Championship
• With the top three not in action and the relegation battle over, the spotlight fell on the fight for sixth place. Sheffield Wednesday sealed their play-off place with a 3-0 win over Cardiff, thanks to two Gary Hooper goals and a moment of slapstick defending that led to a Lee Peltier own goal. The Owls are in the Championship play-offs for the first time since dropping out of the Premier League 16 years ago.
• Wednesday join Derby and Hull in the playoffs, but Steve Bruce’s side suffered a demoralising 1-0 defeat at bottom club Bolton. Derby travel to Brighton on Monday, with Burnley hosting QPR. Both sides could take top spot heading into the final round of matches after Middlesbrough could only draw 2-2 at Birmingham on Friday evening.
• Elsewhere, there was little to play for but plenty of entertainment. Luke Varney’s late winner earned Ipswich their first win in eight games as relegated MK Dons were beaten 3-2, while Daniel Johnson grabbed a late winner for Preston against Reading. Brentford strolled past Fulham in a West London derby, winning 3-0 at Griffin Park,while at Ashton Gate, Jonathan Kodjia scored twice as Bristol City thrashed Huddersfield 4-0.
• Rotherham suffered their first defeat since February as Blackburn won 1-0 at the New York Stadium thanks to Shane Duffy’s early goal. Rovers boss Paul Lambert is set to leave at the end of the season, with Neil Warnock’s future still unclear. Another manager who may not be in the dugout come August is Steve Evans, who saw his Leeds team lose 2-1 to relegated Charlton. In the day’s other game, Nottingham Forest and Wolves played out a 1-1 draw at the end of a disappointing season for both clubs.
Remaining fixtures: Monday: Brighton v Derby, Burnley v QPR. Saturday 7 May: Blackburn v Reading, Cardiff v Birmingham, Charlton v Burnley, Derby v Ipswich, Fulham v Bolton, Huddersfield v Brentford, Hull v Rotherham, MK Dons v Nottingham Forest, Middlesbrough v Brighton, Preston v Leeds, QPR v Bristol City, Wolves v Sheffield Wednesday.
League One
• Wigan are heading back to the Championship, securing promotion with a 4-0 win over Blackpool at Bloomfield Road. The Latics are all but certain to be crowned champions, and dished out ice-cold revenge on the team that beat them 4-0 in the Premier League in August 2010. That must feel a very long time ago for Blackpool fans, who held protests against the Oyston family with the club on the brink of falling into League Two, five years after dropping out of the top flight.
• Burton are on the verge of a first season in the second tier, continuing their remarkable rise from non-league football. Tom Naylor’s injury-time winner against Gillingham means that the Brewers will be up if Walsall fail to beat Fleetwood on Monday. Otherwise, a point at Doncaster on the final day will suffice. Rovers lost at Crewe to all but confirm their third relegation in the last five seasons.
• Game of the day came at the Greenhous Meadow, where Shrewsbury fought back from 3-0 to equalise in the 89th minute, only for Jon Taylor to score a 93rd-minute winner for Peterborough. Doncaster’s defeat means that Shrewsbury can at least celebrate survival, along with Chesterfield, who beat Bury 3-0. There was also drama at Spotland, where Swindon let a two-goal lead slip, and saw two players sent off, in a 2-2 draw with Rochdale.
• Millwall and Bradford secured their play-off places with wins over Oldham and Southend respectively; Barnsley in sixth conceded a late equaliser to Colchester, and will battle in-form Scunthorpe, who beat Port Vale 1-0, and Gillingham for the final berth. Coventry beat Sheffield United 3-1 at the Ricoh Arena, but both sides are now resigned to another season in the third tier.
Remaining fixtures: Monday: Walsall v Fleetwood. Sunday 8 May: Bradford v Chesterfield, Bury v Southend, Colchester v Rochdale, Doncaster v Burton, Fleetwood v Crewe, Gillingham v Millwall, Oldham v Coventry, Peterborough v Blackpool, Port Vale v Walsall, Sheffield United v Scunthorpe, Swindon v Shrewsbury, Wigan v Barnsley.
League Two
• The race for the final two automatic promotion places will go to the wire as Accrington, Oxford United and Bristol Rovers all won. Stanley found a crucial winning goal through the aptly named Mark Hughes to stay second, Oxford won 2-0 at Carlisle and Rovers thrashed York 4-1, Billy Bodin bagging a brace. The three teams are separated by just two points with one game each remaining.
• Plymouth bowed out of the race for the top three after a 2-2 draw at Cambridge, who missed out on a play-off place as a result. The Pilgrims will be joined in the play-offs by Portsmouth, who won at Hartlepool, and Wimbledon, who drew 0-0 with Stevenage and are bidding to join MK Dons in next season’s third tier. Meanwhile Northampton, long since promoted, lifted the League Two trophy at Sixfields after defeating Luton 2-0.
• Result of the day came at Barnet, where Yeovil rallied from 2-0 and 3-1 down to win 4-3 thanks to Harry Cornick’s last-gasp winner. Dagenham & Redbridge are going down in style, beating Crawley 3-0 after last week’s win at Plymouth, while in the other games it finished Exeter 1-1 Morecambe, Leyton Orient 1-0 Mansfield and Newport 0-1 Notts County.
Remaining fixtures: Saturday 7 May: Accrington v Stevenage, Bristol Rovers v Dagenham & Redbridge, Crawley v Barnet, Luton v Exeter, Mansfield v Cambridge, Morecambe v York, Notts County v Carlisle, Oxford United v Wycombe, Plymouth v Hartlepool, Portsmouth v Northampton, Wimbledon v Newport, Yeovil v Leyton Orient.
