Inverness played out a goalless draw away at League One Montrose in the first leg of their play-off semi-final as they seek to avoid being relegated from the Scottish Championship.
Against the side that finished fourth in the third tier, the closest Inverness came to snatching a victory to take into the return leg came on the stroke of half-time, Samson Lawal lashing a shot against the crossbar from range.
Having been condemned to the relegation play-off on the final day of the regular season despite beating Greenock Morton, the visitors dug in for a draw as they cling to their Championship status, having not play outside of the top two divisions since 1999.
For Montrose, who occupied the final play-off spot in League One despite finishing 37 points behind champions Falkirk, Aidan Quinn went close when he headed at goal from Michael Gardyne’s pinpoint cross midway through the second half, but saw his effort well saved.
The sides meet again at Inverness’ Caledonian Stadium on Saturday for the right to play either Hamilton or Alloa in the final.
Crawley manager Scott Lindsey admitted his past experiences helped fuel motivations that were fulfilled with promotion after his side’s 2-0 victory over Crewe in the League Two play-off final at Wembley.Lindsey lost his brother Matthew in a motorcycle accident in 1995 and his wife Hayley to cancer five years ago.His perspective drove him on to envisage Crawley’s promotion, even after f...
Spirited St Johnstone endured an anxious wait at full-time before learning that their 2-1 win away to Motherwell was enough to secure their Premiership survival for a 16th successive season.The Perth side – who went into their final match of the campaign in 11th place – knew they needed a win to have any chance of leapfrogging Ross County and avoiding the tension of a two-legged play-o...
Ross County will contest the Scottish Premiership relegation play-off after drawing 2-2 with Aberdeen.St Johnstone’s win at Motherwell meant the Staggies needed all three points against the Dons to secure safety.And despite playing the last 26 minutes against 10 men and hitting the woodwork in stoppage time, the hosts could not find a winner which would have moved them up to 10th.Ross County...
Relegated Livingston ended their six year stay in the cinch Premiership with a 1-1 draw with Hibernian at the Tony Macaroni Arena, as Bruce Anderson cancelled out Myziane Maolida’s deflected strike.In a match that meant little to either side in terms of league position, the match lacked quality until Maolida connected well with a left-footed attempt that took a nick and flew into the far cor...
Crawley’s first-ever visit to Wembley ended in glory after goals from Danilo Orsi and Liam Kelly gave them a deserved 2-0 win over Crewe and promotion to League One.Having finished the season in seventh place, Crawley looked relaxed and fluid as they moved the ball around the Wembley pitch with ease.Their victory could have been more emphatic against a Crewe side that rarely threatened.The S...
Chelsea boss Emma Hayes described it as her “best title” after her side were once again crowned Women’s Super League champions having thrashed Manchester United 6-0 at Old Trafford in the final game of her tenure.The Blues finished top on goal difference ahead of second-placed Manchester City – 2-1 winners at Aston Villa – to make it five league titles in a row.It tak...
Des Buckingham pledged to try and keep Oxford hero Josh Murphy as the Wembley-born star scored twice in Oxford’s 2-0 play-off final victory over Bolton to earn promotion to the SkyBet Championship.Murphy’s first-half double sent United back into the second tier for the first time in a quarter of a century.The 29-year-old winger is now out of contract but Buckingham hopes Oxford’s...
Kevin O’Hara scored twice as Hamilton secured a place in next season’s cinch Scottish Championship by relegating Duncan Ferguson’s Inverness after a 3-2 play-off final victory.The visitors, who carried a 2-1 first leg lead into the game at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium, could hardly have got off to a better start when they found themselves 2-0 up on the night within 12 minutes o...
Wembley-born Josh Murphy fired Oxford United back to the Skybet Championship for the first time in 25 years as he scored both goals in his team’s 2-0 League One play-off final victory over favourites Bolton.Londoner Murphy’s first double in nearly five years came in the opening half as Des Buckingham’s side joined champions Portsmouth and Derby in the English second tier next sea...
Stranraer beat East Kilbride 3-1 after extra time at Stair Park to secure their cinch League Two status with a 5-3 aggregate win in the Pyramid play-off final.Lowland League champions East Kilbride had fought out a 2-2 draw in the first leg, but two late goals in extra time from Craig Ross and teenager Aiden Gilmartin proved enough to see the Blues retain their place in the Scottish Professional F...
- 1 Sterling considering leaving the club
- 2 Major Liverpool star still an option for Real
- 3 Real Madrid star and fellow Brazilian ace in bizarre WAG SWAP
- 4 Marcus Rashford's new £700,000 Rolls Royce Wraith revealed
- 5 Mourinho to join Fenerbahce?
- 6 Jhon Duran bags brace as Aston Villa draw with Liverpool to boost top-four hopes
- 7 My footballer husband is unemployed but I can still contribute 50p
- 8 Celtic run riot against Kilmarnock to win another Premiership title
- 9 Ian Murray says Raith will improve for play-off final after shootout success
- 10 Dumbarton lead League One play-off final after home win over Spartans