Live Commentary: Championship final day - Middlesbrough promoted - as it happened

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Championship final day - as it happened
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The final day of the Championship season often has plenty to decide at the top and bottom, but this year there was only one key position to be determined.

It was a biggie, though, as Middlesbrough and Brighton & Hove Albion met, with the winner guaranteed promotion to the Premier League.

In the end, the match finished as a draw and that was enough for Boro to clinch second place on goal difference ahead of the Seagulls.

Read how it all unfolded up and down the country with Sports Mole's minute-by-minute updates.

2.43pmAnyway, that's all we've got time for today. Thanks a lot for joining SM this afternoon, why not head back to the homepage for some live Premier League games?

2.40pmFINAL TABLE: After a long, 46-game slog this is how it all looks in the Championship. Burnley and Boro go up, with Brighton, Hull, Derby and Wednesday in the playoffs. Charlton, MK Dons and Bolton down.

2.38pm

2.35pmFULL-TIME SCORES

Blackburn 3-1 Reading
Cardiff 1-1 Birmingham
Charlton 0-3 Burnley - Burnley are champions
Derby 0-1 Ipswich
Fulham 1-0 Bolton
Huddersfield 1-5 Brentford
Hull 5-1 Rotherham
Middlesbrough 1-1 Brighton - Boro are promoted
MK Dons 1-2 Notts Forest
Preston 1-1 Leeds
QPR 1-0 Bristol City
Wolves 2-1 Sheff Weds

2.31pmWorrying news from the pitch as some Brighton players reportedly had punches thrown at them by some Boro fans. Awful to hear that.

2.28pmIt's not over for Brighton, who will now face Sheffield Wednesday in the playoffs.

2.26pmThey've done it! Boro hold on for a point which sees them go up to the Premier League by finishing ahead of Brighton on goal difference.

90+9 minFULL-TIME: BORO 1-1 BRIGHTON! MIDDLESBROUGH ARE PROMOTED TO THE PREMIER LEAGUE!

90+7 minWe'll bring you all the full-time scores soon, but for now we're focussing on the Riverside.

90+6 minFive of the eight minutes have been played and Boro fans are getting ready to invade the pitch.

90+3 minFULL-TIME: CHARLTON 0-3 BURNLEY! BURNLEY ARE CHAMPIONS!

90+1 minEIGHT MINUTES ADDED ON AT THE RIVERSIDE!

87 minGOAL! Blackburn 3-1 Reading (Grant Hanley)

86 minAdomah misses a golden chance for Boro, but the flag was up anyway. Surely Brighton are going to have one more chance?

79 minGOAL! Preston 0-1 Leeds (Chris Wood)

74 minGOAL! MK Dons 1-2 Forest (Britt Assombalonga)

77 minGOAL! Fulham 1-0 Bolton (Tom Cairney)

76 minFifteen minutes of normal time remaining at the Riverside, but there will be loads of added time after that red card incident. Brighton just need one.

67 minGOAL! Huddersfield 1-4 Brentford (Lasse Vibe)

62 minGOAL! Huddersfield 1-3 Brentford (Scott Hogan)

66 minBy the way, Boro brought on Downing for the injured Ramirez. Sidwell replaces Murphy for Brighotn as well.

63 minGOAL! QPR 1-0 Bristol City (Karl Henry)

59 minGOAL! Hull 5-1 Rotherham (Jake Livermore)

61 minThe thing is, Dean appeared to have a yellow card out and then seemed to change his mind when he saw the nasty gash in Ramirez's leg. I think it's unlucky that it has ended up this way – the Uruguayan is still receiving treatment – but you see 50-50 tackles like that all the time when the ball is in the air. Stephens won the ball and Ramirez's leg then went into his studs if anything.

52 minGOAL! Huddersfield 1-2 Brentford (Scott Hogan)

58 minHuge call from Mike Dean as he sends off Stephens for a studs-up tackle on Ramirez. Stephens got the ball and was high, but I still think a red is very harsh.

58 minOFF! BRIGHTON GOALSCORER STEPHENS SENT OFF!

50 minGOAL! Huddersfield 1-1 Brentford (Jamie Paterson)

56 minMoments later Boro have a great chance to go back in front, but Nugent is twice denied by the Seagulls' backline.

55 minGAME ON! It's an almost identical goal from Brighton as a deep left-footed inswinger is headed into the net by Stephens at the back post.

55 minGOAL! BORO 1-1 BRIGHTON (DALE STEPHENS)

51 minThe league's top scorer makes it three. Well done to Burnley!

51 minGOAL! CHARLTON 0-3 BURNLEY (ANDRE GRAY)

49 minThat'll do it for Burnley, surely? They won't be presented with the trophy today as they are away from home, but they are going to be confirmed as champions.

49 minGOAL! CHARLTON 0-2 BURNLEY (GEORGE BOYD)

46 minKICKOFF! Boro get us back underway. Nothing to lose for Brighton, they have to throw everything at the home side.

46 minBRIGHTON SUB: Change in attack for the Seagulls as James Wilson comes on for Sam Baldock.

1.28pmAS IT STANDS: Here's how it all stands then. Burnley on course to be champions and Boro primed for the other automatic-promotion spot.

1.24pmNot too many goals about then, but surely that'll change in the second half. This is the Championship after all!

1.22pmHALF-TIME SCORES! Here's how it all stands with 45 minutes of the Championship season remaining:

Blackburn 2-1 Reading
Cardiff 1-1 Birmingham
Charlton 0-1 Burnley
Derby 0-1 Ipswich
Fulham 0-0 Bolton
Huddersfield 0-1 Brentford
Hull 4-1 Rotherham
Boro 1-0 Brighton
MK Dons 1-1 Forest
Preston 0-0 Leeds
QPR 0-0 Bristol City
Wolves 2-0 Sheff Weds

1.17pm

45+2 minHALF-TIME: BORO 1-0 BRIGHTON

45+1 minJust the one minute of added time at the Riverside. Perfect half for Boro so far.

43 minSo it's definitely going to be Hull vs. Derby and Boro/Brighton vs. Sheff Weds in that order in the playoffs. Derby might have fancied sneaking into fourth, but they are losing and Hull are now three up.

42 minGOAL! Hull 4-1 Rotherham (Mo Diame)

40 minGOAL! Hull 3-1 Rotherham (Jake Livermore)

37 minOFF! Danny Fox for Forest against MK Dons

35 minGOAL! Wolves 2-0 Sheff Weds (George Saville)

35 minAnother chance for Middlesbrough as Adomah gets away down the left but can't find Nugent in the box. A waste, but Boro are playing with so much confidence at the moment.

34 minGOAL! Derby 0-1 Ipswich (David McGoldrick, pen.)

33 minAlmost two for Boro as Ramirez pounces on a weak Goldson header, lifting the ball over the keeper but onto the roof of the net. Brighotn have not done well since going behind.

31 minGOAL! Blackburn 2-1 Reading (Yann Kermorgant)

26 minGOAL! Cardiff 1-1 Birmingham (Anthony Pilkington)

27 minTwo quick goals for Hull so they are on course to secure fourth place and the second leg of their playoff semi-final against Derby at home.

27 minGOAL! Hull 2-1 Rotherham (Abel Hernandez)

26 minGOAL! Hull 1-1 Rotherham (Robert Snodgrass)

24 minBrighton cannot lose their heads here. Knockaert has just been booked for a rash challenge and Stuani was a goalline clearance away from making it two just then!

19 minGOAL! MK Dons 1-1 Forest (Nicky Maynard)

20 minBurnley take the lead at The Valley. Surely they will finish as champions given how poor Charlton have been this season.

20 minGOAL! Charlton 0-1 Burnley (Sam Vokes)

20 minBrighton have to change this to go up!

19 minBreakthrough at the Riverside! Ramirez with a fantastic curling cross and Nugent does superbly to cut the ball back for Stuani to tap in. What a mountain to climb for Brighton now.

19 minGOAL! BORO 1-0 BRIGHTON (CRISTHIAN STUANI)

18 minJust in case you were wondering why the times down the left hand side are a bit muddled, they are the times in the games in question.

16 minGOAL! Hull 0-1 Rotherham (Lee Frecklington)

17 min

16 minThis has been a good start by Brighton in the big one. Knockaert just floated in a dangerous cross that Konstantopoulos collected well.

14 minGOAL! Blackburn 2-0 Reading (Danny Graham)

11 minGOAL! Cardiff 0-1 Birmingham (David Cotterill)

13 minBy the way, you should have this page open in a new tab to see the live table as it stands. Boro still there is second at the moment.

8 minGOAL! MK Dons 0-1 Forest (Chris Cohen)

10 minWednesday boss Carlos Carvalhal knows that his side can only finish sixth and he's made 10 changes today, so not too surprising that Wovles are in front there.

8 minGOAL! Blackburn 1-0 Reading (Elliott Bennett)

8 minGOAL! Wolves 1-0 Sheff Weds (Michael Turner, OG.)

6 minAt the Riverside, Boro just won a very dubious free kick after their first spell of pressure. Brighton would have been fuming if it had come of anything, but they deal with the danger.

3 minFirst goal of the day comes at the John Smith's Stadium as Sergi Canos gives Brentford the lead.

1 minGOAL! Huddersfield 0-1 Brentford (Sergi Canos)

0 minKICKOFF! We're underway at the Riverside and up and down the country. Bright start from Brighton!

12.28pmWOLVES VS. SHEFF WEDS: Wednesday are guaranteed to finish in the final playoff place and they'll be up against whoever ends up third of Boro and Brighton. Wolves start the day 14th.

Wolves: Ikeme; Iorfa, Batth, Hause, Doherty; Price, Coady, Saville; Henry, Wallace, Mason
Subs: Martinez, Deslandes, Edwards, Byrne, Hunte, Le Fondre, Enobakhare

Wednesday: Wildsmith, Palmer, Turner, Semedo, Mathias, Nuhiu, McGugan, Helan, Sasso, Joao, McGeady
Subs: Price, Loovens, Hooper, Lopez, Stobbs, Hunt, Bannan

12.25pm

12.22pmQPR VS. BRISTOL CITY Mid-table QPR take on a Robins side who have improved loads since Lee Johnson came in as manager.

QPR: Ingram, Onuoha, Hall, Hill, Kpekawa, Henry, Faurlin, Gladwin, Chery, El Khayati, Washington
Subs: Lumley, Hoilett, Perch, Polter, Petrasso, Prohouly, Greco-Cox

City: O'Donnell, Ayling, Pearce, Baker, Golbourne, Pack, Reid, Bryan, Tomlin, Wilbraham, Kodjia
Subs: O'Leary, Vyner, Little, Dowling, Freeman, Williams, Agard

12.19pmPRESTON VS. LEEDS: 11th vs. 12th at Deepdale. Both sides have had decent campaigns and will be eyeing a run at the playoffs next term.

Preston: Kirkland, Vermijl, Wright, Huntington, Woods, Browne, Johnson, Gallagher, Reach, Beckford, Garner
Subs: Hudson, Pearson, Welsh, Robinson,Humphrey, Hugill, Doyle

Leeds: Silvestri, Coyle, Bamba, Cooper, Taylor, Diagouraga, Murphy, Cook, Mowatt, Dallas, Wood
Subs: Peacock-Farrell, Wootton, Phillips, Vieira, Botaka, Antenucci, Doukara

12.16pmMK DONS VS. FOREST: Forest are down in 17th, but they have not been able to sign any new players for the last three transfer windows, something that will change this summer after their embargo was finally lifted. The Dons are down having lasted just one season back in the second tier.

Dons: Burns; Spence, Long, Walsh, Lewington; Potter, Carruthers; Baker, Bowditch, Murphy; Maynard
Subs: McFadzean, Jackson, Kasumu, Powell, Furlong, Reeves, Revell

Forest: De Vries, Lichaj, Mills, Fox, Jokic, O.Burke, Cohen, Tesche, Gardner, Osborn, O'Grady
Subs: J.Wright, Mancienne, Assombalonga, Mendes, Macheda, Vaughan, Grant

12.13pmHULL VS. ROTHERHAM: Steve Bruce's Tigers will guarantee fourth spot with a win, but it won't be easy against a Rotherham side who have done so well to stay up under the stewardship of Neil Warnock.

Hull: McGregor, Odubajo, Davies, Dawson, Robertson, Huddlestone, Livermore, Elmohamady, Snodgrass, Diame, Hernandez
Subs: Jakupovic, Bruce, Maguire, Maloney, Clucas, Akpom, Aluko

Rotherham: Camp; Kelly, Broadfoot, Wood, Richardson; Halford: G Ward, Smallwood, Frecklington, D Ward, Clarke-Harris
Subs: Kenny, Best, Green, Mattock, Belaid, Bailey-King, Facey

12.10pmHUDDERSFIELD VS. BRENTFORD: The Terriers have achieved Championship safety again, while the Bees have failed to emulate the highs of last season's playoff run.

Huddersfield: Steer, Smith, Whitehead, Hudson, Scannell, Paterson, Matmour, Cranie, Huws, Van La Parra, Lynch
Subs: Allinson, Davidson, Hogg, Bunn, Lolley, Dempsey, Billing

Brentford: Button, Colin, Bidwell, Dean, Saunders, Hogan, Woods, Kerschbaumer, Yennaris, Barbet, Canos
Subs: Bonham, Hofmann, Swift, Vibe, O'Connell, Gogia, Clarke

12.07pmFulham forward Moussa Dembele sits out the final match of the season due to a calf injury.

Fulham: Bettinelli, Fredericks, Hutchinson, Burn, Ream, Christensen, Parker, Cairney, Tunnicliffe, McCormack, Smith
Subs: Lonergan, Garbutt, Stearman, Ince, Hyndman, O'Hara, Woodrow

Bolton: Amos, Wilson, Wheater, Threlkeld, Garratt, Derik, Danns, Pratley, Davies, Heskey, Clough
Subs: Rachubka, Moxey, Dobbie, Woolery, Finney, Walker, Newell

12.04pmFULHAM VS. BOLTON: Rockbottom Bolton go to Fulham, who are safe but sit just outside the bottom three after a disappointing campaign.

12.01pmJeff Hendrick is back on the bench for Derby after recovering from a long-term injury, while Adam McDonnell makes his league debut for the Tractor Boys.

Derby: Carson, Christie, Bryson, Keogh, Martin, Russell, Shackell, Hughes, Ince, Olsson, Thorne
Subs: Mitchell, Buxton, Hendrick, Bent, Butterfield, Blackman, Weimann

Ipswich: Bialkowski, Chambers, Smith, Berra, Kenlock, Skuse, McDonnell, Bishop, Feeney, Sears, McGoldrick
Subs: Gerken, Digby, Hyam, Foley, Douglas, Varney, Pitman

11.58amDERBY VS. IPSWICH: Derby are assured of a playoff place, but fourth spot is still to be decided between them and Hull. Ipswich looked like playoff contenders for much of the season, but their season has petered out the last couple of months. They can still finish seventh today.

11.55amMarney is passed fit to start for the visitors, while there is one change for Charlton.

Charlton: Pope, Fanni, Diarra, Teixeira, Fox, Kashi, Cousins, Harriott, Gudmundsson, Lookman, Vetokele
Subs: Mitov, Sarr, Suk-Young, Motta, Ba, Jackson, Makienok

Burnley Heaton, Lowton, Keane, Mee, Ward, Boyd, Marney, Barton, Arfield, Vokes, Gray
Subs: Robinson, Tarkowski, Dyer, Taylor, Duff, Jones, Barnes

11.52amCHARLTON VS. BURNLEY: The hosts are already relegated and their supporters are once again protesting against owner Roland Duchatelet. For Burnley, they know that victory will seal the title. Anything else opens the door for Boro or Brighton.

11.49amCardiff are without several players for the final game of the season, while Birmingham keeper Tomasz Kuszczak misses out.

Cardiff: Marshall, Peltier, Manga, Turner, Malone, Noone, O'Keefe, Whittingham, Lawrence, Pilkington, Immers
Subs: Moore, John, Connolly, Harris, Zohore, Ameobi, Saadi

Birmingham: Legzdins, Spector, Morrison, Robinson, Grounds, Adams, Kieftenbeld, Davis, Fabbrini, Cotterill, Donaldson
Subs: Trueman, Gleeson, Vaughan, Solomon-Otabor, Caddis, Shotton, Brock-Madsen

11.46amCARDIFF VS. BIRMINGHAM: Seventh against ninth in Wales and there's some breaking news for the home side this morning as they announce that their transfer embargo has been lifted. This comes after the Bluebirds yesterday revealed that manager Russell Slade would be relieve of first-team duties and instead become head of football. Cardiff have lost just one of their past 18 league games at home (W10 D7), while Birmingham have won just one of their past 11 league games (D5 L5).

11.43amBlackburn are unchanged, while their is a first Reading start for Josh Barrett as Brian McDermott injects some youth into the squad.

Blackburn: Steele, Duffy, Hanley, Kilgallon, Marshall, Lenihan, Lowe, Grimes, J. Gomez, Bennett, Graham
Subs: Raya, Henley, Ward, Williamson, Evans, Conway, Jackson

Reading: Al-Habsi, McCleary, Gunter, Cooper, McShane, Quinn, Norwood, Barrett, Williams, Kermorgant, Rakels
Subs: Bond, Evans, Robson-Kanu, Kuhl, Stacey, Watson, Dickie

11.40amBLACKBURN VS. READING: These two are both on 52 points in 15th and 16th respectively and neither is in good form. Blackburn haven't won any of their previous four league games at Ewood Park, while Reading are bottom of the form guide with only one point gained in their last six matches!

11.37amThe big news for Boro is that George Friend is passed fit and starts at left-back. Stewart Downing and Jordan Rhodes on the bench! Brighton are without the suspended Lewis Dunk, so Gordon Greer comes in at centre-back.

Boro: Konstantopoulos; Nsue, Ayala, Gibson, Friend; Clayton, Leadbitter; Stuani, Ramirez, Adomah; Nugent
Subs: Agazzi, Forshaw, Kalas, Downing, De Sart, Rhodes, De Laet

Brighton: Stockdale, Bruno, Goldson, Greer, Rosenior; Knockaert, Stephens, Kayal, Murphy; Baldock, Hemed
Subs: Maenpaa, Calderon, Bong, Sidwell, Skalak, LuaLua, Wilson

11.34am

11.32amTEAM NEWS: Right, an hour until kickoff so team news is reaching us from all 12 matches. We'll start at the Riverside and then move on to each other match in turn alphabetically.

11.30amWowee, this is impressive!

11.28amBrighton have conceded 11 more, but the Seagulls do have the best attack with 71 total goals this season. Indeed, Brighton have scored the first goal in more matches than any other team this season (28), with Hughton's men avoiding defeat in all of those games (W21 D7).

11.25amBoro also finished last season with the best home record before going on to lose in the final of the playoffs to Norwich. Aitor Karanka's side are built around a solid defence and for the second year in a row, Boro top the defensive standings with just 30 goals conceded in 45 games at an average of 0.67 per game.

11.22amBoro, meanwhile, had won six games in a row to go top of the table three weeks ago, but they have drawn their last three to drop down to second. Two of those matches were away from home and they'll be glad to be back at the Riverside as they are the strongest home team of anyone.

11.19amIt really does look like a proper humdinger of a match. Chris Hughton's Brighton are the league's form team with five wins and a draw in six matches to surge back into the automatic-promotion race. Going further back, the Seagulls have gone 13 games unbeaten, winning nine and drawing four.

11.16amIt'll be packed out soon!

11.13amBORO VS. BRIGHTON: Click here to see how it all stands in the second tier ahead of today's curtain-closer. Boro and Brighton sit second and third respectively, two points behind already-promoted Burnley. What needs to be decided today, then, is both the title and the other side who will join the Clarets in going up. As Boro have the better goal difference, they only need to avoid defeat to return to the big time after seven years away. If Burnley win at Charlton they will be champions, but defeat at The Valley would open the door for the winner of Boro-Brighton, if there is one, to snatch first place.

11.10amWe'll go through each game in turn over the next hour and 20 minutes before kickoff across the country, but there really is only one place to start and that is up in the North-East at the Riverside...

11.07amThe match at the Riverside is undoubtedly the biggest of the lot today, but there's 11 other games we can't forget about and here they are:

Blackburn vs. Reading
Cardiff vs. Birmingham
Charlton vs. Burnley
Derby vs. Ipswich
Fulham vs. Bolton
Huddersfield vs. Brentford
Hull vs. Rotherham
MK Dons vs. Forest
Preston vs. Leeds
QPR vs. Bristol City
Wolves vs. Sheff Weds

11.04amWho would have guessed back in August that Boro and Brighton would be level on 88 points and within touching distance of automatic promotion to the Premier League? It has been billed as the £200m match, but who will join Burnley in going straight up to the big time?

11.02amGoooood morning everyone! After 45 tough matches, the Championship season is almost done and today sees one of the biggest final-game face-offs ever!
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