Championship
• The race for automatic promotion is going down to the wire. After Burnley beat Preston on Friday night, Middlesbrough failed to regain top spot, missing plenty of chances in a 0-0 draw with Ipswich. Brighton won 3-1 at The Valley, as Charlton fans launched beach balls onto the pitch in protest against the club’s owners. That means all three teams have 87 points with two games to go – and Brighton go to the Riverside on the final day.
• The relegation battle is over, with MK Dons joining Charlton and Bolton in League One next season. Their fate was sealed with a 4-1 home defeat to Brentford. Nicky Maynard gave the hosts an early lead, but it was all downhill from there.
• That result secured safety for a host of teams – Blackburn and Bristol City, who drew 2-2 at Ewood Park, Fulham and Nottingham Forest, who met at Craven Cottage where Forest won 3-1, and Rotherham, who completed their great escape under Neil Warnock with a goalless draw at Wolves.
• Darren Bent and Barry Bannan were on target as Derby drew with Sheffield Wednesday. The Rams are certain of a play-off place, along with Hull, whose slim automatic promotion hopes were finally ended by a 2-2 draw with Leeds. Peter Whittingham’s injury-time penalty earned seventh-placed Cardiff victory over Bolton; the Bluebirds go to Hillsborough next week. Elsewhere, a pair of end-of-season affairs finished Huddersfield 1-1 Birmingham and QPR 1-1 Reading.
League One
• Wigan can celebrate an immediate return to the Championship after beating Southend 4-1. They aren’t mathematically promoted yet, but Walsall – who lost 4-0 at Bradford – need three wins, two Wigan defeats and a 22-goal swing to deny the Latics.
• Burton, who entered the Football League for the first time in 2009, are also on the verge of promotion after Lucas Akins’ hat-trick earned victory at Colchester. That 3-0 defeat confirmed the U’s relegation to League Two, but Doncaster got out of jail with a 2-0 home win over Coventry.
• Fylde coast rivals Fleetwood and Blackpool sit either side of the red line after a goalless derby draw, while Shrewsbury took a huge step towards safety with a 3-2 win at Gillingham. Oldham are safe after Jonathan Forte’s winner against Crewe, while Swindon left Chesterfield looking over their shoulders with a 1-0 win in Wiltshire.
• Gillingham’s collapse in form has kept the race for the play-offs interesting, with Barnsley moving into the top six with a point earned at Sheffield United. Scunthorpe are eighth after beating Peterborough 2-0, while Millwall’s 3-1 win at Bury keeps the Lions’ faint automatic promotion hopes alive.
League Two
• York City suffered their second exit from the Football League in 12 years after losing 3-0 at Accrington. They will join Dagenham & Redbridge in the National League next season; the Daggers are at least going out with a bang after stunning promotion-chasing Plymouth 3-2 at Home Park.
• That result was good news for Oxford and Bristol Rovers, who beat Hartlepool and Exeter respectively to keep pace with Accrington in a frantic promotion race. Portsmouth are virtually certain of a play-off place after a 2-1 win over Wycombe, while Lyle Taylor earned victory for Wimbledon over Leyton Orient. Only Cambridge can deny the Dons a play-off place; they won 2-1 at Notts County.
• Champions Northampton drew 1-1 at Yeovil, while Newport are safe after drawing at Luton. There was another 1-1 draw between Mansfield and Barnet, Dean Parrett scored two as Stevenage thrashed Morecambe 4-1, and Carlisle won 1-0 at Crawley.
