Ahead of the current season in English football, referees in both the Premier League and in the EFL were advised to revisit the amount of time added on at the end of the two halves due to time wasting. After 33 matchdays played, the results of the teams who are in a relegation fight were revisited.
In a league where every nuance affects whether a team are fighting for the play-offs or find themselves in a scrap against relegation, scoring in the dying minutes of the game not only can give the necessary mental momentum to the players but can also be translated into points.
As a general rule of thumb in football, each goal, at the end of the season can be translated to a point on the table. Of course, there are outliers. But for the fans, those points, especially the way they come, can create optimism around the club, and unforgettable moments.
The methodology is simple: imagine if the goals in additional time would not have happened in League One in the ongoing season.
Two teams are yet to score a single goal in additional time at the end of a game: Reading and Cheltenham. Fortunately for the fans at Whaddon Road, this only translates to losing out on a single point, conceding three goals so far. However, that happened heartbreakingly, as Leyton Orient equalised in the 89th minute and then went on to win the game five minutes later.
Looking at every other result however, the Robins would be in a much more favourable position, and only a single win away from exiting the relegation zone.
Cheltenham Town’s defender Lewis Freestone believes for now, it is more just to find the back of the net, with only Shrewsbury scoring fewer goals this campaign.
“It doesn’t matter when we score. Obviously, it’d be nice to score an added time if we needed the goal, but the main thing is just winning games at the moment. It doesn’t matter how that looks like or how the goals come. The most important thing is the three points.”
Scoring at the end of a game has been a strength for Cheltenham’s upcoming opponent, Port Vale, who earned two more points in total, and have scored four goals. Against Oxford United, they got the three points with a goal in the 99th minute, with the fans of the team hailing the new rules.
While teams who missed out on the points are Reading, who would be out of the bottom nine teams, and Charlton Athletic, who would have a healthier gap to relegation, but the most interesting case is Shrewsbury.
Scoring the fewest goals in League One, the Blues scored three times in the final minutes added on and earned three more points. They also conceded six goals, but those happened when it did not matter. Cambridge United’s three goals also earned the team three points on the table, and as a result, both teams are above the line for now.
