FootyChatter.com

Tottenham loanee Will Lankshear has scored 12 goals this season Already-relegated Oxford United put on a good show with a comprehensive win over bottom side Sheffield Wednesday on the day their return to League One was confirmed. The U's two-year stay in the Championship came to an end shortly before kick-off at the Kassam Stadium following Charlton Athletic's win over Hull City, meaning the Addicks could not be caught. But they quickly brushed off any disappointment to register their biggest win of the season at home to another relegated side thanks to Will Lankshear's double and goals from Will Vaulks and Myles Peart-Harris, with 17-year-old Will Grainger pulling one back for the Owls. Wednesday could finish on minus points if they fail to beat West Brom on the final day of the season next Saturday. Meanwhile, Oxford travel to Millwall, who remain in the hunt for automatic promotion. Oxford relegated after two years in Championship Charlton safe with win over play-off chasers Hull Tottenham loanee Lankshear produced a clever flicked finish at the near post to open the scoring with less than five minutes on the clock before he doubled his tally on 27 minutes. The England youth international's 12th strike of the season was a superb one. He turned his man before curling the ball past Pierce Charles and into the top corner from distance. Despite Oxford's struggles, Lankshear, 21, has enjoyed a breakthrough season and could well be playing for his parent club in the second tier next term. At the other end, Charlie Mc Neil struck the post for the Owls on the stroke of half-time after a clever turn allowed him to get away from his marker. The Owls improved after the break and had the ball in the back of the net through Jerry Yates, but the goal was ruled out for a foul on Oxford keeper Jamie Cumming in the build-up. Former Wednesday midfielder Vaulks then popped up with his first goal of the campaign - a well-taken half-volley from inside the area - before substitute Grainger netted for Wednesday with a cool finish. But Oxford's three-goal lead was restored within 60 seconds when another substitute, Peart-Harris, finished low from close range to wrap up a comfortable victory. Will Grainger, 17, scored his first professional goal on his seventh appearance for Sheffield Wednesday Oxford United boss Matt Bloomfield told BBC Radio Oxford: "Complete mix [of emotions]. "Obviously extreme disappointment at what's happened today in terms of the position of the football club but that's certainly mixed in with pride for our supporters and the way they have supported the boys over the season and today. "The way they welcomed the group at the end, there's also a lot of hope for the future. "I'm really excited for the future but I have to admit my overriding feeling today is one of disappointment. "You look at yourself all the time, it's just a part of trying to get better. You always have to assess and re-assess, you have to try and learn from setbacks so of course I look at myself. "If you want to get better at anything you have to be self-critical. " This video can not be played Wasn't At The Game (25/04/2026) Sheffield Wednesday head coach Henrik Pedersen told BBC Radio Sheffield: "We were not the team we want to be. "If you look at the last two to two and a half months, we have had a lot of good performances, very stable performances. We have seen a strong culture and a big culture. "Today, I missed this strong culture. It has been a tough week for the players, we ran a lot on Wednesday evening at Middlesbrough and you can see today we were not as strong mentally as we normally are. "When we don't have this we lose the connection. When we lose the connection we lose all the quality through the team, especially in the first half. "I think in the second half we were much stronger defensively, we were stronger offensively and also created chances. "But generally it wasn't a good performance for how we want to be at Sheffield Wednesday. " This video can not be played Pedersen: 'We were not the team we want to be' After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users. Comments can not be loaded To load Comments you need to enable Java Script in your browser Last Updated 25th April 2026 at 17: 27 Please Note: All times UK. Tables are subject to change. The BBC is not responsible for any changes that may be made. Manager: Matt Bloomfield Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Henrik Pedersen Formation: 3 - 4 - 3 Manager: Matt Bloomfield Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Henrik Pedersen Formation: 3 - 4 - 3 Championship All competitions All competitions All competitions Oxford United are looking to complete their fourth league double over Sheffield Wednesday, after 1972-73, 1973-74, and 2021-22. After their 3-1 win in this exact fixture last season, Sheffield Wednesday could win back-to-back league trips to Oxford United for just the second time, after doing so in August 1985. Oxford United have only lost their final home league game in one of the last 11 seasons (W7 D3 – including curtailed 2019-20), a 1-2 defeat to Accrington Stanley in 2022-23. Sheffield Wednesday have only lost their last away league game in one of the last nine seasons (W4 D4), going down 5-3 at Fulham in 2019-20. Oxford United have 26 points in 22 home league games this season (W6 D8 L8); only in 1987-88 (22), 1999-00 (23), 2000-01 (19), and 2022-23 (23) have they ended a Football League campaign with fewer (assuming 3 pts/win all-time). Match ends, Oxford United 4, Sheffield Wednesday 1. Second Half ends, Oxford United 4, Sheffield Wednesday 1. Foul by Myles Peart-Harris (Oxford United). Jaden Heskey (Sheffield Wednesday) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Fourth official has announced 3 minutes of added time. Offside, Sheffield Wednesday. Devlan Moses is caught offside. Substitution, Sheffield Wednesday. Devlan Moses replaces Max Lowe. Attempt saved. Myles Peart-Harris (Oxford United) left footed shot from a difficult angle on the left is saved in the centre of the goal by Pierce Charles (Sheffield Wednesday). Assisted by Will Vaulks with a cross. Attempt blocked. Will Grainger (Sheffield Wednesday) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Jaden Heskey. Attempt missed. Will Grainger (Sheffield Wednesday) left footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the left. Brodie Spencer (Oxford United) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul. Foul by Brodie Spencer (Oxford United). Will Grainger (Sheffield Wednesday) wins a free kick in the attacking half. Myles Peart-Harris (Oxford United) wins a free kick on the left wing. Foul by Dominic Iorfa (Sheffield Wednesday). Yunus Konak (Oxford United) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Foul by Jarvis Thornton (Sheffield Wednesday). Corner, Sheffield Wednesday. Conceded by Ciaron Brown. Attempt blocked. Will Grainger (Sheffield Wednesday) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Attempt blocked. Jamal Lowe (Sheffield Wednesday) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Copyright © 2026 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.