BIRMINGHAM CITY and Huddersfield Town have been relegated from the Championship.
The two clubs join Rotherham in slipping into League One, with the Millers’ relegation having been confirmed last month.
Huddersfield went into their clash with Ipswich needing a goal difference swing of 15 to stand any chance of survival, even if they somehow beat the Tractor Boys.
Blues, meanwhile, faced promotion-chasing Norwich at Carrow Road knowing that a win coupled with defeat for any of Plymouth Argyle, Sheffield Wednesday or Blackburn Rovers would keep them up.
Gary Rowett’s men defeated the Canaries 1-0, courtesy of a 55th minute goal by Paik Seung-ho.
But incredibly Argyle, Wednesday and Blackburn all won to send Blues down.
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Sheffield Wednesday comfortably triumphed 2-0 at Sunderland thanks to first-half goals by Liam Palmer and Josh Windass.
With the Owls sitting pretty, Blues went into the second half relying on Argyle or Blackburn to concede.
Remarkably the latter, managed by ex-Birmingham boss John Eustace, won 2-0 at freshly-crowned champions Leicester.
Argyle, meanwhile, led courtesy of captain Joe Edwards’ 40th minute header.
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Championship final day results in full
Birmingham City 1 Norwich City 0
Coventry City 1 Queens Park Rangers 2
Ipswich Town 2 Huddersfield Town 0
Leeds United 1 Southampton 2
Leicester City 0 Blackburn Rovers 2
Middlesbrough 3 Watford 1
Plymouth Argyle 1 Hull City 0
Rotherham United 5 Cardiff City 2
Stoke City 4 Bristol City 0
Sunderland 0 Sheffield Wednesday 2
Swansea City 0 Millwall 1
West Bromwich Albion 3 Preston North End 0
The Pilgrims held firm in the second half to send Birmingham down, while ending Hull’s play-off dream in the process.
Birmkingham’s relegation caps off a disastrous first year under their American owners.
Tom Brady and Co axed John Eustace in October despite flirting with the play-off places, opting to replace him with Wayne Rooney.
England legend Wazza subsequently won just two of his 15 games in charge, seeing Birmingham slide down the table in the process.
Rooney, 38, was sacked in January and replaced by Tony Mowbray.
Unfortunately for Blues Mowbray was forced to temporarily step down on medical grounds, with former boss Rowett stepping in as caretaker.
Ex-Millwall, Stoke and Derby boss Rowett’s return was unable to inspire Blues – with recent lacklustre draws at Rotherham and Huddersfield contributing heavily to their downful.
Sheffield Wednesday, meanwhile, staged a sensational recovery under Danny Rohl.
After failing to win any of Xisco Munoz’s 12 games in charge, the Owls dragged themselves back into contention under Rohl.
Elsewhere, Plymouth Argyle were 10 points above the drop when Steven Schumacher departed for Stoke City in December.
A disastrous run under Schumacher’s successor Ian Foster saw them plummet down the table, however, with the 47-year-old sacked and replaced by director of football Neil Dewsnip last month.
Blackburn, meanwhile, appointed Eustace in February, with the 44-year-old haunting former side Blues by guiding Rovers to safety.
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There was no miracle for Huddersfield, with the Terriers losing 2-0 to Ipswich Town – a result that saw the Tractor Boys earn promotion back to the Premier League after 22 years away.
With Leicester promoted as champions and Ipswich runners-up, Leeds will now have to contest the play-offs with Southampton, West Brom and Norwich.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
