Former Irish international Michael Doyle has achieved a remarkable second promotion in two years as captain of a club after Coventry City won their Sky Bet League play-off against Exeter 3-1 today at Wembley stadium to earn promotion to League One.
Doyle had a hand in Jordan Willis' first goal while Jordan Shipley and Jack Grimme added a goal each to secure the tie. It comes a year after Doyle captained Portsmouth to the League Two championship having rejoined the club in 2015.
Now 36, the Dubliner has enjoyed a diverse career. He started out at Celtic but failing to make the breakthrough. He was loaned to Danish Premier League club AGF Aarhus before playing across England for Coventry, Leeds United, Sheffield United, Portsmouth and then rejoining Coventry last year.
A tangle with Exeter’s Jake Taylor could have seen Doyle sent off today but the referee seemed to miss the incident and he led the Skyblues back to the third tier on their first attempt.
As footballers and people, Michael Doyle and Marc McNulty were class acts at #Pompey. Their respect and affection for the club shone through in recent News interviews. They deserve today’s Wembley promotion - for once all Pompey fans can agree on that!
— Neil Allen (@pn_neil_allen) May 28, 2018
This man loves @Coventry_City.@Coventry_City love this man.
Michael Doyle leads the Sky Blues straight back up! 🏆🆙 pic.twitter.com/QeGR9AFasv— Sky Bet League Two (@SkyBetLeagueTwo) May 28, 2018
Glowing praise from Coventry gaffer Mark Robbins about Michael Doyle 👏👏🇮🇪
— Phelim Warren (@Freewheeler12) May 28, 2018
Congratulations to Michael Doyle and Mark McNulty on winning promotion with Coventry. Two great characters and it’ll be great to see them back at Fratton Park next season
— Andrew Moon (@mrandrewmoon) May 28, 2018
The result meant disappointment for former League of Ireland defender Pierce Sweeney, who was on the losing side for Exeter today.
