Championship goals, first leg: Sheffield United and Luton play play-offs; Middlesbrough, Millwall miss | Football news

Sheffield United secured a play-off spot after beating champions Fulham 4-0.

Knowing a win would ensure their season extension, the Blades took a 3-0 lead after 25 minutes after goals from Morgan Gibbs-White, Iliman Ndiaye and Sander Berge.

Enda Stevens scored early in the second half, with Nottingham Forest following in the playoffs for Paul Heckingbottom’s men.

Harry Cornick’s quick thinking moment during the halftime break helped Luton secure a place in the Championship play-offs with a 1-0 win over Reading.

Against a team with nothing left to play, the hosts needed a win and they overcame that thanks to Cornick’s 13th goal of the season.

Middlesbrough failed to secure a place in the Championship play-offs when they lost 4-1 to Preston on the final day of the season.

Chris Wilder’s men need to win to give themselves a chance to leapfrog either Sheffield United or Luton into the last two available places.

But Alan Browne’s goal, Emil Riis Jakobsen’s brace and Dael Fry’s own goal settled the game in Preston’s favor, with Marcus Tavernier’s reply nothing more than a consolation for Middlesbrough, who threw Paddy McNair onto the field.

Millwall suffered disappointment on the final day when Kieffer Moore’s late goal sent them to a 1-0 defeat at Bournemouth and ended their play-off dreams.

Gary Rowett’s side entered the final Sky Bet Championship game of the season needing a win and hoping other results will help them secure a spot in the top six.

But despite the mental effort, they came up narrowly when they could not beat a Cherries team that still performed despite having secured promotion to the Premier League in the middle of the week.

Huddersfield got the perfect preparation for their Championship play-off campaign with a comfortable 2-0 win over Bristol City.

The Terriers, who rose to third with the win, extended their unbeaten run to seven games thanks to two strikes before the interval.

Harry Toffolo opened the scoring after a clever solo with Danny Ward doubling the lead for the home team.

Fourth-placed Nottingham Forest will face Sheffield United in the Sky Bet Championship play-offs after they were held to a dramatic 1-1 draw by Hull.

With the game going nowhere, Forest substitute Brennan Johnson scored a penalty in injury time after Tom Huddlestone was reported to have fouled Sam Surridge.

But with Forest fans in party mode, Hull equalized just two minutes later thanks to Keane Lewis-Potter, who impressed with Lewie Coyle’s cross from the right.

Blackburn bounced back in style to departing manager Tony Mowbray as he signed for a 2-1 win over Birmingham at St. Andrew’s.

Season goal contenders from John Buckley and Ben Brereton Diaz left Rovers comfortably in charge at half-time as Mowbray, 58, was set to start after five years and 267 games in the Ewood Park hotseat.

Kristian Pedersen pulled back a late goal but that wasn’t enough to negate Blackburn’s 10th away success of the season.

Sammie Szmodics scored twice after relegated Peterborough were knocked out of the Championship with a jubilant 5-0 win over a much-changed Blackpool at London Road.

Jonson Clarke-Harris put Posh on their way in the first half, before Szmodics hit two goals in eight minutes and subsequent hits from Jack Marriott and Jack Taylor ended an energetic afternoon.

West Brom ended their Championship season with a bold 4-0 win to make relegated Barnsley even more miserable.

Karlan Grant’s penalty gave the Baggies the lead, before Adam Reach doubled the lead five minutes before the break. Another Matt Clarke and another Grant secured a resounding victory.

Derby’s hopes of ending a tumultuous season were running high were dashed by Jordan Hugill’s second-half goal, giving Cardiff a 1-0 win.

Andre Gray came on from the bench to score his 10th goal of the season as Mark Warburton ended his three-year reign at QPR as the visitors won 1–0 at Swansea.com Stadium.

Meanwhile, Stoke and Coventry shared the spoils in an exciting 1-1 draw to end the season.

Viktor Gyokeres had taken the lead in the 14th minute, but Sam Clucas leveled for the hosts two minutes before the break with a brilliant shot.