Preston North End 2-1 Burton Albion
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Nigel Clough suffered his first relegation in 20 seasons as a manager
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.
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."
- Published30 April 2018
