Sunderland take title with away win
Sunday, 6 May 2007Simon Whaley's solitary goal ensured the Coca-Cola Championship title went to Sunderland and not Birmingham as Preston North End beat the Blues 1-0 at Deepdale - but it was not enough to clinch Preston a play-off spot.
Steve Bruce's Birmingham squandered numerous chances before and after Whaley's 85th-minute winner.
Sunderland cruised to a 5-0 victory at Luton to snatch the title, but the win was too little too late for Preston, who had triumphed in just one of their previous seven matches at the start of the day to fall out of the top six.
Derby County finished the season with a 2-0 victory at Leeds and will now face Southampton in the play-offs after the Saints beat Southend 4-1 to finish sixth in the table.
Mick McCarthy's Wolves will meet local rivals WBA in the other play-off semi-final after both sides finished the season with a victory.
Wolves went behind at Leicester but came back to win 4-1, while the Baggies romped to a 7-0 victory over Barnsley with Kevin Philips grabbing a hat-trick.
