Accrington boss John Coleman admitted he is ‘getting sick of football’ after the 2-1 defeat at MK Dons.
Jack Payne, on loan from Charlton, whipped a delightful free-kick into the top corner to cancel out Jack Nolan’s opener for Stanley with 19 minutes remaining.
Left wing-back Joe Tomlinson was the Dons hero in stoppage time, firing home a deflected effort in the third minute of added time to send the home faithful wild.
But Coleman did not mince his words when discussing the performance of the match officials.
He said: “Where do you think MK will play that ref next week? Behind the front two? I’ve never seen a worse ref in my life, or a more one-sided ref, ever.
“To be honest, I’m getting sick of football, I really am, because it’s just not fair. I’ve just watched a game there that wasn’t played out according to the rules.
“You look at that incident where our lad [Jack Nolan] gets chopped down running away. He gets booked, I get booked, and their lad doesn’t.
“We had a free-kick on 92 minutes, header, comes off their lad for a corner. He doesn’t give a corner, he gives a goal kick. They get a corner and they score from it. That was the difference in the game.”
Coleman was clear in his assessment of the opposition, who sit sixth in the play-off positions.
He added: “You’d like to think MK Dons would learn a bit [from that match]. If they don’t realise how fortunate they were, they won’t improve.”
MK Dons manager Mike Williamson hailed ‘street footballer’ Payne after his superb equaliser set the hosts on their way to a dramatic win.
He said: “[Jack] Payne is a joy to work with. He’s what I call a street footballer. Wherever he is he’ll be doing the same thing and he loves it; it’s in his blood.
“He inspires and drives in his own way. We’re fortunate enough to have players to create moments like that which do change games.”
While Williamson admitted his side took a while to get up to speed, he was encouraged by their tireless work-rate.
He added: “I felt the game started in a strange manner. It was really slow and lethargic and it took us half an hour to get going.
“When the quality is not there, you’ve got to make sure the fight is and that you’re picking up second balls and you’re switched on. We didn’t do that so well in the first half but we did in the second.
“You can never question the character and the fight and the endeavour of the boys.”
Portland Timbers v Houston Dynamo: Hosts not resting on laurels after winning run
Phil Neville believes Portland Timbers' hard work is starting to show ahead of their game against Houston Dynamo on Saturday.
The Timbers have won three of their last four games, including both at home in that run, and sit ninth in the Western Conference.
Against Austin FC on Wednesday, they kept their first clean sheet of the season with a 2-0 victory.
Neville is hopeful Portland can continue to build on their recent momentum as they look to close the gap to the teams above them.
"There's a good cohesion to the team and a good structure. The players are now doing their jobs and doing it to the ability that you expect," Neville said.
"The last two or three games we've seen a continuation of the work we've been doing. We knew we had a lot of work to do to change things here and that it would take time, and I'm super proud of them all.
"If we really believe in what we're doing and have confidence to be the team that we can be, then we have to go again on Saturday. There's no looking back and resting on your laurels. You've got to be ruthless and got to be relentless."
Houston sit eighth in the league, two points better off than Saturday's opponents, and won 3-1 against Colorado Rapids in midweek.
"This is a team that is always thinking to go forward," assistant coach Juan Guerra said.
"We're very focused on playing attractive possession style soccer to go forward and be able to create opportunities. On [Wednesday], it went in, and I hope it keeps going in, starting with Saturday."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Portland Timbers – Evander
Evander scored his seventh goal of the season on Wednesday to go along with five assists in his 12 appearances this season. The only other Timbers player to record 12 goal contributions in his first 12 games of a season was Diego Valeri in his 2017 MVP season.
Houston Dynamo – Latif Blessing
Blessing has found the net in consecutive games for the first time in almost five years, since doing so for Los Angeles FC in August 2019.
Blessing's two goals in the last week came after he had scored just two goals in his previous 89 MLS appearances dating back to the start of the 2021 season.
MATCH PREDICTION: PORTLAND TIMBERS WIN
With their win at Austin on Wednesday, the Timbers have won three of their last four matches (L1) after winning just two of their first 12 matches this season (D4 L6). Portland's 2-0 win over Austin on Wednesday also ended a run of 20 straight matches allowing a goal.
However, the Dynamo have won three straight matches against Portland after going winless in the previous eight meetings (D3 L5). Neither team have managed four straight wins over the other in all competitions.
Houston won for just the second time in nine matches in all competitions with a 3-1 victory over Colorado on Wednesday. It was the Dynamo's first three-goal performance since their last visit to Portland, a 3-1 win on Decision Day last season.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Portland Timbers – 42.1%
Draw – 26.7%
Houston Dynamo – 31.2%
Bayern Munich confirm shock appointment of Kompany
Bayern Munich have confirmed the appointment of Vincent Kompany as their new head coach.
Kompany has joined Bayern on a three-year deal, and comes in as Thomas Tuchel's replacement.
The former Manchester City captain, who began his coaching career in Belgium with Anderlecht, could not keep Burnley in the Premier League in 2023-24.
Indeed, the Clarets were relegated following a 2-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest at Turf Moor in their penultimate match of the season.
Yet, less than two weeks after the campaign's conclusion, Kompany has been installed as boss of one of Europe's biggest clubs.
The 38-year-old joins Bayern after Tuchel confirmed talks over potentially reversing the decision for him and the club to part ways, which came in February, had ended.
Bayern lost their last game of the Bundesliga season to finish in third place, having failed to win any of the four trophies they were in contention for, seeing their dominance of Germany's top tier ended by Xabi Alonso's unbeaten Bayer Leverkusen team.
Alonso had been Bayern's primary target, but their former midfielder has elected to stay at Leverkusen for next season.
Bayern were also linked with Roberto De Zerbi, who has just left Brighton, and Brentford coach Thomas Frank, while they were turned down by Austria coach Ralf Rangnick. Mauricio Pochettino, who left Chelsea on Monday, was also rumoured as a potential option.
Kompany, then, is a surprise pick, but Bayern will be hoping he rediscovers the magic touch he had during his first season at Turf Moor in 2022-23, when he guided the Clarets to promotion from the Championship, earning 101 points in the process.
However, Kompany's possession-based, front-foot approach was badly exposed in the Premier League, with Burnley winning just five games on their way to taking 24 points as they finished 19th, going back down alongside Luton Town and Sheffield United.
He leaves Burnley having managed 96 games, winning 41 (42.7 per cent) of those matches.
In a statement, Burnley said they were "initially confident" of keeping Kompany at the club, but claimed "the changing dynamics of the situation made this impossible".
"We understand the allure and prestige of a club like Bayern Munich and respect Vincent's ambition to explore new opportunities," the statement continued.
"We wish only the best for Vincent and would like to put on record our appreciation for his dedication every single day he was a part of this football club.
"Our priority remains the stability and success of Burnley, and we will continue to take the necessary steps to ensure that our ambition is realised, namely our return to the Premier League."
Mitrovic clinches last-gasp success for Saudi Pro League champions Al-Hilal
Aleksandar Mitrovic produced a last-gasp winner for Al-Hilal as the Saudi Pro League champions signed off with a dramatic 2-1 victory over Al-Wedha on Monday.
Jorge Jesus' side finished the league campaign unbeaten across the 34-game season, though needed late heroics from top scorer Mitrovic to snatch all three points.
Mohamed Kanno opened the scoring for the visiting champions in the first half but Yahya Naji's second-half leveller pegged Al-Hilal back at King Abdulaziz Sports City Stadium.
Yet Mitrovic provided the decisive moment in the 92nd minute, converting a Mohammed Al Burayk assist for his 28th league goal of the season.
The Serbia international ranks only behind Cristiano Ronaldo in this campaign's scoring charts, after the Al-Nassr forward claimed a piece of Saudi League history in a 4-2 victory over Al-Ittihad.
Ronaldo moved past Abderrazak Hamdallah's 34-goal tally – in the 2018-19 season – after his deadly double took him to 35 strikes and broke the single-season scoring record in the competition.
Victory for Al-Nassr means they finish second behind the impressive Al-Hilal, while Al-Ahli had already secured third in the standings before their 1-0 victory over Al-Fayha.
Roberto Firmino scored the only goal of the game in that narrow triumph, finding the net after 85 minutes at Prince Abdullah al-Faisal Stadium.
At the other end of the table, Abha Club – who had Marcel Tisserand sent off late on – suffered heartbreak on the final day after losing 2-1 to bottom-placed Al-Hazem to seal their relegation.
Ahmed Abdu opened the scoring to boost Abha's survival hopes but second-half goals from Muhammed Badamosi and Mohammed Al Thani proved their undoing.
Al-Akhoud beat the drop after overcoming Al-Tai, who went down with Abha and Al-Hazem, 2-0 thanks to goals from Saviour Godwin and Leandre Tawamba at Prince Abdul Aziz bin Musa'ed Stadium.
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