And that's it for 2017-18!
A heartwarming way to finish. You have to feel for Exeter, a great club that have done wonders, but it’s a very good news story for Coventry – they deserved it with a fine second-half performance on the day, and their long-suffering fans have more than earned a moment like this. The celebrations will go on a long time.
Here’s our match report, courtesy of Ben Fisher. Enjoy, and go and rest yourselves for a few days before the World Cup buildup begins in earnest!
Updated
McNulty, the correctly-appointed man of the match, has a word: “You go through a lot more bad days than good days and it’s worth it, these days are worth all the bad days. We’ve been up and down all season and it’s been frustrating but days like today ... I took quite a lot of stick at the start of the season but it’s part and parcel of football and I know it would turn at some point. Today was special.
“There’ve been a lot of problems with the owners and fans staying way for whatever reason, but now we’re back in League One it’d be great for them to come back and support the boys.”
What now for Exeter after two Wembley defeats in successive years? Surely Tisdale will leave; Steve Perryman, their director of football, will too. It will have to be a new era for them and they’ll need to manage it well – without sounding patronising, a club of that size needs exceptional people.
@NickAmes82 Also in 1967: first Bowie, Doors, Velvet Underground, and Grateful Dead commercial LP releases; last Toronto @MapleLeafs Stanley Cup championship; date of my birth #yikes
— Whitliño (@WhitzerzRaverz) May 28, 2018
A fine list. I’ll have to get back to you on 2018’s redeeming factors.
Now Coventry lift the trophy! Golden glitter showers them. Half of Wembley is empty now, the other half is jubilant. They’ve needed a day like this.
Updated
“I have no affiliation to Coventry, but their 1987 FA Cup victory is the first game I can remember watching on the TV,” hearkens Shaun Wilkinson. “Their slide has been very sad, and seeing this today has cheered me right up. Congrats Coventry! Now they need to strengthen their squad. Is Micky Gynn still playing?”
Robins speaks, briefly: “We need backing again now, let’s not rest on our laurels. It’s amazing, I can’t give enough credit to everybody.”
Willis: “It means everything, to come back and do it [get up] first time I’m buzzing. I’m not scored many and that was definitely up there. Hopefully next season we can push on again.”
Grimmer: “You can’t ask the supporters to come out in more numbers than they have. This experience is something I’ll remember forever. I went in and Sparky [McNulty] laid it off to me, I thought I’d shape it towards the back stick and it went into the far corner.”
Updated
Coventry City are promoted to League One!
Stockley laces one a whisker wide for Exeter and then ... that’s it! Coventry done it with a 3-1 win and it’s richly deserved on the day – after some dark, dark years, a huge ray of light!
90+3 min: No, I don’t think so. Burge claims a ball forwards and Coventry are going to be more than OK here.
90+1 min: Five minutes of added time. They couldn’t ... could they?
Goal! Coventry 3-1 Exeter (Edwards 89)
It won’t count for much but it’s another superb strike for our afternoon and it comes from the substitute winger Edwards – whose introduction I missed, sorry – who dances inside from the left and fairly lashes one into the far corner. Lovely stuff from him but if only Exeter had shown something remotely like that earlier.
88 min: And if you wonder why the Coventry fans are so full of song, here’s why: it’s their first promotion since 1967! They’ve had this saved up!
87 min: It was Grimmer, of course, who scored a fantastic winner against Stoke in the FA Cup. Coventry played some fine stuff in that run and have done so again today. If – and it’s a massive “if” – they can keep this side together, who could rule out a tilt at another promotion?
84 min: Storey loops a header well wide. This game, in particular, has gone.
82 min: Off the post from Jay! That’s Exeter’s best moment as the substitute sets his sights just outside the area, lets fly and clips the outside of the frame. That might have made it interesting. Instead, Coventry are emboldened to bring off the game’s best player, Marvellous Marc McNulty, and bring on Ponticelli.
Updated
79 min: Bayliss weaves into the area, hoping to join the list of great goals, but Pym reacts very well to keep his deflected effort out. Exeter survive the corner. If anyone’s going to score the next goal I don’t think it’ll be Exeter.
Updated
78 min: Exeter are pushing, but don’t really seem to have any belief and Coventry are happy to commit men forward on the counter. It’s been a blistering second half from the Sky Blues, it really has.
75 min: Harley has what is Exeter’s best effort by miles, swirling in a right-footer from 25 yards that Burge has to fingertip round the post.
74 min: “Torn on this one,” writes Kevin Wilson. As nice as it is to see Coventry make their way back, I’m still unhappy with the part they played in Barnet’s relegation!”
Yes, if they’d played this well against Morecambe on the final day ...
73 min: Another word for McNulty, who has been so much more than an out-and-out striker today constantly running the channels, playing with his head up and bucketloads of intelligence. His two assists reflect that. Exeter threaten with a far-post header that goes across goal, about as close as anything they’ve produced. Then Coventry replace Shipley with Kyel Reid.
72 min: Coventry’s owner, Joy Seppala, smiles from her place in the stands. I’m not sure the fans’ delight will necessarily include her but let’s hope this is the start of better days for them.
Goal! Coventry 3-0 Exeter (Grimmer 68)
Oh, that is a lovely goal! They’ve scored some belters here! Coventry are heading to League One and this came after a ball from Bayliss into McNulty, who then lays the ball back to the right-back Grimmer, who curls an absolutely picture-perfect shot up and over Pym. That was a beautiful move from Coventry, all slick passing and movement to create space for each other, and an absolutely top-class finish.
Updated
68 min: That’s a bit better, a sweeping move giving Sweeney a chance to cross, but nobody attacks it and Burge leaps to catch.
66 min: Coventry can sit off a little now, knowing they have legs on the counter and that Exeter seem capable of offering next to nothing.
38 - Marc McNulty has been directly involved in 38 goals in all competitions this season (28 goals, 10 assists) – 24 more than any other Coventry City player. Phenomenal. pic.twitter.com/WvEqmdFInT
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) May 28, 2018
Not bad! He’s been very good today.
63 min: Now it does go out and off goes Woodman, replaced by James. We also see Jay replace Moxey. All change on the left side, basically.
62 min: Exeter have wanted to make a double sub for a long time now but the ball won’t go out. They need to shake things up badly, there is no pace or spark out there.
60 min: ... which is also defended well, so well that Coventry can break in numbers and Shipley, with men over, drills one from 30 yards that Pym has to fingertip wide!
Updated
59 min: Exeter earn a right-sided corner. It’s handy from Boateng, aimed dangerously towards the back stick, and defended well for another ...
56 min: As things stand you’d think Exeter are going to kick themselves for, to all intents and purposes, not turning up here. Coventry came out blazing for the second half and it’s probably won them the game!
Goal! Coventry 2-0 Exeter (Shipley 54)
They don’t have as much as Coventry! Now Exeter have a mountain to climb as McNulty, holding off a defender, surges into open space and plays a perfectly-weighted ball left to Shipley, whose left-footed shot deflects cruelly off a defender and loops agonisingly over a despairing Pym. Most of Wembley goes berserk! They have one and a half feet in League One.
Updated
53 min: The game needed that goal, and will surely open right up now. What have Exeter got?
52 min: It was Doyle’s pass to Willis, and the finish was just everything you’d dream of at Wembley. It should soften some of the disappointment for Biamou, who has injured something and has to go off now, replaced by Clarke-Harris.
Goal! Coventry 1-0 Exeter (Willis 49)
And that is *much* more like it! It comes from the centre-half Willis, and what a strike! He stays upfield as Coventry try and get things going again following that cleared corner, takes a sharp pass to feet 22 yards out, spins and whips a wonderful shot up and around Pym into the far corner. A goal from absolutely nothing, and from the least likely of players. Game on!
Updated
48 min: It’s Coventry who start the sharper, Bayliss and McNulty just waiting to link up the first time and then, on the second occasion, Bayliss cutting back for McNulty to see a drive batted round the post by Pym. The corner comes to nought. More like it though!
Peeeeeep! Second half begins!
Right then ...
Another Coventry legend is watching keenly:
A massive GOOD LUCK To @Coventry_City today down at Wembley..... Make this the start of the RETURN of The Sky Blues!
— Dion Dublin (@DionDublinsDube) May 28, 2018
You fans deserve something back,after years of being overlooked!! #PUSB#DoItForCyrille pic.twitter.com/oQoUdhqTrW
Back underway shortly. I think somebody will cut loose and win this in normal time. Can’t look too far beyond Coventry, for who McNulty is a real livewire, if they up the pace. But if Exeter can play a bit more effectively off Stockley they’ll threaten too.
Half-time: Coventry 0-0 Exeter
Both sides had spells on top, and Coventry have certainly looked the more threatening when they get it together, but that was a forgettable half on a humid Wembley afternoon. I’m fairly sure it’ll get better. I am!
45+2 min: Shipley now plays a nice give-and-go with McNulty but can’t quite work the angle and his shot is blocked by Moore-Taylor. As the half comes to a close Coventry have found something close to their earlier rhythm.
Updated
45 min: And as we hit 45 minutes a first real combination from the Coventry strike pair, Biamou heading down astutely for McNulty to slice over with a defender in close attendance.
Updated
44 min: Now it’s Storey with his second last-ditch challenge of the game, making a vital interception to stop a Doyle ball through to McNulty from reaching its man. Exeter wanted an offside but McNulty’s movement really is very clever at times.
43 min: Hyam, the Coventry defender, stretches to boot a right-wing cross away. Boateng has grown in stature for Exeter during the half and is quite dominant in midfield at the moment.
41 min: Can’t really mess around with this: nothing very interesting is happening in this game at all. It’s safe to say both sides are pacing themselves in the heat, and I’m pretty sure we will see a much livelier second half. Woodman’s cross bounces away from Stockley as Exeter try and make me look even sillier than usual.
38 min: Biamou, McNulty’s strike partner, is down – collapsing very softly indeed after running up against .... I think ... Storey. He gets up, and now seems OK.
36 min: It’s definitely fair to say Coventry’s head of steam has spluttered out, and we can easily trace that back to Stokes’s brief absence.
35 min: Replays suggest Coventry’s Michael Doyle elbowed Jake Taylor during an Exeter attack a few minutes ago. Nada from the officials. Was Doyle lucky not to be shown a card of some colour?
33 min: Stockley is now causing a few problems and another flick-on allows a cross to come in from wide, although again it’s not particularly threatening. At the other end Shipley warms Pym’s palms with a strike from the edge of the area.
31 min: Exeter definitely seem to have pushed up a yard or two since that little injury break. A long daisycutter from ... I admit I didn’t see who ... is gathered by Burge and now the game has a touch more snap about it.
29 min: Exeter win a corner and Stokes – back very quickly – returns in timely fashion before it is taken. It’s deep from Boateng and Storey’s header, slightly deflected, is clutched easily by Burge.
Updated
28 min: Can Exeter use this temporary one-man advantage to their ... errr ... advantage? They do get a ball into the box, through Woodman, but Willis nods it away. Then Boateng tries the same thing from the right but it’s cleared too. This is, at last, a spell of pressure from them though.
26 min: Email from Ian Forth, as Stokes goes down the tunnel for, I assume, stitches and leaves Coventry temporarily down to 10 –
“Coventry have only finished in any Top 6 twice in the last 50 years. Statistically this must make them the club who give their supporters the most valuable life lessons in resilience (no bad thing, incidentally). Although I’m 56 now and have supported them all my life, I’m still too young to remember the last promotion.
“So I’m staying up after hours in Melbourne tonight, where kick off will be midnight. I wish supporters of both clubs good fortune for the future, but marginally more for the Sky Blues for this match.”
25 min: Stockley wins a high ball near the edge of the box but nothing comes of it. Haven’t seen anything from Tisdale’s team yet, really. Now we’ve a small pause as Stokes, who lost that challenge and came off worse, has a bit of treatment. Think he got a battering near to the eye, but should be OK.
23 min: Exeter really need to start making a few things stick. Now Grimmer marauds for Coventry but makes a mess of his attempt at a slide-rule cross.
20 min: Another Coventry chance. McNulty presses Storey into an error and sets up Shipley with a smart reverse pass. He goes for the curler but it’s deflected wide; then takes the corner, but it’s glanced away. Coventry look much the better team at the moment though.
19 min: Coventry spend a good minute or two camped in the Exeter half. That’s more like it from them, there’s some nice passing and movement that even draws a few “Oles”. It ends with Pym holding a low 25-yard drive from McNulty but that was exactly the kind of move that should give Coventry confidence.
17 min: No deerstalker for Tisdale today, by the way, though – take it from me – he really needs some factor 50 on him sharpish.
15 min: A direct ball releases McNulty, who seems to have got away from two Exeter defenders and just about has it under control for the shot when 20-year-old centre-back Jordan Storey, chasing back, tackles brilliantly. First chance of the game.
13 min: A sighting of Steve Ogrizovic there, now the Coventry goalkeeping coach. I think he’s worked harder than either of the two keepers on the pitch so far. It’s pretty slow going out there.
10 min: A couple of early forays aside, it’s now fairly conservative stuff. But this is lovely – the entire stadium is on its feet to pay tribute to Cyrille Regis and the former Exeter striker Adam Stansfield. Both much missed and very fondly remembered.
8 min: Coventry work some possession around the Exeter box but Shipley’s left-footed delivery is wayward. He and Bayliss, on the right, are two very exciting youngsters.
6 min: Robins also spoke before the game about mastering the conditions. It’s muggy out there – there may be thunder later actually – and it was yesterday, too. We saw Shrewsbury completely spent by extra-time of the League One game. It may be a day for pacing yourselves.
McNulty, meanwhile, dips an over-ambitious shot over from 35 yards, the sign of a confident player.
Updated
3 min: Exeter’s Boateng, a really talented central midfielder, slices behind the goal when trying to drill back into the box. I think this will be quite open judging by the early exchanges, though Exeter’s selection of Woodman raised a few eyebrows – I think Tisdale wants to deal with Coventry’s threat down the right.
1 min: A bustling McNulty run down the right wins Coventry a corner instantly. That’s a good, positive start. The flag kick is dealt with at the near post.
Peeeeeep! Strap in, we're underway!
Coventry, left to right, kick off ...
Half of Wembley is absolutely packed, right to the top tier – that’s the Sky Blue end. The Exeter end is rather sparser, but no less passionate I’ll be bound.
Updated
The teams are on the pitch at Wembley – handshakes, anthems, hugs ... we’re almost ready ...
@NickAmes82 MK would be a good move for Tisdale I reckon; they had one of the biggest L1 budgets last year and I’d expect the same in L2. The team needs some TLC but the chairman is pretty patient, the ground is swanky, and they were in the Championship only a couple of years ago
— Ben Raza (@TheBenRaza) May 28, 2018
Those are fair points. I wonder whether a Championship club or, at least, a well-established League One club could have a go for him though.
Tisdale on his future: “It’s [this match] delayed that process. The players have stayed focused and done very well. It’s been a long 10 days but let’s get this game done, there’ll be a lot of movement in professional football over the summer.”
That’s not an “I’m staying”, is it?
More Jordans than a Katie Price lookalike contest in Amman. pic.twitter.com/hzDXpXhE6k
— Daniel Storey (@danielstorey85) May 28, 2018
How many can *you* count?
Mark Robins speaks: “Both teams are close, they finished five points ahead of us in the league and are a good side. Interesting team selection from them today and it’ll be a tactical game.”
Exeter got this far by beating Lincoln 3-1 on aggregate. That was unarguable-with. Coventry’s progress past Notts County, 5-2 on aggregate and with a 4-1 win in the second leg at Meadow Lane, with rather more controversy – McNulty scored a questionable late penalty in at the Ricoh and Notts had a goal wrongly disallowed for offside when things were tight in the second. But none of that matters anymore. Here we are!
Where might this game be decided? The strikers are never a bad place to start and these teams have one prolific front man apiece: Marc McNulty, of Coventry, scored 25 times in the league this season and Exeter’s Jayden Stockley has scored 20. This will come back to bite me but I really can’t see this one ending up goalless.
Updated
Funny situation for Tisdale, isn’t it, and one that clearly hurt him. There’s more of a touch of the Wengers about it, and that’s why he deserves so much credit for turning things back around at one of the league’s smaller clubs. There’s a fair chance this could be his last game for Exeter, though – MK Dons are strongly linked but I think Tisdale, who’s been in his post for 12 years, can do better than that.
Big day for the Sky blues at Wembley , here's wishing @Coventry_City all the best and get the job done . To all the thousands of Cov fans have a safe journey, sing loud , cheer the lads on and have a great promotion party ...com on Cov 🏆 pic.twitter.com/0AaOdAxDdb
— Noel David Whelan (@NoelDavidWhelan) May 28, 2018
Really good, clever player Whelan, wasn’t he?
And – look away now, Grecians – this is what befell Exeter at this very venue a year ago ...
For what it’s worth, which I think is “little” on a day like this, Exeter won 1-0 when these two met in Devon four months ago – but Coventry won 2-0 at the Ricoh in September. Find omens if you want but I’m blasted if I can!
Today's teams
Coventry: Burge; Grimmer, Willis, Hyam, Stokes; Bayliss, Doyle, Kelly, Shipley; McNulty, Biamou. Subs: O’Brian, McDonald, Maguire-Drew, Thompson, Reid, Ponticelli, Clarke-Harris.
Exeter: Pym; Sweeney, Storey, Moore-Taylor, Moxey; Harley, Tillson, Boateng, Woodman; Taylor, Stockley. Subs: Jones, James, Archibald-Henville, Simpson, Jay, Wilson, Edwards.
Looks like 4-4-2 vs 4-4-2 ... and two attack-minded sides.
Hello everyone
The domestic season is drawing to a close – and with an absolute cracker in prospect, too. This should be an excellent League Two play-off final and there are some great storylines buzzing around it, too.
Are Coventry City on their way back? It would very much be despite their owners, Sisu, and an enormous feather in the caps of Mark Robins and an exciting young team that we saw plenty of in a nice little FA Cup run that saw them beat Stoke. This is a club that has deserved so much more than it’s been given and, for an idea of its potential, around 33,000 Coventry fans will be at Wembley together. For a fourth-tier game. That’s quite something.
Exeter City’s support will number under a third of that. But that tells you something about their own story: they’re a club that enjoyed a few seasons in League One earlier in the decade but, size-wise, you’d never expect them to be that high up. It’s some achievement that they are gunning to make it to the third tier again and especially given that Paul Tisdale, England’s longest-serving manager, is serving notice on his contract – which ends in November – after the Supporters’ Trust that owns the club ordered him to do so in 2016. “Be careful what you wish for” is a phrase that idly springs to mind; Exeter have since come within one Wembley visit of a return to League One, losing this fixture to Blackpool last year, and are back again. Tisdale and his deerstalker are working wonders down there.
Whoever gets up today, it’ll be quite some tale. Join me for it – and send in your tweets and emails to let me know how you see it shaking down!
Updated
