Norwich boss Farke dedicates promotion triumph to the fans
NORWICH boss Daniel Farke says he hopes his side were able to bring fans “some joy, fun and distraction” after sealing their return to the Premier League.
Brentford and Swansea’s failure to win meant the Canaries were promoted before their 3-1 home defeat by Bournemouth.
After the match, Farke spared a thought for supporters who have been unable to go to games because of coronavirus.
“We dedicate this to our fans because it’s been such a difficult season for them and their private lives,” he said.
He told BBC Radio Norfolk: “During this pandemic many of them are fearing for their future, the financial impact, fearing for their job sometimes or their health, family members and friends.
“It’s a tough time and we hope we were able to bring them some joy, fun and some distraction and we wanted to make them happy.”
Despite Saturday’s loss, Norwich will secure the Championship title if they beat second-placed Watford at Carrow Road on Tuesday.
The good news for Norwich continued at Kenilworth Road with Watford losing 1-0 at Luton.
James Collins scored a penalty in the 78th-minute to secure the Hatters bragging rights in the derby, but ahead of kick-off a smoke bomb was thrown inside the ground while the players observed a minute’s silence in memory of the Duke of Edinburgh.
Kiko Femenia was shown a red card late on to compound a poor day for Watford.
Sheffield Wednesday were denied a vital three points at home to 10-man Bristol City in their battle to beat the drop after Tyreeq Bakinson levelled for the visitors in the 87th minute. The Owls, who remain without manager Darren Moore as he recovers from coronavirus, went ahead with their first attack at Hillsborough through Julian Borner’s fourth-minute header.
It could have been 2-0 when Henri Lansbury was sent off for giving away a penalty midway through the first half, but Barry Bannan was denied from the spot and Bakinson hit a sucker punch when he fired in an equaliser late on.
Huddersfield boosted their chances of beating relegation with a 2-0 win at Nottingham Forest.
Aaron Rowe broke the deadlock in stoppage time before the interval and Juninho Bacuna wrapped up the victory with a spectacular strike into the top corner midway through the second period.
Huddersfield are eight clear of the bottom three and only two points off Preston, who earned a point away to Stoke.
It finished goalless at the bet365 Stadium, but the hosts finished the game with 10-men after Harry Souttar was sent off for a professional foul. Another mid-table clash between Middlesbrough and QPR went the way of the London club by a 2-1 score despite playing with a numerical disadvantage for most of the second half.
Mark Warburton saw his team race out of the blocks at the Riverside with Rob Dickie and Lee Wallace netting inside 18 minutes.
Everton loanee Yannick Bolasie reduced the deficit before halftime and when goalkeeper Seny Dieng saw red after he clashed with Duncan Watmore outside his area, it looked a tall order for QPR to hang on but Joe Lumley impressed between the posts to help secure the victory.
Elsewhere, a second win in three days saw Coventry move further clear of relegation danger and dent Barnsley’s play-off hopes.
The victory lifted the Sky Blues nine points clear of the bottom three in 18th, while Barnsley remained in the play-off places in sixth, but just four points clear of seventh-placed Reading.
Meanwhile Birmingham City scored a late winner at Rotherham to move closer to Championship safety and deal another blow to the Millers’ hopes of avoiding the drop.