EFL: Birmingham relegated
Birmingham City 1 - 0 Norwich City
Birmingham have been relegated from the Championship despite a 1-0 home win over Norwich City on the final day.
You can watch the highlights of the match in the video below. Footage from the Norwich City YouTube account.
Birmingham's turbulent campaign. where six men have managed the club, has meant their 13-season stay in the Championship is over.
Many fans would have taken a mid-table finish this season but a promising start meant some started thinking about a play off push. The season then started to go very wrong and different decisions about managers changed the direction of their season in a drastic way.
EFL: Wayne Rooney appointed Birmingham City manager (eurosuperfootball.blogspot.com)
EFL News: Rooney sacked by Birmingham (eurosuperfootball.blogspot.com)
They return to the third tier for the first time in 29 years.
The Blues beat promotion-chasing Norwich after Seung-Ho Paik's second-half winner. They would have stayed up if either Blackburn or Sheffield Wednesday had lost at Leicester and Sunderland respectively, or if Plymouth dropped points at home to Hull.
On the day, the home side showed the character needed of them at both ends in a bright early start. The win, in the end, was well deserved but those results elsewhere sent them down.
This is the place for all the latest EFL news and stories (eurosuperfootball.blogspot.com)
More key events from the match
Ethan Laird made a strong challenge on Borja Sainz and successfully won the ball. This was followed by Koji Miyoshi's attempt which forced Angus Gunn to push the ball upwards at the near post after Jay Stansfield's effort was blocked.
Miyoshi had a chance to score, but he delayed his first shot when he was unmarked from Lee Buchanan's cross. He eventually managed to control the ball and squeezed in a tame effort.
However, the Blues wasted another clear chance when Paik scuffed a poor effort that went well off target from near the penalty spot after Stansfield's cross.
The 55th-minute goal from Paik Seung-ho created a noise and atmosphere at the stadium that hadn't been witnessed for many years. News from the other stadiums quickly followed.
Keep right on. Birmingham fans respond
One Birmingham fan posted on Facebook: "Sacking John Eustace and replacing him with Wayne Rooney has to be one of the worst decisions a club has ever made. The fact we then sacked Rooney without really backing him shows how much of a shambles the club is. I just hope those in charge learn from these mistakes and start preparing for next season."
Another added: "I'm just glad the season is over. I don't think the board managed to get one decision right all season. After sacking Eustace and replacing him with Rooney, they didn’t even give him a transfer window to make any changes. It was unfortunate with Tony Mowbray who had medical issues. Then Gary Rowett came in, but it was too late to save us."
This from the YouTube account shows some of the reaction from Birmingham fans Blues Focus (youtube.com)
Norwich look ahead
The defeat for Norwich meant they finished in sixth. They now face a two-leg play-off semi-final with third-placed Leeds United, a side who finished the season with two defeats. They will be hoping for a great performance at Carrow Road and many fans seem confident they can progress against the Elland Road side.
At the end of the match, Norwich boss David Wagner told the media: "I know what we are capable of in the play-offs. This is my second time in the play-offs in England. What happened over the 46 games counts for nothing now."
