{"id":241466,"date":"2026-05-02T13:43:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-02T13:43:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/02\/hollywood-stars-promotion-dream-ends-aussie-stars-role-in-chaos-championship-final-day-wrap\/"},"modified":"2026-05-02T13:43:00","modified_gmt":"2026-05-02T13:43:00","slug":"hollywood-stars-promotion-dream-ends-aussie-stars-role-in-chaos-championship-final-day-wrap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/02\/hollywood-stars-promotion-dream-ends-aussie-stars-role-in-chaos-championship-final-day-wrap\/","title":{"rendered":"Hollywood star\u2019s promotion dream ends; Aussie star\u2019s role in chaos: Championship Final Day Wrap"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Ipswich secured an immediate return to the Premier League as they beat QPR 3-0 on Saturday to hold off the challenge of Millwall. <\/p>\n

The Tractor Boys had the destiny of second place in the Championship in their own hands and two goals in the opening 10 minutes from George Hirst and Jaden Philogene allowed the party to start early at Portman Road. <\/p>\n

Kasey McAteer rounded off victory five minutes from time as Ipswich join Coventry in the top flight next season.<\/p>\n

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Get all the latest football news, highlights and analysis delivered straight to your inbox with Fox Sports Sportmail. Sign up now!!!<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

Ipswich struggled last season on their return to the Premier League for the first time in 22 years, but will hope that experience serves them better for the challenge ahead. <\/p>\n

Despite winning just four of their 38 league games last season, the club have been rewarded for keeping faith with Kieran McKenna. <\/p>\n

The former Manchester United assistant boss has now led the club to three promotions in four campaigns.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis has probably been the hardest one, if I\u2019m honest, so it means an awful lot,\u201d said McKenna.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had to try and rebuild this team under difficult circumstances and you know everyone\u2019s stuck at it. I think we deserve to be where we are today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leading into the final day, Ipswich Town were in the box seat to secure second place on 81 points, with Millwall on 80 and Middlesbrough on 79 while Coventry had locked in the other automatic promotion slot.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, there was a mountain to play for below that trio with spots up for grabs in the playoffs.<\/p>\n

Wrexham, the club that has enjoyed a meteoric rise and is owned by Hollywood heavyweights Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, sat in sixth before the final day and were hopeful of securing the final playoff spot.<\/p>\n

They were equal on 70 points with Hull and led on goal difference, while Derby County were lurking below on 69 points.<\/p>\n

But a fairytale opportunity wasn\u2019t to be.<\/p>\n

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Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds almost enjoyed a playoff run.<\/span>Source: AFP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Wrexham matched up against Middlesbrough, who were desperate to win in a bid to secure automatic promotion, and Reynolds\u2019 club took a 1-0 lead early in their tie.<\/p>\n

A 28th minute goal levelled the scores, and then the rising powerhouse scored again in the 41st minute with Sam Smith finding the net.<\/p>\n

But that effort quickly cancelled out in the 43rd minute, with that game ending 2-2 \u2014 which also ended Wrexham\u2019s promotion hopes after a rival enjoyed a big win.<\/p>\n

Hull City went down 1-0 after 26 minutes with rising Aussie star Mohamed Toure the man to score first for opponents Norwich City.<\/p>\n

Anis Ben Slimane sent a chop over the defensive line, and Toure was on hand to volley it into the left corner with a smart finish.<\/p>\n

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Mo Toure scores for Norwich City.<\/span>Source: FOX SPORTS<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

However, Hull equalised before halftime and eventually went on to take a lead over Norwich, which saw them claim the final spot in the playoffs alongside Middlesbrough, Southampton and Millwall.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere, Derby also took a lead in the fifth minute against Sheffield United and leapfrogged both Hull and Wrexham at halftime, but were handed a huge blow.<\/p>\n

Sheffield scored two quickfire goals in the second half which ended their promotion dreams, dropping them out of the top six.<\/p>\n

LADDER AFTER FINAL DAY (Only playoff contenders shown)<\/b><\/p>\n

1. Coventry \u2014 95 points (+52)<\/p>\n

2. Ipswich Town \u2014 84 points (+33)<\/p>\n

3. Millwall \u2014 83 points (+15)<\/p>\n

4. Southampton \u2014 80 points (+26) <\/p>\n

5. Middlesbrough \u2014 80 points (+25)<\/p>\n

6. Hull \u2014 73 points (+4)<\/p>\n

7. Wrexham \u2014 71 points (+4)<\/p>\n

8. Derby County \u2014 69 points (+8)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ipswich secured an immediate return to the Premier League as they beat QPR 3-0 on Saturday to hold off the challenge of Millwall. The Tractor Boys had the destiny of second place in the Championship in their own hands and two goals in the opening 10 minutes from George Hirst and Jaden Philogene allowed the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":241467,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6807],"tags":[156],"class_list":{"0":"post-241466","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-leagues-cups","8":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241466","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=241466"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241466\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/241467"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=241466"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=241466"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=241466"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}