Wrexham suffered playoff qualification heartbreak on Saturday after they were leapfrogged by promotion rivals Hull City on a dramatic final day of the Championship season.
The Welsh club, owned by Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac, 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 ensure 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 disappointment was compounded by the fact Hull’s winning goal, scored by Ollie McBurnie in the 67th minute, appeared as if it should have been ruled out for a narrow offside.
EFL promotions and relegations
Championship
Champions: Coventry
Promoted: Ipswich
Playoffs: Millwall, Middlesbrough, Southampton, Hull
Relegated: Sheffield Wednesday, Leicester, Oxford
League One
Champions: Lincoln
Promoted: Cardiff
Relegated: Northampton, Rotherham, Port Vale
League Two
Promoted: Bromley, MK Dons
National League
Promoted: York
Relegated: Truro, Braintree, Morecambe, Brackley
