
‘Harder to miss than score' – Embarrassed Millwall star left floored after miss that could have put them in playoffs
MILLWALL striker Josh Coburn put in a contender for miss of the season - at the worst possible time.
The Lions needed to better Bristol City's result to sneak into the playoffs on a dramatic final day of Championship action.
3
Millwall's Josh Coburn missed a sitter against Burnley
Credit: Alamy
3
The 22-year-old somehow fired wide from yards out as the Lions missed out on the playoffs
Credit: PA
But
Millwall pushed forward with their season on the line.
And Coburn - on loan from Middlesbrough - was presented with a golden opportunity just minutes before half time.
READ MORE ON FOOTBALL
A whipped ball across the box evaded Burnley goalkeeper
The 22-year-old was in the centre of the goal and looked destined to score.
But he somehow shanked his effort inexplicably wide of the post, burying his face in the turf.
Sky Sports pundit
Most read in Football
"Wait till you see this miss, wow. Wow."
BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK
Fans were equally as scathing, with one writing on X: "Harder to miss that than score."
Another joked: "No new deal for him in the summer!!
Birmingham become first EFL club to win promotion as Tom Brady's club bounce back to Championship at first attempt
While a third added: "And to think @Boro wanted us to pay up to £3m for him - thank god it was only a loan."
The miss would prove costly for the Lions, who conceded twice after the break to lose 3-1.
Millwall haven't been in the top flight since 1990 and will now face a ninth-straight year in the Championship.
Their defeat meant
Elswhere,
3
Frank Lampard's Coventry have reached the playoffs after beating Middlesbrough
Credit: Getty
The 2-0 win over Boro ended Michael Carrick's side's own playoff hopes.
The Sky Blues will now take on Sunderland, while Sheffield United face Bristol City.
And
At the other end of the table,
The Hatters were thrashed 5-3 at West Brom, joining Plymouth and Cardiff in dropping to League One.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Irish Independent
an hour ago
- Irish Independent
Over 40,000 expected for Leinster's Croke Park showdown as Leo Cullen hopeful star men can win fitness race
Leinster have not ruled out any of their injured Lions for Saturday's URC final against the Bulls, with Garry Ringrose and Josh van der Flier the most likely to be available.


Irish Examiner
3 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Passion remains at Derby but empty spaces among Epsom spectators are growing
A yellow weather warning put a lid on the walk-up attendance on the Hill at Epsom on Saturday, and though the Derby itself avoided the worst of the rain, when it did finally arrive, about half an hour after the big race, it sent many spectators scurrying for an early exit. At the end of a three month period with historically low rainfall, it was horribly bad luck. But there was still something else missing throughout the afternoon at what was once Britain's greatest public sporting event. Aidan O'Brien put his finger on it, albeit obliquely, after Lambourn's all-the-way victory in the Classic. 'Chester (where Lambourn trialled for Epsom in the Chester Vase) is a great place for putting an edge on a horse,' he said. 'It wakes them up, there's a great atmosphere there.' He's right. There is. But the buzz that gave Lambourn his first taste of a big-race atmosphere in the tight confines of the Roodee was sadly lacking when he arrived at the much broader expanse of Epsom. There were simply not enough people there to generate the background hum of noise and excitement that, even a decade ago and whatever the weather, was there from the moment you parked your car or walked out of Tattenham Corner station. The paid attendance at Epsom on Saturday was 22,312 – a 17% drop from the 26,838 on Derby day in 2024 and nearly 60% lower than the 53,177 record attendance for Galileo's victory in 2001, which seems likely to remain the century's highwater mark until the turn of the next one. From 2002 to 2006, the average was a respectable 47,000, but the crowd of 40,694 in 2007 was the last to reach 40,000, and the underlying rate of decline has accelerated since covid. The attendance on the Hill and against the inside rail has mirrored the decline in the stands. When I made my first trip to Epsom in 1987 to see Reference Point make all the running under Steve Cauthen, it was scarcely possible to see a blade of grass on the infield. The scattering of punters there on Saturday was pitiful by comparison, while just 11 double-deckers were lined up on the rail, where there would once have been dozens, from early in the home straight. It looks and feels very much like a generational shift in the appetite for a day out at Epsom. The days when the east end of London would move, en masse, to Epsom on Derby day, including tens of thousands who made the journey on foot in the days before rail, are never coming back, but all across the capital Londoners have simply lost the habit too. The past three attendances at the Derby have all been below the 30,000 tickets that Leyton Orient sold for the League One play-off final a couple of weeks ago. Turning things around promises to be a gargantuan task, though it is one that Jim Allen, Epsom's new general manager, is approaching with gusto. The aim is to start at a local level, reintroduce the tens of thousands of people living within a few miles of the track to the unique piece of sporting heritage on their doorstep, and then spread the message further afield. Allen has first-hand experience of the build-up to the Kentucky Derby, from the clock at Louisville airport that starts counting down to post time for the next one as soon as the winner crosses the line, to the parades, firework displays and gala events in the week running up to the first Saturday in May. Louisville, admittedly, has a population of more than 600,000 and every last one of them will be aware from infancy that something out of the ordinary takes place at the city's racetrack on the first Saturday in May. There are 10 times as many within 30 miles of Epsom, but the percentage of Londoners who even realised that it was Derby day this weekend, never mind that it is possible to watch it for free, will have been tiny. Even in the gathering gloom ahead of the storm on Saturday, however, there were brighter moments when it was possible to appreciate how much the Derby still means to the sport. Most obviously, it was in the delighted astonishment of the 24 owners of Lazy Griff, the 50-1 runner-up, who had all paid less than £5,000 for their share. Their investment has already been repaid several times over, but the achievement, the simple fact that their horse had finished second in the Derby, was all that mattered on Saturday. It will be a long, hard road back even to reach the attendance and buzz of the early years of the century, but for as long as that sense of passion and reverence for the Derby remains alive somewhere, there is still hope. Guardian


The Irish Sun
4 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Dara O'Shea issues update on club future amid Premier League interest as he details Kieran McKenna talks
IRELAND defender Dara O'Shea is preparing for the Championship — even though he knows he is Premier League class. SunSport revealed last week there is interest from Ipswich do not want to lose him a year after And the Tractor Boys are believed to be ready to offer him an improved contract with no relegation release clause. O'Shea has already spoken to Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna about going back to the Prem. Read more on Irish football He said: 'I'm not going to think about it until the season ends and I've got one more game to focus on and then I can sit down and relax. 'But I'm fully committed to Ipswich at the moment. "I've got another four years there and I want to get the club back into the Premier League. 'I'm ambitious as a player. I want to be playing in the Premier League but I know it's not as easy as that. Most read in Football 'Whatever happens in football happens for a reason. You have a journey and you've got to stick to that sometimes. 'I feel like I'm well capable of playing in the Premier League and competing. England's biggest divers of the season crowned... as shocking record revealed "Obviously it's hard when you get relegated and I've got to get myself back there now. 'It's going to be a tough season next season but I think we've got more than enough to get back there. 'I think it doesn't matter where I am next season. "I've got to still play like I'm a Premier League player. That's the main aim for me. 1 The Dublin native has Ireland duty to focus on before he makes crucial decisions on his future "I've spoken to the gaffer and that's the task he set for me. He wants me to carry on the standards of a Premier League player.'