Loan watch: Play-off anguish for Norton-Cuffy

Brooke Norton-Cuffy suffered heartbreak in the Championship play-off final as Coventry City were beaten by Luton Town on penalties to miss out on promotion to the Premier League.

Our on-loan wing-back produced a lively 90-minute showing at Wembley before being substituted before the start of extra-time with the scores locked at 1-1. However, the game went to a spot-kick decider, and Brooke’s replacement Fankaty Dabo skied the crucial penalty over the bar to hand the Hatters promotion.

That brought an end to Brooke’s time at the Sky Blues, where he made 24 appearances following his January move. He will now link up with the England U20 side who have made it into the knockout stages of the U20 World Cup in Argentina.

There was also play-off despair for Alex Kirk, who had battled back from what looked to be a season-ending injury to be fit in time for Ayr United’s Scottish Championship play-off campaign, but was an unused substitute as they lost 5-0 to Partick Thistle in the second leg of the semi-final, to record an 8-0 on aggregate defeat. He ends his time north of the border with 22 appearances and two goals.

With one game left to play in Ligue 1, Nuno Tavares’ Marseille will have to make do with a spot in next season’s Champions League qualifiers after losing 2-1 to Stade Brest. Our defender came on at half-time but the defeat sees them guaranteed to finish third in the table behind champions PSG and Lens.

Folarin Balogun couldn’t add to his 20-goal haul as Reims were beaten 3-0 by Lyon, but an impressive top-half finish can still be achieved on the final day. That could also be the case for Monza, for whom Pablo Mari played 90 minutes of their 1-0 loss at home to Lecce, in what was his 30th appearance for the club.

Arthur Okonkwo saw his side let a two-goal lead slip to lose 3-2 at Rapid Vienna, but their place in the Champions League third qualifying round is already assured, while over in Finland, Ovie Ejerheri saved a penalty to help SJK beat KUPS 1-0 in a top of the table clash. Ovie has only conceded twice in his first eight league games for the club, who now sit a point clear of KUPS with two games in hand.

Meanwhile, Sambi Lokonga, Cedric and Ainsley Maitland-Niles' times at Crystal Palace, Fulham and Southampton respectively all came to and end following the conclusion of the Premier League season, although none of the trio featured in their side's final-day games.