Championship final-day round-up: Norwich crowned champions while Leeds finish with defeat at Ipswich

Teemu Pukki celebrates scoring his side's first goal at Aston Villa
Teemu Pukki celebrates scoring his side's first goal at Aston Villa Credit:  PA
Aston Villa 1 Norwich 2: Canaries end Villa's unbeaten run to secure Championship title 

By John Culley at Villa Park

A point would have been enough to see Norwich City promoted to the Premier League with the Championship title in their pockets, but in customary style they clinched all three against play-off bound Villa with a trademark late winner.

It came from the boot of midfielder Mario Vrancic, who ended Villa’s unbeaten run with a fine strike from the edge of the penalty area just four minutes from the end.

The result means the Canaries are champions of the second tier for the fourth time in their history, having last won the title in 2003-04. They win the trophy this time with 94 points, five more than second-placed Sheffield United, who could only manage a draw at Stoke.

The Norwich players returned to the field a few minutes after the final whistle to celebrate with their fans as a presentation platform was hastily assembled so that captain Christoph Zimmermann could receive the trophy.

Norwich City fans celebrate after winning the Championship
Norwich fans celebrate after the final whistle Credit: Action Images

Villa were destined to finish fifth in the table regardless of what happened today and will now meet neighbours West Bromwich Albion in the play-off semi-finals.

The Canaries - unchanged from the win over Blackburn last week that clinched promotion - were ahead in the seventh minute after a long, patient spell of possession ended with Onel Hernandez delivering a low cross from the left that Teemu Pukki was able to turn past goalkeeper Jed Steer for his 29th Championship goal of the season.

Villa, who had made five changes with the play-offs in mind, with talisman Jack Grealish among the absentees, struggled to find a footing in the match, yet drew level in the 12th minute.  Conor Hourihane’s low free kick from the left took the Norwich defence by surprise and Jonathan Kodjia ghosted in to divert it past an exposed Tim Krul.

Kodjia’s goal, his third in four matches, gave Villa impetus and thereafter they were the stronger side for much of the first half, creating enough chances to have taken control. Andre Green went closest, his thunderous volley blocked by defender Max Aarons.

Norwich countered somewhat towards the end of the half, Alan Hutton clearing away one dangerous ball in front of his goal, before Hernandez hit the top of the bar with an attempt from wide on the left.

The second proved no less entertaining than the first as both sides tried to find a winning goal, even though Villa had nothing tangible to play and Norwich needed only a point to be certain of taking the title.

Hourihane had a good chance to give the home side the advantage but could not place his shot wide of Krul, whose counterpart Steer pulled off a decent save diving to his right to deny a well struck shot by Marco Stiepermann.

But just as it seemed the match was destined for a draw that both camps would have been content with, Norwich confirmed what they have proved repeatedly throughout the season, that they are at their most dangerous in the closing stages of a match.

Vrancic picked up a ball from Jamal Lewis at the edge of the area after a driving run by the left back, he drilled home his third goal in four matches to take his tally to 10 for the season as Norwich finished their season in style.

Ipswich 3 Leeds 2: Relegated Ipswich continue Leeds' poor run with victory

By Press Association

Collin Quaner's last-gasp strike earned 10-man Ipswich a morale-boosting 3-2 win over Leeds, who head into the play-offs in dire form.

Marcelo Bielsa's side go into the first game of a two-legged tie with Derby having thrown away automatic promotion after successive defeats to Wigan and Brentford were followed by a draw against Aston Villa and the latest setback in Suffolk.

It was only a fifth win of the season for the relegated Tractor Boys, with Flynn Downes and Andre Dozzell their other scorers.

Leeds had levelled twice through Mateusz Klich and Stuart Dallas, while Kemar Roofe missed a penalty which had been awarded following a professional foul on him by Luke Chambers, who was sent off.

Town midfielder Downes found himself with just goalkeeper Kiko Casilla to beat in the 19th minute following tidy link-up play with Quaner and Alan Judge, but his goal-bound effort was deflected for a corner.

In the 28th minute, Ipswich striker Quaner collected a slide-rule pass from Dozzell only to be fouled outside the area by Casilla. But from the resulting free-kick by Judge the home side took the lead through Downes after the ball fell to him in the six-yard box.

Flynn Downes celebrates scoring their first goal
Another day of disappointment for Leeds, who head to the play-offs on the back of defeat Credit:  Action Images

Just before half-time Klich equalised for the visitors when he slammed the ball past Bartosz Bialkowski at the near post after a pinpoint cross from full-back Luke Ayling.

However, Ipswich regained the lead with a superb strike two minutes into the second half. Neat one-two touches in midfield between Trevoh Chalobah and Quaner fed Dozzell and he fired home from just inside the penalty area.

Bialkowski got down quickly to save a shot from Pablo Hernandez on the hour and defender Pontus Jansson headed narrowly wide in the 69th minute following a corner as Leeds fought for an equaliser.

A great double save from the Ipswich goalkeeper from attempts by Klich and Hernandez kept the visitors at bay.

But they did draw level after 76 minutes following another fine cross by Ayling. He found Roofe whose shot hit the crossbar and bounced down, struck Dallas and the ball ended up in the net.

Leeds were then awarded a penalty in the 80th minute when Chambers was adjudged to have fouled Roofe.

The Ipswich captain was shown a straight red card as Roofe prepared to take the penalty but he fired high over the crossbar, much to the delight of the Ipswich fans.

Ipswich then won the game in bizarre fashion following a mix-up between Ayling and Casilla, with Quaner pouncing to fire the ball into an empty net.

Rotherham 1 Middlesbrough 2: Efforts in vain for Tony Pulis' side

By Scott Wilson at the New York Stadium

So near, and yet so far. Middlesbrough kept their end of the bargain as they signed off for the season with a comfortable win at Rotherham United, but Derby County's win over West Brom meant they missed out on a place in the Championship play-offs by a point. 

For almost half-an-hour, the mathematics were working out in the Teessiders' favour, but while Boro's win against an already-relegated Rotherham side was never really in doubt, Derby's second-half rally scuppered their promotion hopes. 

Middlesbrough knew they had to win to have a realistic chance of scrambling into the top six, and Tony Pulis' side effectively settled their side of the equation before the interval. 

Failing to convert sufficient opportunities has been the story of Boro's season, and Britt Assombalonga wasted two excellent first-half chances by dragging poor shots across the face of goal, with Ashley Fletcher also passing up an inviting opening in an identical fashion. 

Ryan Shotton got in on the act when he directed an unmarked header over the crossbar from Lewis Wing's free-kick, but just as it looked like it was going to be one of those days for the Teessiders, they were presented with an opportunity to make a breakthrough from the spot. 

Britt Assombalonga's penalty gave Middlesbrough hope of a play-off spot
Britt Assombalonga's penalty gave Middlesbrough hope of a play-off spot Credit:  Action Images

Clark Robertson tugged down Assombalonga as he spun on to Fletcher's cushioned pass, and Boro's leading scorer picked himself up to stroke his spot-kick into the bottom corner. 

It wasn't all one-way traffic, with Rotherham striker Michael Smith skewing a shot horribly wide after Matt Crooks pulled the ball back from the byline, but Boro gave themselves some breathing space eight minutes before the break. 

Paddy McNair's downward header from a corner was blocked, but John Obi Mikel swooped on the loose ball and lashed home his first goal since signing as a free agent in January. 

The biggest cheer of the second half came from the 2,608-strong travelling support when news filtered through of West Brom's equaliser at the IPro Stadium, but the mood changed markedly when Derby scored two goals in the space of three second-half minutes. 

By then, the game was up, and Rotherham's 86th-minute consolation, which came courtesy of Michael Smith's penalty after Mikel had fouled Kyle Vassell mattered little to either team. 

Stoke 2 Sheffield United 2 : Blades settle for second following final-day draw

By Adam Lanigan at bet365 Stadium

Sheffield United can look forward to mixing it with the Premier League big boys in August, but they won’t have any silverware to polish this summer. 

They needed to win and hope that Norwich City lose at Aston Villa to finish top of the Championship, but the Blades could not fulfil their side of the bargain. 

Chris Wilder’s team fought back twice in the second half, demonstrating the teamwork and togetherness that has resulted in them holding their nerve to see off Leeds in the battle for promotion, but it was not enough to secure the win they required to have any chance. 

The Blades were made to pay for an opening 45 minutes where it looked like a week of celebrations had caught up with them as they fell behind to Sam Vokes’ neat volley. 

Billy Sharp nearly equalised only for Ryan Shawcross to divert it onto the post with a volley while Tom Ince struck the woodwork at the other end. 

Kieran Dowell of Sheffield United (8) celebrates as he scores his team's first goal with Billy Sharp and Chris Basham during the Sky Bet Championship match between Stoke City and Sheffield United
Kieran Dowell celebrates his goal  Credit: Getty Images 

Wilder made two substitutions at half time to spark some life into his team and it had an immediate effect as one of those changes, Kieran Dowell, levelled two minutes after the break. 

But their hopes of finishing top of the pile were ended when Shawcross volleyed home from a corner for his first goal for nearly 18 months. 

They still showed commendable spirit to equalise for a second time as left wing back Enda Stevens got forward to fire home. 

Sheffield United may not have won the division but it has still been an incredible achievement to finish above many teams with more illustrious players and bigger budgets. 

And rather than facing the play-off lottery over the next three weeks, they can already dream of those trips to Anfield and Old Trafford next season. 

Bristol City just miss out on play-offs

By Jason Mellor at the KCOM Stadium

Lee Johnson wants clubs to face tighter financial controls after Bristol City narrowly failed to make the play-offs.

Middlesbrough manager Tony Pulis claimed Derby County may have circumvented Financial Fair Play rules, an accusation dismissed by the Rams as they edged out the Teesside club to finish sixth.

Johnson's City clinched their best placing for 11 years in eighth, and while he diplomatically steered clear of similarly apportioning blame with any of their promotion rivals, the Robins head coach wants increased accountability to ensure a more level playing field. He said: "Whatever the rules are, they should be administered properly and everybody should have to produce live finances every couple of months so that we know that everybody's on track.

"It's something that could be improved, but saying that I've never seen a bag of money score a goal. At the same time it does help bring in that extra bit of quality but it's not for me to get political, it's my job to put out the best Bristol City side possible within our resources, and we've done a sterling job of that."

Matty Taylor celebrates Bristol City's equaliser
Matty Taylor celebrates Bristol City's equaliser Credit: Action Images

An injury-time own goal from Hull skipper Markus Henriksen - which was originally ruled offside but eventually allowed by referee John Brooks after consulting his assistant - cancelled out a clinical 55th-minute opener from Australian midfielder Jackson Irvine.

The Tigers finished comfortably in mid-table, despite being written off as relegation certainties by many pundits at the start of the season. They are braced for a summer exodus of their top-name players, with Nigel Adkins facing an uncertain future as talks continue over extending his contract which expires next month.

City's head coach said: "We were bottom in October but we managed to take our play-off hopes until the final few weeks and we end the season with a smile on our faces. Is this my last game in charge? You never know, but I hope not."

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