Match ends, Preston North End 2, Burton Albion 1.
PrestonPreston North End2BurtonBurton Albion1
Burton were relegated from the Championship after losing to 10-man Preston, who missed out on a play-off place despite the result.
Callum Robinson headed the hosts in front after Josh Harrop's corner was nodded across goal by Paul Huntington.
Burton were given hope when Preston forward Billy Bodin was given a second yellow card for simulation.
Hope Akpan fired in the equaliser from 25 yards out, but Louis Moult slotted in late on to win it for Preston.
But Alex Neil's side finished outside the top six, as Derby's 4-1 win over Barnsley assured the Rams of the final play-off spot.
- Relive all the action from the final day of the Championship season
- Championship stay has been 'fantastic' for Burton
Burton unable to repeat their heroics
The result meant the Brewers were unable to repeat their heroics of 2016-17, when they avoided relegation by a single point in what was their first season of second-tier football.
Nigel Clough's side appeared doomed this term after a 5-0 home loss to Hull on 10 April left them bottom of the table, seven points from safety with just four matches remaining.
But consecutive victories against Derby County, Sunderland and Bolton followed to give Burton real hope of another escape.
However, Sunday's defeat confirmed they would suffer relegation for the first time in 41 years.
For former Derby and Sheffield United boss Clough, it is the first time he has suffered relegation in his 20-year managerial career, 14 seasons of which have been spent with the Brewers.
Brewers' Football League journey
- 2008-09: Conference Premier champions.
- 2012-13: League Two play-off semi-finalists, losing to Bradford City over two legs.
- 2013-14: Beaten by Fleetwood in League Two play-off final.
- 2014-15: League Two champions and promoted to third tier of English football for the first time in their history.
- 2015-16: Second in League One in their first season of third-tier football, promoted to Championship for first time.
Preston manager Alex Neil:
"I've really enjoyed my year and there's much more to come going forward. We are not far away and we have improvement to make.
"We can reflect on the season and reflect on a few things that mean we have come up short, but also with a lot of pride in what we have managed to achieve.
"There are elements we need to improve. What we need is to push it on again and, if we can, improve the squad over the summer.
"I want to get as much as we can get done as early as we can and bring more competition into certain places. Without competition, improvement doesn't take place."
Burton Albion boss Nigel Clough:
"Everybody in the dressing room is really flat as you would expect. There are a lot of upset players in there.
"But we are down and have been relegated because of a reason - over 46 games we haven't been good enough it's as simple as that.
"We just didn't get enough points ultimately, we had too many draws and we wasted too many opportunities across the course of the season.
"What made it worse for us is that it all happened so late. Bolton were always going to be the problem. You always worry when your rivals are playing against a team with nothing to play for."
Line-ups
Preston
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 1Rudd
- 14Fisher
- 5Clarke
- 23HuntingtonBooked at 82mins
- 3Cunningham
- 4Pearson
- 8BrowneSubstituted forMoultat 81'minutes
- 39BodinBooked at 50mins
- 10HarropSubstituted forGallagherat 69'minutes
- 37Robinson
- 24MaguireSubstituted forBarkhuizenat 59'minutes
Substitutes
- 11Johnson
- 12Gallagher
- 17Spurr
- 21Moult
- 22Maxwell
- 29Barkhuizen
- 32Earl
Burton
Formation 4-1-4-1
- 1Bywater
- 2Brayford
- 15NaylorBooked at 42mins
- 5McFadzean
- 12FlanaganSubstituted forDyerat 74'minutes
- 19DavenportSubstituted forBentat 61'minutes
- 17Sordell
- 7Murphy
- 21Akpan
- 10AkinsBooked at 80mins
- 27BoyceBooked at 48mins
Substitutes
- 4Allen
- 9Bent
- 11Dyer
- 20Samuelsen
- 23Buxton
- 24Campbell
- 26Sbarra
- Referee:
- Andy Madley
- Attendance:
- 17,058
Match Stats
Home TeamPrestonAway TeamBurton
- Possession
- Home57%
- Away43%
- Shots
- Home18
- Away21
- Shots on Target
- Home6
- Away5
- Corners
- Home6
- Away8
- Fouls
- Home10
- Away12
Live Text
Post update
Full Time
Second Half ends, Preston North End 2, Burton Albion 1.
Post update
Foul by Louis Moult (Preston North End).
Post update
John Brayford (Burton Albion) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Post update
Declan Rudd (Preston North End) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Post update
Foul by Lucas Akins (Burton Albion).
Post update
Attempt missed. Liam Boyce (Burton Albion) right footed shot from the left side of the six yard box misses to the right following a set piece situation.
Post update
Attempt saved. Darren Bent (Burton Albion) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the right is saved in the top right corner. Assisted by Kyle McFadzean with a headed pass.
Post update
Offside, Preston North End. Ben Pearson tries a through ball, but Callum Robinson is caught offside.
Post update
Attempt blocked. Liam Boyce (Burton Albion) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Marvin Sordell.
Post update
Attempt missed. Louis Moult (Preston North End) right footed shot from more than 40 yards on the right wing misses to the left.
Goal!
Goal! Preston North End 2, Burton Albion 1. Louis Moult (Preston North End) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Ben Pearson following a fast break.
Post update
Attempt blocked. Liam Boyce (Burton Albion) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Marvin Sordell.
Post update
Attempt saved. Callum Robinson (Preston North End) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Ben Pearson.
Post update
Attempt missed. Callum Robinson (Preston North End) left footed shot from the left side of the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Tom Barkhuizen.
Post update
Attempt missed. Paul Gallagher (Preston North End) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the left from a direct free kick.
Post update
Louis Moult (Preston North End) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Post update
Foul by Hope Akpan (Burton Albion).
Post update
Attempt missed. Hope Akpan (Burton Albion) right footed shot from outside the box is too high from a direct free kick.
Post update
Foul by Darnell Fisher (Preston North End).
Comments
Join the conversation
Clearly managerial magic runs in the Clough family.
Never liked Bolton, but still, Forest - my club - have let you down as well as their own supporters.
Karanka needs a clear-out.
Hope you bounce back.
As for the headline, it would be rather more accurate to say Burton were relegated by Bolton's late win - Burton never led & would still have gone down with a draw. Unlucky, Burton, I was cheering you on!
'emotions may have been high but this comment from Clough seems disrespectful to Bolton and Forest. I think that the fact Forest had recovered from 1-0 down to go 2-1 shows they were putting effort into the game'
MOTD pundits; any team, on 87m, 2-1 up, that end up losing the game 3-2, would be slaughtered in any analysis, and rightly so.
I expect emotions may have been high but this comment from Nigel Clough seems disrespectful to Bolton and Forest (a club he played at for many years). I think that the fact Forest had recovered from 1-0 down to go 2-1 shows they were putting effort into the game.