Championship

Sports Mole's Championship Team of the Week

By Pascal Lemesre, Football League Editor | 05 May 2015

Sports Mole chooses its final Championship Team of the Week of 2014-15 after yet another drama-filled final day in the second tier.

The Championship season reached its climax on Saturday lunchtime and once again it delivered plenty of drama.

With the three relegation places already confirmed, focus was on the top of the table and how the top eight would line up.

The fate of the title was still to be decided and it was Bournemouth who claimed the crown as Watford conceded a late equaliser at home to Sheffield Wednesday to miss out on first place.

In the playoff race, Middlesbrough and Norwich City were already guaranteed to finish either third or fourth. Norwich are the top seed in the playoffs after they beat Fulham 4-2 and Boro were only able to draw 0-0 at home to Brighton & Hove Albion.

Below them, four sides stood a chance of finishing in fifth and sixth. Ipswich Town and Derby County started the day in the top six, but Derby were the ones to drop out as they suffered a stunning 3-0 defeat at home to out-of-form Reading.

That gave both Brentford and Wolverhampton Wanderers the chance to leap above the Rams and it was Brentford who took that chance, soaring up to fifth because of their superior goal difference after a 3-0 win over relegated Wigan Athletic.

Bottom club Blackpool ended their season in farcical circumstances as their match with Huddersfield Town had to be abandoned because of an on-pitch protest by the disgruntled home fans.

Here, Sports Mole chooses its best XI from the matchday 46's action, as well as highlighting the biggest numpty and best goal.

Adam Federici (Reading)
The Royals emphatically put an end to Derby's hopes of a Premier League return with their first win in 10 games. Their 3-0 victory came out of nowhere and Federici's penalty save, as well as several other key stops, helped them to victory.

Simon Francis (Bournemouth)
The standout right-back in the Championship, Francis finished the season with another energetic display as the Cherries won 3-0 at Charlton to confirm top-flight promotion for the first time in their history.
Sol Bamba (Leeds United)
Leeds's season finished on a low-key note as they drew 0-0 with Rotherham United, but Bamba, who might not be at the troubled club next season, shone with a powerful display.
Michael Hector (Reading)
Hector smashed home Reading's second at the iPro Stadium as they finished their underwhelming league campaign on a high note.
Joe Bennett (Brighton & Hove Albion)
Brighton, another side to have performed below expectations in 2014-15, kept Boro at bay at the Riverside and Bennett saw plenty of the ball down the left.

Matt Ritchie (Bournemouth)
Mightily unlucky to not be included on the three-man shortlist for the Championship Player of the Year, Ritchie again showed his class with two goals in Bournemouth's title-clinching 3-0 win at Charlton. Both goals - his 14th and 15th of the season - were fine finishes with his excellent left foot.
Robert Tesche (Birmingham City)
Birmingham's strong finish to the season continued as they sneaked past Bolton Wanderers to claim a top-10 spot. Nottingham Forest loanee Tesche scored his second goal for the Blues to win it.
Bradley Johnson (Norwich City)
Johnson had by far his best goalscoring campaign and on Saturday made it 15 goals in 41 league appearances with two against Fulham. He also put one past his own goalkeeper, but the Canaries fans won't mind.
Jota (Brentford)
Brentford shot up to fifth in the table by trouncing Wigan at Griffin Park. Spanish winger Jota stroked home the second before brilliantly setting up the third with a reverse pass.

Rudy Gestede (Blackburn Rovers)
Likely to leave this summer, Gestede ended the season on a high with a goal and an assist in Blackburn's 3-2 win over Ipswich. He was a menace in the air all game long and will rightly be tracked by several clubs this summer.
Nouha Dicko (Wolverhampton Wanderers)
Wolves might have missed out on the playoffs on goal difference, but they tried their hardest to sneak in by scoring four against Millwall. Two came from the boot of Dicko, with the second an unstoppable rocket.

Numpty of the Week

Darren Bent: It might all be very different in the top six had Derby striker Bent not failed to score from the penalty spot in the first half. The on-loan Aston Villa man got the nod ahead of Chris Martin to take the spot kick, a decision Derby fans must think cost them their playoff place.

Goal of the Week

Matt Ritchie (Bournemouth) vs. Charlton Athletic: Arguably the league's best player, Ritchie opened the scoring at The Valley with a pinpoint first-time strike that went in off the post.