adminBruce Chikuni
WARRIORS in the SKY Bet Championship are on the highway to different destinations.
Marvelous Nakamba’s Luton Town are chasing a playoffs spot and stakes tip the Hatters to even gate-crash the automatic route.
On the other side of the league table, Tendai Darikwa, who captains Wigan Athletic, is just watching his ship sinking helplessly.
Darikwa’s side are firmly rooted at the basement of the log standings.
They have won once in their last five assignments and with just five games before the league’s curtains come down, relegation is now a certainty for them.
Wigan Athletic lost 0-1 to Blackpool, who are just four points above them.
Darikwa was an unused substitute in this fixture.
The club’s coach, Shaun Maloney, made an admission that his club deserved better.
“What the fans have seen is not the levels I believe this club should be at. From day one and for the next couple of weeks and into the summer we have to change that,” said Maloney.
The bottom three teams will be relegated to the third tier English Football League Championship.
The top two teams will automatically get promoted while the third-placed to sixth-placed will compete in the play-offs.
Nakamba’s side is making a statement at the top end of the table.
No player from both ends had better ratings than Nakamba when they edged Rotherham United 2-0 on the road on Saturday.
Luton Town got their goals from Carlton Morris and Cauley Woodrow as they made it 10 games unbeaten and kept alive their hopes of avoiding the playoffs with automatic promotion in sight.
Before Saturday’s victory, they were sitting fourth on the log following Middlesbrough’s 5-1 win over Norwich which saw them being leapfrogged on Friday.
But Saturday’s win saw them reclaiming their position.
Luton Town are now just five points off the second spot occupied by Sheffield United.
Luton coach, Rob Edwards, urged his men to maintain their pace as they approach the decisive fixtures.
“All we can do is win our games. Sheffield United are in a really commanding position and still have their game in hand. We will keep trying to win as many games as possible, that is all we can do,” said Edwards.
“We have got real momentum at the moment and if it is going to be the play-offs, we need to take that momentum into them as well.
“We probed really well and got into the final third well. We just lacked that little bit of spark, but it was coming.”
Online Reporter