Monday 27 April 2015 15:25, UK
Each week, Sky Sports experts discuss the weekend's results in the Football League. This week, Don Goodman joined George Gavin on FL72 to discuss the potential ups and downs with just one week of the season to go.
Middlesbrough goalkeeper Dimitrios Konstantopoulos went up for a corner in the last minute against Fulham. Boro were drawing 3-3, but Fulham broke clear and won the match 4-3.
DON SAYS: "It's a huge, huge gamble. I can only remember two or three occasions in history where [bringing a keeper up] has actually paid off. The odds were stacked against them, and at that stage they actually had a point. I was a little bit surprised. If it works out, [Aitor Karanka] is a hero, a genius, but it didn't, and now he may live to regret it."
The Championship playoff race is hotting up:
DON SAYS: "Brentford are there to take advantage of any slips, whereas Wolves will need all three teams above them to lose and I don't see that happening. Brentford will rue points lost away at Derby, when they were so much better than Derby. They should have got the three points and didn't, and they also gave away a very late equaliser to Bolton last week. It's going to be a fraction too late for Wolves, though.
"We've seen, on the last day on Sky Sports of the last several Championship seasons, there is usually a twist or a turn, an unexpected turn, and the two that occupy [play-off places currently], Ipswich and Derby, really won't want it to be them. You never know what's going to happen in the Championship.
"The play-offs are the best thing to happen to football. They really do keep the season alive right the way until the end."
And the League One promotion race is exciting too. Preston are 18 games unbeaten, but they still haven't secured promotion. Why is that?
DON SAYS: "Because they're being chased down by a very talented MK Dons team, who have taken 26 points in the last 10 games, and that's six more than Preston. It's been a phenomenal effort from both clubs, because Preston on that unbeaten run have had a wonderful season, and even more commendable because they were so disappointed to lose in the play-offs last season.
"They've recovered really well, and they've got a manager in Simon Grayson that knows exactly what it takes to get teams out of League One and into the Championship. It's still in their own hands, but they can't afford any slip-ups. I don't think even a draw will be enough for them.
"[Preston's Joe Garner] has been phenomenal, he really has. He's found a home there. 26 goals this season is excellent by anybody's standards, but the fact is he was badly injured and missed a couple of months as well. I was at the Football League Awards last week where he was voted League One Player of the Season, and he won the Goal of the Season award.
"Preston will expect a very difficult game [on the final day], I think Colchester are unbeaten in four and they've won three of those. They've really put in a scrap to retain their League One status.
"Karl Robinson has had another good season. He's brought in a lot of young players, and he's done it playing a good, attacking brand of football which usually enables them to outscore their opponents. MK Dons have won eight and drawn two of their last 10, and I think they'll be okay going into the play-offs. Preston, on the other hand, will be devastated and the memories of last season's play-off failure will come back as well and that will be tough to take."
Crawley threw away the chance to secure their League One status in the dying moments...
DON SAYS: "Until the 87th minute [against Peterborough], they were definitely next season a League One club, and it all went horribly wrong. They somehow managed to turn a 3-2 lead into a 4-3 defeat. That will have Dean Saunders pulling his hair out. They've obviously got a big game against Coventry next week. They were literally three minutes away from retaining their League One status, and that will have hurt them."
On Hartlepool's amazing turnaround to keep their place in the Football League...
DON SAYS: "It's an incredibly outstanding achievement. 10 points adrift, they'd only won three games in the first 20 by the time Ronnie Moore got there. They've finished the season very strongly under him, under extreme pressure. If the season had started 10 games ago, they'd be seventh, in the last play-off spot. It's an incredible achievement for everybody at Hartlepool, so congratulations to them.
"I think Ronnie Moore's achievement, with respect to Crystal Palace and Tony Pulis, is [better than what Palace did last season]. It's such a massive thing for that football club, and to do it from that far back, I don't recall Palace being 10 points adrift. Arguably my manager of the season, Ronnie Moore."
