Danny Ward scored the only goal as Huddersfield made certain of their place in the Sky Bet Championship next season with a 1-0 victory over Sheffield United.
The Terriers needed a point to ensure survival and Ward’s second-half effort proved enough as Neil Warnock’s side avoided a final-day relegation battler against Reading, who tumble into League One as a result of Huddersfield’s triumph.
The result caps a remarkable turnaround since Warnock’s appointment at the John Smith’s Stadium in mid-February, with Town losing just one of their last nine league matches including five wins in the last eight.
Victory over Yorkshire rivals United lifted Huddersfield five points above the bottom three, with the final round of fixtures to be played on Monday.
The Blades, who had already secured their return to the Premier League next season, dominated the early stages and penned the hosts in.
Huddersfield shot-stopper Lee Nicholls stood tall to make a great early save and keep out Daniel Jebbison after he raced through on goal in the eighth minute.
Blades striker Jebbison squandered another decent chance to fire the visitors ahead on the half-hour mark as he headed George Baldock’s cross over at the far post.
Warnock’s charges continued to absorb the pressure as United hammered on the door, and at stages in the opening 45 minutes, only keeper Wes Foderingham was in the visitors’ half.
Sander Berge was the next Blades player to have a crack at goal, but his tame effort barely troubled Nicholls.
The hosts were the first to show after the break with their first big chance of the match.
Tom Lees rose highest at the back post to meet Jack Rudoni’s teasing corner but his close-range header was blocked.
United manager Paul Heckingbottom quickly rang the changes as he threw on Oli McBurnie and Billy Sharp up front.
Foderingham pulled off a good stop to parry Josh Koroma’s effort wide after he nutmegged Chris Basham to force his way into the box.
And the pressure told two minutes before the hour as Ward’s crucial stunning strike, a curling left-footed effort from 25 yards which nestled in the bottom corner, fired Town in front.
The goal would have come as a huge blow to any watching Reading fans and Huddersfield came close to extending their lead when David Kasumu hit the side netting after being slipped through by Koroma.
United pushed hard for an equaliser in the closing stages but Warnock’s charges held firm sparking widespread celebrations in the stands.
Hull City 3-3 Ipswich Town: Tigers fight back three times to deny Tractor Boys
Ipswich Town missed the chance to move into an automatic promotion spot as play-off-chasing Hull City came from behind three times in a thrilling 3-3 Championship draw at The MKM Stadium.
Ipswich knew a victory would take them second after Leeds United were surprisingly beaten 4-0 by Queens Park Rangers on Friday, and they led on three separate occasions, George Hirst opening the scoring before Omari Hutchinson produced two brilliant strikes from the edge of the area.
However, buoyed by slip-ups from rivals Norwich City and West Brom earlier on Saturday, Hull dug deep to fight back on each occasion, Ozan Tufan and Liam Delap scoring their first two equalisers.
With Liam Rosenior's men 3-2 down with just four minutes to play, substitute Noah Ohio blasted his shot in off the crossbar to punish an error from Ipswich goalkeeper Vaclav Hladky.
The result keeps Ipswich behind second-placed Leeds on goal difference, though the Tractor Boys have a game in hand to come at Coventry City on Tuesday.
Hull, meanwhile, are two points adrift of the top six, with Norwich's goal difference advantage meaning their top-six spot is all but assured. The Tigers will, however, leapfrog West Brom if they beat Plymouth Argyle on the final day and Albion lose to Preston North End.
Data Debrief: Hutchinson's best not enough
Hutchinson was a man who deserved to be on the winning side on Saturday, giving Ryan Allsop no chance with two near-identical left-footed strikes from the right corner of the penalty area.
His goals came from an expected goals (xG) total of just 0.6, and he led all players on the pitch for shots (eight) and passes in the final third (21), also laying on three chances for his team-mates.
Huddersfield all but relegated from Championship while League Two play-off spots decided
Huddersfield Town saw their relegation from the Championship all but confirmed after a 1-1 draw with fellow strugglers Birmingham City on Saturday.
The Terriers avoided a defeat that would have seen them relegated on Saturday, but even a win on the final day over promotion hopefuls Ipswich Town will not be enough unless they overcome a huge goal difference of 15 goals with Plymouth Argyle.
Birmingham remain in the other relegation place and now must beat Norwich City to stand a chance of staying up with Sheffield Wednesday, Plymouth and Blackburn Rovers also still in danger.
At the other end of the table, the Canaries dropped points in a 2-2 draw with Swansea City, leaving the door open for Hull City, who face Ipswich Town later today.
Wilder laments "complete lack of leadership" as Blades' relegation confirmed
Chris Wilder feels his Sheffield United side's "complete lack of leadership" has been a key factor in their relegation from the Premier League.
The Blades will be playing Championship football next term after a dismal one-season return to the Premier League in which they have won just three of their 35 league outings.
Sheffield United's 25th league defeat of the season confirmed their relegation as they were hammered 5-1 away at Newcastle United on Saturday despite Anel Ahmedhodzic putting them in front at St James' Park.
A drubbing ensued after Alexander Isak's leveller, and the final whistle condemned the Blades to the second tier with three games to spare.
In Wilder's view, the club needs to rectify a lack of on-field guidance if the Blades are to bounce straight back up, embodied by the tough outing at St James' Park.
Wilder told the BBC's Match of the Day. "There are plenty of games where we have been put to bed early but today we should have been 3-0 up at half-time. I'm scratching my head that it was 1-1.
"Newcastle up their game and get a head of steam. Then our old mistakes start to fall in and goals go from two to three to four to five pretty quickly.
"There's a reason why that happens. It's an incredibly young side and there is a complete lack of leadership out there. I thought at times I was going to have a heart attack in terms of trying to get the messages on."
Wilder acknowledged there could be tough times ahead for the club, though he hopes he retains the trust of the fans having been brought in for his second spell as Blades manager midway through the season following the sacking of Paul Heckingbottom.
"It's going to be a tough summer for everybody," Wilder continued. "We have not been good enough. The league has been too powerful for us right the way through the season.
"Sheffield United is a really good football club. I think everyone understands that but it's been a really poor season.
"I've still got another year left of my contract. I'd like to think that the supporters can trust me. I'm enthusiastic and committed along with my coaching staff to get it right. We know exactly what direction we need to go, what the culture is going to look like, what pre-season is going to look like."
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