Southampton promoted

Nigel Adkins's side knew a victory against relegated Coventry would guarantee Southampton second place behind champions Reading and a return to the top flight for the first time since 2005, and any doubt was extinguished inside 20 minutes.

Billy Sharp got a deft touch to an Adam Lallana drive to put Saints in front after 16 minutes and Jose Fonte doubled their lead just three minutes later with a diving header from a corner.

Jos Hooveid turned the ball home inside the box after 53 minutes to secure the points and Lallana tapped home a fourth 10 minutes later as St Mary's enjoyed a promotion party, with fans invading the pitch at the final whistle.

Meanwhile, though West Ham stole in front against Hull when Carlton Cole headed home after 36 minutes, news of Southampton's early lead had already filtered through to the fans in attendance at Upton Park.

Cole added a second with a volley in the second half before Corry Evans exploited some comical defending to pull one back for Hull. West Ham finish in third place in the Championship and will now face Cardiff City in the play-offs.

With relegation matters already settled, the final outstanding issue was the fourth play-off place, which Cardiff held onto courtesy of a 2-1 win at Crystal Palace.

Cardiff would have lost their top-six spot if they had lost and Middlesbrough had beaten Watford, and Malky Mackay's side were given cause for concern when Wilfried Zaha put Palace in front after 13 minutes.

However, superb efforts from Peter Whittingham and Don Cowie in the second half gave Cardiff the victory.

Middlesbrough dominated the first half at Watford but fell behind to a goal from Chris Iwelumo after 69 minutes. Marvin Emnes struck a late response but Troy Deeney gave the home side the victory as Boro's play-off challenge ended with a whimper.

Blackpool lost fourth place to Birmingham when drawing 2-2 at Millwall. Birmingham beat Reading 2-0 at home and the two sides relegated from the Premier League last season will now face each other in the play-offs.