and we have to give our supporters a lift come 3pm on Saturday (at home to Bristol Rovers).”
Carlisle were the better side during a cagey first half.
Joe Nuttall missed a good opportunity to give Cheltenham the lead in the sixth minute, side-footing wide after Liam Sercombe’s pass.
Georgie Kelly saw a shot saved by Luke Southwood at the other end and Luke Armstrong fired wide of the near post.
Jack Armer blasted over the bar for the Cumbrians, but the deadlock was broken three minutes before half-time.
Jack Robinson’s corner was headed back across goal by Ben Barclay and Lavelle touched it in from close range.
Cheltenham sent on four substitutes at half-time and changed formation, resulting in some early pressure on the visitors’ goal.
But goalkeeper Harry Lewis was rarely troubled and Southwood had to fly at full stretch to keep out a looping effort from Jon Mellish in the 77th minute.
Carlisle boss Paul Simpson was pleased with his side’s attitude.
“It was one of those games where we had to roll our sleeves up, put our tin hats on and defend for our lives and that’s what we did,” he said.
“I was really pleased with so many things in what has been a tough time for us.
“It was a good goal and then we had to hang on because Cheltenham are fighting for their lives.
“It’s a good result and makes the journey home more enjoyable. I’m still adamant I want the players to do something now at home for our fans as they’ve been starved of a good 90 minutes. We now have two home games to do that.
“It’s been really painful what we’ve been through this year, but the truth is we just haven’t been good enough.
“I think the players who are still here next year will be better for the experience.”
Liverpool 2-0 Wolves: Klopp departs Reds on a high after Anfield domination
Jurgen Klopp brought his remarkable Liverpool reign to an end with a 2-0 victory over 10-man Wolves at Anfield, capping a memorable Premier League tenure with the Reds.
Klopp announced back in January his intention to leave Liverpool – who finish third in the league this term – and Sunday's triumph marked a fitting farewell for his nine-year stay on Merseyside.
Nelson Semedo's first-half dismissal opened the door for Liverpool to capitalise as Alexis Mac Allister, who was scythed down by the right-back for the red card, struck first after 35 minutes.
Jarell Quansah doubled the hosts' lead soon after in the opening 45 minutes as Liverpool eased to a final-day victory, with this defeat ensuring Gary O'Neil's Wolves end the season 14th in the table.
The Anfield crowd entered the stadium unusually early to create a roaring atmosphere for Klopp's farewell, but Liverpool were slow to get going after the emotional pre-match build-up.
A nervy opening almost proved the home side's undoing as Hwang Hee-Chan arrowed narrowly wide, with Virgil van Dijk denied at the other end just moments earlier.
Yet Wolves' encouraging showing was turned on its head when Semedo was shown a straight red card – following a VAR check recommending a review – for an over-the-ball lunge on Mac Allister's ankle.
Making use of that one-man advantage, Harvey Elliott floated into right-wing space before curling for Mac Allister to flick a neat header into the top-left corner.
Wolves suffered another blow just six minutes later as Mohamed Salah volleyed from Cody Gakpo's flick-on before Quansah prodded home with a simple finish from point-blank range.
The one-way traffic continued in the second half as Luis Diaz missed a glorious opportunity to make it 3-0, smashing against the crossbar with the goal gaping after Gakpo had rounded Sa.
Mac Allister deflected narrowly over soon after Sa had thwarted Gakpo in a one-on-one situation, while Van Dijk blocked an open goal for Matheus Cunha in a rare Wolves chance on Alisson's target.
Matt Doherty thought he had sliced the deficit with five minutes remaining, but the Wolves substitute was caught fractionally offside as Klopp signed off with a comfortable victory.
Klopp's Kop farewell
Liverpool's Kop End at Anfield stood in unison for one final time, waving goodbye to their great manager Klopp, who guided the Reds to eight trophies across his impressive spell.
His trophy-laden spell ends with Champions League glory and a Premier League crown as the most memorable moments of what was a storied tenure on Merseyside.
Klopp leaves Liverpool with 209 wins from 334 Premier League games, with his Reds scoring 714 goals and conceding just 331 across his successful period at Anfield.
Super Salah
Klopp's impressive tenure was aided by the likes of Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Salah as part of a fearsome front three – though the Egyptian is the only one who remains with the club.
Salah made his 250th top-flight appearance for Liverpool here against Wolves, while he has scored 155 Premier League goals for Liverpool under Klopp, with only Thierry Henry (175 under Arsene Wenger) netting more under a single manager in the competition.
The Reds forward also has the second-highest combined goals and assists tally by any player in their first 250 appearances for a single club in the competition (223 – 155 goals, 68 assists) – behind only Henry for Arsenal (243 – 171 goals, 72 assists).
Arsenal 2-1 Everton: Gunners fall short despite last-gasp win
Kai Havertz scored a late winner but Arsenal fell short in the Premier League title race despite beating Everton 2-1 at Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners needed to win to stand any chance of beating Manchester City to the title, and for a long time it looked as though Mikel Arteta’s side would not hold up their end of the bargain on Sunday.
Takehiro Tomiyasu swiftly cancelled out Idrissa Gueye’s opener in the first half, though a combination of the woodwork and some fine goalkeeping from Jordan Pickford kept Arsenal at bay until the 89th minute, when Havertz tucked in following Ashley Young’s error.
But with City beating West Ham in Manchester, the Gunners ultimately finished two points behind Pep Guardiola’s team, who sealed an unprecedented fourth straight Premier League title.
Arsenal were well on top early on – Tomiyasu failing to direct a header on target after he was picked out by Declan Rice, who was subsequently denied by his England team-mate Pickford.
As news filtered through of an early goal for Man City against West Ham, Pickford was at his best to deny Gabriel Martinelli, who was in for the injured Bukayo Saka.
Having weathered the storm, Everton almost took the lead on the half-hour mark – Dominic Calvert-Lewin seeing a crisp strike clatter the left-hand post.
Yet Everton had their goal in the 40th minute, as Gueye’s free-kick deflected off Rice and looped in beyond David Raya.
Their advantage was short-lived, though, with Tomiyasu atoning for his earlier miss as he lashed home from inside the area, with that goal coinciding with news of West Ham getting one back against Man City, and a huge roar of encouragement from the Gunners faithful.
Calvert-Lewin stung Raya’s palms as Everton threatened on the counter, though the post came to the visitors’ rescue when Havertz saw a header clip agonisingly off the woodwork.
As City went 3-1 ahead, Arsenal kept pushing – Pickford making a stunning stop with his legs to deny Odegaard, with Amadou Onana blocking Emile Smith Rowe’s follow-up.
Smith Rowe rattled the crossbar in the 83rd minute, but Everton’s resolve was finally broken when Young’s pass was intercepted by Gabriel Jesus. Odegaard failed to connect properly with his attempt, but Havertz was on hand to finish.
The goal was confirmed after a VAR check for handball by Jesus, though despite the electric atmosphere at the Emirates, Arsenal’s title hopes were still dashed.
Plenty of cheer, but no joy for Arsenal
It was fitting that Arsenal ended what has been a superb campaign on a high note, and they certainly had plenty of chances – having 26 shots in total – before Havertz finally got the job done.
But competing against City is a gargantuan task, and Arsenal could just not get over the line in the end.
Arteta will reflect on a fantastic season, and now the challenge is to somehow go one better next year.
Pickford in his pomp
With Euro 2024 just around the corner, England manager Gareth Southgate will be thrilled to see Pickford in such solid form.
Only Golden Glove winner Raya, with 16, has kept more Premier League clean sheets than Pickford (13) this season, and the 30-year-old was excellent on Sunday.
While he was beaten by Tomiyasu’s low shot, Pickford had already made smart stops to thwart both Rice and Martinelli, though his standout save was the one to frustrate Odegaard in the second half, and he was unlucky to be on the losing team.
With Everton facing financial difficulties, Sean Dyche will be determined to keep hold of Pickford over the transfer window.
Man City's Premier League winning heroics will never get boring for Foden
Phil Foden has no expectations over getting bored of Manchester City's title-winning machine powering on, after Pep Guardiola's side secured a record-breaking fourth top-flight crown on Sunday.
England midfielder Foden was twice on target as City's 3-1 victory over West Ham at Etihad Stadium saw Guardiola's team pip Arsenal to league glory.
That triumph created a piece of history as City became the first team in English top-flight history to win the title in four consecutive seasons, having won the league in 2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24.
The City academy product has no interest in relenting as Foden eyes further glory with his boyhood club.
"I never get bored of it, you want this feeling every time," Foden told Sky Sports, shortly after the title party started on the blue side of Manchester.
"When you win something there is no better feeling. I want to keep winning as much as I can."
Pressed on City's achievements, two-goal hero Foden added: "It is so hard to put into words what we've done today.
"No team has ever done it [won four in a row], we have put ourselves into the history books.
"You see what it means to the fans and to us players working all year for this moment. A special moment to share it with the fans."
City have now gone 35 matches unbeaten in all competitions (W29 D6), the longest run ever by a Premier League team.
Going further into English top-flight history, the only team with a longer unbeaten run is Nottingham Forest between March and November 1978 (40 in a row).
"I think to win the Premier League four times, no team has ever done it before, so to do it means we are up there [with the best teams of all time]," Foden added.
"All the lads have played in important games over the years and have got through this situation a few times as well so it certainly helps with the nerves.
"I thought today we just looked confident and played our football. In the end, it paid off, I am just absolutely shattered to be honest."
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