Wolves 1 Doncaster Rovers 0
Defender Richard Stearman's late strike made sure champions Wolves ended their promotion-winning season with a win against Doncaster
Mick McCarthy's men opened the champagne bottles last weekend against Barnsley but this was far from champagne football as Wolves tried but failed to break the resolute Rovers.
Wolves toiled and could have gone ahead before the break but Kevin Foley and Karl Henry both failed to convert good chances.
Scottish midfielder Martin Woods nearly stunned the champions in the 80th minute but shot wide as defender Stearman secured all three points for Wolves in the dying seconds of injury time.
Reading 1 Birmingham City 2
Striker Kevin Phillips' second half effort sent Birmingham back to the Premiership at the first time of asking and left Reading to contemplate the play-offs.
The Blues needed a win to return to the top flight and got off to the perfect start in the 19th minute when Reading keeper Marcus Hahnemann failed to deal with Keith Fahey's routine shot.
Reading huffed and puffed and were made to pay in the 60th minute when Phillips beat the offside trap and fired Birmingham to within touching distance of promotion.
However the hosts set up a nervy final few minutes for Blues thanks to Marek Matejovsky's strike 60 seconds later but despite six minutes of added time Birmingham held on.
Crystal Palace 0 Sheffield United 0
Sheffield United were made to settle for a place in the play-offs after being held to a goalless draw against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.
Birmingham's win over Reading meant even a win wouldn't of been enough for The Blades which would have come if not for Palace keeper Julian Speroni.
Jamie Ward was stopped three times by Speroni in the first half while Greg Halford saw his powerful header tipped onto the bar after the restart.
Blades skipper Chris Morgan nearly grabbed all three points late on but, like Halford, his header rattled off the woodwork.
Burnley 4 Bristol City 0
Burnley defender Graham Alexander scored two penalties to book The Clarets' place in the play-offs following a comfortable win against Bristol City.
City flew out the blocks but were left to rue their luck when defender Liam Fontanie hauled down Elliott in the area and Alexander slotted a perfect spot kick in the 40th minute.
Elliott got himself on the score sheet minutes later after Robbie Blake's corner found its way to the Burnley right back before Bradley Orr's handball allowed Alexander to slot his second in the 74th minute.
Burnley weren't done there and grabbed a fourth 12 minutes later when former Leicester midfielder Joey Gudjonsson smashed home from a narrow angle.
Preston 2 QPR 1
Preston upset the odds and booked a surprise place in the play-offs thanks to Sean St Ledger's second half winner at Deepdale.
North End were two points outside the play-offs prior to kick-off and needed a win and results to go their way in order to finish in the top six.
Striker Jon Parkin set the ball rolling in the 37th minute only for QPR front-man to put Preston hearts in their mouths with a fine solo effort after 57 minutes.
But Preston dug deep and ended up setting up two date with Sheffield United thanks to St Ledger's effort in the 74th minute.
Sheffield Wednesday 1 Cardiff 0
Cardiff suffered last day heartache as Jermaine Johnson's second half strike gave Sheffield Wednesday the win and saw The Bluebirds fall out of the play-off places.
The South Wales outfit should have gone in at the break ahead but Roger Johnson somehow crashed against the bar with the goal at his mercy.
Cardiff threw men forward after the restart in desperation and were made to pay in the 71st minute when Darren Purse failed to deal with a long ball and Johnson lashed home.
The loss and Preston's win over QPR saw Cardiff fall at the final hurdle.
Swansea City 0 Blackpool 1
Leicester loanee Dudley Campbell netted the only goal as Blackpool walked away from The Liberty Stadium with a shock win over Swansea.
The Swans had nothing to play for after failing to make the play-offs but it didn't show with Thomas Butler testing the visitor's keeper Paul Rachubka as early as the fourth minute.
But it was Blackpool who took a surprise lead in the 13th minute when latching onto Brett Ormerod's through ball and finding the net with ease.
Swansea never got going after the restart and despite camping themselves in Blackpool's half couldn't find an equaliser.
Ipswich Town 2 Coventry City 1
Life at Ipswich for new boss Roy Keane keeps getting better after his Tractor Boys made light work of seeing off Coventry at Portman Road.
Back-to-back wins for Keane was secured as early as the 26th minute - with Spurs loanee Giovani Dos Santos and Pablo Counago both finding the net.
Dos Santos combined with Counago and lashed home from the edge of the box in the 24th minute before the Spanish striker tapped home fellow front-man Jonathan Stead's blocked shot.
Former Crystal Palace striker Clinton Morrison brought Coventry to within touching distance in the 79th minute but it just never happened for The Sky Blues.
Watford 3 Derby County 1
Polish striker Grzegorz Rasiak's first half double ensured Watford ended their season in style with a comprehensive thumping of Derby.
Midfielder Jobi McAnuff set the ball rolling in the 14th minute with The Hornets' first before Rasiak netted twice in 14 minutes to seal the deal.
The 30-year-old lashed home the first from close range after Tamas Priskin's shot was saved in the 27th minute and coolly finished off Tommy Smith's cross before the break.
Watford eased off after the break but despite John Eustace's strike for Derby in the 82nd minute they comfortably cruised to victory.
Nottingham Forest 3 Southampton 1
Lake strikes from Luke Chambers and Robert Earnshaw saw Nottingham Forest come from behind to see off relegated Southampton.
The Saints peppered Forest's goal in the opening ten minutes and were rewarded in the 16th minute when Bradley Wright-Phillips fired home Adam Lallana's through ball.
But Forest came out fighting after the break and Joe Garner's 73rd minute effort paved the way for a second half comeback.
The hosts had to wait until the 86th minute for the winner courtesy of Chambers before Earnshaw put the result beyond any doubt in injury time.
Plymouth Argyle 1 Barnsley 2
Barnsley duo Adam Hammill and Jamal Campbell-Ryce both found the net as The Tykes ended a run of eight games without a win on the last day of the season against Plymouth.
However it didn't look likely to be that way in the 11th minute when Argyle defender Gary Sawyer headed home Paul Gallagher's pinpoint corner.
But when Hammill combined with striker Jon Macken 34th minute to pull Barnsley level they never looked back.
On a day for ex-Blues another one, Campbell-Ryce, dealt Plymouth the killer blow moments after the restart Macken again the provider allowing the diminutive winger to lash home from just inside the box.
Charlton Athletic 4 Norwich City 2
Jamaican striker Deon Burton bagged a hat-trick as Charlton made sure Norwich join them in League One next season.
It took Charlton just nine minutes to open the scoring at The Valley thanks to Nicky Bailey before a quick-fire Burton double before the break dented the Canaries' slim hopes of survival.
Whether this will be another end of season last game for Bailey as he contemplates another 'dream move' only time, and how good his agent is, will tell. As he tends to get promotion by transfers Birmingham and the Premiership could do nicely. (But wouldn't it be great to see him at the Hall next season.)
Burton bagged his first capitalising on sloppy away defending and firing home in the 25th minute before combining with Bailey for his second and the Addicks third moments later.
Crystal Palace loanee Alan Lee and Sammy Clingan offered hope either side of the half but Burton's third in the 51st minute was too much for Norwich to claw back.
Play-Off Fixtures
Friday, 8 May 2009:
Preston v Sheff Utd, POSF, L1, 19:45.
Saturday, 9 May 2009:
Burnley v Reading, POSF, L1, 17:20.
Monday, 11 May 2009:
Sheff Utd v Preston, POSF, L1, 19:45.
Tuesday, 12 May 2009:
Reading v Burnley, POSF, L1, 19:45.
Championship Play-Off Final (at Wembley):
Monday 25 May 2009, 15.00.
Coca-Cola ChampionshipLatest match Sunday,
3rd May 2009Pld Home Away Overall Pts EP W D L F A W D L F A W D L F A 1 [P] Wolverhampton Wanderers 46 15 5 3 44 21 12 4 7 36 31 27 9 10 80 52 90 +28 2 [P] Birmingham City 46 14 5 4 30 17 9 9 5 24 20 23 14 9 54 37 83 +17 3 Sheffield United 46 12 6 5 35 22 10 8 5 29 17 22 14 10 64 39 80 +25 4 Reading 46 12 5 6 40 17 9 9 5 32 23 21 14 11 72 40 77 +32 5 Burnley 46 14 5 4 42 23 7 8 8 30 37 21 13 12 72 60 76 +12 6 Preston North End 46 16 3 4 39 20 5 8 10 27 34 21 11 14 66 54 74 +12 7 Cardiff City 46 14 5 4 40 23 5 12 6 25 30 19 17 10 65 53 74 +12 8 Swansea City 46 11 9 3 40 22 5 11 7 23 28 16 20 10 63 50 68 +13 9 Ipswich Town 46 8 9 6 30 26 9 6 8 32 27 17 15 14 62 53 66 +9 10 Bristol City 46 7 13 3 30 23 8 3 12 24 31 15 16 15 54 54 61 0 11 Queens Park Rangers 46 12 7 4 28 19 3 9 11 14 25 15 16 15 42 44 61 -2 12 Sheffield Wednesday 46 11 6 6 26 14 5 7 11 25 44 16 13 17 51 58 61 -7 13 Watford 46 11 6 6 42 32 5 4 14 26 40 16 10 20 68 72 58 -4 14 Doncaster Rovers 46 9 5 9 16 18 8 2 13 26 35 17 7 22 42 53 58 -11 15 Crystal Palace 46 9 8 6 26 19 6 4 13 26 36 15 12 19 52 55 57 -3 16 Blackpool 46 5 8 10 25 33 8 9 6 22 25 13 17 16 47 58 56 -11 17 Coventry City 46 8 8 7 26 26 5 7 11 21 32 13 15 18 47 58 54 -11 18 Derby County 46 9 7 7 31 26 5 5 13 24 41 14 12 20 55 67 54 -12 19 Nottingham Forest 46 8 7 8 27 28 5 7 11 23 37 13 14 19 50 65 53 -15 20 Barnsley 46 8 7 8 28 24 5 6 12 17 34 13 13 20 45 58 52 -13 21 Plymouth Argyle 46 7 5 11 31 35 6 7 10 13 22 13 12 21 44 57 51 -13 22 [R] Norwich City 46 9 5 9 35 28 3 5 15 22 42 12 10 24 57 70 46 -13 23 [R] Southampton 46 4 10 9 23 29 6 5 12 23 40 10 15 21 46 69 45 -23 24 [R] Charlton Athletic 46 6 8 9 33 38 2 7 14 19 36 8 15 23 52 74 39 -22