There was plenty of cup final success for former Swindon Town players over the weekend as the domestic season reached its climax.

After the disappointment of seeing their unprecedented invincible season across all competitions fall against Atalanta in the Europa League final last week, Matej Kovar and Bayer Leverkusen made sure their season ended on a high in the DFB Pokal final.

Kovar spent half a season with Swindon during their single-season stay in League One in 2020/21, getting his first taste of senior football on loan from Manchester United.

Despite having been their designated cup goalkeeper this season and having started in Dublin in midweek, Kovar was on the bench as Leverkusen faced Kaiserslautern at the Olympiastadion in Berlin on Saturday.

His Leverkusen team completed their domestic double with a 1-0 win despite being down to ten men for more than half of the final against their 2. Bundesliga opponents, completing their unbeaten run across all domestic matches for an entire season as they ended their 31-year wait for a major honour with a league and cup double.

There was also final-day joy for Jack Stephens as he captained Southampton to promotion back to the Premier League in the championship playoff final at Wembley.

The defender, who had two spells on loan at Swindon in 2013/14 and 2014/15, which included a League One playoff final defeat to Preston North End, was part of Russell Martin’s victorious Saints in the richest match in football.

A fine defensive performance from the 30-year-old saw Southampton limit Leeds United to just two shots on target, and with Adam Armstrong on target at the other end, Southampton bounced back to the top flight at the first time of asking.

There were no cup final celebrations for Jake O’Brien in the Coupe de France on Saturday, although he was on target against Paris Saint Germain as his Lyon side lost 2-1.

The defender spent half a season with Swindon on loan from Crystal Palace during the 2021/22 season as Town made the League Two playoffs.

First-half goals from Ousmane Dembele and Fabian Ruiz had Lyon up against it at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy as Kylian Mbappe ended his career in the French capital with a domestic double, but O’Brien headed home at the near post from a corner after the break to make a game of it.

Lyon had secured Europa League football the previous weekend with a dramatic victory over Strasbourg.