Wrexham Miss Championship Playoffs After Dramatic Final Day

Wrexham suffered playoff qualification heartbreak Saturday as they were leapfrogged by promotion rivals Hull City on a dramatic final day of the Championship season.

The Welsh club, owned by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, started the day inside the top six on goal difference, but their 2-2 home draw with Middlesbrough meant Hull City's 2-1 win over Norwich City saw Wrexham miss out on qualification for the playoffs by two points.

Wrexham, who were aiming for a fourth consecutive promotion that would see them play in the Premier League next season, finished seventh in the Championship table.

At the STōK Cae Ras, a topsy-turvy four-goal first half saw Wrexham come from behind to lead Middlesbrough before David Strelec's 43rd-minute goal for the visitors ensured the teams were level heading into the break. Despite a tightly contested second half, both teams missed chances, with Wrexham's Ollie Rathbone seeing his strike saved at the start of the half and Josh Windass also blasting over in the latter stages of the contest.

Wrexham's frustrations were compounded by the fact that Hull's winning goal, scored by Oli McBurnie in the 67th minute, appeared as if it should have been ruled out for a narrow offside.

Despite the last-day disappointment, it was still a memorable campaign by Wrexham in their first season in the second tier since the 1980s. Seventh place marks the club's highest finish in their 162-year history, bettering 15th position in the second tier in the 1978-79 season.

Still, the short-term pain will be acute, and Wrexham's players sat on the ground and looked disconsolate after the final whistle.

Elsewhere, Ipswich secured a Premier League return at the first time of asking. Goals from George Hirst, Jaden Philogene and Kasey McAteer put a QPR side that had nothing left to play for to the sword. Cue the pitch invasion at Portman Road as full time was greeted by scenes of euphoria.

Coming into the game, Ipswich knew that their fate was in their own hands. Middlesbrough's draw at Wrexham and Millwall's win over Oxford United were ultimately irrelevant as Kieran McKenna's side joined Coventry in the Premier League.

Boro's draw in Wales saw them drop down to fifth and lose the advantage of a return home tie in the playoffs. Millwall finished just a point behind the automatics in third and will have two cracks at Hull as they attempt to reach the Premier League for the first time. Boro will take on Southampton in the other semifinal.