Des’ pride as U’s head for Wembley
OXFORD United head coach Des Buckingham spoke of his pride after the U’s battled to a 1-1 draw away to Peterborough United in the League One play-off semi-final second leg, securing a 2-1 aggregate win.
Josh Knight levelled the tie for Posh with a 41st-minute goal but Cameron Brannagan’s penalty, after his free kick had been handled, equalised in first-half stoppage time.
Oxford withstood a barrage from Peterborough in the second half to reach Wembley and a final against Bolton Wanderers on Saturday, May 18. The Trotters knocked out Barnsley in their play-off semi.
“It’s fantastic for the club and everyone associated with it to make Wembley and put ourselves within one game of making the Championship,” said Buckingham, who took over in November.
“I’m so proud of the playing group and everyone associated with our club right now. It’s a very, very special moment.
“We knew they’d throw a lot at us but I didn’t realise they’d throw the kitchen sink as well.
“We stood up and I thought the players showed a really good desire to defend what we had.
“We knew coming here was going to be tough. They’re a very good team, they’ve got some wonderful players and they were the highest goalscorers in the league for a reason.
“We knew we’d have to weather a storm.
“I don’t think there was a plan to weather it for quite as long as we did but I’m delighted with the workrate and desire and with how much that means to the players and us as a staff group, to do what we’ve just done.
“I think we’ve had a lot go against us since I walked into the club, a lot of ups and downs.
“We’ll enjoy it. It’s a special moment for everyone. We’ve spent so much time together.
“For me, the aim was promotion. We’re one game away from that now.
“We’ll enjoy the moment because people have worked so hard to get here, but we will refocus.
“We’ll have everyone in on Friday to start getting ready for what will be a very exciting week leading into Wembley.”
A MINIMUM of 24 Derby County matches will be televised live next season as part of Sky Sports’ new deal with the EFL.
The £935m deal was signed in April and will see Sky Sports stream more than 1,000 EFL matches next season.
The Rams’ promotion back to the Championship will be a boost for fans after the broadcaster pledged to screen at least half of their fixtures across the 2024-25 campaign. Teams in League One are guaranteed 20 live games.
All opening weekend, final day, midweek and Bank Holiday matches – including Easter, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day – will be on TV.
Each full weekend of EFL fixtures will see 10 live matches shown – including three Championship, two League One and two League Two matches – all broadcast live at 12.30pm on Saturdays. All 15 play-off matches, all 93 Carabao Cup matches and all 127 EFL Trophy matches will also be broadcast live.
All games will have live commentary but, in a development from the previous red button facility, they will be shown on a new channel called Sky Sports+ and viewers will be able to pause and rewind.
Sky say that television selections, dates and times for matches in August and September will be confirmed in early July and all picks up to January will be confirmed before the season starts.