Loan Watch: Play-off wins for United pair
Manchester United loanees Nathan Bishop and James Garner both tasted victory in promotion play-offs on Saturday as their sides placed one foot in the respective finals.
Garner played the full 90 minutes as Nottingham Forest travelled to Sheffield United for a Championship clash.
Jack Colback opened the scoring for Forest after just 10 minutes, before Brennan Johnson added a second goal midway through the second half.
The Blades managed to pull one back in injury time, thanks to midfielder Sander Berge, but Forest will take the advantage of a 2-1 lead going into Tuesday’s second leg at their City Ground.
Later on Saturday, Reds goalkeeper Bishop was also fully involved as Mansfield Town overcame Northampton Town to win 2-1 in the first leg of their League Two play-off semi-final.
The Stags took an early lead when Jordan Bowery provided the assist for Rhys Oates to fire home. Just after the half-hour mark, Bowery turned goalscorer to double Mansfield’s lead and put his side firmly in the driving seat.
The visitors hit back in the second half when Ali Koiki found a way past Bishop, but the Stags have a one-goal lead going into the second leg at Northampton on Wednesday.
In Scotland, Amad started Rangers’ 3-1 away victory over Hearts on the final day of the Scottish Premiership season.
The Ivorian began the game on the right and was substituted just after the hour mark with the Europa League finalists 2-1 up, courtesy of first-half goals from Alex Lowry and Cedric Itten.
Rangers had successfully turned the tide after Peter Haring’s opener for Hearts, and Cole McKinnon added a late third strike to seal the three points for Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side.
🇪🇸 Next Stop, Sevilla.#UEL pic.twitter.com/Ih0XrNIqeh
— Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC) May 14, 2022
Dylan Levitt also featured on the final matchday of the Scottish Premiership season, as Dundee United recorded a 2-1 win at Ross County.
The Welsh midfielder played the full 90 in what was a tightly contested fixture. The first goal of the game came after more than an hour of action, as Blair Spittal handed the hosts the advantage when he fired beyond Benjamin Siegrist.
But despite trailing the hosts with just 20 minutes to go, Nicky Clark dispatched a penalty for Levitt's loan club and then scored an 89th-minute winner to overturn the deficit and ensure the Tangerines finished the season with a victory.