Wrexham hopes dashed as Hull nab sixth to join Millwall, Boro and Southampton in playoffs

Adam Idah came off the bench to hit a double for Swansea on an eventful final day of the Championship campaign

Sat, 02 May, 2026 - 14:55

Staff

Wrexham’s hopes of a historic fourth consecutive promotion were ended with a 2-2 Sky Bet Championship draw against Middlesbrough at the SToK Cae Ras.

Hull took advantage of Wrexham – who were playing National League football three years ago – dropping points to secure sixth spot with a 2-1 win over Norwich.

Middlesbrough will head to the play-offs after finishing fifth, with Southampton awaiting them in the semi-final, while Wrexham end up in seventh.

On a see-saw afternoon in which they started inside the top six, Wrexham were quickly outside it when Tommy Conway put Boro ahead after four minutes.

Wrexham were back above the dotted line when Josh Windass and Sam Smith struck, but David Strelec equalised just before the end of an eventful first half.

Neither side could find the winner which would have impacted them – fourth place would have given Boro semi-final home advantage in the second leg – but it was not for the want of trying.

Southampton made it 19 Championship matches without defeat as they finished the season with a 3-1 win against Preston at Deepdale.

Taylor Harwood-Bellis’ superb 12th-minute header opened the scoring and Ross Stewart doubled the lead with a well-taken second after 47 minutes.

Lewis Dobbin capitalised on a Daniel Peretz howler to halve the arrears on the hour but substitute Cyle Larin tapped home to seal the win in stoppage time.

Millwall had to settle for a place in the play-offs despite finishing the regular season with a comfortable 2-0 victory over relegated Oxford.Femi Azeez scored both goals for the Lions as they finished third, with Ipswich’s 3-0 home win against QPR ensuring it would be the Tractor Boys joining Coventry in the Premier League next season.

Nonetheless, reaching the second-tier play-offs for the first time since 2002 represents a significant achievement for Millwall, who will face Hull.

Adam Idah came off the bench to score twice as Swansea ended their season with a 3-1 win at home to Charlton.

The Republic of Ireland international was introduced in the 65th minute and then struck twice in nine minutes, either side of a Miles Leaburn equaliser for Charlton.

Fellow substitute Leo Walta scored a stunning free-kick in the 88th minute – his first goal for the club – as the Swans confirmed an 11th-placed finish for the second consecutive season, but with three more points than last term.

Defeat saw Charlton finish the campaign with just one victory in their last nine games, but 19th place in the second tier – after promotion from League One last season – is their highest finish for 11 years.

At the very top, an Ellis Simms hat-trick and a Viktor Torp piledriver ensured that Coventry signed off on their Sky Bet Championship title-winning season in style with a one-sided 4-0 victory over a sorry Watford side at Vicarage Road.

Cheered on by around 2,000 fans bedecked in sky blue, Frank Lampard’s side ended a memorable season with 95 points and 97 goals.

Elsewhere Stephy Mavididi gave League One-bound Leicester something to cheer about at the end of a miserable campaign as his late goal secured a 1-0 win at Blackburn.

Ten years to the day after the Foxes were crowned Premier League champions, Mavididi’s 78th-minute strike saw Leicester pick up just their second win in the last 21 games of a dismal season which has seen them drop into the third tier for only the second time in their 142-year history.

Meanwhile goals from Delano Burgzorg and substitute Sam Bell saw Roy Hodgson end his short spell as Bristol City interim head coach with a 2-0 Championship victory over Stoke at Ashton Gate.

The home side led inside a minute as Stoke goalkeeper Viktor Johansson somehow contrived to lose control of the ball under no pressure in a central position inside his box and gifted it to on-loan striker Burgzorg, who marked his first Ashton Gate start with the simplest of finishes from 12 yards.

It was not until the 89th minute that Hodgson could relax, Rob Dickie heading down a Mark Sykes corner for Bell to side-foot home from eight yards.

More to come...