Former Premier League club closing in on return to EFL despite finishing 23 POINTS behind play-off opponents
FORMER Premier League side Oldham Athletic are on the cusp of an EFL return after a thumping 3-0 victory at York City.
They became the first team to have competed in the Prem, of which they were a founding club, to drop into non-league when their 115-year stay in the EFL ended in 2022.
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Now Micky Mellon's side are only one game away from League Two after booking their place at Wembley for the National League play-off final on June 1.
Only 24 hours earlier York boss Adam Hinshelwood, whose team finished second on 96 points, a whopping 23 ahead of Oldham, was celebrating his son Jack scoring the winner for Brighton over Liverpool.
But he was brought back down to earth with a bang as they suffered heartbreak on home turf.
York gifted Mellon's men the lead when goalie Harrison Male's poor pass to Alex Hunt was pounced on by Joe Garner, and the veteran drilled home from outside the box.
Vimal Yoganathan left the hosts with a mountain to climb with a low strike shortly after half time.
And moments later Oldham stuck another dagger through the heart of the Minstermen.
Joe Pritchard made it three with a near-post header to spark a pitch invasion from the away end.
It is now back to the drawing board for Hinshelwood and his shell-shocked squad.
Though Mellon, chasing a sixth promotion as a manager, and Oldham can start planning for their crunch trip to the capital.
They'll face the winners of Wednesday's showdown between Forest Green Rovers and Southend United.
Both their meetings this season ended 2-2.
But something will finally have to give in their biggest game of the campaign so far.
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